Cat Merchants and Tea Dealers at Tong Chow
by Michael
Tong-chow-foo is 12 miles from Peking, now Bejing on the river Pei-ho. Well, it was in 1843 and before that but things change.
However, one thing that has not changed in centuries is the eating of the domestic cat by some Chinese people.
Please note: (a) I am not generalizing by saying “Chinese people” and (b) I am not being judgmental in this post, although I dislike the practice intensely. I have been judgmental in the past but don’t regret it.
In a book on China written by Thomas Allom Esq. in 1843 and entitled: Scenary, Architecture, Social Habits Etc. Illustrated, he refers to the:
Cat Merchants and Tea Dealers at Tong Chow
Here is a picture from the book. Copyright has expired so I can publish it here and some quotes from the book:
Here is a detail showing the cats and cages more clearly:
The cats are tabbby and white random bred cats swept up from the streets of nearby towns. The quote below refers to wildcats of Tartary. This seems to refer to the region where Tartars lived. As to wildcats I suspect these were feral cats although it could refer to the Chinese desert cat. That species of wild cat would have been found in Tartary, I believe. The Chinese desert (or mountain) cat is a subspecies of wildcat which is the ancestor of the domestic cat. It therefore looks like a tabby cat but would have been more exotic and special. This wild cat species still lives in China…just! It is in a highly vulnerable situation.
The buyer in the picture (the man with the cane) seems to be inspecting the cat. He seems to be stroking the cat. I am sure there was some sort of protocol for deciding which sort of cat was the tastiest.
Here are some quotes from the book which explains what is going on:
“In ancient Chinese writings, cats are spoken of as a delicacy at table; but the species alluded to was found wild in Tartary, and brought thence to China, where they were regularly fed for the markets of the principal cities.”
“The salesmen enter the market-place, or step from their junks upon shore, having baskets suspended at the extremities of a carrying-pole, in which are contained dogs,cats, rats or birds either tame or wild, generally alive..”
” Beside the tarpaulin supporters, table-frame, and trellis-work of the tea-vender’s shop, the conical baskets in which the cats are brought to market, the pole from which they are suspended, the broad….”
As you can see cat, dog and all manner of animals that we would not consider food were and are eaten in China.
I am interested in the historical side of this aspect of the Chinese culture.
Today domestic and feral cats are shipped in metal rather than wooden cages on lorries from towns to the market place. It is the same process, different materials, same cats.
I think you will find that the culture of domestic eating is at its strongest in Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong Province, China.
The most uncomfortable part about domestic cat eating is not the eating. It is the treatment that the cat endures before being killed and during the act of killing both of which are highly unpleasant to me. As far as I am aware, there are still no laws concerned with animal welfare in China.
What, eat poor pussy! Eat my pet,
So soft and gentle, sleek and warm?
Go, gorge truss’d mice; I’ll not regret:
“Cat” may eat rarely in a stew or pie:
Let mine pur pleasure, -I’ve no wish to try.
CJC.
Michael
