A breed is a specific group of domestic animals having homogeneous appearance (phenotype), homogeneous behavior, and/or other characteristics that distinguish it from other organisms of the same species and that were arrived at through selective breeding. Despite the centrality of the idea of "breeds" to animal husbandry and agriculture, no single, scientifically accepted definition of the term exists. A breed is therefore not an objective or biologically verifiable classification but is instead a term of art amongst groups of breeders who share a consensus around what qualities make some members of a given species members of a nameable subset.

When bred together, individuals of the same breed pass on these predictable traits to their offspring, and this ability—known as "breeding true"—is a requirement for a breed. Plant breeds are more commonly known as cultivars. The offspring produced as a result of breeding animals of one breed with other animals of another breed are known as crossbreeds or mixed breeds. Crosses between animal or plant variants above the level of breed/cultivar (i.e. between species, subspecies, botanical variety, even different genera) are referred to as hybrids.

A breed is a group of domestic animals with a homogeneous appearance, behavior, and other characteristics that distinguish it from other animals of the same species.

Breed may also refer to:

Places

See also

"Breed" is a song by American rock band Nirvana and written by its frontman Kurt Cobain. It is the fourth song on their 1991 studio album Nevermind.

Background

An early Nirvana song about being trapped in middle-class America. This was a song the band developed during live performances in 1989 when they toured Europe with their Sub Pop labelmates TAD. In an interview with Sub Pop founder Bruce Pavitt, he explained that this song was "hypnotic," and a stylistic breakthrough for the band. "Audiences would become ecstatic," Pavitt said. "They were experiencing Nirvana. And when you're experiencing really good, primal rock n roll, you break into a trance."

Writing

Kurt Cobain wrote this when he was first starting to more deeply explore his songwriting talent, and he had begun to write about the people around him. The original version was recorded at Smart Studios with Butch Vig, and it was the most complex song of the session: it began under the title "Immodium" - named after a friend's diarrhea medicine, yet there is very little in the version recorded at Smart to connect it with the medicine. Kurt instead used the title to suggest the running-on of the mouth. It was much more complex than much of Nirvana's early material, each chorus beginning and ending with the line "she said," implying that the song was meant to capture spoken dialogue, which is often overlooked.

Dogū (土偶)(meaning "clay figures") are small humanoid and animal figurines made during the late Jōmon period (14,000–400 BC) of prehistoric Japan. Dogū come exclusively from the Jōmon period. By the Yayoi period, which followed the Jōmon period, Dogū were no longer made. There are various styles of Dogū, depending on exhumation area and time period. According to the National Museum of Japanese History, the total number found throughout Japan is approximately 15,000. Dogū were made across all of Japan, except Okinawa. Most of the Dogū have been found in eastern Japan and it is rare to find one in western Japan. The purpose of the Dogū remains unknown and should not be confused with the clay haniwa funerary objects of the Kofun period (250 – 538).

Origins

Some scholars theorize the Dogū acted as effigies of people, that manifested some kind of sympathetic magic. For example, it may have been believed that illnesses could be transferred into the Dogū, then destroyed, clearing the illness, or any other misfortune.

The Dog (狗) is one of the 12-year cycle of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac related to the Chinese calendar. The Year of the Dog is associated with the Earthly Branch symbol 戌. The character 狗 refers to the actual animal while 戌 refers to the zodiac animal.

Years and the Five Elements

People born within these date ranges can be said to have been born in the "Year of the Dog", while also bearing the following elemental sign:

Basic astrology elements

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References

Dogs are an important motif in Chinese mythology. These motifs include a particular dog which accompanies a hero, the dog as one of the twelve totem creatures for which years are named, a dog giving first provision of grain which allowed current agriculture, and claims of having a magical dog as an original ancestor in the case of certain ethnic groups.

Myth versus history

Chinese mythology is those myths found in the geographic area called China, which of course has evolved and changed throughout its history. These include myths in Chinese and other languages, as transmitted by Han Chinese as well as other ethnic groups (of which fifty-six are officially recognized by the current administration of China). (Yang 2005:4)

In the study of historical Chinese culture, many of the stories that have been told regarding characters and events which have been written or told of the distant past have a double tradition: one which tradition which presents a more historicized and one which presents a more mythological version.(Yang 2005: 12-13) This is also true of some accounts related to mythological dogs in China.