The main label of modern society is the development of science and technology, and even the more traditional economic model of arable land is also done by some large agricultural machinery. Therefore, it is not an easy task to see the figure of cultivating cattle in the city. I'm afraid I can only go to some of the larger zoos.
As a large mammal, the important historical value and role it carries in the ancient history of China and even the world cannot be clearly explained in three words. Especially in China, which uses agricultural civilization as the carrier, "cattle" have become an inseparable part of agricultural civilization.
From the pre-Qin period to modern society, the "cow", an animal that contains both historical significance and the spirit of hard-working and hard-working, has never left the stage of Chinese history. Especially in the role played in ancient society, it is no exaggeration to say that without "cattle", there would be no status as China's agricultural power.
Therefore, from this point of view, the ancient people's worship of cattle and the top-down attitude towards cattle are actually far beyond everyone's imagination. Therefore, in ancient times, even if the people's customs were extravagant, they did not dare to slaughter cultivated cattle easily, let alone eat beef.
The important role of "cattle" in the "farming civilization" of ancient China
1. The close relationship between cultivating cattle and ancient agriculture
As an important symbol and carrier of China's agricultural civilization, cultivating cattle began with Shennong's "tasting of hundreds of grasses" and the knowledge of "five grains" and "qi qi".
According to legend, in the process of tasting hundreds of herbs, the Shennong clan identified "rice, millet, millet, wheat, and millet". At the same time, the natural law of "five grains", which can grow every other year after entering the ground, has also been discovered.
So he invented the first wooden agricultural tool in ancient history, "Qianyun", and when people used this agricultural tool to cultivate the land, they found that not only the labor efficiency was particularly high, but also the harvest obtained in the second year was also particularly good. At this point, the rudiments of ancient farming culture have emerged, and people's quality of life has also been guaranteed.
With the continuous improvement and progress of productive forces, ancient Chinese culture has also been fully developed. On the basis of the agricultural technology invented by Shennong, people have finally formed a very distinctive ancient Chinese farming civilization based on land and agricultural technology.
The author believes that farming technology and the development of productive forces complement each other. When the "five grains" first grew out of the land, and when the "grains" began to participate in farming, the ancients enjoyed the benefits of the development of productive forces. With the continuous development and advancement of society, the embodiment of the development of productive forces in farming has become more and more obvious.
When the level of productivity has developed to a certain extent, the form of farming that relies solely on human resources can no longer meet the needs of social development.
At this time, there is an urgent need for an alternative to manpower farming technology, which actually lays a very solid foundation for "cultivating cattle" to participate in farming.
2. The emergence of iron agricultural tools has promoted the development of "cattle farming technology"
Iron agricultural tools were invented during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, and the "iron plough" and the ploughing cattle have since been combined into one, making indelible contributions to the development of ancient agriculture.
In particular, after the Shang martingale transformation method, the Qin state began to widely use "cattle farming" instead of manpower, indicating that cattle cultivation has become the main support of ancient agriculture.
The emergence of "cattle farming technology" based on cattle cultivation in the Western Han Dynasty not only reflected the trend of ancient farming civilization to develop to a more mature and higher level, but also a huge leap in agricultural production technology. At the same time, it also marks that the ancient level of farming has reached a new height.
At this time, as the main body of "cattle farming technology", cattle farming has become the protagonist of the development of social agriculture at that time, and even in the agricultural history of more than 3,000 years in the future.
The author believes that in fact, from the beginning of the concept of cultivated land, it has laid an important foreshadowing for the emergence of cultivated cattle. So from this point of view, the status of "cattle" in agricultural society is even higher than that of people.
The important position of "cattle" in ancient societies
1. The Qin State legislates to protect cultivated cattle
From an objective point of view, "cattle farming technology" actually did not originate in the Western Han Dynasty.
However, the productive forces in the Western Han Dynasty developed by leaps and bounds, so the "cattle farming technology" reached a peak at this time. If we look at the roots, "farming with cattle" originated from the Qiangqin at the end of the Warring States period.
After Qin Xiaogong appointed Shangmartin to carry out drastic reforms, it not only made the originally backward Qin state a latecomer, but also accelerated the development of ancient agricultural technology to a certain extent, of which the common use of "cattle farming" is a qualitative leap. Not only has it changed the history of ploughing the fields with horses, but it has also enhanced the important position of "cattle" in agricultural production to a certain extent.
"Cattle farming" is not only a concrete manifestation of the importance attached by the Qin state to agriculture, but also has legislation: "Horse thieves die, and cattle thieves are added." ”
This shows that the status of cultivating cattle at the end of the Warring States period has been improved by leaps and bounds. And in agricultural production and daily life, it has completely surpassed the status of "horses".
2. The Book of Rites: "The Princes Do Not Kill Cattle for No Reason"
Imagine that the crime of stealing cattle is included in the law, let alone the slaughter of cattle without permission. Moreover, the Book of Rites also established the penal law that "princes do not kill cattle without reason". Even the nobles and princes living at the top of society could not slaughter cattle for no reason, let alone ordinary people living in the people.
Although the Zhou Dynasty used "horse animals" and "cattle animals" as sacrifices in some large-scale sacrifice scenes. But in addition, neither the heavenly sons, nor the princes nor the commoners could kill cattle or eat beef for no reason.
Otherwise, you will be punished by the corresponding laws. Serious cases can even be punished with capital punishment.
In particular, if ordinary people dare to risk the world to kill cattle, it is not as simple as being punished. Serious ones may even be considered to have the intention of stealing the country. Once discovered or denounced, not only will they die, but they will also affect the entire family and go to jail.
