A Study On The Animal Husbandry Economy In The Tang Dynasty And The Five Dynasties

The Tang Dynasty was prosperous politically, economically as well as culturally with great popularity both at home and abroad. Authorities in the Tang Dynasty paid much attention to animal husbandry run by the government and set up comprehensive administrative organs under the central supervision of Taipu Temple, Shang Shu Jia Administration and Shang Cheng Bureau. Among them, Taipu Temple possessed a complete set of managerial system with the administrative personnel of overseeing servant, overseer, overseeing officer, overseeing director and herdsman.To ensure the healthy and orderly development of animal husbandry, the Tang Dynasty laid down a set of regulations for husbandry officials named Jiu Mu Command together with Jiu Mu Law to punish all that had violated the regulations.During more than the first century of the Tang Dynasty, the official husbandry achievement developed on an unprecedented scale. The official husbandry locally administered was also smoothly operated. From the end of Tang Dynasty through Five Dynasties, the focus of official husbandry was removed to the localities.Private-operated husbandry flourished with the individual farmers the principle part. Breeding of large domestic animals was side by side with farming. The industry of poultry and livestock breeding acted as the sideline of farming with characteristic vitality in various geographical conditions.The development of animal husbandry resulted in the improvement of relevant breeds and technologies during the Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties. Lots of breeds were introduced from abroad and nurtured both officially and privately. A number of technologies were created in husbandry and veterinary medicine.In all, the vigorous development of animal husbandry in the Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties guaranteed from the material perspective a good supply of politics, economy, military affairs, etc. It goes without saying that husbandry, an indispensable industry in feudal socioeconomic structure, cooperated harmoniously with farming, handicraft, trade, etc. with encouraging progress.