Let’s Talk About Food---National Sheep Geography

China Food Geographic

Ai Ming

China Light Industry Press

January 2021

58.00 （CNY）

Ai Ming

Cai Aiming （birth name） graduated from Nankai University with a degree in Chinese Literature. He previously worked as a reporter for Xinhua News Agency， director of Xinhua News Agency Hong Kong Asia-Pacific Audio amp; Visual Center， director of China Association for Scientific Expedition， chief planner and producer of the TV documentary The Treasure of the Nation， and author of the novel Beijing Temptation， among other works.

China’s vast territory and abundant resources bred a huge population of sheep flocks， which gave rise to a long-standing sheep culture.

The ancient Chinese began branding many beautiful things with the imprint of the sheep way back in time. The Chinese character for “beauty” was originally conceived to describe the delicious and fatty properties of sheep. According to the ancient Chinese dictionary Shuowen Jiezi （Chinese reference books of the Eastern Han Dynasty）， “The character ‘beauty’ refers to the sweet and refreshing taste， with associative compounds of ‘sheep’ and ‘big’.” The worship of food is a source of aesthetic consciousness in the ancient Chinese. The traits of “goodness” and “righteousness” that the Chinese have always pursued also comprise the figure of “sheep” in their respective Chinese characters. The Book of Songs （the oldest collection of Chinese poetry） uses a lamb as a metaphor for a virtuous official. Sheep are known to flock together， hence sociability is an important characteristic of sheep. “Who says no sheep you’ve got？ You’ve three hundred in a flock.” The “masses” are born from this， which reflects the idiosyncratic characteristics of the Chinese nation and its people’s tendency to act as a collective whole. Dong Zhongshu， a great scholar in the Western Han Dynasty， also said： “Sheep are auspicious， thus they are used for auspicious rituals.”

Sheep have always been a good partner of mankind， not only serving as the main resource of livelihood and wealth for nomads but also as a symbol of prosperity among the farming society. They were also chosen by the ancestors of China as ritual offerings for worshiping their ancestors， and were conferred emotional significance by the people. For thousands of years， mutton played a paramount role in the everyday lives of the Chinese. Carefully processed in various ways， it has not only satisfied the taste buds of the ancient Chinese but also gradually became a cultural gene that permeated the spiritual world of every Chinese.

Sheep husbandry is a remarkably widespread practice in China， spanning from the vast grasslands and deserts in the north then south towards the North China Plain， the hills south of the Yangtze River， the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau， and even the subtropical Hainan Island.

According to literature records， the ancient Fuxi and Shennong tribes that were active in the Yellow River basin in 3000 BCE were tribes that were already known for taming dogs， sheep， and cattle.

China’s sheep farming industry was already very developed during the Shang （1600 BCE – 1046 BCE） and Zhou （1046 BCE – 256 BCE） dynasties. According to oracle bone divination records， 158 sheep were used as sacrifices at one time just because of a trivial incident of tinnitus， which is a great portrayal of the scale of sheep farming at that time.

In the pre-Qin period （221 BCE）， eating mutton became a manifestation of noble status， a privilege that only aristocrats and nobles could enjoy. After the unification of China in the Qin Dynasty， the productivity of society began to develop， and the price of mutton gradually declined with the increase of production.

During the Northern and Southern Dynasties （420 CE – 589 CE）， a vast number of ethnic minorities entered the Central Plains due to their substantial loss of population and arable land during wars， and mutton managed to become an everyday dish on everyone’s dining table.

According to the per capita slaughter volume， the regions with the most sheep in China are Inner Mongolia， Xinjiang， Tibet， Qinghai， and Ningxia， leaving the succeeding provinces of Hebei， Shandong， and Guizhou very far behind.

There are countless species of what are generally referred to as “sheep” in China， including the common sheep， goats， Mongolian gazelles， antelopes， bharals， and argalis， among others. Nevertheless， the principal lineages are still divided into two categories： sheep and goats. China’s sheep belong to three major systems： Mongolian sheep， Kazakh sheep， and Tibetan sheep. Goats are more distributed in the Huang-Huai-Hai region. Although sheep and goats share the same name “yang” in Chinese， they are animals of the same family but different genera， and they cannot mate to reproduce.

In the eyes of seasoned diners， chevon tastes rough and is generally considered far less tender than sheep meat. Nonetheless， the overall view is surprisingly consistent as to where the best sheep come from： as counterintuitive as it may sound， the best sheep are not the ones reared in grasslands with lush water and pasture. In fact， the more abundant the grass and water resources， the poorer the flavor of sheep meat， generally speaking. Thus， the best-flavored sheep are often reared in semi-arid grasslands.

In Inner Mongolia， the Xilingol League sheep have earned themselves a great reputation， but within the League， the Sonid sheep in the northwest are particularly famous. Among the Sonid sheep， West Sonid （Right Banner） sheep are slightly superior because the region is endowed with better desertification and Gobi steppe landforms compared to East Sonid （Left Banner）， while the latter neighbors Abag Banner， approaching the Hulun Buir prairie with lush pasture and pleasant scenery， makes the flavor of its sheep slightly disappointing.

It is generally believed by the natives of Xinjiang that sheep from southern Xinjiang are more delicious than those in the Altay Prefecture of northern Xinjiang and the grasslands on the northern slope of the Tian Shan Mountains. This is probably because of the big difference in the amount of rainfall between the north and south regions of the Tian Shan Mountains. Water vapor from the Arctic Ocean enters the mountain grasslands in northern Xinjiang， making its rainfall comparable to that of eastern Inner Mongolia， whereas the Tarim Basin surrounded by high mountains is the driest area. Multiple influences of climate， landform， and other factors have given rise to the different species and flavors of sheep. For instance， Ningxia Tan sheep， widely regarded as the tastiest sheep in China， also happen to live in an extremely dry and semi-arid area.

In the harsh semi-arid Gobi region， sheep need to store more energy， and this often results in lower water content and higher dry matter， giving their meat more flavor. In comparison， sheep reared in pasture-rich and water-rich regions have plenty of food available， and the sheep see no need to store energy， thus resulting in a lower content of flavor substances， hence the poorer rating in terms of their flavor.