As we all know, China was a farming civilization in ancient times. Cattle play an important role in agricultural production and are irreplaceable productivity tools. In ancient times, there were no beef cattle specially raised for food, and all cattle were used for farming. As early as the Han Dynasty, the imperial court issued relevant decrees and imposed heavy penalties on those who slaughtered cattle without permission. Therefore, it was obviously very difficult to eat beef in ancient times.
However, for those Liangshan heroes who are willing to hate each other in the Water Margin, it is definitely impossible without beef. For example, in the restaurant under Jingyanggang, Song Wu asked the bartender for two or three Jin of cooked beef to eat wine at one breath. I still want these two or three catties of beef, and I still want two catties. I ate four or five catties of beef and drank eighteen bowls of white wine in one meal, which was really out of reach. In this way, after satiated with food and drink, I left a beautiful talk of "Song Wu hits the tiger" in Jingyanggang.
In fact, whether it is a classical novel like Water Margin or a martial arts novel like Dragon Eight Branches, beef is essential for the chivalrous people who walk in the Jianghu in the book, and it is also a means to show their heroic identity. If Song Wu comes to Jingyanggang and asks the bartender to bring two Jin of fat pork, it is really chivalrous. For example, Qiao Feng, also from the Song Dynasty, ordered beef every time he entered a restaurant. He has never seen him order pork in a restaurant.
Beef appears many times in Water Margin, and Liangshan heroes entertain guests with beef. For example, Ruan Xiaoer and Ruan invited Wu Yong to dinner and bought 20 Jin of cooked beef casually. Besides, Lin Chong ate cooked beef in Zhu Gui's shop, and Song Jiang ate cooked beef in Li Li's shop. So, was this beef really so delicious in the Song Dynasty? I'm afraid this is not the case. At least in restaurants in Jiangzhou city, no matter how much money you have and how big your fist is, you can't eat beef.
In Chapter 38 of Water Margin, after Song Jiang, Li Kui jy and Dai Zhong made friends, the three of them went to a restaurant to eat wine. Li Kui jy and others want to eat beef, but the bartender won't buy it. He only replied, "Little people only sell mutton here, but there is no beef. There are all kinds of fat sheep. " Li Kui jy has a bad temper. As soon as he heard that there was no beef, he would teach the bartender a lesson on the spot. But even if Li Kui jy's fist is big, there is no beef in the shop, and the bartender can't help it. Finally, cooked mutton for Song Jiang. As a result, these two catties of mutton were soon eaten by Li Kui jy.
Seeing this, many people may find it strange. Why can the Ruan brothers buy 20 Jin of beef when they invite Wu Yong to dinner? Song Wu ate three Jin of beef in Jingyanggang, but in the more prosperous Jiangzhou, Song Jiang and others could not buy cooked beef. Supposedly, the more prosperous the place, shouldn't you eat more beef? Why do all the barren hills and wild shops sell beef, but only mutton can be bought in such a big Jiangzhou city? Author Shi Naian wrote this because it has another meaning.
In Water Margin, the places where Liangshan heroes can eat beef are basically rural wild shops located in the wild. Of course, beef can be bought in these remote places because there is no government jurisdiction. In a big city like Jiangzhou, it is basically impossible to buy beef in Jiangzhou, because the government has very strict management of cattle, and it is also clearly stipulated in the criminal law of Song Dynasty that the person who slaughters cattle is "only one and a half years old".
Since beef was not allowed in Song Dynasty, why did Liangshan heroes eat beef? This is related to the identity of Liangshan heroes. Because these Liangshan heroes are against the court, the more the court refuses to eat beef, the Liangshan heroes insist on having a good time, which belongs to an artistic process.
In fact, if you read Water Margin carefully, you will find that all the "beef" eaten by Liangshan heroes is not necessarily beef. For example, in Chapter 27 of Water Margin, when Song Wu and his guards entered the joint shop in Sun Erniang, they were knocked unconscious by Sun Erniang with antiperspirant. Later, Sun Erniang said a classic sentence: "This big bird will tease my mother, who is fat enough to sell beef. Those two skinny Man Zi people had to sell buffalo. " It can also be seen from here that Beef written by Shi Naian is also a work with hidden mystery.