HorseOrigin

The character “马” (Horse) is one of the oldest pictographic characters in Chinese writing. It had already appeared in Shang-dynasty oracle-bone inscriptions, where it resembled the side profile of a Horse: a long face, large eyes, a flying mane, four hooves lifted from the ground, and a raised tail. The oracle-bone form of “马” vividly portrays a Horse in full gallop—the head facing left, the body behind it, two legs stretching forward in flight, and the mane streaming in the wind.

By the Western Zhou period, the form of “马” in bronze inscriptions gradually became simplified and more symbolic. The Horse’s head, eye, body, legs, and tail were all simplified to varying degrees. In Qin small-seal script, the mane and four legs were transformed into four dots. Han clerical script further straightened and regularized the form. By the time standard script took shape in the Wei and Jin periods, the traditional character “馬” had become essentially the same as its modern form.

Xu Shen of the Eastern Han explained in the *Shuowen Jiezi · Ma Bu* (《说文解字·马部》): “马，怒也，武也。象马头、髦、尾、四足之形。” This means that the Horse represents martial vigor and strength, while the shape of the character reproduces the Horse’s head, mane, tail, and four legs. In Chinese writing, there are hundreds of characters containing “马” as a component or radical, covering many aspects of Horses—from coat color such as 骊 and 骐, to age such as 驹 and 騕, movement such as 驰 and 骋, and breeds or qualities such as 骁 and 骏. This demonstrates the extraordinarily central place occupied by the Horse in the lives of the early peoples of China.

The pairing of “Wu” and the Horse formed a highly influential cultural image in traditional Chinese culture. “Wu-Horse” came to represent such positive qualities as vigor, initiative, loyalty, and swiftness. Whether in the bold freedom of “天马行空”, the courage of “一马当先”, or the wisdom of “老马识途”, these expressions perfectly embody the spiritual meanings produced by the union of “Wu” and the Horse.

Wu hour runs from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. and is also known as “Rizhong,” or midday. It is the moment of the day when Yang energy is at its strongest, with the sun hanging high in the southern sky. The ancients believed that the Horse was a “Yang animal,” that its nature belonged to Fire, and that when it ran it resembled raging flames. The brilliant midday sun and peak of Yang energy thus corresponded closely with the Horse’s fiery nature and masculine vigor. Wang Chong of the Eastern Han recorded in the *Lunheng · Wushi Pian* (《论衡·物势篇》): “午，马也。” He also wrote: “午亦火也，其禽马也。” The core logic behind pairing “Wu” with the Horse therefore lies in the Five-Element correspondence between “Wu Fire” and “Horse Fire.”

Beyond the traditional hours and the Five Elements, the pairing of “Wu” and the Horse may also have been influenced by astronomy. The ancients called the celestial mansion Fang, one of the Twenty-Eight Mansions, “Tiansi”, meaning the Heavenly Horses. In ancient stellar cosmology, Fang lay precisely in the due-south “Wu” position, with south represented by Wu, thereby providing an astronomical basis for pairing Wu with the Horse. In addition, the ancients believed that “Qian is the Horse.” The Qian trigram corresponds directionally to due south, the same direction as Wu. The Horse is an image of Qian and a symbol of vigorous advancement. The line from the *Zhouyi · Qian Gua* (《周易·乾卦》), “天行健，君子以自强不息”, perfectly expresses the core spirit conveyed by the Wu-Horse.

According to the Jin-dynasty *Bowuzhi* (《博物志》): “马无四足，两耳十五。” The ancients held a distinctive view of the Horse: the Horse had no four feet, or hooves, but instead had two ears, and on the ears were fifteen “teeth.” After a Horse reached twelve years of age, one additional “tooth” appeared for every subsequent year. “Wu” ranks seventh among the twelve earthly branches, while the Horse also ranks seventh among the twelve zodiac animals, and the two therefore correspond to one another.

In 1975, the *Daozhe* section of the bamboo-slip *Rishu* (《日书·盗者》), unearthed from Qin Tomb No. 11 at Shuihudi in Yunmeng County, Hubei, recorded pairings related to the twelve zodiac animals. The tomb has been dated to the era of Qin Shi Huang, in the third century BCE. Yet one item in this list is particularly striking—the animal paired with “Wu” is the Deer rather than the Horse. This differs significantly from the modern standard zodiac: today Wu is paired with the Horse, but in the Qin slips Wu was paired with the Deer. This shows that from the late Warring States to the Qin period, although the twelve-animal zodiac had already begun to take shape, the animal corresponding to the Wu position had not yet been fixed.

