All kinds of heroes in China have always admired "eating meat in large chunks and drinking heavily", which is generous and imposing. However, this meat doesn't have to be the meat of any animal, such as pork, beef, dog meat, mutton, horse meat, donkey meat and fish. They should all be edible. Water margin is in Shandong province. Meat in Shandong has always been dominated by pork.

However, in recent years, after people have watched several versions of the TV series and movies about Water Margin or Liangshan heroes, or those who are fond of reading or literature have carefully read the original novel of Water Margin by Shi Naian, careful audiences and readers will find that the outlaws in Liangshan, Shui Bo actually only eat beef, and if it is good yellow beef, it is well-cut dried sauce beef. Likui jy went to the store to eat beef, but the bartender said no, and he was angry.

In the thirty-eighth chapter of the Water Margin, likui jy, a Dai Zong of Sung River, dined at Pipa Pavilion. Sung River told Xiao Er that my friend was hungry, and you gave him the whole meal. Xiao er said that our shop only wants mutton, not beef, and there are plenty of fat sheep to eat. I didn't expect likui jy to split his face and raise his face with fish soup. Dai Zong said you were crazy. Likui jy said that this dog who lies in the trough looks down on people and bullies me to eat only beef and not sell me mutton. Xiaobian saw a burst of doubts here, and the black whirlwind was affected by it, and the response was so great. I just want you to eat some mutton. That's bullying you. It's a little too sensitive.

originally, mutton in the song dynasty was very expensive, and people usually couldn't afford it, especially pure mutton like likui jy? Pan Wei? What's wrong with you, Jia Nuo? Pating belongs to a high-end restaurant in Jiangzhou, and the income and expenditure are all rich and powerful. Even the singers are all good in color and art, so they only sell mutton, not beef. I don't care how much a catty of mutton is when I come here for dinner. If it weren't for Song Jiang's treat, likui jy couldn't come to this local restaurant in my life. Let's look at the water margin, as long as Chai Jin, a rich man, is ready to kill a sheep and entertain guests. The Seven Stars gathered together to discuss the looting of the classical birth class, but it killed the sheep, but it was not for people to eat, but for worshipping the gods. Even a big landlord like Chao Gai can't afford mutton, so you can imagine how expensive mutton is.

Then why is the mutton in Song Dynasty so expensive? Because Song Dynasty is located in China, there are many people and few people, and there is no pasture at all, let alone a horse farm. Most of the horses and sheep in the Song Dynasty were imported from Xixia and Qidan, so Shi Xiu was a horse appraiser. Liangshan and Zhujiazhuang were made by a horse. Horses are strategic materials that can't be killed and eaten. Although mutton can be eaten, things are rare and expensive, so the price is high. Usually you can only see it at high-end restaurants and official banquets.

Some people have even made statistics. In the whole Water Margin, there are as many as 134 scenes involving slaughtering and eating meat, and 48 scenes explicitly pointing out that they are eating beef! I only eat fish occasionally. ) This is a big number! There are only two references to pork: once, Lu Zhishen asked Zheng Butcher to cut pork, but the pork was not eaten, but was used to beat Zheng Butcher, so he deliberately made things difficult for each other again and again; Another time, after Lu Zhishen uprooted the weeping willows, he thought that "it's too much to eat their wine and food every day, and the cudgel will arrange some seats back today", so he "killed a pig and a cavity of sheep", but he didn't mean to eat pork, but to deal with the ruffians.

However, in other classical novels, popular romances or scripts of the Ming and Qing Dynasties at the same time, it was clearly pointed out that only beef was eaten. For example, Lan Ling's Xiao Xiaosheng's Jin Ping Mei (this is a novel with deep roots in Water Margin; Its subject matter, plot and main characters are basically the same as those in Water Margin), only one place mentions eating beef; None of the descriptions about eating food in the Biography of Awakening Marriage written by Zhou Zhousheng is beef. As for Romance of the Three Kingdoms, A Dream of Red Mansions and The Journey to the West, we have all kinds of meat.

Actually, except for the hotel in Daming House, other places that serve beef are relatively remote:

Zhuangzi: Shijiazhuang, Taohuazhuang, Yedian: Sanwan Bugang, Gaotangzhou to Jizhou Yedian, Black Shop: Nanshan Hotel, Shizipo Hotel, Jieyang Ling Hotel: Wutaishan, Cangzhou Caoliaochang Store, Shi Jiecun Store, Jieyang Ling Hotel. They all belong to areas beyond the reach of the law, such as the one in the butcher's shop in Kansai, a town in Weizhou. Because industrial and commercial registration was held in the small race, it only sold pork. Jiangzhou Pipating Tavern is a well-known shop doing serious business, so the bartender solemnly said that "our shop will not provide the kind of service you want" before Song Jiang mentioned "Do you have that kind of service here"!

