Levee: 4:00 a.m.
Spend about half an hour dressing; people with servants dress with servants, and those without help each other
Breakfast
- Time: 4:30~5:30
Typical Menu: hashed, boiled, cooled oats and cereals; fermented rice-cake for the very wealthy or gluttonous
Typical Drinks: water, boiled wine
Company: because people get up at different times, the food is served in a common room, buffet-style, and people dine in silence as the sun rises
Tea
- Time: 8:30 ~ 9:30
Typical Menu: porridge; salt or honey for the special occasion; dried fruits, pickled vegetable purée (imported from afar) for the affluent
Typical Drinks: water, diluted wine
Company: if at home, shared with family at individual tables; if at work, shared with colleagues on a common long table
Dinner
- Time: 12:30 ~ 14:00
Typical Menu: porridge; dried fruits and spices are common occurrences (unlike at Tea where they are considered extravagance)
Typical Drink: water
Company: this is the last meal of the working day, so always shared with colleges if at work; if at home, shared with everyone at home
Supper
- Time: 18:00 ~ 20:00
Typical Menu: baked cakes from wheat or barley flour, with minced fresh fruits as filling, boiled vegetables
Typical Drink: water
Company: usually taken with family because everyone is at home; the chatting flows; children typically skip this meal for playtime
Sleep: 21:00.
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Special meal after services at the ancestral shrine:
- Time: after service
Typical Menu: the leftover dried meats (mostly whole filets & tenderloins) not burnt during the ceremony, sliced and served on a platter
Typical Drink: the leftover wine
Company: principals of the ceremony and relevant family members
Note: scouring the meat is seen as poor etiquette -- meat is not a proper menu item for formal dining, but for the supplication of the dead!
Special meal on the equinoctium and solstices:
- Time: dawn
Typical Menu: diced fresh and dried fruits, boiled fresh vegetables (no oats or staple!)
Typical Drink: honey diluted with water, some diluted wine
Company: the whole community