Type A of the Qin bamboo-slip *Rishu* unearthed at Fangmatan in Tianshui, Gansu, likewise records the twelve zodiac animals, with “Wu” corresponding to the Horse. The Fangmatan list reads: Zi-Rat, Chou-Ox, Yin-Tiger, Mao-Rabbit, Chen-Insect, Si-Snake, Wu-Horse, Wei-Goat, Shen-Monkey, You-Rooster, Xu-Dog, Hai-Pig—a sequence already very close to the modern standard twelve-animal zodiac. It is worth noting, however, that elsewhere in the Fangmatan Qin slips, there is also a record pairing “Wu” with the Goat. The Han bamboo-slip *Rishu* from Kongjiapo in Suizhou, Hubei, likewise pairs Wu with either the Horse or the Deer. The corresponding animals assigned to the Wu position therefore differ among Qin slips from different regions—some use the Deer, some the Horse, and some the Goat. This demonstrates that from the late Warring States through the Qin period, the twelve-animal zodiac system had not yet been fully unified.

The Fangmatan Qin bamboo-slip records concerning the twelve zodiac animals are the earliest comparatively complete documentary records of the twelve-animal zodiac and are of extremely important research value for understanding the origins and formation of the ancient Chinese zodiac.

The earliest transmitted text to record the same twelve zodiac animals as those used today is Wang Chong’s Eastern Han *Lunheng* (《论衡》). Wang Chong explicitly writes in the *Lunheng · Wushi Pian* (《论衡·物势篇》): “午，马也。” “午亦火也，其禽马也。” In the *Wushi Pian*, he pairs the twelve zodiac animals one by one with the twelve earthly branches—Rat with Zi, Ox with Chou, Tiger with Yin, Rabbit with Mao, Dragon with Chen, Snake with Si, Horse with Wu, Goat with Wei, Monkey with Shen, Rooster with You, Dog with Xu, and Pig with Hai. This shows that by the Eastern Han period, in the first century CE, the pairing of “Wu” and the Horse had reached its final standardized form.

In the Qin bamboo-slip *Rishu* of the late Warring States and Qin periods, the Wu position still showed several competing correspondences—the Deer, Horse, and Goat—indicating that understandings of the Wu zodiac animal had not yet been unified across different regions. By the Eastern Han *Lunheng*, however, the pairing of Wu with the Horse was finally fixed. This transformation reflects both the role of Qin-Han political unification in driving cultural integration and the increasingly widespread recognition of the Horse’s social status and economic value as one of humanity’s most important working animals.

The twelve zodiac figurines, also known as divine figurines of the Twelve Branches, were distinctive burial objects in ancient Chinese funerary culture. Large numbers of pottery zodiac figurines with animal heads and human bodies have been unearthed from Tang tombs. Among them, the Wu-Horse figurine has a Horse’s head and human body and is dressed in the attire of a civil official. The Tang-dynasty *Tang Huiyao* (《唐会要》) records ritual regulations governing the burial of zodiac figurines. The twelve pottery zodiac figurines followed a fixed order inside tombs and were placed at the four corners of the burial chamber, three each in the East, South, West, and North, beginning with the Rat and ending with the Pig and arranged clockwise according to the orientation of Zi in the South and Wu in the North. The Horse figurine was usually placed in the direction representing due south, corresponding to Wu among the twelve earthly branches.

Late Shang chariot pits at Yinxu, Anyang, Henan: Dozens of chariot pits have been unearthed at Yinxu, each containing two Horses and one chariot. These are the earliest surviving physical remains of Horse-drawn chariots in China.

Western Zhou bronze chariot-and-Horse fittings: During the Western Zhou period, the craftsmanship of chariot construction became increasingly sophisticated, and bronze chariot-and-Horse fittings—including bits, cheekpieces, and forehead ornaments—appeared in large numbers.

