Huang Di, the mythical Emperor, invented in 2637 BC the first Chinese "lunar calendar." Chinese thinkers and storytellers have always linked the first four dynasties to their legendary ancestors. In some of the versions, Yu the Great was the ancestor for the Xia dynasty, Xie for the Shang, Qi for the Zhou, and Dafei for the Qin.

The Chinese New Year's celebration also has its mythical background. Some legends focus on the origin of the Chinese zodiac, composed of 12 animals. It is said that an emperor (perhaps Huang Di himself) invited all the animals to a feast, but only 12 came. Based on the sequence of those 12 animals that arrived, the 12-year cycle was created and each year was named after one of the 12 animals. In 2002 the majestic horse takes center stage.

The earliest known archaeological documentation of the existence of horses in China is from the "Longshan culture." At Miaodigou (Henan Province), several fire pits dated about 5000 BC were excavated. Some contained bones of horses. These horses were used only for domestic or mystical sacrificial purposes.

During the Shang and Zhou periods, in order to serve in the afterlife, aristocrats, attendants, servants, soldiers, women, musicians, and, yes, horses, were sacrificed and buried with the deceased members of the royal family. At that time, it was a high honor to be buried with the king, emperor or high nobility.

The sacrificing of humans and animals lasted until the Warring States Period. Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor to unify China, instead of sacrificing any human beings to "defend" his mausoleum complex near Xi'an, had several thousand life-size terracotta soldiers, horses and chariots buried there. Some pottery horses were buried in another pit, considered to be his afterlife "stable."

The practice of burying terracotta figures continued during the Han Dynasty. However, the size was reduced to one-third that in the mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang. One large group of such figures was discovered near to the airport of Xi'an, at the mausoleum complex of the Han Emperor Jing Di (d.141 BC).

In around 771 BC the Western Zhou court was forced by the non-Chinese Rong people to move the capital from Hao (present day Xi'an) to Luoyang. This tribe from the steppe region may have used horses in warfare.

In order to fend off repeated attacks from the non-Han peoples of the north, Qin Shi Huang started to build the Great Wall. These mounted semi-nomads had the advantage of having trained fast horses for war. The Yellow River Basin was not good for breeding horses. Therefore, in the Han and Tang periods, Chinese traded for horses with the nomads at the northern frontier.

The Han emperor Wu Di even launched a war just to get his hands on some fabulous horses from Tianzhu (in modern Gansu).

Inspired by the horse trade, already in the Han period artisans were making variously sized horse images in plastic art. The smaller ones usually were placed in graves, while the larger ones were used for grave monuments. Most of the horse statuettes or statues were made in clay, wood or stone. A dynamic bronze horse from the Eastern Han period was discovered in Gansu. It suggests a mythical flying horse, empowered with divine capabilities, which Chinese at that time believed horses possessed.

During the second half of the Han period, due to costly wars with the Xiongnu, the use of tomb models declined. Centuries later this custom reappeared, especially during the Tang period. A great number of brilliant lead-glazed three-colored horses were made in various sizes, some depicted in delicate movement. Some horse statuettes were made using a combination of clay and wood.

In 311, in the midst of a period of disunity in China (220-589), the equestrians of the Xiongnu sacked Luoyang. This defeat helped to change warfare and brought horses into wider use in the Chinese military. As reliance on the strength and speed of horses grew, so did a certain affinity between the soldiers and their mounts. This affinity was reflected also in the spirit of the society. Special strong feelings toward horses became more evident in Chinese courts from the Tang through the Northern Song dynasties. The well-known artistic motif of eight galloping horses was made widespread by the Tang founder's conquests, and remains popular to this day.

In addition to the use of horses as farm animals or in the military, in peacetime people started to use horses for recreation, such as hunting and polo playing. One example is a painting of an equestrian group made by a royal prince of the Northern Song, Zhao Yan (d. 922), entitled Eight Gentlemen on a Spring Outing. The artist, a horseman himself, wanted to present in a strongly realistic manner the enjoyment of an outing on horseback. Both horses and riders appear equally spirited.

