| The Song Dynasty is an important stage in the economic development of China’s ancient animal husbandry.The poultry industry,being an important branch of animal husbandry,is flourish. For a long time, historians pay little attention to chickens, ducks, geese and other poultry. In order to make up for the lack of research in the animal husbandry, I regard the poultry of the Song Dynasty as a research object of this paper.In the Song Dynasty, the poultry industry is prospered.Chicken has became the widespread poultry in the civil family, duck and goose are fed mainly in the south. In the Jiang nan area, where the weather is humid and lakes and ponds are numerous,which contributes to feeding duck and goose and other poultry. And the farmers breed duck and goose vigorously,and large scale of breeding specialized households emerges. Duck and goose breeding is on track to professionalization and commercialization, and become one of the important source of household income. Increasingly developed poultry industry can not only provide meat, eggs and other nutritious food for people, but also bring many benefits for the Song Dynasty. With the development of the poultry industry, the ancients accumulate a wealth of experience in breeding.In the Song Dynasty,China’s poultry breeding technology has creative development. People in the Song Dynasty know more about cross breeding which benefits from the experience of predecessors. As well,they invent artificial incubation technique and artificial moulting technique.The artificial incubation is a leap in the history of China’s poultry.Consumption is an important part of social reproduction,which plays an important role in contributing to the promotion of social production. Researching on consumption issues, which is propitious to study people’s living standards; On the other hand,it will help us to correctly understand the important role of the consumption in the social and economic life. The Song Dynasty is the second peak in economic development of ancient China, which mainly reflects in the economic prosperity of the city and the development of rural towns.And people’s consumption of meat, including poultry products, which is increasing in the proportion of daily life.And Cooking skills in the Song Dynasty has matured,then the poultry food is made into all kinds of meat and poultry dishes, which greatly enriched people’s diet of the Song Dynasty. However, the delicious food can only be enjoyed by dignitaries and the rich. And their consumption of poultry food is considerable. The literati is fond of enjoying chicken and drinking. By contrast, the poor people regards poultry as hospitality delicacies, who is even unable to enjoy in daily life. In addition, the poultry is closely linked to certain holidays, life etiquette,public entertainment and ritual divination,Which has a major impact on the Song Dynasty. Meanwhile, the Song Dynasty people also have some knowledge of the poultry’s value in tonic and medicinal. |
