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Falconary in China. Mongolian men sell falcons in Beijing. China, circa 1900.
Falconry is a very ancient art. According to one version, it originated in Asia.
The homeland of falconry in China is considered to be the district of Akhchi Kezilesu-the Kyrgyz Autonomous Region of Xinjiang. One of the small ethnic groups of China, the Kyrgyz, who own falconry techniques and preserve the traditions of this art form, lives compactly in this area.
The earliest image of falconary is a bas–relief discovered on the territory of modern Turkey and dated to the 13th century BC. On it, a young man holds a falcon on one hand, and with the other holds a strap that goes to the bird's feet.
In the second century BC, the Chinese emperors used trained falcons to catch pheasants.
In the III century AD, falconry penetrated from China to Korea and Japan.
Already in the XI century AD, falconry in China and than in whole Asia developed as a form of culture. Genghis Khan (1155-1227) was a specialist, connoisseur and connoisseur of hunting birds. Falconry under him was closely connected with the army, which became invincible at that time. The tradition was continued by his grandson Kublai (1215-1294), who, according to the description of the famous traveler Marco Polo, went hunting with 10,000 falcons and 500 gyrfalcons.
Tamerlane (1336-1405) and his worst enemy Bayezid (1360-1403) were great experts in hunting with hunting birds, especially with Altai gyrfalcons, whose hunting yard was served by 6,000 falconers and 7,000 kennels. No European king could afford such a luxury. The role of falconry in the life of mankind is difficult to overestimate: falconry aesthetics, philosophy and strategy have influenced politics, science, literature, fine and military art, which has changed the culture of mankind as a whole.
November 16, 2010 Falconry is recognized by UNESCO as an object of the intangible cultural heritage of mankind.
Falconry was very popular in China and especially Manchuria, from which the Qin Dynasty originates. It was a sport for rich and noble people, the fun of the "golden youth".
