Why did ancient people not eat pork, but modern people eat it every day?
Pork can be seen on modern people’s tables almost every day, but in ancient times more than 2,000 years ago, people almost did not eat pork, but chose other meats. Why is this? Our country's ancient productivity was backward. Although various animals, such as cattle, sheep, pigs, etc., have been domesticated since primitive society, the use of pork as the main meat as it is now did not happen after the Ming Dynasty. As early as the Pre-Qin period, this There are relevant regulations on meat consumption, because the more precious the meat, the more it symbolizes the status of the nobles. Therefore, beef and mutton are the main meat of the nobles, and common people can only eat ordinary vegetarian dishes.
In the Han and Wei dynasties, people began to use cattle for farming. In order to maintain productivity, legislation was enacted to protect cattle. Therefore, in terms of diet, people stopped eating beef and switched to mutton. During the Tang Dynasty, when economic conditions improved, people were no longer satisfied with eating only mutton, but also ate some chicken and venison. It was also forbidden to kill cattle casually. At that time, it was illegal to eat beef, and even raising cattle to be thin required Sentenced. In the Song Dynasty, the number of sheep was rare, and only nobles could eat mutton. If the people at the bottom wanted to eat meat, they could only eat some pork.
The person who really made pork more sophisticated was Su Dongpo in the Song Dynasty. He invented a pork dish that is slowly stewed over low heat and added with onions, ginger, and wine, commonly known as Dongpo pork. Gradually during the Ming and Qing Dynasties, nobles began to accept pork. In the Qing Dynasty sacrificial ceremonies, the most solemn ceremony was to eat boiled pork. With the increase in cooking methods, pork was very popular among the people. Some poor people would choose to eat cheaper. The pig liver, pig intestines and pig trotters have evolved into various delicacies now.
The reason why pork has become the main meat is that they are simple to raise, have high meat yield, and relatively low cost. Moreover, there are many ways to cook pork, so you can eat it how you want. Seeing this, Xiao What kind of meat do you guys like to eat?