In fact, for thousands of years, the ancients never banned eating cattle, but only banned private slaughter, which can be eaten from generation to generation.
During the Song Dynasty, the mainstream liked to eat mutton, followed by beef. Pork, which is very common now, was in a special situation in the Song Dynasty. Although Song people looked down on pork, many people ate it.
The ancients were very troublesome and particular about eating meat. Nowadays, people can eat whatever meat they want as long as they have money and their bodies permit, usually pork and beef and mutton. Other things like chicken, duck and fish are also common, which is not unusual at all.
But the ancients had many rules and conditions for eating meat.
In the pre-Qin era, Zhou Li stipulated that people with different identities could eat different kinds of meat, and the emperor could eat any kind of meat. Princes eat beef, nobles eat mutton, doctors eat pork, and scholars eat fish. Ordinary people don't eat meat, only vegetables.
It was not until the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period that the ceremony of eating meat disappeared because of the collapse of the ritual system. As long as conditions permit, people can eat whatever meat they want. At that time, due to the needs of the war, there were a large number of yellow cattle in the vassal States, and eating beef was very common.
From the Warring States Period to the early years of the Western Han Dynasty, it was not uncommon to eat beef, mutton and pork.
One thing needs to be explained: at that time, cattle were protected by bondage, such as horns, tendons and leather. Had to turn it in. However, beef as a by-product can be freely eaten and traded, and it is not more expensive than mutton, pork and other meats.
Mainly pigs and sheep, beef is not rare. In order to resume agricultural production in the Han Dynasty, it was forbidden to slaughter cattle privately. This law was also continued by the later Wang Dynasty. However, it needs to be clear that it is forbidden to slaughter cattle privately in previous dynasties, and it does not mean that beef cannot be eaten.
Cattle that die of natural aging, cows that have accidents, and all cows that can't continue to be farmed will be sent to the table.
Because of this, in ancient times, it was never said that beef could not be eaten, and eating beef would be punished. And because of this loophole, many rich people and dignitaries, when they want to eat beef, some cows will happen to coincide.
Naturally, compared with other meats, the output of ancient beef is limited, and it is really difficult to compare with mutton and pork. Before the Ming Dynasty, the main meat of China people was mutton, followed by pork.
During the Southern and Northern Dynasties, mutton became the most abundant meat and the mainstream of the Central Plains diet.
Until the Song Dynasty, people's love for mutton reached its peak. The Northern Song Dynasty imperial court ate more than 400,000 Jin of mutton every year, and there was a rule that "chefs should stop using mutton". Other meats are hard to compare with mutton.
In the Song Dynasty, the popular meat, pigs, sheep and beef continued the previous customs. People in the Song Dynasty still had a high preference for mutton, but the mutton in the Song Dynasty was not so cheap. The cheapest meat was pork that nobody wanted to eat at that time.
Rich people refuse to eat, and poor people don't know how to cook! Pork was in such a dilemma in the Song Dynasty.
Of course, the most common meat in the Song Dynasty was mutton, and taking beef as an example, it was of course forbidden to slaughter cattle privately in the Song Dynasty. However, in the Song Dynasty, the beef production was huge, and there were even records of making a fortune in the beef business in Zhejiang and Fujian. Of course, beef can be eaten.
Because mutton is expensive, pork is cheaper, and with the promotion of food bloggers such as Su Shi, pork gradually became popular from the middle and late Northern Song Dynasty and became more and more common, and gradually became the daily meat of the people in the Song Dynasty.
Almost all the meat that can be eaten now can be eaten in the Song Dynasty, and there is no difference.
If you walk into a shop in the Song Dynasty and ask for two Jin of meat, mutton is the first choice, followed by pork and beef. As for other chicken, duck and fish, there is usually no such thing as "cutting two Jin".
We often hear the phrase "Xiao Er, cut two Jin of meat" in ancient costume films, but the two Jin of meat in the population of Song Dynasty actually refers to beef. Cattle had a very high status in ancient society, so beef could not be eaten casually. Niu Geng technology began in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. At that time, the emergence of this technology was a very important reform, so cattle was an irreplaceable driving force for agricultural production.
Rulers of past dynasties have made a series of explicit provisions on the protection of cattle, and they are not allowed to slaughter at will, otherwise they will face punishment. Due to the development of modern science and technology, except some rural areas still use Niu Geng technology, most areas have replaced cattle with machinery.
Since cattle were so important in ancient society and protected by law, we can still see many scenes of eating beef in historical books or film and television dramas. For example, Water Margin, one of the four classical novels, first mentioned the leopard head Lin Chong. Lin Chong's wife was molested by Gao Qiu's son because of her beauty, and Lin Chong himself was framed by Gao Qiu and sent to Cangzhou by the court.
