What happened to that cow? Why didn't Zhang Daoling Shi Tian let Taoist priests eat beef?

Taoism stipulates that four kinds of animals are not allowed to eat, namely cattle, dogs, geese and mullet.

Cattle can't be eaten, because Laozi is the ancestor of Taoism and one of the three clear gods of Taoism. When Lao Tzu went out to the West Valley, Guan Lingyin asked Lao Tzu to write down the moral classics that have been passed down for thousands of years, because the animals that Lao Tzu rode at that time were cows that rode in the valley in Zhongshan. After Lao Tzu got the Tao, his cattle also became a spirit beast together. Since then, Taoism has stipulated that beef is not allowed. This is to show respect for Lao Tzu.

Besides the reason of Laozi, another point is that cattle symbolize benevolence and righteousness in Taoism. Ancient agricultural production was inferior to modern society. Mechanical equipment can be used instead of labor. In the primitive era of slash-and-burn cultivation, there were no machines, and everything could only be done by labor. At that time, the most important partner of farmers was working with cows and cows. Unlike other animals, they were very hardworking and gentle. It can be said that people in ancient times could hardly survive without cows, so Zhang Daoling and Shi Tian thought that cows were cows.

Zhang Daoling and Shi Tian, after founding Taoism, merged Laozi's Taoist thoughts and Huangdi's thoughts to form the early Five Mi Dou Daoism. Later, with the development of society, it gradually transformed into a local Taoist school. Later, Taoism was divided into Quanzhen Sect and Zhengyi Sect at the end of Song Dynasty and the beginning of Yuan Dynasty. The precepts of Quanzhen religion are very strict. According to the regulations, Quanzhen Taoist priests are not allowed to eat meat and can't get married all their lives. Orthodox monks can get married or ban meat. But whether it is Quanzhen or Orthodox, their custom is not to eat cows, dogs, geese and mullet (snakehead).