How did ancient kings and kings respect eating clean and avoid poisoning?

Since ancient times, the kings of the countries have had a strict process to ensure safety when eating delicious dishes. According to historical records, the kings of the Nguyen Dynasty had detailed regulations on the preparation and serving of delicious, nutritious and absolutely safe dishes.

Specifically, the Nguyen Dynasty established departments Ly Thien and Thuong Thien to serve meals for the king. Before that, during the Nguyen lords, the team in charge of cooking for the lord was called the Noi Tru or Tu Thien team. In 1820, King Minh Mang ordered the establishment of the Thuong Thien team under the ban army and built the Thuong Thien department near Thai Y Vien.

The number of people working in Thuong Thien team is about 50 people. The ingredients used to make dishes for the king must ensure clear origin as well as be carefully checked to ensure that the ingredients are always fresh, clean and safe. toxic.

Even the water used daily in the forbidden palace is also checked to ensure that it meets the new standards to be brought into the palace. The cooking of delicious dishes for Vietnamese kings in the old days always had to ensure cleanliness, not to be missed even if only a hair or a grain of gravel fell in. If there is a mistake, the cook will be punished. Depending on the severity of the error, the punishment can range from mild to severe.

To prevent poisoning in food, kings used Kim Dao chopsticks to eat. Kings of the Nguyen Dynasty used old bamboo chopsticks sharpened by a skilled craftsman, but sometimes the king used Kim Dao wooden chopsticks taken from Bach Ma mountain. The characteristics of Kim Dao chopsticks are light, ivory white and when exposed to poison, the chopsticks will turn black.

Not only Vietnamese kings and emperors, ancient Chinese emperors also had strict regulations in preparing clean food for food processing.

According to history books, the food supplied to the palace must have a clear origin and be carefully examined. Usually, the food used to prepare dishes to offer to the king for the king comes from regional specialties, the palace itself produces all kinds of food and some ingredients purchased at places.

To avoid the Chinese emperor being poisoned in the dishes, a eunuch would be responsible for testing the dishes offered to the king to see if they were poisonous. This act is called “Common good”.

In addition, the Chinese imperial palace used silver dishes such as bowls and chopsticks to test whether there was poison inside or not. The reason is because when exposed to poison, silver will change from white to black.

Each dish offered to the king had a small sign next to it stating the chef’s name. This makes it easy for kings to know who is cooking what and if something goes wrong, they will quickly find the culprit.