{"product_id":"kings-of-oxen-and-horses-draft-animals-buddhism-and-chinese-rural-religion-paperback","title":"Kings of Oxen and Horses: Draft Animals, Buddhism, and Chinese Rural Religion - Paperback","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eMeir Shahar\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFor centuries in China, people beseeched deities to protect the draft animals on which they relied. Across social classes--from peasants plowing the fields to merchants transporting goods through soldiers riding into battle--animals were essential to daily life and so took on a central place in the religious imagination. Prayers and rituals for animal well-being were most frequently addressed to the Horse King, divine protector of horses, donkeys, and mules, or the Ox King, who watched over oxen and buffaloes. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eKings of Oxen and Horses\u003c\/i\u003e is a history of these two gods: their myths, their rituals, and their worshipers. It examines the place of draft animals in Chinese and Buddhist religious traditions and, in so doing, sheds new light on human interaction with nonhuman animals more broadly. Meir Shahar traces the history of the Horse and Ox Kings from late imperial China back to ancient India, revealing the long-term Buddhist influence on Chinese rural religion. He explores the myth of the draft animal as incarnate god, showing how Buddhism transmitted a belief in the sanctity of cattle and a taboo on beef from India to China. Shahar considers the ties between humans and their animal companions through the prism of religious practice, and he draws illuminating comparisons to other world religions. Bridging the gap between animal studies and religious studies, this book is a major contribution to both.\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eMeir Shahar is the Shoul N. Eisenberg Chair for East Asian Affairs at Tel Aviv University. His books include \u003ci\u003eCrazy Ji: Chinese Religion and Popular Literature \u003c\/i\u003e(1998); \u003ci\u003eThe Shaolin Monastery: History, Religion, and the Chinese Martial Arts \u003c\/i\u003e(2008); and \u003ci\u003eOedipal God: The Chinese Nezha and His Indian Origins\u003c\/i\u003e (2015).\u003c\/p\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 376\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.84 x 9.21 x 6.14 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e March 04, 2025\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52933050040431,"sku":"9780231218290","price":70.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0717\/4966\/4879\/files\/WSHF8rq6PK9780231218290.webp?v=1775862178","url":"https:\/\/finderbooks.com\/products\/kings-of-oxen-and-horses-draft-animals-buddhism-and-chinese-rural-religion-paperback","provider":"Finder Books ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}