Terracotta Army of the Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang, Xi’an, Shaanxi, third century BCE: Thousands of pottery Horses have been unearthed from the Terracotta Army pits of the First Emperor’s mausoleum. These Horses are large in form, well proportioned, and vividly posed, and can be divided into two major categories: draught Horses pulling chariots and riding Horses used by cavalry. Qin pottery Horses are treasures of ancient Chinese sculptural art.

Han-dynasty bronze galloping Horse known as “Horse Treading on a Flying Swallow,” unearthed in 1969 from the Leitai Han tomb in Wuwei, Gansu: The piece stands 34.5 centimeters high and measures 45 centimeters long. The Horse is shown in full gallop, with three legs lifted into the air and one hoof resting on a flying swallow. This work vividly expresses Han-dynasty understandings of the extraordinary speed of a fine Horse. “Horse Treading on a Flying Swallow” has now become one of the iconic symbols of Chinese tourism and is included in the *First Catalogue of Cultural Relics Prohibited from Exhibition Abroad*.

Horses on Han pictorial stones: Large numbers of Han-dynasty pictorial stones unearthed in Shandong, Shaanxi, Henan, and other regions depict scenes of chariot-and-Horse processions, hunting, and archery, providing precious records of Horse culture during the Han dynasty.

Tang sancai Horses: The Tang dynasty was a golden age of ancient Chinese sculptural art, and sancai Horses are among the representative works of Tang ceramic sculpture. Tang sancai Horses are large-bodied and full in form, with brilliant glazed colors, and constitute a vivid reflection of both Tang social prosperity and the flourishing of Horse culture.

Tang-dynasty painted pottery zodiac figurines: Large numbers of pottery zodiac figurines with animal heads and human bodies have been unearthed from Tang tombs. Among them, Wu-Horse figurines have Horse heads and human bodies and wear the attire of civil officials. Examples are now held by institutions including the Shaanxi History Museum.

The Horse-head bronze of the Old Summer Palace formed part of the hydraulic clock system at Haiyantang, designed during the Qianlong reign of the Qing dynasty under the direction of the Italian missionary Giuseppe Castiglione and supervised by the French missionary Michel Benoist. Twelve statues with animal heads and human bodies were arranged in two diverging rows in the shape of the character “八” beside the fountain pool before Haiyantang. At each traditional two-hour period, the corresponding animal head spouted water from its mouth to mark the time. During Wu hour, from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., the Horse-head bronze projected a column of water from its mouth.

In 1860, Anglo-French forces burned the Old Summer Palace and the twelve zodiac bronzes were looted and dispersed overseas. The Horse head remained abroad for more than a century. In 2007, the Horse head was purchased for HK$69.10 million by the patriotic figure Stanley Ho, and in 2019 he formally donated it to China’s National Cultural Heritage Administration, allowing it to return to the Old Summer Palace. The Horse head became the first original among the twelve zodiac heads to return to the Old Summer Palace.

In ancient Chinese artifacts and works of art, the image of the Horse evolved from warhorse to fine steed and from realism to expressive interpretation. The Horses in Shang and Zhou chariot pits symbolized warfare and power; the Horse in the Han bronze “Horse Treading on a Flying Swallow” symbolized speed and freedom; the Horse in Tang sancai ceramics symbolized prosperity and wealth; and Horses in Ming and Qing painting became vessels for the spirit of the literati.

The myths and legends surrounding the Wu-Horse rank among the richest and most vivid in all twelve zodiac animals. From the celestial Horse being banished from Heaven to Bole judging Horses, from “Lord Horse has three eyes” to the White Dragon Horse carrying the scriptures, the Horse’s mythological image spans Heaven and the human world, warfare and peace.

This is the most classic and widely circulated legend explaining how the Horse came down from Heaven to the human world, and its plot is particularly intricate and vivid.