Because the law of Song Dynasty strictly forbids slaughtering cattle privately, and the law is very strict. The Criminal Code of the Song Dynasty stipulates that the first offender who kills or mutilates cattle privately is to be put to death, and the crime is reduced by one grade. In the future, there should be people who steal officials, private horses, cattle and miscellaneous animals and kill them, or those who sneak out for hatred and hatred, please kill them for stealing. If you steal and kill a horse and cow, the first one will be put to death, and the follower will be reduced by one? If anyone steals a cow's nose or feet, he will be put to death first, and one grade will be reduced, and one grade will be reduced.

in the song dynasty, affected by the war in the north, the business was developed, but it was still based on agriculture. The prohibition of killing cattle without permission is based on the protection of farm cattle and the protection of agriculture. In some areas, there are a large number of farm cattle, so killing some cattle for eating will not affect farming at all, but will improve the happiness index of the people. Moreover, the price of beef in the Northern Song Dynasty is very high. According to the Records of the Criminal Law of the Song Dynasty, beef costs 1 yuan per catty, and a cow is about two or three hundred kilograms. When you are alive, you can sell about five to seven thousand (five to seven passes), but you can get twenty or thirty passes simply by selling beef. Such huge profits drive those who are far away from big cities to take risks and kill cattle privately. "Song Hui Yao Shi Huo Zhi" records that during the Jingdezhen period in Song Zhenzong, on the way from Luoyang to Kaifeng, "there were many people who served beef." Therefore, although there are laws and regulations, there will still be a large amount of beef supplied to hotels in some areas. No matter how awesome Liangshan heroes are, they can only eat beef in restaurants in these areas.

in the song dynasty, the common people always took beef as the first taste, followed by sheep and fish. Therefore, Liangshan heroes like to eat beef just because they think it is delicious, and they take out beef when they treat them, and because beef represents delicacy and respect for each other among the people. Others eat, why can't I eat in Liangshan?

Of course, not all Jianghu heroes don't like pork. In Fortress Besieged, Fang Hung-chien suggested that steamed bread with wind meat is a so-called "localized sandwich". In "Dragon's Eight Branches", Wan Jiegu tried to become a son of Duan and Mu Wanqing, so he served steamed bread with braised pork. In "Flying Fox", Wang San of Yingyanmen got a pot of braised pork and some wine for Pei Hu in the stone house.

In the ancient eating habits, pork was not a tall meat for a long time. "The emperor ate too hard, and the cattle, sheep and goats were all available. The princes ate cows, the doctors ate pigs, the scholars ate fried fish, and Shu Ren ate vegetables." Mencius said that the people's demand is that fat is suitable for the mouth. Braised pork, fat and sweet, is most suitable for ordinary people who are calm and often hungry. Therefore, it is also very appropriate to fill the stomach for such a rich child as Duan Gongzi. Only cattle and sheep are the best meat. In the Song Dynasty, this dietary feature was brought into full play. Today, beef and mutton are still more expensive than pork in the market.

mutton was the most expensive place for the Han people, but in the Liao and Jin dynasties in the north, it was just the opposite, and pork became tall. The envoys of the Song Dynasty sent envoys to Liao and Jin Dynasties, and northerners treated the envoys with the best pork. Pork was in Liao and Jin Dynasties, which was a "no big feast". Why does pork have such a disparity in treatment between North and South countries at the same time? The reason is nothing more than "things are rare and expensive", and there are few pigs in Liao and Jin, and pork is expensive; There were few sheep in the Song Dynasty, and mutton was beautiful. So when they exchanged goods, the two sides exchanged needed goods. Liao and Jin exported fat sheep in exchange for pigs in the Song Dynasty, and both sides were very happy.

Ming and Qing Dynasties-Pork gradually became popular: In the Ming Dynasty, pork gradually became popular, at least in the royal recipes. According to the History of Ming Palace, there were roast pork, pig sausage, pork arm and pork buns in the royal Chinese New Year recipes. Explain that pork has been able to board the elegant hall at this time.

In the Qing Dynasty, pork finally reversed and became the main meat of the Han nationality. In Yuan Mei's Food List with the Garden, the pig was listed as a special sacrifice list, saying: "Pigs are used the most, which can be called' the vast number of religious leaders'. It is advisable for the ancients to have a special dolphin to feed. " In his introduction, there are 43 dishes related to pork, including three methods of braised pork in red, stewed pork in white and fried pork in oil.

while beef and mutton are classified as "miscellaneous animals list", "cattle, sheep and deer are not common things in southern families. However, the recipe must be known. Make a "miscellaneous sacrifice list". " Although the eating habits gradually reversed, the status of beef and mutton could not be shaken. In 184, when the British with red beard and green eyes put the cannon under the nose of the Qing Dynasty, Qi Shan, as an imperial envoy, negotiated with foreigners. The day before the talks, he sent food to the British fleet according to the old rules of the imperial court to entertain envoys, including 2 steer cows, 2 sheep, many ducks and chickens, one or two thousand eggs, but not a pig.