DOGS AND HORSES IN ANCIENT CHINA
59
must have bred with other unknown races of horses to produce the big-headed pony with an erect mane and a shaggy winter coat sometimes depicted on Shang oracle bones.5
Dogs and Horses in Shang Times
Both dogs and horses were often mentioned on Shang oracle bones. Questions concerning the whereabouts of lost dogs and queries as to the success or failure of hunting expeditions to capture wild horses have been recorded.
But we also have other testimony from Shang times which shows that in ancient Chinese society, dogs and horses served other purposes as well.
Systematic excavation of Shang tombs began in 1928, and since 1953 the Chinese Government has undertaken a number of archaeological campaigns to excavate Shang sites in and around An-yang (Honan), the Shang capital from 1300 to 1028 B.C. As a result, we know that building of palaces and houses was accompanied by an elaborate ritual requiring both animal and human sacrifices.
At one site, Hsiao-t’ung, a large number of buildings were excavated and 187 ceremonial pits used to immolate the victims of various consecration ceremonies were discovered. Bones of a total number of 825 human victims, 15 horses, 10 oxen, 18 sheep, and 35 dogs were unearthed.7 The large number of dogs sacrificed here as well as at other sites has led Professor Cheng Te-k'un to claim that:
“There is hardly a tomb, regular or royal, or a building of any kind that was concluded without the sacrifice of a dog.”8
But dogs were not only sacrificed during consecration ceremonies. Shang oracle bones refer to other rites requiring dogs as sacrificial victims. In particular, there was the Ning (*) rite during which a dog was dismembered to placate the four winds or honour the four directions.
Dogs and Horses in Chou Times
The above sacrifice was carried over into Chou times. In his comments on a similar ceremony described in the Er Ya, Kuo P'o (276-364 A.D.) mentions that in his day it was still customary to dismember a dog to “bring the four winds to a halt.” (£).9
DOGS AND HORSES IN ANCIENT CHINA
59
must have bred with other unknown races of horses to produce the big headed pony with an crcct mane and a shaggy winter coat some- times depicted on Shang oracle bones,5
Dogs and Horses in Shang Times
Both dogs and horses were often mentioned on Shang oracle bones. Questions concerning the whereabouts of lost dogs and queries as to the success or failure of hunting expeditions to capture wild horses have been recorded.
But we also have other testimony from Shang times which shows that in ancient Chinese society, dogs and horses served other pur- poses as well.
Systematic excavation of Shang tombs began in 1928, and since 1953 the Chinese Government has undertaken a number of archaeo- logical campaigns to excavate Shang sites in and around An-yang (Honan) the Shang capital from 1300 to 1028 B.C. As a result we know that building of palaces and houses was accompanied by an elaborate ritual requiring both animal and human sacrifices.
At one site, Hsiao-t’ung, a large number of buildings were ex- cavated and 187 ceremonial pits used to immolate the victims of various consecration ceremonies were discovered. Bones of a total number of 825 human victims, 15 horses, 10 oxen, 18 sheep and 35 dogs were unearthed.' The large number of dogs sacrificed here as well as at other sites has led Professor Cheng Te-k'un to claim that:
"There is hardly a tomb, regular or royal, or a building of any kind that was concluded without the sacrifice of a dog.”8
But dogs were not only sacrificed during consecration cere- monies. Shang oracle bones refer to other rites requiring dogs as sacrificial victims. In particular there was the Ning (*) rite during which a dog was dismembered to placate the four winds or honour the four directions.
Dogs and Horses in Chou Times
The above sacrifice was carried over into Chou times. In his comments on a similar ceremony described in the Er Ya, Kuo P'o (276-364 A.D.) mentions that in his day it was still customary to dismember a dog to "bring the four winds to a halt.” (£).9
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