The Beef Taboo in China: Agriculture, Ethics, Sacrifice

Praise for the French edition

“It will no longer be possible to discuss Chinese civilization without referring to this work, the foundation for a new vision of culture and religiosity in China. Scholars working on the comparative social role of food culture will also find something to draw on here.” —Archives de sciences sociales des religion

“This book repays careful reading on many counts, including its ambitious scope, its wealth of vivifying detail, and its judicious analysis. . . . [It] should be required reading for all those interested in traditional Chinese society and culture and their modern transformations, as well as those concerned with the history of food taboos in different contexts. They will be richly rewarded.” —Journal of Song-Yuan Studies

The Beef Taboo in China explains how and why, around the turn of the second millennium, the Chinese determined that cattle should not be slaughtered or eaten. This taboo remained prevalent until the beginning of the twentieth century and is still observed by some today. Goossaert situates this prohibition within evolving Chinese attitudes toward animals and meat and juxtaposes the taboo with vegetarianism and other forms of meat ethics. He argues that the emergence of this specific practice must be understood in several contexts, notably a new agricultural economy and ecology in early modern times that protected plow cattle and marginalized pastures; a sacrificial reform that eliminated beef as the standard offering to gods and spirits; and the development of Daoist rituals, cults, and moral theology that tabooed beef and made this observance a linchpin of Chinese civilization.

• Vincent Goossaert, Author

  Vincent Goossaert is professor of Daoism and Chinese religions at École Pratique des Hautes Études - PSL.

• Barbara R. Ambros, Translator

  Barbara R. Ambros is professor of East Asian religions in the Department of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.