In the Neolithic sites such as Anbanpo in Xi 'an, Peiligang in Xinzheng, Henan, Hemudu in Yuyao, Zhejiang, the bones of domestic pigs were unearthed 6,000 to 7,000 years ago, while the teeth and jaws of domestic pigs were unearthed more than 9,000 years ago in Piyan Tomb in Guilin, Guangxi, which shows that China's pig industry has a history of nearly 10,000 years.
About 3000 years ago, there were records of raising pigs in ancient literature. There are hieroglyphics of "tapir" in Oracle Bone Inscriptions, the land of Yin Ruins, and there are records of castrated pigs. The word "home" in the full text, from "jackals" to "jackals", is explained in Shuowen: "Home is the home in the circle where you live", indicating that pigs were raised in the room at that time, and you couldn't be a family without jackals, which is a portrayal of early family pig raising.
In the Book of Songs, the earliest collection of poems and songs in the Western Zhou Dynasty, there are poems about pigs: "Put the pigs in prison and let them use them (cannon sound running, wine glasses)" (pigs are caught and slaughtered in the circle, and the wine glasses are filled with wine), "Private words (Zangyin, pigs), offering them (. The castration of pigs was invented by our ancestors. The Book of Changes says: "Fenyin grave, castrate pig" means that castrated pig has become docile, although it has teeth, but it is harmless. During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the pig industry has spread all over the country, located in the southeast of Vietnam, and pig mountain and chicken mountain have also opened up large-scale pig and chicken breeding. " Gou Jian used livestock and chickens to lick the soil, and cut Wu to eat the soil. "(Mountain Crossing) refers to raising a large number of pigs for military needs.
During the Han Dynasty, the pig industry continued to develop. The early agricultural book "Yi Sheng" said in the "Method of Planting Gourd": "It is evil to break it and raise fat pigs with white skin". It means that using gourd pulp as feed can fatten pigs. According to historical records, after the horse of Liu Xiu, Emperor Guangwu of the Eastern Han Dynasty, there were five brothers, all of whom were engaged in raising pigs. At that time, a folk song was circulated: "There are three officials in the garden, two officials under the door, and five people pout, but they smell pigs." It shows that raising pigs is a hot industry that is easy to get rich. After Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, the method of raising pigs was improved, from grazing to combination of grazing and captivity. Jia Sixie, an agronomist in the Northern Wei Dynasty, summed up the experience of raising pigs at that time in his famous Book of Qi Yao Min.
With the economic prosperity in the Tang Dynasty, the government and private pig industry became increasingly prosperous. There are "3,000 officials" in Sinong Temple in Chang 'an (equivalent to the Ministry of Agriculture), and there are countless private officials in various places. According to the "Collection of Politics and People", "Some people in Hongzhou (now Nanchang) are easy to get rich by raising pigs, because the number of pigs is Wujin". In the Book of Songs, when Du Fu lived in Sichuan, there was a poem that "there was a nigger at home" (Sichuan called the pig used as a sacrifice to the gods a nigger), which showed the prevalence and universality of pig industry.
During the Song and Yuan Dynasties, the pig industry was still developed. Printing has existed since the Song Dynasty and has been described in many documents. According to "Tokyo Dream", rural pig farmers went to Kaifeng, the capital, to sell pigs, "day and night, ten thousand pigs in each group", which shows the grand occasion of operating pig industry and developing urban and rural trade at that time. After the Yuan Dynasty unified China, it also attached importance to the development of agriculture and animal husbandry. Three agricultural books, Summary of Agriculture and Mulberry, Wang Zhennong's Book and Agriculture, Mulberry, Food and Clothing, all contain the contents of pig-raising experience. For pig feed, Wang Zhen's agricultural book said: "There are many lakes in the south of the Yangtze River, so you can take algae and eat them near water." Portulaca oleracea can be planted on the land in the north, and potatoes, taro and vegetable leaves can be fed to pigs. Advocate local conditions and broaden feed sources.
Great development of pig industry in Ming and Qing Dynasties. Xu Guangqi, a scientist in the Ming Dynasty, summed up the methods of raising pigs in his book "The Complete Book of Agricultural Administration". Animal Husbandry: "When there are many pigs, there is always a big circle, which is subdivided into small circles. Every small circle is easy to raise pigs, so it is easy to grow. " Due to long-term careful breeding, continuous summary and improvement, more and more varieties have been cultivated, and each has its own characteristics. Li Shizhen mentioned in "Compendium of Materia Medica": "Those who can educate, good scholars, Xu Erda; Those who give birth to Yan and Ji have thick skin; Those who are born with harmony have short feet; Born in Liaodong, with white head; Born in Yuzhou, with a short mouth; Born in the south of the Yangtze River, he has small ears and is called Jiang Pig. Those born in Lingnan are all white and extremely fat. " At that time, Sichuan's pig industry ranked first in the country, and Rongchang's white pig and Songpan's fragrant pig were all famous specialties.