A rubbing shows two people having barbecue around a stove.

Many Chinese now think barbecue is an exotic food from China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. But the painted stones found in Linyi city, Shandong Province prove that the mainland Chinese enjoyed this food more than 1800 years ago. Roast beef and pork were an important food supply in the palace.

Marriage and Free Sex

A rubbing of the painted stone excavated from a tomb in Lu County, Shandong Province features a man and a woman kissing in front of a maid.

People in Han Dynasty were open to sex. After the founding of the dynasty, emperors implemented policies to encourage procreation. According to research, the average marital age of men was between 14 and 18; women were married between 13 and 17.

Having as many offspring as possible was regarded as a sign of a prosperous family. Scenes of naked people making love under a mulberry tree are found in many painted stones.

Unmarried men and women having sex in the wild was seen as auspicious, beautiful and even sacred. According to a great book of historiography, "Historical Records," the sage Confucius was the product of an illicit sexual relationship.

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