Did We Pet Fake Cats for 3,500 Years? 

撸了3500年假猫？

Real Domestic Cats Were Actually "Imports" from the Tang Dynasty!

真家猫竟是唐朝“进口货”！

Recently, a research team, through a series of studies

近日，科研团队通过一系列研究

has finally clarified the historical story of humans and cats coexisting on this land of China

终于理清了这段人与猫在中国这片土地上共同生活的历史故事

The study analyzed 22 cat remains from 14 archaeological sites in China, dating from 5,400 years ago to 150 years ago

该研究对5400年前至150年前的来自中国14处考古遗址的22份猫类遗骸进行分析

It was found that leopard cats cohabited with humans for up to 3,500 years, from the late Neolithic Yangshao culture period until the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty

发现豹猫自新石器时代晚期仰韶文化时期至东汉末年与人类共栖长达3500年

Meanwhile, domestic cats did not enter China until around the Tang Dynasty, brought in by merchants via the Silk Road

而家猫直至唐朝前后才通过丝绸之路商旅传入中国

Did Ancient Chinese People Keep Leopard Cats

中国古人养豹猫

A batch of feline remains dating back 5,400 years was unearthed at the Quanhu Village site in western China

中国西部泉护村遗址出土了一批 5400年前的猫科动物遗骸

Scientists conducted morphological and ancient mitochondrial DNA analyses on these remains

科学家们对其进行了形态学和古线粒体DNA分析

and discovered that they did not belong to domestic cats, but rather to leopard cats Prionailurus bengalensis)

发现这些遗骸不属于家猫，而是属于豹猫

Before the earliest appearance of domestic cats in China, there was a nearly 600-year "kitten vacuum period."

在中国最早出现家猫之前，有近600年的“小猫真空期”

In the zooarchaeological records of this period, no kitten remains were found

在这一时期的动物考古记录中，没有发现任何小猫的遗骸

This indicates that there were completely no cats in human settlements at that time, or their presence was extremely rare

这表明当时人类定居点中完全没有猫，或是猫的存在极为罕见

Six centuries after the disappearance of small felids, domestic cat remains began to appear in China and at another Silk Road trade hub in Central Asia

小型猫科动物消失六个世纪后，家猫遗骸开始在中国以及中亚另一处丝绸之路贸易枢纽出现

The arrival of domestic cats may have hindered the re-settlement of leopard cats in human settlements, as these two species occupy similar ecological niches

家猫的到来可能阻碍了豹猫在人类定居点的重新定居，因为这两个物种占据相似的生态位

Additionally, the rise of the ancient Chinese poultry farming industry after the Han Dynasty may have exacerbated conflicts between humans and leopard cats

此外，汉代以后中国古代家禽养殖业的兴起，也可能加剧了人类与豹猫之间的冲突——

Given the leopard cat's habit of preying on poultry, this further prevented them from returning to human activity environments

鉴于豹猫有捕食家禽的习性，这进一步阻止了豹猫重返人类活动环境

Domestic Cats Introduced to China via the Silk Road

通过丝绸之路传入中国的家猫

Researchers conducted mitochondrial DNA analysis on 22 feline bone samples from China spanning over 5,000 years

研究人员对来自中国、时间跨度超过5000年的22份猫科动物骨骼样本进行了线粒体DNA分析

Among them, 14 individuals (dating approximately from 730–1800 AD) were identified as domestic cats

其中14个个体（年代约为公元730–1800年）被鉴定为家猫

These individuals were unearthed from seven archaeological sites, covering a long historical period including the Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming , and Qing dynasties

这些个体出土自七个考古遗址，年代跨越漫长历史时期，涵盖唐代、宋代、元代、明代与清代

The oldest domestic cat individual was unearthed at the Tongwancheng site, an important hub on the Silk Road in western China

年代最早的家猫个体出土于中国西部丝绸之路上的重要枢纽——统万城遗址

Radiocarbon dating revealed that it dates back to approximately 730 AD, belonging to the mid-Tang Dynasty

经碳十四检测得知，它所处的年代约为公元730年，属唐代中期

Considering its age and geographical location, it is one of the earliest known domestic cat remains in the middle section of the Silk Road and eastern Eurasia

结合其年代与地理位置，它是目前已知丝绸之路中段、欧亚东部最早的家猫遗存之一

Another example is the ancient cat genome from the Dzhan Kent site in Kazakhstan, previously published, dated to 775–940 AD (calibrated)

另一例为已发表的哈萨克斯坦詹肯特遗址古猫基因组，测年为校正后公元775–940年

Interestingly, the earliest known image materials of domestic cats in China also date from the same period as this cat

有趣的是，中国目前已知最早的家猫图像资料也与这只家猫属同一时期

They were found in mural patterns in two Tang Dynasty tombs in the Central Plains region of China

发现于中国中原地区两座唐代墓葬的壁画纹样中

The earliest written records explicitly mentioning domestic cats in China also appeared during this period

中国最早对家猫有明确记载的文献同样出现在这一时期

This includes a Tang Dynasty anecdote: an empress gifted her pet cat to a court minister

