What hunting methods were there in Shang Dynasty? What prey did Shang Wang catch?

In order to maintain the military spirit and military deterrence, ancient emperors and members of the royal family trained their troops by hunting in the wild. The royal family will also specialize in wild hunting. For example, we are familiar with the Royal Hunting Ground of Zhou Dynasty recorded in The Book of Songs: Lingbi and Mulan paddock in chengde mountain resort, Hebei. So ancient hunting is equivalent to today's military exercises.

During the Yin and Shang Dynasties, hunting and sacrifice in the fields were often carried out at the same time. Shangwangjing once hunted prey in the wild to sacrifice ancestors. Soul of Heaven is also a competitive game that Yanzhou nobles like. Shangwang Tian Hunting is called "Tian" in the inscription, and nouns are used as verbs. Merchants often divine before hunting, such as "King Seven Days, Hunting and Death": If the king will hunt, will there be disaster? There are also differences on whether they can shoot their prey.

Therefore, the hunting remarks of Shang recorded in Oracle Bone Inscriptions occupy a large space. There are more than 200 hunting grounds in the inscription, which shows that the natural environment of Yin Dynasty is very good. Therefore, in Oracle Bone Inscriptions, I specially studied "Tianheng Geography" and "Tianheng Sculpture". Then, with rich first-hand information, today we will take a look at the hunting methods and prey of the Shang Dynasty. During the Yin and Shang Dynasties, the natural environment in the Central Plains was very good. There may be more cockroaches and deer than mice. Businessmen often kill elk to prevent them from destroying dealers.

The most common and abundant prey in inscriptions is deer. Tigers, rhinos and wild boars are often caught. According to the literature, Wang Shangyu can catch tigers with his bare hands. It may be exaggerated, but it's not groundless. It is true that the royal family and nobles of Shang Dynasty regarded killing tigers and rhinos as a brave move, even the emperors of later generations. Kangxi and Qianlong both publicized how many wild animals they had killed in Mulan, Chengde.