NOTES AND QUERIES
DOG DIVINATION FROM A DUNHUANG MANUSCRIPT
CAROLE MORGAN
Archaeology has revealed a large number of canine bones in the foundations of numerous Shang (16th to 11th centuries B.C.) and early Zhou (11th to 9th centuries B.C.) buildings. According to Cheng Te-K'un, dog sacrifices were part of the consecration ceremonies of tombs, palaces and private dwellings. In another early ceremony, the ning, a dog was dismembered and its remains buried in each of the four quarters either to placate the directional deities or to stop the four winds'. It is also well known that dog meat has been consumed throughout Chinese history for ritual, nutritional and even medicinal2 purposes.
Given this background, it is surprising that dogs play a relatively minor role in Chinese divination. Section 8 of the largest Chinese encyclopaedia, the Gujin Tushu Jicheng 古今圖***, which deals with omen lore and supernatural phenomena, devotes far less space to dogs than to birds, reptiles and other domestic animals. Nor does dog divination appear to have survived into the present day. To my knowledge it is never mentioned in the almanac nor have I found modern divination manuals dealing with the subject.
Thus, a manuscript from the Dunhuang3 collection* (P.3106) entirely devoted to omens drawn from various aspects of canine behaviour, becomes a valuable source of additional information. Unfortunately, only 27 lines from what must once have been a long treatise have survived. Moreover, the lower half of the middle section of our fragment has been lost. Nonetheless, despite its damaged state the remaining text is sufficiently interesting to warrant further study. P.3106 also appears to be the only manuscript on this subject among the Dunhuang material.
* See plates 9-10.
NOTES AND QUERIES
DOG DIVINATION FROM A DUNHUANG MANUSCRIPT
CAROLE MORGAN
Archaeology has revealed a large number of canine bones in the foundations of numerous Sheng (16th to 11th centuries. B. C.) and early Zhou (11th to 9th centuries B. C.) buildings. According to Cheng Te-K'un, dog sacrifices were part of the consecration ceremonies of tombs, palaces and private dwellings. In another early ceremony, the ning, a dog was dismembered and its remains buried in each of the four quarters either to placate the directional deities or to stop the four winds'. It is also well known that dog meat has been consumed throughout Chinese history for ritual, nutritional and even medicinal2 purposes.
Given this background, it is surprising that dogs play a relatively minor role in Chinese divination. Section 8 of the largest Chinese encyclopaedia, the Gujin Tushu Jicheng G 古今圖 ***, which deals with omen lore and supernatural phenomena, devotes far less space to dogs than to birds, reptiles and other domestic animals. Nor does dog divination appear to have survived into the present day. To my knowledge it is never mentioned in the almanac nor have I found modern divination manuals dealing with the subject.
Thus, a manuscript from the Dunhuang3 collection* (P. 3106) entirely devoted to omens drawn from various aspects of canine behaviour, becomes a valuable source of additional information. Unfortunately, only 27 lines from what must once have been a long treatise have survived. Moreover, the lower half of the middle section of our fragment has been lost. Nonetheless, despite its damaged state the remaining text is sufficiently interesting to warrant further study. P. 3106 also appears to be the only manuscript on this subject among the Dunhuang material.
* See plates 9-10.
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