As the saying goes, "Food is the most important thing for the people". No matter in which dynasty or generation, people are most concerned about whether their stomachs can be full. Modern people have also summed up a set of scientific ways to keep healthy, that is, eat well in the morning, eat well at noon and eat less at night. Children who go to school are often warned by their parents that they should eat on time for three meals a day, or their stomachs will have problems. But you know, before Qin and Han Dynasties, the ancients only ate two meals a day.

Before Qin and Han Dynasties, social productivity was low and agriculture was underdeveloped, so it was difficult to have enough food for ordinary people. People only eat two meals a day to survive. Even soldiers can't add one more meal a day. And these two meals depend on people. Soldiers' food intake is divided into five grades, and food is distributed to you according to the grades. If you have a big appetite and want to eat more one day, sorry, I can't.

Before the Han Dynasty, people called the first meal of the day "Chao Shi" or "Li", and the time for eating was between 7 am and 9 am. The second meal is called "food" or "food", and the time for eating is set at around four o'clock in the afternoon. The ancients paid special attention to the time of eating. They think that if they miss the time to eat, they can't eat any more. Unless you are rewarded by an emperor or a noble, then you can get special treatment.

By the Han Dynasty, agricultural production tools were further developed, and the productivity of land was gradually developed. With food, people began to eat by themselves. However, the method of three meals a day was only popular in the homes of nobles and wealthy businessmen at first, and it did not begin to spread among ordinary people.

In the Tang Dynasty, people began to have the habit of eating "breakfast". The social economy in Song Dynasty was highly developed, and not only the government but also the common people had a lot of spare money. Moreover, the Song Dynasty abolished the Fang market system before the Tang Dynasty, and people went to the market or washe at night. How can so many people get together without eating or drinking? So there is a tradition of eating New Year's Eve. What's more, three meals a day can't satisfy him, and he has to eat a midnight snack before going to bed.

With the formal formation of three meals a day, the contents of three meals are gradually fixed. Snacks that people used to eat between breakfast and dinner have also been eliminated from the three meals, and lunch has become the most important meal among the three meals.