"Food is the most important thing for man," goes an old Chinese saying, "and people will behave nicely only when well fed and clothed." Food culture is, in fact, related to etiquette in China, and the most important part of Chinese food culture is the royal feast.

The luxury of royal feasts is more than legendary. The Exhibition of Traditional Chinese Ceremonial Relics held at the China Millennium Monument in Beijing re-creates the grand scenes of the 80th birthday celebration of Emperor Qianlong (1711-1799) of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) and shows the imperial life in diverse aspects.

The emperor's birthday celebration was one of the most important ceremonies for the royal court of the Qing Dynasty. Every year, festivities would be held nationwide and last for several days, and during the celebrations, the emperor would not deal with lawsuits. The Forbidden City would be decorated with lanterns and banners, and countless pavilions, altars, and memorial archways would be built along the 15-kilometer road from the Imperial Garden Palace outside Xizhimen Gate to the Forbidden City. Monks in temples would chant Buddhist scriptures and pray for blessings; princes, dukes, and officials would wear gorgeous clothes; and music and opera performances would be held in the Forbidden City.

On the 80th birthday of Emperor Qianlong, the emperor received the worship of princes, dukes, and officials in the Hall of Supreme Harmony and hosted a special feast for them in the Hall of Peace and Longevity.
Then, the grand birthday feast was held in the Hall of Heavenly Purity. In the middle of the hall was a large table decorated with gold dragons and covered with a yellow tablecloth embroidered with dragons and inlaid with jewels. The dishes, including pastries, fruit, cold meat, hot meat, cold vegetables, and hot vegetables, were served one by one. On both sides were eight different kinds of fruit and six kinds of steamed wheat dishes.

A rosewood spoon and a pair of ivory chopsticks, all inlaid with gold, were placed on the middle of the table for the emperor, and under the two sides of the table were a golden cuspidor and a golden garbage pail.
After the emperor took his seat, the feast began. Hot dishes, soups, and afterwards, milk-tea and fruit were served. After dinner, there was a wine feast. A total of 129 kinds of drinks and food, including 40 wines and liquors, 20 hot dishes, 4 soups, 4 snacks, 4 kinds of fresh fruit, 28 kinds of fried fruit, and 29 wheat dishes, were served to the emperor. The tableware used by the emperor, such as plates, bowls, cups, bottles, and gold-lidded soup bowls, all bronze-body gilded enamel, were made especially for the feast. The drink and food served to each prince, duke, and official was only a quarter of that served to the emperor.

The serving of the feast started at 11:00 a.m. The feast began at 1:00 p.m. and ended at 3:00 p.m. Strict and complicated etiquette was practiced throughout the feast, and the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Internal Affairs presented wonderful song and dance performances. The feast for celebrating the 80th birthday of Emperor Qianlong ranked first both in scale and in influence the among royal feasts of the Qing Dynasty.

Many of the exhibited items are being shown to the public for the first time. They display typical aspects of the birthday celebrations for the emperors of the Qing Dynasty and reflect the lives of the royal families over 100 years ago.