In the Two Han Dynasties, no matter what class of people, if they killed cattle at will, they would "take their lives to their deaths."
That is to say, during the Han Dynasty, the life of the cow was more expensive than the life of the human. During the Sui and Tang dynasties, a cow was sentenced to at least one year in prison, and if two or more cattle were killed, the head of the head would be cut off with a knife.
During the Song Dynasty, "cattle killers for no reason were punished with three years of hard labor."
Cattle killers not only had to do three years of heavy physical work for the imperial court, but even had to be punished by other aspects according to the severity of the circumstances; in the Yuan Dynasty, although the cost of killing cattle was reduced, they would also be "punished with a hundred rods".
During the Ming and Qing dynasties, with the gradual increase in productivity, the number of cultivated cattle also increased. Therefore, cattle that die of exhaustion or illness can be allowed to be eaten by the people. But the premise is that the vigorous cattle cannot be killed, otherwise they will also be punished by law. Although the degree of punishment or sanction has decreased, it also reflects the important value of cattle in production and life.
3. It was more difficult for the ancients to eat beef than to ascend to heaven
Through these historical records, I believe that everyone has understood the importance of cattle in ancient society. Almost all other dynasties, except the Zhou Dynasty, once legislated to protect cultivated cattle. Under such a severe criminal law, as long as the head is not short-circuited, I believe that no one will risk going to jail and killing the head to kill the cow.
From this point of view, not only was "cattle" a rarity in ancient societies, but even beef was a scarce resource. As the main labor force for cultivating the land, neither the upper ruling class nor the lower classes will easily or casually slaughter the cattle.
Under the influence of this premise, it was even more difficult for ancient people to eat beef than to ascend to heaven.
Because the nobles and princes could not easily eat beef, as ordinary people in the society at that time, it was even more impossible to taste the taste of beef. Therefore, it is not difficult for ancient people to "drink from a big bowl", but if you want to eat beef in a big mouth, you should touch your head first.
The plot of "eating beef" described in "Water Margin" can only be a dream of nothingness
1. The "beef complex" in "Water Margin" does not exist in real life
The first vernacular text in Chinese history, the novel "Water Margin", has many bridge sections depicting the good men of Liangshan drinking wine and eating meat. Could people who lived during the Northern Song Dynasty really be able to eat beef every day? If everyone really believes in Shi Nai'an, and the words and sentences in his writing are true, then you can only say that you do not understand history.
In the "Water Margin", about the Northern Song Dynasty people eating beef, there was such a description: "The store cut a plate of cooked beef, scalded a pot of hot wine, and invited Lin Chong to eat." I bought some beef myself and ate a few more cups. So he bought another gourd wine, wrapped the two pieces of beef, and left the broken silver...".
The good man of Liangshan eats cooked beef while drinking warm wine, which is both pleasant and comfortable. And such a description is also completely in line with the personal temperament of good men. But during the Northern Song Dynasty, not only was the slaughter of cultivated cattle still prohibited. Moreover, as long as officials and private officials slaughter cattle cultivating the fields at will, they will be punished with three years of hard labor.
As another unified empire established by the Han people, the Northern Song Dynasty, no matter how clear the politics and how economically developed, are actually inseparable from the basic attributes of agricultural statehood. Since agriculture was an important support for the politics of the Northern Song Dynasty, how could the government allow the people to slaughter and eat beef without permission?
2. The subjective and objective reasons for the prohibition of cattle slaughter in successive dynasties
The author believes that one of the main reasons why all the dynasties and dynasties in history have vigorously opposed the slaughter of cultivated cattle is to protect the productive forces.
Because cattle, as the main labor force in ancient farming, once slaughtered, not only greatly reduced productivity, but also directly affected food production.
As the main livestock that assists farmers in cultivating land, although it cannot be compared with modern cultivated land machinery, it has played a very important role in ancient society. It is no exaggeration to say that if ancient societies did not have "cattle farming technology", presumably productivity would have lagged behind by at least a thousand years.
As the main tool of production and life, cultivating cattle is not only the carrier of Chinese farming culture, but also one of the important opportunities for ancient rulers to ensure dynastic rule. Because the role of cultivating cattle in farming is not only to ensure the production of farmers, but also to ensure the normal payment of taxes and grain.
The author believes that one of the most important reasons why it was not allowed to slaughter cattle or eat beef without permission in ancient times was that eating cattle would affect productivity, and the decline in productivity would affect taxation, and ultimately affect the stability of the entire country.
Conclusion
Cultivating cattle as an important carrier of ancient agricultural civilization, as well as a political chip for dynastic rule. The role played and the important contribution made are actually completely beyond the imagination of ordinary people. In fact, it is not possible to slaughter cultivated cattle innocently, and its profound meaning lies in the fact that it is necessary to move the whole body with one hair.
And the ploughing cattle are the fuse, once the cattle are slaughtered and become the common food on people's tables. It will not only seriously affect the development of the productive forces of ancient society, but also shake the foundation of the ruler's rule. Based on these factors, ancient people did not eat beef.
But there will be exceptions to everything, and although the state explicitly prohibits the slaughter of cattle, nobility, princes, or common people can eat beef at will. But there will still be some bold people who will risk going to jail or being killed, secretly trying to make things more painful for a while.
【Reference】
Yang Jintao's "Ancient Prohibition of Killing Cattle, How Can a Good Man in Liangshan Cook Beef?" 》
Wang Yao, "It is not uncommon for song people to eat beef"
Guo Huayue, "Ancient Beef"