Tradition: Using dogs to catch rabbits is a traditional activity in Pucheng, Shaanxi province. A new push is on to revive and promote the activity.
Using dogs to catch rabbits is a traditional activity in Pucheng, Shaanxi province. The sport has seen ups and downs in recent decades, but a new push is on to revive and promote the activity
In his Guanzhong dialect, “dog commander” Pan Zhengxing from Pucheng county, Shaanxi province describes his fondness for greyhounds as a hobby.
Pan, 68, looks like he is in his early 50s. And he attributes his appearance to his dogs.
Pan, who has eight greyhounds at home, says the dogs take up most of his yard.
His greyhounds, with their sharp faces, and long ears, are tall and thin, and they are swift and good at hunting. Greyhounds chasing rabbits is a traditional activity in Pucheng. Meanwhile, Wu Zhengjun, a dog lover who runs a pet store in Pucheng, is not only a master of breeding greyhounds, but also has a thorough knowledge of the dogs.
Legend has it that greyhounds were introduced to Pucheng from the Western Regions during the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 24). And by the Tang Dynasty (618-907), emperors Li Yuan and Li Shimin treated them as hunting companions. In the Song Dynasty (960-1279), they started to be bred by local people, and chasing rabbits became a local sport. Liu Shenglong, 55, is a master at catching rabbits. But he says the rabbits are getting smarter, and the local greyhounds can barely catch them now.
In the 1970s, Russian greyhounds were introduced to the area, and they replaced the local greyhounds. And, at the beginning of this century, a breed of greyhounds from Australia was brought in. Dogs from the Australian breed can run at more than 60 kilometers per hour, but they don’t have stamina. As for the rabbits, catching them is an exquisite art. By convention, no matter whose greyhound catches the rabbit, the person who picks it up gets the trophy. But picking up the rabbits is also a delicate operation. Liu has a hand tool called “spear sickle” — a polished iron hook set on a wooden bar. “It serves to frighten the rabbit.
So, when the greyhound starts to chase the rabbit, the dog owner should choose a point near roadside. And, when the rabbit gets close, one should throw the spear sickle and hit the rabbit on the head, letting the dog rush in for the bite. Chasing rabbits is usually done in January and February. Greyhounds were quite popular in the region in the 1980s, and some greyhound breeds can even sell for up to 100,000 yuan ($15,747) a dog. Fu Chengcheng, who is in his 50s, specializes breeding greyhounds. He says his family has relied on breeding greyhounds for three generations, but fewer people buy the dogs now and they typically sell for less than 10,000 yuan each. So, how do you keep this tradition alive? Local officials say they are waiting for the Shaanxi provincial government to list the sport as provincial intangible cultural heritage. And, at the same time, they have stepped up efforts to support and protect the sport besides give the dog commanders a subsidy.