As Nov 25 marks the World Vegetarian Day, here's a look at history of vegetarianism in China and a recommendation of some nice vegetarian restaurants.

Most Chinese people would be familiar with an ancient quotation from their high school textbook: "people who eat meat are shallow minded."

The saying is from Zuo Zhuan, the earliest annals in China. "People who eat meat" refers to the privileged that belong to high class, for only noble people were recorded to have the right to eat meat in ancient China for a certain period of time.

According to Book of Rites (Li Ji), a historical record written during the Zhou Dynasty (c.11th century-256 BC), the kind of meat people had was closely related to their social status. Only emperors could eat beef every day. Hereditary rulers and noblemen often had mutton and could enjoy some beef on the first day of each month of the Chinese lunar calendar. Most of the time, the common people only had meat-free meals.

However, the book also recorded that the nobles needed to stay away from meat when they were on a fast. When somebody died in the family, they went without meat during mourning.

After Buddhism came to China later in the Han Dynasty (202 BC-220 AD), there were no strict rules about monks' eating habit.

However, a Chinese emperor Xiao Yan from the Southern Dynasty (420-589) changed everything.

Having a strong faith in Buddhism, he even abdicated and tried to be a monk three times. He strongly promoted vegetarianism in Buddhist temples by issuing an order to force monks to adopt a vegetarian lifestyle, plus no alcohol.

There is no reliable record about if Xiao was a 100 percent vegetarian, yet he was one of the few Chinese emperors who had a very long life, passing away at age 86.

Thus vegetarian food was more common after monks began to lead a real simple life without meat and alcohol.

Qi Min Yao Shu written in the Southern and Northern Dynasties (420-581), widely recognized as one of the earliest agricultural books in China, recorded 11 vegetarian recipes. The vegetables mentioned in the book included spring onion, leek, wax gourd, mushroom and eggplant.

Later vegetarianism became relatively popular in the Tang and Song dynasties (618-1279). According Meng Liang Lu, a book from the Song Dynasty, there were even shops that specialized in vegetarian cakes. The book recorded about 25 kinds of meat-free cakes made from dates and chestnuts.

And the vegetarian food not only enjoyed more categories, but also more lovely names since the Song Dynasty. There was a kind of cake, named "cakes make cats drunk", recorded in a book Qing Yi Lu from the Song Dynasty. The cake was made from peppermint and dill, two plants with a strong odor.

Some temples also became well-known for their delicate vegetarian food. In Qing Bai Lei Chao, a book from the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), four such famous temples were mentioned: Fa Yuan Temple in Beijing, Ding Hui Temple in Zhenjiang, Bai Yun Temple in Shanghai, and Yan Xia Dong in Hangzhou. And the vegetarian food provided by the last one was the most expensive.

By then, vegetarian food had become a more delicate choice for ancient Chinese.

Li Yu, an aesthetician who was also good at literature, from the Qing Dynasty, praised the vegetarian food as the most valuable delicacy.

"In my opinion, beef, mutton and fish are not as good as meat of wild animals. However, the taste of the latter ones cannot compete with vegetables," Li said in his Xian Qing Ou Ji, a book about his opinions on drama, dance, costume, makeup, architecture and food.

New lifestyle, young cook

Modern Chinese people are also vegetable lovers, especially the younger generation who pay more attention to quality rather than quantity.

As the living conditions improve, the post 80s, 90s and even 00s, shift their eyes to personal health and body care more often than their parents.

On Douban, a popular Chinese social media platform, there are more than 50 groups on vegetarianism. Users discuss the vegetarian lifestyle or share vegetarian recipes in such groups. Many vegetarians also write blogs to share their daily meals with readers, among which, some even publish their own recipes.

Benniao and Tudouni, two vegetarians based in Beijing and Chengdu, came to know each other on the internet through sharing vegetarian recipes. They set up a blog, Creative Kitchen of Two Vegetarians, on Sina Blog in 2006. Since then, they have been posting their recipes for vegetarians.

In 2008, their first cook book Creative Kitchen of Two Vegetarians was published. The book provides about 200 vegetarian recipes according to the vegetables sold in four seasons. Its sequel about another 180 vegetarian dishes came out in 2010.

Apart from recipes given by the two vegetarians above that are based on Chinese cuisine, there are some vegetarians who prefer something different.

Xiao Bai, a post-1980s vegetarian cook, attracts 30,000 followers on Douban and around 40,000 followers on Sina Weibo.

From 2011, she began sharing on Douban the photos of the meat-free dishes she made. The food was aesthetically featured in the pictures, which soon attracted a lot of attention. One year later, her first cook book, Record of Vegetarian Xiao Bai, was published.

The book includes eight categories of vegetarian food, which include soup, dessert and beverages. Many of the recipes are inspired by foreign cuisine, such as Thai and Japanese food.

The young cook was not content with promoting her healthy lifestyle only through books. In 2013, she and another investor opened their first take-away vegetarian food restaurant "Have Fun" in Beijing.

Now there are a total of four "Have Fun" in the capital city that only provide take-away meat-free food and beverages.

Nice vegetarian restaurants

Though there is no accurate number of the vegetarians in China, there are some nice vegetarian restaurants that anyone can have a try.

Here are some well-known vegetarian restaurants in Beijing and Shanghai.

Beijing

King Joys Beijing (Jing Zhao Yin)

Average price: 588 yuan ($90) for each

Address: No.2 Wudaoyin hutong

Tel: 010-84049191 010-84048885

Gan Lu

Average price: 50 yuan ($7.5) for each

Address1: #1001# No. 3 Building, Tianzuo International Mall, No.12 Zhongguancun south street

Address2: No.19 Kexing West Road, Huilongguan residential community, Changping district

Tel: 010-82168586

Tian Chu Miao Xiang

Average price: 75 yuan ($11) for each

Address1: No. 2060, Chaowai SOHO mall, No.6 Chaoyangmen Street

Address2: Room 110, Chuang Ye Mall, Xuetang Street (east gate of Tsinghua University)

Tel: 010-59001288; 010-59001088

Bo Wei Tang

Average price: 93 yuan ($14) for each

Address: Jia Li Mall, No.1 district, Anhuili, Yayuncun area

Tel: 010-64927559; 010-57127280

Shanghai

Zao Zi Shu

Average price: 105 yuan ($16) for each

Address: Shanghai Huanggong, No. 77 Songshan road

Tel: 021-63848000

Nanjing

Lv Ye Xiang Zong

Average price: 81 yuan ($16) for each

Address: Zheng Yang Mall, No.56, Yudao road

Tel: 025-66619222

Hangzhou

Lin Hu Vegetarian Food

Average price: 132 yuan ($20) for each

Address: No.1, Xueshi Bridge, Nanshan road

Tel: 0571-85772777