Confucius and His Dog: Perspectives on Animal Ownership in Early Chinese Ritual and Philosophical Texts

在中國周代社會裡，狗有許多角色，譬如說食品、祭品、貢品、賽犬、獵狗、貴族家庭的寵物。作為食品或者祭品的時侯，狗是人類展現權勢的表徵。當貢品的時侯，狗是昂貴的東西，它們代表國王的權威。當寵物的時候，狗受到主人的關愛。狗有多重的角色，所以在中國古代哲學與禮儀文獻中也有很多關於它們真正的角色的分析。在周代社會千里，狗代表貴族家庭的特權。從戰國時代閑始，很多古代哲學家批評養狗（或者其他寵物）的主人，因為這關係到統治精英浪費和奢侈的生活方式。所以提倡節儉的哲學家，譬如說墨家，完全禁止養狗。其他的哲學家，尤其是關心治國之道的，也不允許寵物的存在。對他們來說養狗不是一個道德問題而是一個實際問題，如果國王喜歡寵物他很可能無法兼顧政治適當的職責。在這個爭論中里，儒家的立論是獨特的。儒家文獻認為養狗是合乎道德的，但是主人必須分明狗與人類的賤貴，還有所有與寵物有關的開支必須反映主人的社會地位並合於禮。

關鍵字

狗；哲學；禮儀；古代中國；治國之道

並列摘要

This paper discusses the role of dogs in early Chinese society, as a source of food, in sacrifice, as tribute, for racing and hunting, and as companion animals for members of the ruling elite. As food items or sacrificial victims, dogs were the objects of the most elemental expression of power. As tribute, they were highly valuable property, representing the ruler's authority over distant regions. As companion animals, they occupied a liminal zone between objectification and individualized identity. These competing roles are reflected in the complex analysis of the role of dogs found within early Chinese ritual and philosophical texts. In addition to this, dogs were animals at all times closely associated with aristocratic privilege in early China. This ensured that the moral implications of ownership would be discussed at some length in philosophical and ritual texts. From at least the Warring Slates period onwards, the ownership of dogs came under sustained attack as part of a general growing assault on the wasteful and extravagant lifestyle of the ruling elite. Those philosophical schools noted for their advocacy of simplicity and frugality, such as the Mohists, did not approve of the ownership of dogs. Other philosophical schools, particularly those focusing on issues of statecraft and policy, did not approve of dog ownership either, but on practical grounds, since such animals distracted the ruler from his proper duties. However, the position adopted in this debate by the Ru 儒 is perhaps the most interesting Confucian texts argue that there is nothing intrinsically unethical about keeping a dog and treating it well, even in so unequal a society as that of the Central States during the late Zhou dynasty, providing that the dog is still clearly considered differently from honored human beings, and that the expenditure served to demonstrate the owner's ritual mastery.