Being calculated by Lu Qian in Cangzhou, Lin Chong killed Lu Qian in a rage and decided to go to Liangshan overnight. It was snowing all the way, and the air conditioning was biting. Finally, I saw a pub. Lin Chong hurried into the shop, sat down and asked Xiao Er for a pot of wine, and ordered two Jin of cooked beef to rest.
On another occasion, Li Kui jy and Song Jiang, who are detestable and outspoken, went to a restaurant for dinner. When Xiao Er said that there was no beef, only mutton, Li Kui jy denounced it. "Wuzhong sheep is extremely expensive, and the price of meat is 900 yuan." It can be seen that although beef is scarce, mutton is actually more expensive.
One is that there are few places to raise sheep, and the other is that sheepskin can be used as raw materials for military supplies. As a neighbor of the Northern Song Dynasty, Liao also controlled sheep production. In such an environment, only dignitaries can afford mutton, which represents a high-quality life.
When Li Kui jy heard Xiao Er say this, he was ashamed of being fired. He will naturally denounce Xiao Er if he has a bad temper. Fortunately, Song Jiang is a peacemaker. They can afford mutton. Finally, Xiao Er brought two Jin of mutton. In addition, Lu, who had a bumpy road and drew his sword to help him, became a monk because he killed the town of Kansai to avoid disaster.
Lu once went to a pub and asked what wine and meat the second shop sold. Xiao er said that all the beef was sold out, leaving only some vegetarian dishes. As a result, Lu still smelled a smell of meat and followed it, only to find that there was a pot stewed with dog meat in the corner, so he wanted to drink half a piece of dog meat.
Then why can folk restaurants still sell beef? First, although killing cattle was forbidden in ancient society, there was no fasting. Those cows that die naturally or can't be used for breeding can't be stopped from entering the market. In order to meet the different tastes of customers, it is very common for restaurants to accept beef as a dish to help them attract business.
Second, in our modern life, we also advocate the declaration that "there is no killing without buying and selling". Although there was legal protection for cattle in ancient times, due to various factors, it could not be completely banned. Cowhide and beef tendon were also one of the raw materials of ancient armament supplies, so "illegal" slaughter was acquiesced by the imperial court to some extent.
Besides the beef and mutton mentioned above, what about other meats? In Song Dynasty, the catering industry was very developed. On the Qingming Festival, shops operating catering industry accounted for nearly half. Meat such as chicken, duck and fish can be bought and sold in restaurants to make delicious dishes.
And pork is also, "Huangzhou good pork, the price is as cheap as dirt. If you refuse to eat, the poor don't know how to cook. " Su Dongpo wrote this poem when he was relegated to Huangzhou, now huangpi district, Wuhan. The main idea is that Huangzhou has such good pork, and the price is very cheap. If the rich don't eat it, the poor can't do it.
So Dongpo meat, which we are familiar with now, appeared. Because of all kinds of condiments and ingredients, Dongpo meat is definitely much better than Su Dongpo in practice, but one thing has not changed, that is, "firewood can't afford to smoke", which means slow stew.
Since ancient times, the country is people-oriented, and food is the most important thing for the people. Whether it is beef, mutton, pork or other commonly eaten meat, it can meet the corresponding nutritional needs. In fact, due to the influence of living environment and traditional culture, beef is not widely eaten in China. But in some western countries, such as the United States, beef is an irreplaceable ingredient in life.
According to Dongpo Huangzhou pork, this meat is actually miscellaneous meat such as pork, mutton, dog meat and rabbit meat, but it can't be said!
The beef mentioned in the Water Margin was illegal at that time. Cattle must be cultivated and protected. Where can I buy beef in a general store?
There is also the saying of mutton, but now you can see the difference between mutton and pork. Mutton was used by the imperial court because of its high cost. You can imagine.
What about pork? At that time, it was regarded as low, but it was also meat, delicious, and only Dongpo knew it was delicious? And the cost is low and easy to get, so pork is available.
Dogs eat shit and were not respected at that time, so dog meat didn't serve! Therefore, dog meat is everywhere.
What about rabbit meat? Originally, hunting was a good animal, but it was too easy to get the word, and it was considered that the rabbit's mouth and tail were unlucky. Alas, there was no need to sacrifice, but it multiplied quickly and was domesticated, and some were [yeah] [yeah] [rose] [praise] [praise].
Mutton. In the Song Dynasty, especially in the Northern Song Dynasty, mutton was often eaten in the north, but "chickens and dolphins are peculiar smell".
It means "cut … the meat!"
In the Song Dynasty, only the upper class could enjoy beef, while the middle class generally ate mutton. The bottom class often eats "mutton powder", which is dog meat. There is almost no cost and no limit to keeping a dog. Lu Shenzhi sneaked down the mountain, ate and chewed, wrapped a dog leg and went back to the temple, which was a portrayal of folk life at that time.