Interesting that you'd attribute the decline of beef eating to Buddhism in the Song, which od course saw a resurgence of Confucianism after the much more Buddhist Tang
The popution boom, increased land-labour pressures, and increased value of cattle as working animals seem to me obvious causal influences. Of course, they're not mutually exclusive, and indeed material conditions influence ideological superstructure
Thank you Xiaoyuan! Yes, there are many factors in the lack of beef eating (or at least the prevalence of the discourse of not eating beef), and all the dynamics you mention are relevant here. At the time of our conversation we were mainly concerned with the socio-cultural and religious dimensions, which is why we focused on these aspects. But yes, the picture is far more complicated. Thanks for your very useful comment!
Interesting that you'd attribute the decline of beef eating to Buddhism in the Song, which od course saw a resurgence of Confucianism after the much more Buddhist Tang
The popution boom, increased land-labour pressures, and increased value of cattle as working animals seem to me obvious causal influences. Of course, they're not mutually exclusive, and indeed material conditions influence ideological superstructure
Thank you Xiaoyuan! Yes, there are many factors in the lack of beef eating (or at least the prevalence of the discourse of not eating beef), and all the dynamics you mention are relevant here. At the time of our conversation we were mainly concerned with the socio-cultural and religious dimensions, which is why we focused on these aspects. But yes, the picture is far more complicated. Thanks for your very useful comment!