How did the emperors of the Qing Dynasty eat dumplings during the Chinese New Year?

According to the ceremony, the emperor needed four plates of condiments to eat dumplings, including pickled side dishes, southern side dishes, ginger juice and vinegar. The dumplings were divided into two bowls, with 6 vegetarian dumplings in one bowl and copper coins in the other. 2 dumplings to ensure good luck to the emperor in the coming year.

Dumplings are not only a New Year’s Eve dinner for ordinary people, they also play an important role in royal dinners. The Qing Palace also had to eat "boiled dumplings" on the first day of the first lunar month. Emperor Qianlong once held a "cooking dumplings ceremony" in Hongde Hall. According to the ceremony, when the emperor eats dumplings, he needs four plates of condiments, including pickled side dishes, southern side dishes, ginger juice and vinegar. The dumplings are divided into two bowls, with 6 vegetarian dumplings in one bowl and 2 dumplings with copper coins in the other to ensure that the emperor will be happy in the coming year. Good luck. The main ingredients of Qinggong vegetarian dumplings are dried vegetables, including purslane (Zhishou vegetable), daylily, fungus, supplemented by mushrooms, shredded bamboo shoots, gluten, dried tofu, eggs, etc.

According to research, the Qing emperors ate vegetarian dumplings in order to abide by the ancestral teachings of Nurha Chi. However, in the middle and later periods, there were gradual changes. For example, in the eleventh year of Guangxu's reign, the "Qing Palace Meal Files" recorded: "Long Live Lord is here." Yangxindian went to cook the dumplings. The first time they were filled with pork and longevity, the second time they were filled with pork and spinach."