Yushan

yushan	yushan

Meals provided for emperors are called Yushan (his/her Majesty’s meal). They used to be prepared by the Imperial Kitchen for emperors empresses. Usually, they are fancifully named and exquisitely prepared with the best ingredients.
At meal time the emperor ordered his bodyguard to summon the meal. The senor of junior officials in the imperial kitchen immediately ordered the eunuchs to set the table in the hall where the emperor wanted the meal served. The eunuchs then brought the dishes prepared according to the menu the emperor had ordered and placed them on the table according to the strict rules.
Profound philosophical thought and a through base of knowledge went into the emperors’ diets during the Qing Dynasty. According to the ancient Chinese classic, dishes should not be of a single ingredient or several monotonous ingredients, but should be diverse. The diversification should not be a simple mixture, but a reasonable blending. The precise term for this reasonable blending was “harmony,” which meant scientific coordination.