釋氏稽古略 2.196

2.196

Vegetarian food: In the fourth month, Emperor Wu of Liang decreed that using animal sacrifices in the ancestral temples burdened the unseen paths, and that all of them should be made of flour instead. The Eight Ministers deliberated at court and replaced the primary sacrificial ox with large dried meat. In the tenth month, an imperial decree stated that since dried meat was still used in the ancestral temples, they should deliberate further to replace it. Thereupon, large cakes were used to replace large dried meat, and all the rest used vegetables and fruits (*Imperial Annals*). Those who today eat vegetarian food and prepare such meals trace their origins to this.