The people of Yunnan attach great importance to rice cultivation, and the queen is in charge of it personally. During the spring plowing, the “Jitian Ceremony” is held, and even killing people is sacrificed. During the autumn harvest, people are specially organized to store grain. The diet of the Dian people includes both soup and rice. The most important source of meat for the Dian people is a kind of “Feng Niu” with huge horns and ridges.

Pheasants, peacocks, snakes and other animals are often found in Yunnan bronze wares, and they are also popular among Yunnan people. Because of the proximity to Dianchi Lake, the common food of Dian people includes fish and shellfish.

The meat eaten by the residents of the ancient Dian Kingdom mainly came from animal husbandry, fishing and hunting. It is recorded in the “Three Character Classics”: “Horses, cattle and sheep, chickens, dogs and hogs, these six animals are raised by people.” The residents of ancient Yunnan mainly raised these six animals. From the images of bronze wares in Dian, cattle have the most images, followed by horses , followed by sheep, pigs, dogs, and chickens.

Speaking of which, the animal husbandry in the ancient Dian Kingdom was more developed than that in the Central Plains, and a large number of Dian livestock were imported into the Central Plains through trade and tribute. For example, “Historical Records: Biography of the Southwestern Yi” stated that during the Western Han Dynasty, merchants in Sichuan exchanged commodities such as ironware for cattle, horses and slaves in Yunnan, so as to “prosperity in Bashu”.

Another example is “Huayang Guozhi·Nanzhongzhi” records that Sima Xiangru and Han Shuo first opened Yizhou County during Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, and “obtained 300,000 cattle, horses and sheep”. “Han Shu Southwest Yi Biography” also records that in the fifth year of Emperor Zhao’s first Yuan Dynasty (82 BC), Han general Tian Guangming used troops in Yizhou (county) and “obtained more than 100,000 livestock.”

The number of cattle, horses, sheep and other livestock that the Central Plains Dynasty obtained from the Dian Kingdom several times ranged from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands. The amount obtained may be only a part of the Dian Kingdom’s livestock.

In addition to the several animals mentioned in the animal husbandry industry, the “copper pillar cover shell container for killing sacrifices” unearthed from Tomb No. 12 in Shizhaishan, Jinning, has fish, snakes, peacocks, and tigers that have not been mentioned before. , leopard and other images. Some women hold big fish in their hands, and some small fish are placed in utensils similar to plates.

There are also some common aquatic animals such as shrimp and snails, which are also the food of Dian residents.