The Largest Feast in Chinese History

Hey guys, welcome to Off The Grid while it's Mike, it's Dan. Before we start, follow us on Instagram, Snapchat, all the other good stuff and don't forget about the Double Chin Show. That's right. It's really awesome. You know, Dan, when it comes to food, a three-course meal is pretty standard, right? Yeah, that's right. Unless, of course, you're in New York now and they got like the five, the ten, the twenty-one course meals. It's crazy. And they're really expensive, too. And those are all no big deal, really, you know, because I can take down easily twenty-one courses. That's probably true because we all know Mike is a monster when it comes to eating. But still, I doubt you're a match for the biggest feast documented in Chinese history, a whopping one hundred and eight courses. Okay, that's what I call a four-course dinner. And admittedly, that might even be a little more than I can take, but I'll try it. Yeah, I'd be done after like the third course. You'd be done just looking at it. Well, guys, what we're talking about is Man Han Quan Xi, or Manchu Han Imperial Feast, is one of the grandest and most lavish meals in Chinese history. It consists of at least one hundred and eight unique dishes eaten in six banquets over the course of three days, featuring cooking methods from all over Imperial China. I just got really hungry right now. And not just anyone's invited. This feast was reserved for the top dogs only. We're talking about emperors and other members of the Imperial court. Then the feast itself was divided by rank into an inter-palace feast, which only the Imperial family and officials with merits could attend, and the outer-palace feast, which meant that you were pretty cool, but, you know, not that cool because you weren't in the inner palace. You don't even get to go into the palace. Yeah, exactly. That's like the kiddies' table. But it's still better than anyone else who couldn't even get into that feast. I would be fine just getting the scraps. I would be fine just smelling the feast. So why hold this huge feast in the first place, you might ask? I mean, other than to have an excuse to have all this food. Turns out, there's quite a bit of history behind this event. The feast originated during the Qing Dynasty, when the Manchu people conquered China and established power. Manchu rulers attempted to integrate the Manchu, who were the minority at the time, and the Han, China's majority ethnic group, to reduce the frequent conflicts and power struggles that popped up, and the folk customs and cultures of the two increasingly blended together. So in one massive unification effort, Emperor Kangxi, one of the greatest emperors of the Qing Dynasty, decided to hold a banquet for his 66th birthday, bringing together both groups of people and their cuisines. Because nothing brings people together quite like food, am I right? That's right! So the banquet consisted of the finest of both Manchu and Han dishes, and served over 2,500 guests from both ethnic groups. As for the types of dishes served, well, we'll leave that judgment up to you. Yo, you think there were some spicy dishes served? Yo, there better have been, and some hot pot, cause I'm walking out if there's not. I want to see at least one hot pot. The feast included what was called the 32 delicacies, dishes made from the rarest and most exotic ingredients. And by rare and exotic, we don't just mean things like chicken hearts or jellyfish, no no no no no. That's nothing compared to what they ate. For example, there was the Eight Mountain Treasures, which sounds kind of harmless, right? Yeah, like maybe some mushrooms? Yeah, but it includes camel's humps, bear's paws, live monkey's brains, ape's lips, leopard fetuses, rhino tails, and deer tendons, so the one I would eat out of all that would probably be deer tendons, because that sounds the most harmless to me. Or how about this one? Eight Land Treasures. That sounds pretty harmless, right? Like cows. Yeah, like, or chickens, right? Yeah. But this one had goat brains, chicken brains, duck brains, rare birds, uh, mushrooms. Or the Eight Sea Treasures, maybe like a, I don't know, a sea bass, you think? Nah, I think it's going to be a little more extreme than that. Well, in this feast, Sea Treasures means sea cucumbers, which, that sounds fine, yeah, shark fins, birds' nests, and other fresh shellfish and various seafood, so that's, I'd be at this table right here. But exotic delicacies aside, I still wouldn't mind, you know, taking a seat at this feast, because this sounds awesome. Even the other dishes were only of the highest quality and best taste. For example, the roast succulent pigs were a little pig-less, were required to weigh 12 to 13 kilos before slaughter, and were fattened up with porridge for at least two to three days before the feast. Now that's planning ahead, and at the actual feast, the eating rituals involved there were also really elaborate. Guests ate with finely crafted bronze utensils, and the table was decorated with fruit and porcelainware shaped like various animals. You know, that's probably my favorite part, is looking nice that day, and using the fancy schmancy porcelain dinerware. Yeah, you do that, and I'll sit by the succulent pig. Anyway, guests began by washing their faces and hands in copper basins of water, and drinking a cup of fragrant tea. Then, bring on the food. First up, four types of wine and four cold dishes were followed by four hot dishes. That's weird, because four is not really a really fortuitous number. Anyways, I'm not going to question the will of the emperor. And then, course after course after course, the food just kept on coming. It must have felt like paradise. The delicacies were broken up by small sets of snack foods to pace the meal and clean the palate. I guess all those brains and bear paws can get a bit overwhelming, even for a member of the imperial court. Yeah. You know, I also like the fact that, you know, between food, they have food. Yeah, I like that too. That's your dream right there. It is. Finally, guys, at the end of the banquet, the guests would again wash their faces and hands in fresh basins of water, and then presumably laze around in massive food comas for the rest of the day or month. Or the rest of my life. Yeah. Okay, so maybe, you know, I can't go the rest of my life without ever eating again, but I wouldn't be surprised if they really did, you know, crash and burn for about a week after that, because I would. Just imagine all that food means a big food coma. Absolutely. After this huge success of the first Man Han, Quan Xi, it became popular throughout China, and banquets were held for a variety of reasons. Any big celebration or festival, different variations arose for different occasions and different regions of China. Unfortunately, not much of the Great Feast has survived to modern day. Most books and records detailing the feast were burned during the Cultural Revolution, so the few replicas still attempted today are not completely authentic. Yeah, that's really unfortunate. Replacement ingredients are common, especially since many of the original animals used are now endangered species. Yeah, that sucks, huh? So eating a leopard fetus, not a good idea. To be honest, it's not that appetizing either, so it's all good. Nowadays, while an actual Man Han, Quan Xi is extremely rare, the term is used as an expression or name for any large feast, like a dinner gala. Yeah, or one of your epic barbecues. That's right. So let me ask you, would you eat a Man Han, Quan Xi? Well, honestly, I would be really uncomfortable because I would show up dressed nice to the banquet, but when it comes time to eat the leopard fetuses, I wouldn't do it. Here's what I would do. I would show up, definitely, and I would just be the pickiest eater ever. But here's my question though. Back in the day, if you were picky, would you get punished? Would you get thrown out? No, they won't know. The emperor's not going to look and see what you ate or what you didn't eat. You don't think the emperor is walking by like, Mike, how did you enjoy it? The emperor is enjoying his monkey brains and wine. He's not looking at you. So you're just sitting there and you're like, succulent pig, yes please. Monkey brain, no thanks. So passed on to the next person besides you. I would feel- And then you get some, I don't know, stewed beef. I would feel like the guards are looking over my shoulder, making sure I ate it. This is not a punishment. It's a festival, man. I don't know, dude. It's only a punishment when you show up to my barbecue and don't eat something I cook, and then you're in trouble, bro. That wouldn't happen because the barbecues are awesome. They're awesome. Best burger ever. Chicken wings. That's right. All right, guys. Thank you so much for watching. Let us know your comments about the Mahan Xuanxi and what's your favorite exotic dish. See you later. Peace.