As we all know, the economy of the Song Dynasty was very developed, and even capitalist welfare institutions, such as residents' sanatoriums, appeared in the capital city of Bianliang, all of which were built by the government. Therefore, the statement that government corruption leads to people's poverty described in Water Margin is somewhat exaggerated. The common people in the Song Dynasty were also a few people who could eat meat regularly outside the Tang Dynasty. "Every day until the evening, tens of thousands of people in each group stopped driving and left." It can be seen that the meat supply in Liangdu is sufficient. According to the records in the Song Dynasty, there was only 50 pieces of meat per catty at that time, which was less than 15 RMB at the present level, so there was no such thing as inflation and deflation.
In the Song Dynasty, beef was naturally a more advanced ingredient than pork. According to Song Yaohui, a document in the Song Dynasty, the court banned the slaughter of cattle, and only ate them and died of natural causes. Everyone knows that old beef is not as delicious as fresh beef. The meat of old beef is only 100 yuan in the market, but as long as it is in 30 yuan, it is absolutely enough. But if everyone can eat, Liangshan is naturally dismissive. As rebels, they just want to eat green beef. They want to enjoy the same treatment as the wealthy businessmen in the capital of song dynasty, so all the beef they eat comes from selfishly slaughtered cattle. These cows are Rolex among cows, because they want to kill the heads of farm cows!
What about the prices of common fish and seafood at the Shuihu banquet? According to the document Chichengji in Song Dynasty, the yellow river fish talent 100 is cheaper than beef, which is similar to the current market situation. From this point of view, the living standard of heroes in the Water Margin is not so high. Drinking, eating meat and eating a big table of fresh fish and river water are just the level of a well-off family. The only beef worth mentioning is that the symbolic meaning is greater than the actual meaning.
This may be related to the generally low background level of heroes in the water margin: most of them come from the bottom, so how can they compare with the arrogant and extravagant son Wang Sun? If Liangshan hero ate beef, fish, shrimp and crab, but our family went to Haidilao without mercy, and our descendants ate things that ordinary people had never seen before: According to "Shi Lin Shi Hua", in the Song Dynasty, princes and nobles ate puffer fish, a rare thing, which was crazy. A catty of puffer fish was as expensive as ever, that is, 1000 yuan, equivalent to 200-now.
Let's make a comparison and feel the living standards of ordinary people during the heroes of the Water Margin:
Ordinary people eat bread (10 RMB), pork (15 RMB) and yellow river fish and shrimp (15 RMB); Liangshan heroes eat beef (30 pieces) and river fish (15 pieces). Wang Sungui eats mutton (200-300 pieces), puffer fish (200-300 pieces), and a crab from the south mentioned in Xiao's Experience, 200-300 pieces.
As for the corrupt officials in the Song Dynasty, that would be cruel. According to the miscellaneous notes of officials and people since the establishment of inflammation, officials hosted a banquet for friends 1 0,000 yuan (equivalent to about 300,000 yuan). How to compare now? In contrast, it seems that it can also reflect the reason why the heroes of the Water Margin rose up and attacked them: the Song Dynasty was not starved to death due to material poverty, but suffered from injustice rather than widowhood. The so-called drinking in a big bowl and eating meat in a big mouth is not a material luxury, but a spiritual freedom and pleasure!
So the material level of the people in the Song Dynasty was truly reflected in Water Margin? The answer is no.
In Water Margin, the food prices described by Shi Naian are quite different, so it is normal for Shi Naian to fall into chaos at the end of Yuan Dynasty and the beginning of Ming Dynasty. Even people in the Song Dynasty often got the price levels wrong at different times and places, not to mention the stories recorded in later generations. The reason is related to the chaotic political situation and local finance in the Song Dynasty, so I won't go into details.
To sum up, the prices in the Song Dynasty are for reference only, and the prices in Water Margin are just the words of novelists, not enough for historical reference!