The most direct way to understand the ancients is to read their works. Many people yearn to go back to ancient times and live a life of cooking sheep and slaughtering cattle and drinking with friends like Li Bai, but don't think too well. Who is Li Bai? He is a great poet who has been praised by people for 1000 years. No matter how unhappy his life is, he also married the daughter of the prime minister and lived a luxurious life.
In ancient times, civilians were not ineligible to eat and drink like this. The most difficult environment is the Paleolithic Age. At that time, people didn't know how to make a fire with diamonds, and lived a life of eating fur and blood. At that time, eating did not belong to the cultural category, and it was entirely for survival.
Then, with historical records and written records, will the diet of the poor change? Ancient people were divided into three classes, paying attention to poetry, books, rituals and music. At the same time, they have a special culture in costumes, sacrifices and travel. Of course, eating is no exception, not everything can be eaten by the poor, let alone.
It is recorded in the Book of Rites: "Governors don't kill cows for no reason, doctors don't kill sheep for no reason, scholars don't kill dogs for no reason, and Shu Ren doesn't eat treasures for no reason." So it was not easy to eat a meal of meat in ancient times. Even princes can't kill cattle for no reason. In the history and culture of China, cattle are the most important labor force, which is only used when the emperor sacrifices.
So why can't mutton be eaten casually? Both "goodness" and "beauty" belong to the "sheep" family, and China's traditional virtue "truth, goodness and beauty" is also related to sheep. In Shuo Wen Jie Zi, "Sheep are beautiful" is simple and kind. There is also a saying: "Sheep have the grace to kneel down, and crows have the intention to feed back", so mutton can't be eaten casually.
In the pre-Qin period, cattle and sheep were always valuable, so it was very rare to eat beef and mutton. In the Ming and Qing dynasties, pork finally began to reverse. Ming Chengzu, surnamed Zhu, once saw people killing pigs at home during the Chinese New Year, and when he heard the cries of pigs, he was not allowed to kill pigs. Although this imperial edict was finally abolished, we can only eat pork in ordinary people's homes during the New Year. The word "home" means that there is a "pig" at home, so pork is not generally available.
Cattle, sheep and pigs can't eat at ordinary times, so what can they eat? Chickens, ducks and geese, in the Tang Dynasty when the people were rich, these foods could still be eaten by the people, because at that time, it could be said that every family had surplus food. Because of wealth, there has also been an aesthetic trend of taking fat as beauty, but in other times, not to mention eating meat or even vegetarian food is not delicious.
During the Warring States period, the main food was radish. In the era of low grain yield, once the harvest is not good, people can only eat wild vegetables. Bracken has become one of the most popular vegetables. When there are a lot of bracken, people will pick it, dry it, store it and turn it into winter food. By the Han dynasty, food was a little richer, and bean products such as tofu were available.
By the Han Dynasty, the Silk Road was opened and crops began to be gradually enriched, but it was not long before the road was invaded by Xiongnu, which was difficult to manage and finally blocked. In the Tang dynasty, the country opened to the outside world, and at that time, cucumbers, lentils and other foods were introduced. Later, more and more food can be planted.
However, is there something to eat? The most important thing in cooking is oil and salt. In ancient times, salt was official salt, which was expensive. A family that can put salt at will when cooking must be rich. If they were born in poverty, it would be very good to drink porridge in peacetime and then eat some sweet potatoes. If you lived in ancient times and ate these at every meal, you might not live for a day.
There are 10 levels of diet, namely, "having a full stomach, gluttony, gathering, feasting, keeping in good health, relieving cravings, foraging, hooking up, dating and drinking alone", among which drinking alone is the highest level, and Li Bai, who was born 70 1 years ago, once wrote Drinking Alone with the Moon. But the ancients basically stayed in the realm of "eating". Don't look at all the feasts in the TV series, drinking and eating meat basically has nothing to do with the poor.