Preface
In the long river of history, there is an incredible event, that is, the Qianlong Emperor once invited 3,000 old people to a feast, but then these old people died one after another.
What did these old men eat, and why did their lives hang by a thread after the feast? This is not only a historical record of the prosperous era of Qianlong, but also a bewildering mystery. What kind of strange truth is hidden in this strange historical episode?
1. Kangxi was happy in his old age, and two set up a thousand banquets
Kangxi, a Manchu, the fourth emperor of the Qing Dynasty, reigned for 61 years, and was known as the monarch with the longest reign in Chinese history, and also the founder of the "Kangqian Prosperous Era".
This emperor who was happy in his later years loved the country and the people as one. In 1713, when he was about to reach the age of sixty, he thought that there were very few kings since the Qin and Han dynasties who could rule for so long, so he decided to hold a banquet for himself with a thousand people, inviting the old people from all over the world to come to celebrate his birthday and celebrate the prosperous era.
This is the first "Thousand Suo Banquet" in the history of the Qing Dynasty. Emperor Kangxi was particularly solemn and personally formulated the banquet standard: all old people who have reached the age of sixty and five, regardless of race, can be invited to Beijing and have fun with the Son of Heaven.
For this banquet of 10,000 people, the capital was even more jubilant. Officials wore brocade robes and hung lanterns and flags along the streets, and there was a lively scene. Outside Changchun Garden, colorful flower sheds stretch for two or three miles, welcoming the old people of the world.
On June 15, at dawn, the old men came to gather in front of Changchun Garden one after another. Kangxi was dressed in a golden dragon robe and stood under the flower trellis to greet the guests with great energy. More than a dozen of his princes and grandchildren also came to offer gifts, and toasted the elders at a young age.
This time, the banquet lasted for seven days. The jubilant old people rushed to come, and although they had already smiled, they were still smiling. It is said that more than 1,900 elderly people attended the banquet, including 33 people over 90 years old, more than 400 people in 80 years, and more than 700 people over 70 years old...... The room was full of gray hair.
The scene was very enthusiastic. All the old people praised the Emperor of Shengming from the bottom of their hearts, and they feasted on the sumptuous banquet. The night was full of singing and dancing, and people chanted "Long live" in unison. It would not be an exaggeration to say that this was an old man's carnival.
2. Qianlong ascended the throne and set up two more banquets
Time flies, and the years are quiet. In 1722, Kangxi died, and his fourth son Hongli ascended the throne as emperor, which was Yongzheng. After another thirteen years, Yongzheng Chuan was located in his eldest son Hongli, called Qianlong. This Hongli Emperor Qianlong has a hearty temperament, likes literature, and is also a prolific lyricist. He inherited Kangxi's policy of "loving the people like children", and also held a banquet to entertain the elderly.
In 1785, the fifth year of Qianlong's seventies, coinciding with the birth of his fifth grandson, he followed Kangxi's precedent and set up the first Qiansu banquet. The banquet was unprecedented. Outside the Changchun Garden, the colorful flower trellis stretches for more than ten miles, and is full of birthday lanterns and flags. There were more than 3,000 elderly people at the banquet, not only princes and ministers, but also officials and people from all over the country.
On the sixth day of the first lunar month, the sky was clear. Qianlong sat on the top seat wearing a golden dragon robe, and stood on the left and right of many princes and grandchildren. Miles away, the old men entered the palace and presented him with birthday gifts.
The elderly people over 90 years old were fortunate to be brought to Qianlong and toasted by him personally. The 141-year-old Guo Zhongyue made the emperor's inscription ridiculed, causing the house to laugh endlessly. During the banquet, the little princes also went to toast the old man in turn, and the scene was warm and touching.
Since ancient times, the major events of the country have been in the sacrifice and the slaughter of horses. It can be seen whether the king of a country can love the people like a son and return happily with the elderly. Emperor Qianlong's reign surpassed that of Kangxi, as high as 60 years. Until he was eighty years old, he was reluctant to return to the government of Emperor Zijiaqing, and he was still in charge of the government for three years as the emperor.
In 1796, in the nineties of Qianlong, it had been ten years since he abdicated the throne. In this year, the Emperor Taishang once again set up a thousand banquets, stipulating that the banquet would be for the elderly over seventy. This time, the old men came with smiles, and there were more than 3,000 people. Emperor Jiaqing led them to shout long live and congratulate the old emperor on his birthday. will be deposed and returned to the countryside, and the white hair will be hung in the mirror. A generation of heavenly sons will also age, not to mention the old people who have been up and down for a hundred years? Behind the feast, there are hidden joys and sorrows.
3. When you get old, you will go to the rivers and lakes, and thousands of people will carnival and die in the country
The two banquets were in full swing, and the old people who participated in them also returned happily. However, what is puzzling is that many elderly people have since fallen seriously ill on the way back to their hometowns, and some have even died not long after returning home.
It turned out that the weather in the north was very cold in January, and the old people were already old and weak, and the dim sum soup at the banquet was basically cold dishes, so eating more was extremely unfavorable for them.
What's even worse is that these old people all come from all over the world, and it takes more than ten days to return to their hometowns. The dusty journey was too much for these elderly people to bear, so many fell ill as soon as they arrived home and died soon after.
This is also reasonable, after all, all the men and women who attended the banquet were men and women who had passed the past. To leave their hometown in the bitter cold and go through thousands of miles, it is an extravagant hope for them to be so tired. If these two banquets were for the elderly, then it seems that they have finally fulfilled their universal ultimate - death.
Fourth, the Kangqian era was prosperous, and the country was martyred
Since ancient times, it is easy to obtain prosperity but it is difficult to find national mourning, and the country is easy to change but the terroir is difficult to change. Confucius Ziyun: "I talk all day long, and I am not as foolish." It is enough to retreat and save his selfishness. It's not stupid to return. "Emperor Kangxi and Emperor Qianlong both care about the world and love the people like sons, and their good intentions are really moving. The original intention of holding the Thousand Suo Banquet was to have fun with the old people and celebrate the prosperity of the world.
However, people are not as good as heaven, and the death of the old man is also embarrassing. It is difficult to distinguish between right and wrong. The Kangqian era was the pinnacle of China's feudal dynasty and the heyday of Qing rule. However, its end was accompanied by the death of old people.
All this is intertwined with not only the glory of the prosperous world, but also the impermanence of the world. Under the lens of history, it contains mixed emotions. Perhaps it would be more appropriate to say that there is a prosperous era of national mourning.
epilogue
After the banquet, Qianlong continued to rule the government as the emperor, and time passed, until he was 89 years old, and the great monarch also died with the torrent of time. However, the end of the Qiansu banquet was not only the end of a banquet, but also the end of the era of the Qing Dynasty's "prosperous Kangqian era".
The liveliness and laughter of this feast were like yesterday, but they gradually faded away with the death of Qianlong. The end of the banquet symbolized the end of the Qianlong era, and the era that was once prosperous and known as the "prosperous era of Kangqian" also came to an end.
In this long history, the Qiansuo banquet left not only a song and laughter, but also a symbol of the rise and fall of a dynasty. Perhaps at that moment, the history of the Qing Dynasty was destined to be written by a new chapter, and the Qiansuo Banquet became the splendid curtain call of this glorious time.