64
CAROLE MORGAN
Parafilaria Multipapillosa, in which the parasite buries itself under the skin causing blisters which ooze blood on bursting.45) After two unsuccessful campaigns Li Kuang-li finally sent a number of Ferghana horses back to the capital in 101 B.C.; the Emperor hoped that their arrival would coincide with the beginning of an auspicious Age of the Dragon for his people.46
Hunting Dogs
That dogs were associated with hunting from very early times may be deduced from the fact that most words for hunting such as lie (lie) the usual term for hunting, shou (*) a winter hunt and huo (*) a bird hunt were all written with the radical for dog.47
That a good hunting dog was expensive is illustrated by a story from the Lu Shih Ch'un Chiu (L.S.C.C. 24.6) An eager hunter, dissatisfied with the performance of his dog, could not afford to replace it because the cost of a new one would have ruined his family.
It is difficult to determine which breeds of dogs were actually known in ancient China. The greyhound, a very old kind of dog, is shown on some Han stone reliefs and a small statuette of a snub-nosed mastiff, its tail curled over its back was unearthed from a Han tomb.43 This dog is believed to be in the lineage of the Tibetan wolf (Canis Niger) which also bred the Roman molossus, the Saint Bernard, the Newfoundland, the bulldog and the miniature breeds of China such as the pug so popular in T'ang times.49
There is obviously very little graphic material available from pre-Han times. The earliest hunting scene known to date is found on a Chou bronze the so-called “100 animal “dou” (‡a)” showing a hunter and his dog surrounded by various wild animals. But because none of the animals are drawn to scale (the dog is the same size as a neighbouring rhinoceros) and the smallness of the drawing conditioned by the smallness of the vessel (24 cms) it is impossible to determine the dog's breed.50
Another, somewhat later Chou bronze, also depicts a hunting scene. Here we see four dogs, but again, for reasons stated above, they offer no conclusive proof as to breed.
If we turn now to linguistic evidence we see that the Shuo Wen gives a long list of names for different dogs but the definition of these names tells us almost nothing about the animals themselves.
64
CAROLE MORGAN
Parafilaria Multipapillosa, in which the parasite buries itself under the skin causing blisters which ooze blood on bursting.45) After two unsuccessful campaign Li Kuang-li finally sent a number of Ferghana horses back to the capital in 101 B.C.; the Emperor hoped that their arrival would coincide with the beginning of an auspi- cious Age of the Dragon for his people.46
Hunting Dogs
That dogs were associated with hunting from very early times may be deduced from the fact that most words for hunting such as lie () the usual term for hunting, shou (*) a winter hunt and huo (*) a bird hunt were all written with the radical for dog.“ 47
That a good hunting dog was expensive is illustrated by a story from the Lu Shih Ch'un Chiu (L.S.C.C. 24.6) An eager hunter, dissatisfied with the performance of his dog, could not afford to replace it because the cost of a new one would have ruined his family.
It is difficult to determine which breeds of dogs were actually known in ancient China. The greyhound, a very old kind of dog, is shown on some Han stone reliefs and a small statuette of a snub- nosed mastiff, its tail curled over its back was unearthed from a Han tomb.43 This dog is believed to be in the lineage of the Tibetan wolf (Canis Niger) which also bred the Roman molossus, the Saint Bernard, the Newfoundland, the bulldog and the miniature breeds of China such as the pug so popular in T'ang times.49
There is obviously very little graphic material available from pre-Han times. The earliest hunting scene known to date is found on a Chou bronze the so-called “100 animal “dou” ( 7‡a )” show- ing a hunter and his dog surrounded by various wild animals. But because none of the animals are drawn to scale (the dog is the same size as a neighbouring rhinoceros) and the smallness of the draw- ing conditioned by the smallness of the vessel (24 cms) it is impos- sible to determine the dog's breed.50
Another, somewhat later Chou bronze, also depicts a hunting scene. Here we see four dogs, but again, for reasons stated above, they offer no conclusive proof as to breed.
If we turn now to linguistic evidence we see that the Shuo Wen gives a long list of names for different dogs but the definition of these names tells us almost nothing about the animals themselves.
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