The Feast of a Thousand Sorrows, judging from the name alone, is a banquet attended by more than a thousand elderly people, and if you think about it, it is a fairly large banquet. If the organizer is the emperor again, then the banquet is even more grand, and the historical record of the Banquet of the Thousand Sorrows was the four banquets held by the ancestors and grandsons of Kangxi and Qianlong during the Qing Dynasty.
We know that respecting the old and loving the young is a fine tradition of the Chinese nation, and ruling the world with filial piety is a political means advocated by the ancient emperors, so "loving the old and the old" has become a means for individual emperors to win people's hearts, and as for the effect of this banquet, it depends on the general environment at that time. Not all the people's hearts can receive the expected effect, not to mention that this banquet is also mixed with the ingredient of boasting about himself, the Qianlong Emperor, known as the "Ten Perfect Old Man", has a kind of self-confidence, and spares no effort in boasting, boasting of merits, extravagance and waste is a well-known thing in the world.
Of course, the influence of the Kangxi Emperor on this grandson was enormous, Qianlong liked to compare with this grandfather, and also liked to emulate his grandfather, the Kangxi Emperor reigned for sixty-one years, and Qianlong deliberately abdicated in the sixty years of Qianlong in order not to exceed his grandfather. During the reign of the Kangxi Emperor, there were two banquets for the Thousand Sorrows, and Qianlong also held two banquets for the Thousand Sorrows during his lifetime.
In March 1713, on the occasion of the sixtieth birthday of the Kangxi Emperor, officials and famous people from all over the world rushed to the capital to celebrate Kangxi, and the Kangxi Emperor considered that he had been in power for more than fifty years, and the country was tai and min'an, so he considered doing a big job, and thought of the elderly people everywhere rushing to the capital in a boat, which was indeed quite hard, "At this age, the old people of the world, for the sixtieth anniversary, are creeping from thousands of miles." How to make it empty. ”
Therefore, Kangxi prepared to choose a day to give a banquet, and issued an edict to the world that the elderly over the age of sixty-five, regardless of officials and common people, could rush to the capital to attend the banquet as long as their physical condition permitted. The banquet was arranged in late March, divided into three days, the first of which was attended by the largest number of people, mainly Han officials and shu people over the age of sixty-five, and the number of old monks who participated in the banquet reached 4240, of which 33 were over 90 years old and 538 people were over 80 years old, and the location was set in front of the main entrance of Changchun Garden.
In fact, we can see from here that people's life expectancy during the Qing Dynasty was still OK, and the Kangxi Emperor was able to gather so many elderly people, not including the officials of the Eight Banners of Manchuria and Mongolia. At this banquet, Kangxi "ordered the elderly over the age of eighty to be in front of the imperial court." See for yourself drinking. ”
This one was followed by two more, a reduction in size, the last of which was for women over the age of seventy. In the first month of 1722, that is, the last year of Kangxi, he once again set up a banquet to entertain the elderly over sixty-five years old in the world, but this time the scale was not very large, and the participation of the old sorcerers may not reach a thousand people, and the twelve-year-old Hongli, the future Qianlong Emperor, as the grandson of the Kangxi Emperor, participated in this banquet as a waiter to show royal grace.
At that time, Hongli was thinking that it was really worth it to be an emperor to achieve the grandfather's share, and when Hongli became emperor later, it was inevitable that he would compare with his grandfather. In 1785, more than sixty years had passed since the Kangxi Emperor had last set up a banquet for a thousand sons, and the Qianlong Emperor also held a banquet for thousands of people, and the number of old people who participated in the banquet reached more than three thousand, and at the banquet, the Qianlong Emperor learned that Kangxi also made a poem of "The Banquet of a Thousand Sorrows", which contained the following sentence: "The grandchildren and grandchildren have two feasts of a thousand sorrows, and Shi Ce spared him side by side." ”
This year, the Qianlong Emperor was 75 years old, and at the banquet, the elderly over the age of ninety were helped to the front of the palace, and the Qianlong Emperor personally gave wine. Ten years later, on the fourth day of the first lunar month in 1795, Qianlong, who had abdicated, held the second feast of the Thousand Sorrows. On the first day of the first lunar month of this year, Qianlong announced his abdication, and Jiaqing succeeded to the throne, and on the fourth day of the first lunar month, after Jiaqing was sealed, it was also on this day that Qianlong held a banquet for a thousand sons, and the scale of this banquet was unprecedented.
At the banquet, there were more than 3,000 old monks, and Qianlong's achievements when he returned to his reign were quite satisfactory, so at this banquet, Qianlong, who was already 85 years old, made a powerful speech, gave wine, rewarded, chanted, and so on.
The strange thing is that after this banquet, many elderly people who participated in the banquet died one after another, and many people did not understand this, in fact, the reason is very simple, that is, they are old and cannot withstand the toss.
First of all, it is the physical toss, we know that the old people who participate in the feast of the Thousand Sorrows are basically over sixty-five years old, and they are actually old people now, and they are old, and they are tired of boats and cars, rushing from all over the country to the capital, in the words of the Kangxi Emperor, "all from thousands of miles creeping in." You should know that at that time, there were no cars, trains, planes, etc. that took a short time to get to transportation, but only that kind of horse-drawn carriage, some old people may be walking into Beijing, and it often takes several days to reach Beijing, which is very tossed for the elderly, and it is necessary to go back, which is a double toss.
In the capital, the accommodation is not as comfortable as at home, and the banquet is also very tossed, although the emperor is kind and does not need to stand at the banquet, but a banquet is still very torturous. The key month is still winter.
Then there is the psychological toss, the emperor gives the banquet, which is an honor for everyone, there will inevitably be joy in the heart, and when it comes to the capital, there will be trembling at the banquet, although the emperor gives the banquet, but the companion is like a companion tiger, everyone does not dare to move, the heart must be very nervous, afraid, what to do at the banquet, what to say, are necessary to think carefully, a little careless, there may be no return, so although this banquet is not a Hongmen banquet, but the people who participate in the banquet are both happy and afraid.
Under the double toss of body and mind, the elderly who are already very old will naturally be greatly damaged, and even the elderly over the age of eighty or ninety may die directly on the way back, or die not long after going back.