Milk at court, in memory of Tartar origins
Editorial contextAsking about the 'milk-tea' that was to have been served at the cancelled audience, Ellis learns it is simply milk, served to recall the Manchu dynasty's Tartar origins; likewise the emperor carves meat with a knife rather than chopsticks at state meals. Ellis adds that the conquerors profess to value their ancestors' simple ways but have lost their energy.
This milk-tea, it appears, is simply milk; chaya, or tea, being affixed to the names of many beverages besides that made from the tea plant. The milk is given as a record of the Tartar origin of the reigning family. Another instance of the anxiety to preserve these recollections is, that the Emperor, on state occasions, uses a knife to divide his meat, instead of chop-sticks.
About Manchus (Qing imperial family)
Continue in this sourceHenry Ellis's journal of the Amherst embassy to China1816 · 9 passages