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Natural and social ecology of elephants in Song Dynasty

From:社科报2021-5-30 11:35

Cheng Minsheng pointed out in the third issue of Central Plains culture research in 2021 that elephants, as wild animals or domesticated animals, are symbolic of ecological environment and diplomacy and etiquette. Wild elephants in the Central Plains disappeared after struggling in the early Song Dynasty. Since then, it is mainly distributed in the South-North area of the Tropic of cancer in the southeast and southwest regions, with Fujian and Guangdong being the most dense along the South China Sea. The Song Dynasty legislated to protect wild elephants and prohibit the folk ivory trade. Dramatic changes have taken place since the Southern Song Dynasty. More and more residents hunt and kill vigorously for survival, and local officials also encourage hunting and killing. By the end of the Southern Song Dynasty, elephants almost disappeared in the southeast. The Song Dynasty was the period that paid the most attention to the use of elephant training.