Mutton Consumption in the Tang and Song Dynasties From the Perspective of Sheep Resources
In ancient times the sheep resources of our country spread from the western nomadic areas to the east and gradu-ally entered the agricultural social life.The names of sheep breeds in the Han and Tang Dynasties were complicated and varied,which reflected the preliminary division and understanding change of wild sheep and domesticated sheep in the early period.In the Middle Tang Dynasty,the names"Hexi sheep"and"Hedong sheep"showing the place of origin appeared in the society,re-gardless of the sheep breeds.The meat consumption characteristics of sheep products in agricultural society were increasingly prominent.In the Northern Song Dynasty,the usage of"Hu sheep"and"Khitan sheep"from both the perspective of sheep origin and consumption in the Central Plains became more common.Especially after the reign of Emperor Renzong,a large number of Khitan sheep moved south,and the sheep trading activities became more and more prosperous from the area of capital to the Jingdong Xilu administrative region along the Yellow River basin.During the reign of Emperor Shenzong,"Hu sheep"was sought after by people because of its special origin,and"Khitan sheep"went deep into the Central Plains because of the large supply and demand.Therefore,the trend of eating mutton was not only popular in the life of the upper class in the Northern Song Dy-nasty,but also greatly affected the common people's understanding and utilization of sheep products.The medicinal use of"Khi-tan sheep"(white sheep)began to be significantly recognized and promoted.In the Southern Song Dynasty,although the sheep resources were restricted by the geographical environment,the concept of eating mutton preserved by the northern people who migrated south still continued with the localization and refined consumption of sheep products in the south.
sheep resourcesthe Tang and Song Dynastiesmutton consumption