Were there any cats in ancient China?

In ancient China, cats were widely raised and worshipped.

1. In the Western Zhou Dynasty more than two thousand years ago, there were records about cats. At that time, the Book of Songs Daya Hanyi wrote: "There are bears, cats and tigers." This is the oldest document in China, which shows that cats were wild animals in the mountains before being domesticated artificially, and later they were domesticated by humans and became close family pets.

Cats have a long life, so there are many descriptions about domestic cats. The existence of domestic cats was found in the excavation report of Fu Hao's tomb in Shang Dynasty. In addition, in the pre-Qin "Zhuangzi Qiushui", there are also "times turn, dragons and snakes get the opportunity, monkeys and mice are numerous, characters rise and fall, and Hu is king?" Where is Hu? Hu Weiwei is a cat? Hu Weiwei is a tiger? "Record.

In addition, cats were also used for sacrifice and divination in ancient times. In the Book of Rites, there is a record of "welcoming cats to eat voles and tigers to eat fields", which shows that cats and tigers had similar religious status in ancient times.

By the Han Dynasty, cats had become family pets and were domesticated and bred by people. In the Book of Rites, there is something about "the moon in summer and season" ... The eagle is learning ... Life has a department that prays for the people, worships mountains and rivers, and uses music. It is a record that hundreds of counties were ordered to patrol and kill voles and cats, indicating that people had realized the benefits of cats to their families at that time.

Generally speaking, in ancient China, cats were widely raised and worshipped.