Chiang Shu-ling, who handles public relations for the Ling-Jiu Mountain Prajna Culture Foundation, says that vegetarianism among Chinese Buddhists can be traced back to the Southern and Northern dynasties era, when the pious Buddhist Emperor Wu of the Liang dynasty, who thrice donned monk's robes and thrice shed them to resume his imperial duties, wrote an essay entitled "Forsake Alcohol and Meat" in which he urged Buddhists to become vegetarians.
靈鳩山般若文教基金會廣宣組江淑玲指出，中國佛教徒吃素起源於南北朝時期。曾經三度出家、三度還俗的梁武帝篤信佛教，並寫了一篇「斷酒肉文」，促使佛教徒吃素，從此在中國，素食便與佛教中「不殺生」的戒律結合。