_The order that these Chinos obserue in making bankets, and in
celebrating their festiuall daies._
For that in some parts of this historie wee haue touched the bankets
that the Chinos do make, it shall not bee amisse to declare here the
order they vse therein, for that they are curious, and differ verie much
from our order and vse in their banquetting, the which we haue perceiued
as well by their feeding as by many other thinges.
Amongest these Chinos, more than amongest any other people of the world,
are vsed bankets and feastes, for they are rich and without care, and
also without the light of heauen, albeit they do confesse and beleeue
the immortalitie of the soule, and the rewarde or punishment in an other
worlde, according vnto their workes in this life (as we haue saide). All
that euer they can, they doo giue themselues vnto the contentment of the
flesh, and vnto all maner pastimes, wherein they liue most delicately,
and in verie good order. Their custome is, although they haue a hundred
guestes, yet euerie one must sit and eate at a table by himselfe. Their
tables be verie fine, gilt and painted full of birdes and beastes, and
other varieties verie pleasant vnto the eye. They do not vse to put
table clothes on them, but onely a forefront of damaske, or some other
silke, on euerie one of them, which hangeth downe to the ground; and on
the foure corners they doo sette manie little baskettes curiously
wrought with golde and siluer wyre, full of flowers and knackes of
sugar, made with great curiositie, as elefantes, grayhoundes, hares, and
all other kinde of beastes and foules, gylt and painted: in the middest
of the table they doo sette the victualles in maruelous good order, as
flesh of diuerse sortes, fowle, and fishes: of the which they make
diuers manners of brothes passing well dressed, and are serued in fine
earthen dishes of great curiositie, and of siluer (although these they
vse verie seeldome, except for the viceroyes): they haue no neede of
table clothes nor napkins, for they eate so delicately, that they doo
not touch the meate with their handes, but with little forkes of golde
or siluer, with the which they eate so cleanly, that although it be
verie small that they eate, yet will they let nothing fall: they drinke
often, but a little at a time, and therefore they vse verie little
cuppes.
At these bankettes and feastes, there are present alwayes women gesters,
who doo play and sing, vsing manie prettie gesters to cause delight, and
make mirth to the gestes: besides these they haue diuerse sortes of men
with other instruments, as tomblers and players, who doo represent their
comedies verie perfectly and naturally: in these bankets they spende the
greatest part of the day, by reason of so manie diuersities of meates
that they serue in. They passe manie times a hundreth sundrie dishes,
when that the estate of the person that is inuited, or of him that
maketh the banket, dooth require. As may shew the report of the
Augustine fryers, in the beginning of the second part of this historie:
where one doth tell of bankets that were made him by the Insuanto, a
gouernor of the prouince of Chincheo, and the uiceroy of Ancheo, and of
the gallant deuices they had to driue away the time so long as the
banket lasted. Unto euerie one of their guestes they doo set a table,
euerie table standing one along by an other, making a difference of the
number of them, according vnto the qualitie of the persons: vpon the
first table (where sitteth he that is inuited) they set the victualles
readie dressed, sweete meates, or march-panes,[129] which is the last
seruice: and on the rest, although they be twentie, they set great store
of diuerse kindes of meates, all rawe, as capons, ducks, teales, hennes,
peeces of salt and martlemas biefe, gammons of bacon, and many other
thinges. All these doo remaine vppon the tables till the banket be
ended, and the guestes departed: then doo the seruantes of him that made
the banket take all these rawe meates, and carrie them before their
guestes till they come vnto their houses or lodges, where they doo leaue
it with great ceremonies. When they doo make any banket to a viceroy or
to any embassadour, it is with so great cost and sumptuousness, that
they spend a great substance therein. These bankets do commonly indure
twentie daies together, continuing vntill the last day as royally and as
plentifully as the first day.
They do celebrate all their festiuall dayes in the night, which is
ordinarily their newe moones; and they doo solemnize them with much
musicke and newe inuentions. But more particularly they doo celebrate
the first day of the yeare, which is, after their account, the first day
of the moneth of March: on this day they apparell themselues verie
costlye and sumptuouslie, both men and women, and doo adorne themselues
with all their iewelles and newe toyes, and doo hang their houses and
doores with carpettes and clothes of silke and cloth of golde, and
dresse them vppe trimme with roses and other flowers, for at that time
there is great store in that country: likewise they doo sette at all
their doores great trees, on the which they doo hang manye lightes, and
all the triumphall arches that bee in the streetes (which bee verye
manie, as wee haue sayde) are decked with bowes this day: wherein they
put manie lightes, and set full of canapies of cloth of gold, damaske,
and manie other sundrie sorts of silkes.
Their priestes doo assist them in these feastes very richly apparelled,
and doo offer sacrifice vpon their altars vnto the heauen, and vnto
their idolles, and they sing many songes.
This day dooth all people generally sport themselues with great singing
and sounding of instruments, in the which they are very cunning. Such
instruments as the Augustine fryers did see, were lutes, gytternes,
vyalles, rebbukes, wayghtes, virginalles, harpes, and flutes, and other
instrumentes which wee doo vse, although they doo differ something in
the fashion of them, but yet easie to be knowen. They do tune their
voyces vnto their instrumentes with great admiration: they haue all
commonly very good voyces. In these feasts they do make many
representations of great pastime according vnto nature, with vestiments
that they haue for the purpose. All the dayes that these feastes do
indure, their tables be full of diuerse sorts of meates, as well of fish
as of flesh, and of all sortes of fruites, and excellent good wine, the
which they make of the palme tree, with certaine mixtures, which maketh
it have an excellent good taste. All the day, they and their priestes do
eate and drinke so much till they can no more. They haue it for a thing
most certaine amongest them, that looke how they are in disposition that
day, so shall they passe the whole yeare, eyther sorrowfull or merrie. I
omit the feastes which they make at marriages, and at any good successe,
though they be in great number and very sumptuous, because I would not
be tedious: in all things they couett to auoyde melancholy.