Straw dog

Straw dogs (simplified Chinese: 刍狗; traditional Chinese: 芻狗; pinyin: chú gǒu), a figure of a dog made out of straw, were used as ceremonial objects in ancient China, but often thrown away after their usage.

Many translations of Chapter 5 of the Tao Te Ching compare living beings to straw dogs. For example: "Heaven and Earth are impartial; they treat all of creation as straw dogs" (translation by J. H. McDonald, 1996).^[1]

Su Zhe's commentary on this verse explains: "Heaven and Earth are not partial. They do not kill living things out of cruelty or give them birth out of kindness. We do the same when we make straw dogs to use in sacrifices. We dress them up and put them on the altar, but not because we love them. And when the ceremony is over, we throw them into the street, but not because we hate them."^[2]

Popular culture[]

• The 1971 film Straw Dogs draws its title from the Tao Te Ching.
  • The 2011 remake Straw Dogs refers to straw dogs.
• The band Something Corporate has a song titled "Straw Dog" on their 2002 album Leaving Through the Window. It includes the line "Hey, now, the straw dog's out in the street."
• Professor John N. Gray's book of trenchant essays is titled Straw Dogs (John Gray, Straw Dogs: Thoughts on Humans and Other Animals, Granta Books 2002, ISBN 1-86207-512-3)
• Guided by Voices song "Strawdogs"
• Stiff Little Fingers song "Straw Dogs"
• Richard Siken poem "Straw House, Straw Dog"
• Manic Street Preachers song Afterending “Trojan horses and straw dogs”

References[]

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