15,697
edits
Changes
no edit summary
Despite the fact that much of ancient Indian society was vegetarian, kings did participate in hunting.<ref>For more on ancient royal hunting in India, see: Sen, S. N. (1999). Ancient Indian history and civilization. New Delhi: New Age International, pg. 134.</ref> In fact, sometimes the names of kings often referred to these activities as a way to remember these kings in later periods. Kings hunted deer and lion and even when there was condemnation of this activity it still seemed common to kings.
[[File:Hongli Spearing a Tiger - detail.png|thumbnail|Figure 2. The royal hunt during the Qing Dynasty. Altough this depiction shows the royal hunt in the Qing Dynasty, this activity originates from much older Chinese royal hunts in royal parks.]]In ancient China, the hunt was also important for royalty. Royal parks were created such as in the Han Dynasty (206 BCE–220 CE), where dogs would be reared and used during these royal activities.<ref>For more information on the royal hunt in ancient China, see: Duindam, J. F. J., & Dabringhaus, S. (Eds.). (2014). The dynastic centre and the provinces: agents and interactions. Leiden ; Boston: Brill, pg. 141.</ref> It was important for the Chinese emperors to find and kill their prey, thus parks are important as a means to ensure there were animals present. Deer, tigers, and rhinoceroses were among the animals hunted in the royal parks (Figure 2). We know that in some periods the royal hunt was also used as an occasion to invite foreign emissaries and diplomats. The emperor would use the opportunity to conduct court business and would use the occasion as an official gathering rather than in the main capital.
In both China and Assyria, the origin of the royal parks and gardens, rather than being a focus of only exotic plants, can be argued to be just as important as places for releasing wild game so that kings and emperors could engage in royal hunts. In other words, the activity of hunting gave primacy to many of these parks in their roles for kingship and power.<ref>For more on ancient royal parks, see: Allsen, T. T. (2006). The royal hunt in Eurasian history. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.</ref>
