DOGS AND HORSES IN ANCIENT CHINA
65
On the other hand the large number of terms such as “hsing” ( ) “han” (*) “wei” (*) “nao” (闹) “hsiao” (咲) and “fei” (吠)52 to denote a dog's bark are apparently attempts to reproduce phonetically the barking sounds of various breeds of dogs.53
Possibly the first reference to a dog in Chinese literature is to the Ao (獒) a dog supposedly sent as tribute to Chou Hsun (1154-1122 B.C.) by a tribe called the Western Liu of whom nothing else is known.54 This was a very large dog which could “know a man's mind”. The size of the Ao always intrigued Chinese authors and one commentator, Kuo Po (502-556 A.D.) claimed that the Ao was a red dog as large as a donkey.55 A statement which may possibly have been known to Marco Polo and caused him to write when speaking of Tibet: "The people of Tibet are an ill-conditioned race. They have mastiffs as big as donkeys."
This short paper has attempted to show some pre-Han attitudes towards dogs and horses, but it cannot be concluded without referring to another point. It was not until Buddhism had become firmly implanted in China that we find stories celebrating canine loyalty and devotion to man. Until then, classical literature usually qualified dogs as hui (狡), treacherous, chiao (狡) crafty and ssu (思) restless.
1 Anderson, p. 102.
2 Erkes(1), pp. 186-187.
3 Anderson, pp. 120-121.
4 Erkes(2), pp. 27-28.
5 Anderson, p. 29; Yetts, p. 237.
6 Creel, p. 210.
7 Cheng, Vol. 11, p. 55.
8 Cheng, Vol. 11, p. 90.
9 Schindler(2), pp. 631-632.
NOTES
10 Couvreur, Vol. 1, pp. 352, 405, 406.
11 Biot, Vol. 11, p. 259; Chou Li, 8/22b.
12 Biot, Vol. 11, p. 364; Chou Li, 9/30b.
13 Schindler(1), pp. 356, 359, 364.
14 Creel, p. 142/43; Couvreur I, 235.
15 Erkes(2), p. 59.
DOGS AND HORSES IN ANCIENT CHINA
65
On the other hand the large number of terms such as “hsing” ( ) “han” (*) “wei” (*) “nao” (MT) “hsiao” ( 18 ) and “fei” (k)52 to denote a dog's bark are apparently attempts to reproduce phone- tically the barking sounds of various breeds of dogs,53
Possibly the first reference to a dog in Chinese literature is to the Ao (*) a dog supposedly sent as tribute to Chou Hsun (1154- 1122 B.C.) by a tribe called the Western Liu of whom nothing else is known,54 This was a very large dog which could “know a man's mind”. The size of the Ao always intrigued Chinese authors and one commentator, Kuo l-kung (502-556 A.D.) claimed that the Ao was a red dog as large as a donkey.55 A statement which may possibly have been known to Marco Polo and caused him to write when speaking of Tibet: "The people of Tibet are an ill condition- ed race. They have mastiffs as big as donkeys."
This short paper has attempted to show some pre-Han attitudes towards dogs and horses, but it cannot be concluded without refer- ring to another point. It was not until Buddhism had become firmly implanted in China that we find stories celebrating canine loyalty and devotion to man. Until then, classical literature usually quali fied dogs as hui (), treacherous, chiao (*) crafty and ssu (12) restless.
1 Anderson, p. 102.
2 Erkes(1), pp. 186-187.
3 Anderson, pp. 120-121.
4 Erkes(2), pp. 27-28.
5 Anderson, p. 29; Yetts, p. 237.
6 Creel, p. 210.
7 Cheng, Vol. 11, p. 55.
8 Cheng, Vol. 11, p. 90.
9 Schindler(2), pp. 631-632.
NOTES
10 Couvreur, Vol. 1, pp. 352, 405, 406.
14 Biot, Vol. 11, p. 259; Chou Li, 8/22b.
12 Biot, Vol. 11, p. 364; Chou Li, 9/30b.
13 Schindler(1), pp. 356, 359, 364. 14 Creel, p. 142/43; Couvreur I, 235. 15 Erkes(2), p. 59.
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