Archive for category Life of Ancient Chinese
Manchu Han Imperial Feast
Posted by sharon in Drink & Food on December 14th, 2009
Manchu Han Imperial Feast is regarded as the greatest achievement of Imperial Court Food. It is also one of the most luxurious feasts in the Chinese food history. Not counting fruits and desserts, it contains at least 108 courses, including 134 hot dishes and 48 cold ones.
It appeared during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) and became prevalent in Guangxu reign period (1871-1908). It is said that in order to further integrate the Manchu and Han Nationality, emperors of the Qing Dynasty promoted the combination of the Manchu Banquet and Han Banquet.
The feast was designed only for emperors. In ancient times, only the imperial family and meritorious officials had the chance to enjoy the feast. It was so great that it was always divided into six meals which could last three days. As one of the most luxurious feasts, it contained all kinds of delicacies, including camel’s hump, bear’s paws, monkey’s brains, ape’s lips, etc.
Ancient Football Game – Cuju
Posted by sharon in Entertainment on December 8th, 2009
Cuju, literally means ball kicking, is an ancient Chinese game which is regarded as the origin of present-day football.
Cuju has a long history in China. Legend has that it was invented by the Yellow Emperor, the legendary ancestor of the Chinese nation. He then used it to train his soldiers. However, some believed that it first appeared during the Warring States Period (476-221 BC).
Originally, Cuju was indeed used for military training purpose. Later, it gradually became popular in the royal courts and upper classes. It was commonly played at court feasts in the purpose of the celebration for great events. Generally, it could be a competitive match between two teams with a goal on each side. However, it also could be the single-player or two-player activity and in this way, no goal would be set and only the score decided the winner.
On July 15, 2004, FIFA declared officially to the world on the Third China International Football Exposition that football was originated from China.
Drinking Game – Jiuling
Posted by sharon in Entertainment on October 30th, 2009
Jiuling, as one of the Chinese drinking game, is a kind of game played to add fun while drinking. It is an inseparable part of Chinese alcohol culture.
It has a long history in China which can date back to the Western Zhou Dynasty (1100 BC-771 BC). Originally, it was used to regulate people’s drinking habits and later during the Warring States Period (476 BC – 221 BC), it evolved to be a way of adding their enjoyment while drinking. It has become quite popular in all ranks of people since the Tang Dynasty (618-907).
The game goes like this: first, a compere will be elected from all the people at the feast to conduct the game. Then, all the people play the game in turns and the one who loses or disobeys the rule of the game has to drink. Sometimes, the game will focus on guessing words or riddles and taking up one’s poems or couplets. Sometimes, the game is just to guess the number of the rolled dice.
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