其中包括一则唐代典故：皇后将宠物猫赠予朝中大臣

These historical records indicate that at the time, domestic cats were regarded as exotic pets in China and were likely kept only by the ancient upper-class nobility

这些历史记载表明，在当时的中国，家猫被视作异国宠物，且大概率仅为古代上层贵族所饲养

This also reflects that domestic cats were introduced to China relatively late

这也反映出家猫传入中国的时间相对较晚

The research team further conducted phylogenetic reconstruction analysis, confirming that domestic cats entered China via the Silk Road

科研团队进一步开展系统发育重建分析，即家猫是经由丝绸之路传入中国的

The transmission path likely relied on trade networks constructed by merchants

传播路径很可能依托商人构建的贸易网络

Spatially, the earliest known domestic cat remains in eastern Eurasia (including the ancient cat from Dzhan Kent in Central Asia and the ancient cat from western China) are all distributed along the ancient Silk Road

从空间上看，欧亚东部已知最早的家猫遗存（包括中亚的詹肯特古猫与中国西部的古猫）均分布于古丝绸之路沿线

Furthermore, they show a close genetic relationship with domestic cats from the Levant region

且在基因组上与黎凡特地区的家猫存在紧密关联

What Did China's Earliest Domestic Cat Look Like?

中国最早的家猫长什么样？

To reconstruct the morphological phenotype of China's currently known oldest domestic cat, the research team completed nuclear genome sequencing with 16x coverage for this sample

为了重建中国目前已知最古老家猫的形态表型，科研团队对该样本完成了16倍覆盖度的核基因组测序

They also tested and analyzed genotypes that are clearly associated with phenotypes in domestic cats

并对已在家猫中明确与表型关联的基因型进行了检测分析

They conducted gene reconstruction analysis on the coat color and patterns of the aforementioned oldest domestic cat

他们对前文中提到的那只最古老家猫的毛色与斑纹开展了基因重建分析

Combining multiple results, they found that this cat was either entirely pure white or a mackerel tabby with white markings

并综合多方面结果，发现那只家猫要么是通体纯白的猫，要么是带有白色斑纹的鲭鱼纹虎斑猫

How Did Ancients Raise Cats?

古人是怎么养猫的？

With the introduction of domestic cats to China during the Tang Dynasty, the first batch of "cat slaves" (cat lovers) was born

随着家猫从唐代传入中国，最早的一批“猫奴“诞生了

五代南唐·周文矩《仕女图》

Cats frequently appeared in many Tang Dynasty paintings of noble ladies

唐代的诸多仕女图中就常出现猫的身影

刁光胤《蜂蝶戏猫图》

Painters skilled in painting cats included Diao Guangyin and He Zunshi, among others

善画猫的画家有刁光胤，何尊师等人

The "Record of Famous Painters of the Tang Dynasty" contains a record stating: "Lu Bian was skilled in painting kittens."

《唐朝名画录》中有“卢弁，善画猫儿”的记载

By the Song Dynasty, the status of cats in people's hearts had risen again

到了宋代，猫在人们心中的地位再次提升

To welcome the arrival of a cat, people even developed a "cat hiring ceremony."

人们为了迎接猫的到来，甚至出现了聘猫仪式

In these special ceremonies, people no longer used the word "buy" to describe acquiring a cat, but instead called it "hire" (pin)

在这些特殊的仪式中，人们不再用“买”来形容猫，而是称之为“聘”

Cats could be "hired" or even spoken of as being "married off."

猫既用聘，亦可言嫁

Specific methods included "threading fish through willow branches," "wrapping in salt," or "wrapping in tea."

具体方法有“买鱼穿柳”“裹盐”“裹茗”等

These were common topics among cat owners

此乃养猫者常谈

The famous poet Lu You was a cat lover

著名诗人陆游就是爱猫人士

He once wrote "Occasionally Obtaining a Li Nu (Cat) That Kills Rats Daily After They Repeatedly Ruined My Books, Composed This Poem as Almost All Rats Were Eliminated"

其曾作《鼠屡败吾书偶得狸奴捕杀无虚日群鼠几空为赋》

By the Song Dynasty, the richness of the pet economy was not much different from modern times

到了宋朝，宠物经济的丰富程度已经跟现代差别不大了

Pet cat trading, cat food shops, pet grooming, pet healthcare, and pet training all developed during this period

宠物猫交易、猫粮店、宠物美容、宠物医疗、宠物训练，都是在这段时间发展起来的

Since domestic cats were still rare pets during the Tang and Song dynasties, cats at that time might have been even more "noble" than they are today!

由于在唐宋时期，家猫还是稀罕宠物，所以当时的猫咪可能比现在还要“高贵”呐！

Next time you hold your own "master" (cat), you might want to think

下次当你抱着自家主子时，不妨想想

Its ancestors were "diplomats" who crossed tens of thousands of miles of desert,

它的祖先可是跨越万里沙漠

Step by step walking towards you along the Silk Road a thousand years ago!

在千年前的丝绸之路上，一步步走到你身边的“外交官”呢！