In ancient eating habits, pork was not a tall meat for a long time. "The emperor eat too fast, cattle and sheep tapirs from soup to nuts. Governors eat cows, Qing eats sheep, doctors eat tapirs, and scholars eat fish and vegetables. " Only cattle and sheep are the best meat. In the Song Dynasty, this dietary feature was fully developed. Beef and mutton are still more expensive than pork in the market today. In the pre-Qin period, beef and mutton were tall meat. At a very early age, China people knew how to domesticate six kinds of animals, such as horses, cows, sheep, pigs, dogs and chickens, in order to obtain meat. However, different meat products have different positions in the food system, which even affects today's meat prices.

In ancient eating habits, cattle and sheep are undoubtedly the most aristocratic meat. "The Book of Rites" also said: "Governors don't kill cows for no reason, doctors don't kill sheep for no reason, scholars don't kill dogs for no reason, and Shu Ren doesn't eat treasures for no reason."

From the ranking, cattle and sheep are above pigs. Why is there such a difference in meat ranking in the pre-Qin period?

First of all, it is related to the preciousness of meat. Cattle is an important means of production in the farming era. In many dynasties, it was forbidden to slaughter cattle without permission. As the Book of Rites said, even princes would not kill cattle easily if they had nothing important to do.

As early as the Han Dynasty, cattle had been protected by legislation, and China law stipulated that "no less teeth should be slaughtered". The punishment for killing cattle in the Han Law is very severe, and those who violate the ban will be punished and pay the price of their lives.

During the Tang and Song Dynasties, cattle were forbidden to be slaughtered regardless of their age, weakness, illness and disability. Only cows that die naturally or die of illness can be skinned for sale or eaten by themselves.

Rare things are precious, and beef naturally ranks among the best in the meat list. There are two unusually rich menus in "Great Tactics" and "Evocation of Soul" in Songs of the South, including: eight-treasure rice, stewed beef tendon, May soup, stewed turtle, roasted mutton, vinegar goose, roast chicken, mutton soup, twisted dough, roasted quail and stewed dog meat. Beef is at the top of the menu, and its importance is self-evident.

The development trend of meat in Tang and Song Dynasties-beef and mutton is still the mainstream.

This kind of eating habit was formed in the pre-Qin period and deeply influenced later generations. On the basis of famous barbecues in the Tang Dynasty, the menu is as follows: tender beef intestines with flowers (cooked with sheep oil), prawns (grilled with live shrimps), white dragon loin (made with tenderloin repeatedly slapped), shredded sheepskin (fried shredded mutton, cut into a foot), and snow baby (bean sprouts with frogs). Cattle, sheep, chickens, quails and even frogs are short of pork.