SPORTING AND GUARD DOGS 



found in Japanese tombs. The Nihongi gives details of these 

 burial customs : " The brother of the Emperor Suinin 

 (29 B.C. to A.D. 70) died and was buried at Musa. All those 

 who had been in his personal service were gathered together 

 and were buried alive in an upright position around his barrow. 

 They did not die for many days, but wept and bewailed 

 day and night. At length they died and became putrid. 

 Dogs and crows came together and ate them up." The Em- 

 peror, who had listened to the lamentations, ordered the 

 abolition of this custom, and it is said that from the year 

 A.D. 3 clay figures instead of human beings were buried in or 

 about the barrows.* 



" A large breed of dogs, so fierce and bold that two of them 

 together will attack a lion (tiger) " is mentioned by Marco 

 Polo in connexion with the Province of Kueichow.f Laufer 

 suggests that these are identical with the Yii lin dogs men- 

 tioned by the Chinese as being produced in Yii lin chou of 

 Kuanghsi Province, extremely high and large, with drooping 

 ears, and tail different from that of the common dog.J There 

 does not, however, appear to be any good ground for this 

 suggestion. 



Marco Polo refers to several kinds of dogs in Tibet. 

 He speaks of the large and fine dogs, which are of great 

 service in catching the musk-beasts (Book II, Chap. 45). 

 In Chap. 46 he says : " These people of Tebet are an ill- 

 conditioned race. They have mastiff dogs as big as donkeys, 

 which are capital at seizing wild beasts (and in particular the 

 wild oxen which are called Beyamini, very large and fierce 

 animals). They have also sundry other kinds of sporting 

 dogs and excellent lanner falcons (and sakers) swift in flight, 



* " The World's History," vol. ii, p. 3. 



f " T'u shu chi ch'eng," vol. dxciii, p. 5. 



j " Pottery of the Han Dynasty," Laufer, p. 265. 



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