Livestock in the Han Dynasty

[Flagelli45]

Farmers in the Han Dynasty lived in villages and walked each day to their farms to tend their crops, so where did they keep their livestock?

I assume they would keep it in the village, but I can't find any evidence of that.

Keeping livestock in the village would guard against theft, and also the animals could be brought in at night to keep the home warm. As for chickens, though, I can't imagine having them inside. Were they kept in henhouses?

[Mindmaxd]

They park their livestocks in the 马厩stables，At that time people are more kind than now and in villages people in general know each other,No days if you go to some village they sitll did like that,chickens and ducks run everywhere in the yard or on the road.

[Flagelli45]

Thank you for the kind response.

I don't quite understand the part about the 马厩/stables, though. I think farmers in the Han Dynasty used oxen, not horses, and I believe they also had pigs and goats. Did they put all of that livestock in a 马厩/stable, which is normally for horses?

[Mindmaxd]

Well 马厩 is not only fro horse,oxen and mule are also okay,like garage you can put everything you want not only car,Yeah they also have pigs and goals,pig have 猪圈pigsty,and goats have 羊圈sheepfold,search these words one baidu you will have some new clues,I think the chinese version have somethng different from your side.

[Flagelli45]

Thank you. I didn't know that 马厩 meant "barn." I thought it was just for horses

[xiaocai]

I learnt somewhere in history class that 陶猪圈 is one of the most common grave goods found in tombs of Han Dynasty. I'm not really very sure but from the pictures I've seen they were very likely built as part of the backyard of country houses. You can still see this practice in certain rural areas of China.