A copper warming pot on a charcoal stove holds chicken, ham, bamboo shoots and radish, two hands lift the lid of a copper food box, and a row of blue-and-white bowls of ham, greens and sliced chicken stands beside two lidded cups.
The imperial kitchen
Introduction
The kitchens, meals and banquets of the emperor and the court.
Imperial cuisine covers the food of the emperor and the court, including the daily meals of the imperial kitchen and the banquets for festivals and sacrifices. The Zhou li records officials such as the chief cook, the butcher and the physician of diet who ran the king's food, though it is an idealised text and not a record of a real court. Hu Sihui's Yin Shan Zheng Yao, from the Yuan, is an early book on court food, the Shan Di Dang of the Qing records how the imperial meals changed, and the Su Zao Di Dang lists more than five hundred Suzhou dishes. Court cooks in the Ming came mostly from Shandong, and after the Qianlong southern tours Suzhou cooks joined the court. Particular dishes named for a dynasty are entries, and the regional cuisines are classed separately.