Court of Imperial Entertainments

Court of Imperial Entertainments
光祿寺
Agency overview
Formed550 (Northern Qi)
Dissolved1912 (Qing dynasty)
Parent departmentMinistry of Rites
Court of Imperial Entertainments
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese祿
Simplified Chinese
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinGuāng Lù Sì
Wade–GilesKuang1 Lu4 Ssu4
Vietnamese name
Vietnamese alphabetQuang 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.