Court of Imperial Entertainments

Court of Imperial Entertainments

光祿寺
Agency overview
Formed	550 (Northern Qi)
Dissolved	1912 (Qing dynasty)
Parent department	Ministry of Rites

Court of Imperial Entertainments
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	光祿寺
Simplified Chinese	光禄寺
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Guāng Lù Sì Wade–Giles Kuang1 Lu4 Ssu4
Vietnamese name
Vietnamese alphabet	Quang lộc tự
Hán-Nôm	光祿寺

The Court of Imperial Entertainments, also known as the Court of the Imperial Banquets, was a central government agency in several imperial Chinese and Vietnamese dynasties. It was generally in charge of catering for the imperial household, central government officials, and imperial banquets honoring foreign envoys and other dignitaries. In China, the office was created during the Northern Qi dynasty (550–577) and continued until the Qing dynasty (1644–1912). In Vietnam, it was created by Lê Thánh Tông in 1466, and continued until the Nguyễn dynasty.

It was one of the Nine Courts and normally under the supervision of the Ministry of Rites.

References

• Hucker, Charles O. (1985). A Dictionary of Official Titles in Imperial China. Stanford University Press. p. 288.