The ladies of the court also participated, apparently separately from men, in such happy events. The "painter emperor" Huizong (1101-1125) painted himself as a horseback rider. In addition to his original compositions, he copied part of a hand-scroll by the 8th century painter Zhang Xuan, entitled Lady Guoguo's Spring Outing, depicting a happy group of equestrian ladies.

The reign of the "military" emperor of the Tang Dynasty, Taizong (r. 627-649), certainly was a boost to the image of the horse. Horses came to be considered not only as the popularly accepted symbols of vigor and strength, but as swift, intelligent, and heroic. This fashion extended to scholars, officials, and aristocrats in the service of the court. Emperor Taizong was so fond of horses that he commissioned Yan Liben (d. 673) to paint a group of his war-horses. Interest remained continuously high in horses during the reign of the Tang emperor Xuanzong (r. 712-756). The court-painter Han Gan (c 715-781) also painted "portraits" of the emperor's horses. According to the Minghuang Zalu (Miscellaneous Records of Emperor Xuanzong), the emperor had four hundred specially trained horses in the stable of his palace, which danced in the Xingqing Palace on his birthday.

Some of the horses were never used in battle, but only trained for entertainment (just as in Europe several hundred years later the Spanish or Austrians specially trained dancing horses). In this period were made a great number of terracotta statuettes of horseback riders (men and women), or individual prancing horses.

The horse painting tradition continued under the Mongol Yuan dynasty. However, the subject matter changed. A famous example is by Ren Renfa (1255-1328), a court painter specializing in social issues, entitled Fat and Lean Horses. Officials who misused power to gain economic advancement were "fat," while those who sacrificed all their time to serve the people suffered and became "lean."

The image and symbolism of horses has long been a staple of Chinese art and calligraphic painting. Modern Chinese artists influenced by European art such as Xu Beihong have left representative works featuring horses, showing that horses certainly have a special status in Chinese culture.

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(opposite page) Giuseppe Castiglione, the Italian born Qing-dynasty court painter, tenderly depicts the carefree postures of the horses. (courtesy of the National Palace Museum)

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(below right) The ears are solid, but the rest of this bronze horse, cast in 11 segments, is hollow. Despite the hardness of its medium, this foal is vivid both in shape and in its proud demeanor, and represents the flowering of Western Han artistic prowess. (courtesy of Liang Sheng-tang)

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Equally adept at both Chinese and Western aesthetics, the bold strokes in Xu Beihong's brush-and-ink work are so vivid, one can practically hear this horse whinny. (courtesy of Chang Foundation)

Most of the Tang dynasty horse relics that have been unearthed bear witness to China's flourishing trade with the western territories.

This stone carving from the Northern Song dynasty, a "horsehead Kuanyin," shows Goddess Kuanyin's anger made incarnate. With hair aflame, her image seeks to help mankind eliminate suffering. (courtesy of the Aurora Culture Foundation)

Unearthed in Sichuan, the galloping steed and groom in this brick relief display earthiness and fortitude.

This colt tranquilly satisfies its thirst, but the gloominess of the background reflects the melancholy that artist Charng Yu experienced while away from home.

The ears are solid, but the rest of this bronze horse, cast in 11 segments, is hollow. Despite the hardness of its medium, this foal is vivid both in shape and in its proud demeanor, and represents the flowering of Western Han artistic prowess. (courtesy of Liang Sheng-tang)

In viewing the evolution of Chinese writing, we can witness how the character "horse" veered away from pictographic representation towards abstraction. Painter Lu Fo-ting integrated Shang dynasty oracle bones and Han dynasty official script into his modern piece, Chelinlin, Maxiaoxiao (Carts and Horses).

Equally adept at both Chinese and Western aesthetics, the bold strokes in Xu Beihong's brush-and-ink work are so vivid, one can practically hear this horse whinny. (courtesy of Chang Foundation)