Food and Social Status
4 min read（1）Food and rank
In the animal kingdom，the distribution of food is based on rank.It naturally follows that there is a close connection between food and social status in human society.Scientific testing of human bonesfound at a number of Chinese archeological sites reveals that the diet of the ancient ruling class consisted primarily of meat，while that of the common people was primarily vegetarian.A number of ancient texts refer to government officials as”meat-eaters.”
The Chinese word shi means to eat or to consume，as well as to obtain a living.According to an old saying，”A feudal lord consumes ten thousand households.”That is，the members of ancient China’s ruling class obtained their wealth from the labor of the common people.”To eat land”means to obtain income by renting out farmland；”to eat salary”means to work for wages；”to eat strength”means to survive through one’s own physical labor.
（2）”To the people，food is foremost”
According to Chinese historical writings，Fuxi，the originator of Chinese civilization，was a cook.Fuxiis also known as Baoxi，which signifies both”to cook”and”to raise animals for food.”
“To a ruler，the people are foremost；to the people，food is foremost.”This quote from an eminentpolitician of China’s Spring and Autumn Period（770-476 BC）has become a common Chinese max-im.
Feeding the people is the most important issue facing a country’s ruler.According to Chinese legend，the Emperor of Heaven gave the ancient Chinese rulers a set of eight laws by which to govern the people.First and foremost was the law regarding food.The first section of the ancient classic Zhou Li（Rites of the Zhou）concerns the responsibilities of officials in charge of grain，indicating the primary importance placed on food during the Zhou Dynasty（1046-256 BC）.According to a Chinese saying，
“Every home must have firewood，rice，oil，salt，soy sauce，vinegar，and tea.”Every one of these necessities of daily life is related to food.Only when they all are present can a household function smoothly.
Storing grain
An ancient treatise on waging war states，”Grain and fodder must be dispatched prior to deployingtroops.”That is，before sending an army on a campaign，preparations must first be made to feed the troops and horses.This indicates that even under the special conditions of war，the ancient Chinese people thought of food as the most important consideration.
Confucius（Kongzi）（551-479 BC）was an eminent philosopher and educator of the Spring and Autumn Period（770-476 BC）and the founder of Confucianism.Although his collected teachings，Lunyu（The Analects），are quite brief，this work includes forty-one separate references to food.A famous dialogue between Confucius and one of his students on the importance of food goes as follows：Student:How should the state be governed？
Confucius:The requisites of government are that there be sufficien-cy of food，sufficiency of military equipment，and the confidence of the people in their ruler.
Student:If it cannot be helped，and one of these must be dispensed with，which of the three should be foregone first？
Confucius:The military equipment.
Student:If it cannot be helped，and one of the remaining two must be dispensed with，which of them should be foregone？
Confucius:Part with the food.From ancient times，death has been the lot of all people；but if the people have no faith in their rulers，there is no justification for the state.
The peasant revolutionary Zhu Yuanzhang（1328-1398 AD）realized the importance of the country’s grain supply to the process of seizing state power.His famous and effective strategy，”Build city walls high；store grain everywhere；do not proclaim emperor in haste，”enabled him to establish the Ming Dynasty（1368-1644 AD）and ascend the throne as the Hongwu Emperor（reigned 1368-1398 AD）.
Mao Zedong（1893-1976 AD），founder of the People’s Republic of China，advanced a slogan similar to Zhu Yuanzhang’s during the 1970’s:”Dig tunnels deep；store grain everywhere；do not engage in hegemony.”That is，construct deep bomb shelters；amass sufficient stores of grain；and do nottyrannize weaker countries.Even in modern China，grain policy continues to be of the utmost national importance.
“To the people，food is foremost”
A foreign guest once asked Mao Zedong to what he attributed the victory of the Chinese revolution.
Mao replied，”Millet and guns.”Millet was the main food of the revolutionary forces that Mao led，equally as important as the weapons they used.
During an international human rights conference，the Chinese representative asserted，”The most basic human right is sufficient food and clothing.”When people do not have enough to eat and are unable to stay warm，all other considerations are irrelevant.The Chinese people，whose long history is based on the belief that”to the people，food is foremost，”find the proposition that sufficient food and clothing are the ultimate human right to be self-evident.
