Footnote 13 Firstly, Jiu Tangshu 舊唐書 (Old Book of Tang), Cefu yuangui 册府元龜 (Outstanding Models from the Storehouse of Literature), and Tongdian 通典 (Compendium of Institutions) all attest to the gifting of two diminutive dogs in 624 to Emperor Gaozu 高祖 (566–635, r. small dogs kept purely for pleasure and companionship, Tang official and unofficial histories, poetry, and paintings attest to the sudden arrival of small, intelligent dogs from abroad in the early Tang period. With no pre-Tang depictions of lapdogs, i.e. Instead, two of these “yaks” are drawn wearing dangling ribbons with a bell, something not seen in depictions of guard dogs or indeed any pre-Tang dog. Footnote 11 However, the “yaks” lack the two defining features of stereotyped depictions of guard dogs in that they are not wearing harnesses and are not captured in a moment of warning or barking. Footnote 10 Eastern Han ceramic figures of guard dogs can also have similar folded ears to those in this manuscript. These harnesses also indicate that the dogs were of a large size and have even been associated with the mastiff category. Footnote 9 These ceramic tomb figurines usually depict dogs snarling or barking in the act of guarding, and nearly all known examples wear harnesses, implying that they were tethered. Eastern Han 東漢 (25–220 ce) tombs are replete with ceramic representations of guard dogs that may be compared with these three “yaks”. Should these be working dogs, then they may be engaged in the other major task related to dogs: guarding. These three animals clearly bear no similarities to the elongated, fluid poses of the nearby hunting hounds and have neither a distinct ribcage nor a hollow stomach. With this identification in mind, it is possible to contrast these depictions with the second group of dogs, the “yaks”. Footnote 7 A standing saluki in a Tang mural displays a similar fluidity in its posing, and the overall similarities between greyhounds and salukis in tomb figurines and murals, as well as in this manuscript, suggest that both dog distinctions were used in hunting interchangeably. The particular pose of fluid motion in this manuscript can also be seen in Han murals of greyhounds in hunting scenes. The placement, but not the size, of these hounds has been changed so as to better compare their respective ear shapes, and the original arrangement of these hounds can be seen in Figure 1. The greyhound was originally washed with ink. The first has greyhound-like ears, while the other two have long-haired saluki ears. Line drawings completed by the author comparing the ears of the three hounds from the verso of Pelliot chinois 2598. Footnote 5 The same distinctive ribcage and hollow stomach can also be seen in all three hounds in this manuscript, however only the two dogs to the right have long-haired saluki ears while the inked-in dog has greyhound-like ears, as is made clear in Figure 3. Footnote 4 By the Tang period, a further variation of this slim hunting hound can be seen in tomb art – the saluki, which is identified in Chinese art by its long-haired ears in place of the short ears of the greyhound. However, dogs with the distinctive ribcage of the broad greyhound category are evident even in Han 漢 (206 bc–220 ce) bas-reliefs, although it is not clear whether these animals were imported from the greyhound's original territory of Egypt or were a parallel strain of Chinese greyhound. However, it is likely that these three hounds were actually reasonably large animals due to the striking parallels between them and Tang figurines of hunting hounds such as the greyhound or saluki.Īscribing exact breeds of modern dog onto ancient representations is flawed in many ways – dog breeds may not yet have developed into the form recognized today and may not have been as separate from each other as modern breeding programmes dictate. Indeed, the relative scale may not be reflective of reality at all. As this is a drawing, the scale of these animals both in real terms and in relation to each other is not clear. Clearly distinct in their presentation from those on the far right, these three dogs will be termed as hounds throughout. In order to clarify the exact identity of these three animals, the central group of dogs should first be identified. The patches seen on the “yak” were originally inked in. Line drawings completed by the author comparing the yak or ox from the verso of Pelliot chinois 2622 (Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris) with one “yak” from the verso of Pelliot chinois 2598.
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