It is interesting how Chinese culture seems to have very little respect for animal life while western culture does. It's weird because Chinese art for a very long time was focused on nature and landscapes and not on human beings.
You would think this would translate into a cultural respect for nature and animals but it really hasn't. On the other hand in the west, Christians were given dominion over the earth in the bible. You would think this would translate over to Chinese like apathy but it hasn't. Animals, especially dogs, have always been a big part of western culture. It's not a new first world thing either. At the siege of Ma'arra in 1098, a chronicler from the time was more freaked out at the fact the crusaders were eating dogs than he was that they were eating other people. The quote was "the Christians did not shrink from eating not only killed Turks or Saracens, but even dogs!"
Just found that interesting.
You would think this would translate into a cultural respect for nature and animals but it really hasn't. On the other hand in the west, Christians were given dominion over the earth in the bible. You would think this would translate over to Chinese like apathy but it hasn't. Animals, especially dogs, have always been a big part of western culture. It's not a new first world thing either. At the siege of Ma'arra in 1098, a chronicler from the time was more freaked out at the fact the crusaders were eating dogs than he was that they were eating other people. The quote was "the Christians did not shrink from eating not only killed Turks or Saracens, but even dogs!"
Just found that interesting.