Fangshan Making Craftsmanship
01 · Historical Records
Fangshan Restaurant in Beijing is a time-honoured Chinese establishment serving court-style cuisine, located within a cluster of ancient buildings erected during the Qianlong reign—including the Yilan Hall and Daoning Studio in Beihai Park. It was founded in 1925 by several imperial cooks from the former Qing palace imperial kitchen. "Fangshan," meaning "imitating the imperial kitchen," refers to the specialized preparation of dishes, pastries, and other foods by emulating the methods of the palace imperial kitchen; it now has a history of 85 years. In 1979, after excavation and systematization, Fangshan Restaurant became the first in China to launch the Qing court imperial cuisine, drawing wide attention from the culinary world worldwide.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Among its dishes, the most distinctive are Phoenix-Tail Shark's Fin, Golden Toad and Jade Abalone, Top-Grade Official's Bird's Nest, Oil-Braised Prawns, Fish Offered at the Palace Gate, and Sautéed Chicken Breast; famous pastries include Pea-Flour Cake, Kidney-Bean Rolls, Small Steamed Corn Buns, and Sesame Seed Cakes with Minced Pork. The imperial cuisine selects precious ingredients such as the "Eight Mountain Delicacies," "Eight Seafood Delicacies," "Eight Poultry Delicacies," and "Eight Herb Delicacies," and employs Manchu roasting and Han braising, stewing, and boiling techniques, gathering the essence of northern and southern flavours into a rich and magnificent repertoire.
The four sets of eight delicacies
Mountain, sea, fowl and vegetable delicacies, eight to a set, were rotated through the menus; the display of the banquet began with the ingredients.
Manchu grilling with Han boiling and braising
Grilling in the Manchu manner is served beside Han-style boiling and braising; the fusion of the two is the basic frame of these dishes.
Phoenix-tail shark's fin and jade abalone
Among the most demanding dishes, named with reference to phoenix tails, jade toads and palace gates, the shape follows the name.
Pea cake, bean rolls and small steamed buns
Pea cake, rolled bean paste, small buns and minced-meat flatbread are the representative pastries, small in size and fine in handiwork.
Sorting the imperial kitchen archives
Staff travelled repeatedly to the Palace Museum and sorted out hundreds of dishes from the Qianlong and Guangxu reign kitchen archives.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Fangshan's craft is centred around the Yilan Hall and Daoning Studio in Beihai Park, in Beijing's Xicheng District. This cluster of ancient buildings erected during the Qianlong reign serves both as its kitchen and its dining hall. When it opened in 1925, the woks were commanded by a few imperial cooks from the former Qing palace imperial kitchen; though few in number, they brought out intact the palace's methods of selecting ingredients, preparing stocks, and cooking and deep-frying. After excavation and systematization in 1979, Fangshan became the first in China to launch the Qing court imperial cuisine, and only thereafter did its dishes and famous pastries become known to the outside world. From the imperial kitchen to the restaurant, the conditions for transmission have never been abundant: the wok must be commanded by an experienced hand, and if the heat is off by even a fraction, no one will taste it. Therefore, over the decades, Fangshan has always kept the character of court flavour foremost, and excavating and developing famous palace dishes still requires repeated trips into the palace to consult the archives.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
Fangshan Restaurant is the unit responsible for the research, systematization, inheritance, innovation, operation, and protection of the Qing court imperial cuisine. Over decades of operation, it has consistently maintained the character of court flavour. To excavate and develop famous palace dishes, Fangshan Restaurant sent people multiple times to the Palace Museum, sorting out several hundred dishes from the Qianlong and Guangxu reigns within the vast imperial cuisine archives. The craft of imperial cuisine lies half in its ingredients and half in its heat control: the Eight Mountain, Eight Seafood, Eight Poultry, and Eight Herb Delicacies take the stage in rotation, and Manchu roasting is combined with Han braising, stewing, and boiling, together producing famous dishes such as Phoenix-Tail Shark's Fin and Golden Toad and Jade Abalone; pastries such as Pea-Flour Cake, Kidney-Bean Rolls, Small Steamed Corn Buns, and Sesame Seed Cakes with Minced Pork come from the old pastry kitchen's workbench. To verify the dishes, the restaurant's people went into the Palace Museum several times, sorting out several hundred dishes from the Qianlong and Guangxu reigns within the imperial cuisine archives.
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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