"I'm a Muslim, I don't eat pork!"
If you have Muslim friends around you, I believe you must have heard this sentence.
There are 56 ethnic groups in China, each with its own unique food culture.
But what many people wonder is that the Hui don't eat pork, the Tibetans don't eat fish, and the Manchus don't eat dog meat, so what about the Han people, is there any meat that they don't eat?
In fact, historically, the Han people also had their own meat that they did not eat.
The Hui do not eat pork: it originates from the doctrine and permeates life
The consumption of pork is clearly forbidden in the Quran, the classic work of Islam.
In the second chapter of the Qur'an, "The Herd", it is written:
"O you who have faith, I have laid down a clear law for you that you are only allowed to eat animals that are allowed to be slaughtered in the name of Allah, but you are not allowed to eat dead animals, bleeding animals, pork and all other food that is not sacrificed in the name of Allah."
According to the Qur'an, pigs are unclean creatures that live in dirty and messy conditions, eat disgustingly, and eat all kinds of filth with relish.
If a person eats pork, then he will be infected by its laziness and stupidity, which is contrary to the purity and nobility required by the doctrine.
This is also an important religious basis for the Hui people, as descendants of Muslims, to maintain the custom of not eating pork.
And about the origin of the Hui ancestors and pigs, there is also a story.
Legend has it that in ancient times, a group of ancestors of the Hui people fled in defeat when fighting the enemy, and they were chased by the enemy in the mountains and forests when they were hungry.
At this time, a sow suddenly appeared and let several Hui warriors hide in the cave where it lived.
The sow guarded the entrance to the cave and blocked it with her body, so that the enemy who was following her would return in vain.
After this, the Hui survived and are grateful to the pig for saving their life.
In order to repay this kindness of humans and animals, they vowed not to eat pork from then on.
Of course, this statement is only circulated among the people and does not correspond to the teachings of the Qur'an.
But it also shows the national virtue of the Hui people to be grateful and repay their gratitude from the other side.
There is also an opinion that the prohibition of eating pork is, to a certain extent, the survival wisdom of the ancient Hui people.
Central Asia is dry and rainless, and the Hui people live a nomadic life, and living resources are very scarce.
You know, raising pigs requires a lot of feed and water, and cooking pork requires a lot of firewood, which is incompatible with nomadic life.
What's more, eating pork raw is highly susceptible to a variety of parasitic diseases, which cannot be treated in a timely manner in a nomadic life.
In contrast, eating raw or semi-raw beef and mutton is much less risky for their living environment.
Therefore, for health reasons, the Hui people have also formed the habit of not eating pork, and this has become an important background for the Qur'an to prohibit the eating of pork.
Although so many years have passed, the custom of not eating pork among the Hui people still continues, and many Hui restaurants will specifically emphasize "no pork inside" at the door to show respect for the teachings.
Tibetans don't eat fish
Fish occupies an awkward position in the Tibetan food culture.
You must know that Tibet is very rich in freshwater fish resources, and the ancient Tibetans also used to make a living from fishing.
It is recorded that there were already signs of human activity in Tibet during the Neolithic period 7,000 years ago, and experts have found fish bones left behind after people ate fish in some archaeological excavations.
That is to say, in the early days, the ancestors of the Tibetans did not avoid fish.
Not only that, but during the glorious period of the Tibetan Dynasty, some documents also mention the scene of Tibetans eating fish.
For example, the "Biography of Zampu", which was written around 630 AD, records the scene of the Tibetan nobles' penchant for fish soup.
So, when did Tibetans stop eating fish?
According to the literature, after about the 11th century, the custom of avoiding fish gradually developed in Tibetan areas.
Tibet's lakes and rivers are home to more than 150 species of fish, which were undoubtedly one of the most important food sources for the Tibetan ancestors.
However, among these fish, there is a fish called schizophrenia, which is highly toxic and can cause symptoms such as enteritis and stomach pain if eaten.
This fish grows in plateau lakes and looks similar to many freshwater fish, and the ancient Tibetans did not understand its harm, and there have been many serious cases of digestive poisoning due to the accidental consumption of schizophrenia.
It is said that every summer and autumn, the number of Tibetans who eat schizophrenia poisoning increases significantly, which leads to a deep fear and taboo of Tibetans eating fish.
Even though modern humans have mastered the methods of identifying and handling schizophrenic fish, Tibetans' fear of fish is deeply ingrained.
Not only that, but there is also a theory of the influence of religious culture.
Since the introduction of Buddhism to Tibet by the Tibetan King Songtsen Gampo in the 8th century, Tibetan Buddhism has spread widely in Tibetan areas and has had a profound impact on the daily lives of Tibetans.
