Animal Classification in Ancient China

Inviting Wonder in Organization: Tiger, Sandstone, Horror, Snowball

“…The accuracy of the explanations could be disputed. While some argue that the character 虫 is an ancient generic term for ‘animal’ [2] , others contest this (Sterckx, 2005). Moreover, the dish Mr. Driver referred to, using cat and snake as ingredients may be 龙虎斗 (Long Hu Tou).…”

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“…koja pretpostavlja opoziciju živo -neživo kao razlikovnu kategoriju. Sterckx (2005) upozorava da se koncept koji uključuje sve živo (ljude i druge životinje), a isključuje anorgansku materiju, minerale, biljke, gljive i slične organizme, ne podudara u potpunosti s kineskim ekvivalentima za životinju kao što su wu ('stvari', 'stvorenja', 'fenomeni'), shou ('divlje zvijeri'), qin ('divlje ptice/životinje'), chong ('kukci','beskralješnjaci') pa čak ni sa suvremenim generičkim nazivom "dongwu" koji označava životinje dongwu ('biće koje se kreće'). Generičke definicije, dakle, rijetke su, pa se s pravom možemo zapitati kako se onda klasificiraju i određuju živa bića.…”

“…Katalog carske knjižnice u Changu koji je sastavio Liu Xin (46. g. pr. n. e. -23. g. n. e.), a koji se čuva u Hanshuu, sadrži zapise o fizionomiji drugih životinja, pecanju i posvećenju kornjača (v Sterckx 2005)…”

Is Yuan in China’s Three Gorges a Gibbon or a Langur?

“…These studies identify the objects of traditional names by means of mutual verification between historical textual evidence and scientific knowledge of animals and plants (Gao et al , 1981 ; He, 1988a , 1993 ; Wang, 2019 ; Wen, 2003 ; Yan, 2020 ). However, the reliability and justifiability of some case studies have been questioned, based on concerns including a lack of solid theoretical basis, unreliable sources of evidence, insufficient research depth and research methods that are too simple (Sterckx, 2005 ; Wang, 1999 ; Yan, 2020 ; Zhang, 2015b ). One highly controversial example is the book History of Ancient Zoology of China (Guo et al , 1999 ) and its critics (Li, 2002 ; Sterckx, 2005 ; Wang, 1999 ).…”

“…However, the reliability and justifiability of some case studies have been questioned, based on concerns including a lack of solid theoretical basis, unreliable sources of evidence, insufficient research depth and research methods that are too simple (Sterckx, 2005 ; Wang, 1999 ; Yan, 2020 ; Zhang, 2015b ). One highly controversial example is the book History of Ancient Zoology of China (Guo et al , 1999 ) and its critics (Li, 2002 ; Sterckx, 2005 ; Wang, 1999 ).…”