DOGS OF CHINA AND JAPAN 



The Greyhound, Wolf-hound, and Kansu Greyhound 



Existence of the greyhound at an early period in Shantung 

 Province is proved by a rubbing * from a bas-relief of the Han 

 period at Wu Liang in Shantung Province. The greyhound, 

 which is altogether unmistakable, is described by Laufer as 

 sitting on the ground in front of a carthorse, a man standing on 

 its left, and as seeming to belong to the people driving in 

 the cart. The same figure of a greyhound, in exactly the 

 same posture, is delineated on another bas-relief, also here 

 squatting in front of a cart whose horse has been unharnessed 

 and is standing to one side under a tree, while a man, probably 

 the teamster, is to the left in front of the dog. 



In North China the " long-dog " is known as the hsi-kou 

 or thin-dog, often qualified by the name Min-tzu, a prefecture 

 in Shantung said to have been famous at one period for the 

 breed. The legendary Heavenly Dog is represented as being 

 of this breed. The term is probably the antithesis to that of 

 the " short-dog," introduced from the Southern Shansi 

 States about 1000 B.c.f 



Both rough and smooth-coated varieties of the dog exist, 

 and they closely resemble the British race. The known fre- 

 quency of intercourse between Eastern monarchs renders it 

 probable that this dog is akin to the Persian greyhound, of 

 which race a specimen reached England before 1858. It was 

 used in hunting the wild-ass and antelopes as well as the cours- 

 ing of hares. On the cutting of the crops of maize, millet, and 

 wheat in the vast plains north of the Yang-tse, numbers of 

 hares are left without cover. The villagers spend their spare 

 time coursing them with these dogs. The European dog is 

 acknowledged to be superior to the Chinese, and is said to 



* Chavannes, " La Sculpture en Pierre en Chine," plate xxv. 

 f Chap, i, p. 16. 