Among them, the Buddhist concept of "not killing" has also influenced the dietary choices of Tibetans.
Buddhism believes that a female fish can give birth to thousands of fish eggs in its belly, and eating one female fish is equivalent to killing countless animals at once.
In contrast, slaughtering an adult cow is just one killing.
Therefore, for the sake of Buddhism, Tibetans choose to avoid eating fish and meat, and reduce the number of killings as much as possible, so as to reduce the accumulation of karma.
During the Tibetan New Year, the temple will hold a ceremony to release fish, and the lama will chant sutras, which has become an important tradition of Tibetan Buddhism.
Besides, there is a custom of throwing water into the water in Tibetan areas.
When many Tibetans die, their bodies are thrown into rivers or lakes to be devoured by fish, which is seen as a way to transcend the dead.
In this context, Tibetans believe that eating fish is equivalent to eating their ancestors, so they dare not touch fish.
The Manchus do not eat dog meat
The Manchus originated in the northeast, where the climate was harsh and most of the time was icy and snowy.
In order to adapt to the environment, the Manchus lived a life based on fishing and hunting.
In such a state of existence, dogs are not only friends for the Manchus, but also indispensable and important companions.
It is said that every time they go hunting, the Manchu hunters will bring at least three or five dogs, and these intelligent dogs can help the hunters to spot the traces of wild beasts, track the prey with their keen sense of smell, and besiege and hunt.
With the help of dogs, hunters can get twice the result with half the effort and greatly improve the efficiency of hunting, so the Manchus regard dogs as their eyes and helpers in the wilderness, and without the help of dogs, hunting will be very difficult.
It can be said that whether the Manchus can eat enough depends on these hard-working dogs.
Even at home, dogs are good helpers for the Manchus, and wild animals are infested in Manchu areas, and dogs can protect the safety of their families.
Due to the importance of dogs in the survival of the Manchus, the Manchus were naturally reluctant to eat these dogs that served the family, not only that, but the Manchus also circulated a legend about the savior of the yellow dog, which also became an important source for the Manchus not to eat dog meat.
Legend has it that when the Manchu leader Nurhachi was a young man, he had an uncle named Long Dun, who was sinister and treacherous, and always wanted to kill Nurhachi and seize his position.
One day, when Nurhachi returned from hunting with his army, Longdun held a banquet to celebrate, deliberately indulging Nurhachi.
While Nurhachi was drunk and asleep, Rondon took up arms and tried to take advantage of the opportunity to murder Nurhachi.
However, a yellow dog beside Nurhachi sensed Longdun's bad intentions and barked loudly to wake up the sleeping Nurhachi, but the owner was too drunk to wake up.
So, the faithful yellow dog rushed up to fight Longdun and protected his master with his own life.
This experience made Nurhachi see the true face of Longdun, and he was moved by the spirit of the yellow dog to sacrifice his life for righteousness, so he ordered the Manchus not to eat dog meat.
So, do we Han people also have meat that we don't eat?
What kind of meat do Han people don't eat?
In ancient times, there was indeed one kind of meat that the Han people could not eat, and that was beef.
The reason why I didn't eat beef was not because I felt that beef was not tasty or that there were any religious taboos, but because it was completely determined by the social situation at the time.
In ancient times, China was mainly founded on agriculture, and it relied on manpower and cattle power to grow food.
Cattle are the most important agricultural labor, and farmers cannot complete the cultivation without the help of cattle.
Therefore, a farmer with cattle and a farmer without cattle will have a big difference in the harvest of a year, and it can be said that cattle are directly related to people's food and clothing and social stability.
In order to develop agriculture, successive imperial courts attached great importance to the number of cattle.
There is an old saying that "princes do not kill cattle for no reason", which means that even the ruling class cannot slaughter cattle at will.
It is recorded that as early as the Shang and Zhou dynasties, people used cow bones for divination, which reflects the important position of cattle.
In the Tang Dynasty, the law directly stipulated that killing a cow without permission would only be sentenced to two and a half years in prison, and in some places there were statues of bullsheads and human bodies to worship.
In this social context, ordinary people did not dare to violate the ban of the imperial court to slaughter cattle privately, even if the cow died of old age, they did not dare to eat its meat.
Over time, not eating beef has become a folk custom, and there is even a saying of "bull ring", thinking that eating beef will be punished by God.
If the Hui people did not eat pork because of their pursuit of religious beliefs, then the Han people did not eat beef because of the needs of the social situation at that time.