The Celestial Horse’s Original Form —— The Jade Emperor’s Flying Steed

According to legend, in ancient times Horses had a pair of wings on their backs. This creature was called the Celestial Horse, the Jade Emperor’s imperial mount, and it could run across the earth, swim through water, and fly through the sky. The Celestial Horse not only possessed extraordinary divine power but could also perform many magical arts, making it one of the Jade Emperor’s favorite divine beasts. Because it enjoyed the Jade Emperor’s favor, the Celestial Horse gradually became arrogant and domineering. It often rampaged through the Celestial Palace, behaving tyrannically and leaving the heavenly realm in constant disorder, to the endless complaints of the immortals. One day, bored with playing in Heaven, the Celestial Horse broke free of its reins and flew out of the Celestial Palace. It arrived at the gates of the Dragon Palace of the Eastern Sea and arrogantly demanded entry. When the Dragon King of the Eastern Sea learned of this, he flew into a rage and fought a fierce battle with the Celestial Horse. Relying on its wings and formidable magical and martial powers, the Horse battled the Dragon King until Heaven and earth seemed to darken. In the end, however, the Celestial Horse could not withstand the Dragon King’s overwhelming powers, and its wings were injured. After recovering, it grew even more arrogant and, taking advantage of the Jade Emperor’s inattention, secretly descended to the human world.

The Celestial Horse Causes Trouble —— Banished Beneath Mount Kunlun

After arriving in the mortal world, the Celestial Horse became even more lawless. Far from helping humanity, it trampled crops, charged into ordinary people, and brought chaos to human life. The people suffered greatly from its behavior and burned incense to petition Heaven, asking the Jade Emperor to punish the Celestial Horse. When the Jade Emperor learned what had happened, he was furious and ordered the Celestial Horse’s wings to be cut off. From then onward, Horses could no longer fly through the sky. The Jade Emperor further ordered that the Celestial Horse be taken beneath Mount Kunlun and held there for three hundred years, unable to rise.

The Celestial Horse Reforms —— Losing Its Wings and Descending to Earth

Three hundred years later, recalling the Celestial Horse’s former merits, the Jade Emperor released it from Mount Kunlun. By then its two wings had been removed and it could no longer fly. Banished permanently to the mortal world, it became humanity’s companion—pulling carts, plowing fields, carrying loads, and fighting in wars. The Celestial Horse knew that it had violated the laws of Heaven and from then on thoroughly repented, serving humankind tirelessly and without complaint. In times of war, it wore armor and saddle, charged into battle, and won illustrious military achievements; in times of peace, it tilled the land, pulled carts, carried goods, and shared both hardship and joy with humanity. Grateful for the Celestial Horse’s contributions, people recommended it to the Jade Emperor, and for this reason it was selected as one of the twelve zodiac animals.

The Origin of “天马行空”

Although the Horse could no longer fly, it remained the fastest-running animal on earth. The ancients connected the sight of Horses galloping at extraordinary speed across the land with the Celestial Horse’s former flight through the heavens, giving rise to the expression “天马行空”. It describes the astonishing speed of the celestial steed and is also used metaphorically for extraordinary talent and bold, unconstrained spirit.

During the Spring and Autumn period, there was a man named Sun Yang who was exceptionally skilled at distinguishing good Horses from poor ones. Any Horse he selected was certain to be a thousand-li Horse. Because the star believed in mythology to govern celestial Horses was called “Bole,” people came to call Sun Yang by that name.

According to legend, Bole was once commissioned by the King of Chu to find a fine Horse capable of traveling a thousand li in a single day. Bole traveled through several states and carefully examined many Horses but could not find one that satisfied him. One day, he saw an emaciated Horse on the road. It was pulling a salt cart uphill, and every step was painfully difficult, leaving it panting with exhaustion. Bole approached and examined it carefully. Although the Horse looked thin and weak, its bone structure was remarkable and unlike that of ordinary Horses. He concluded that it was a rare thousand-li Horse. Bole told the driver: “If this Horse is used for pulling a cart, it is inferior to an ordinary Horse; but if you sell it to the King of Chu, traveling a thousand li in a day will be no problem for it.” The driver assumed Bole was joking and readily sold the Horse to him.

Bole brought the thin Horse before the King of Chu. Seeing how skeletal the animal was, the king thought Bole was making a fool of him and became very angry. Bole calmly explained: “This truly is a thousand-li Horse. It is simply thin because it has spent so long pulling carts and has not been properly fed. Feed it well, and within half a month it will certainly recover the true form of a thousand-li Horse.” The King of Chu remained doubtful but ordered his finest stable hands to care for the Horse carefully. Sure enough, in less than half a month the Horse became strong and magnificent. It raised its head and neighed loudly, its voice seeming to pierce the clouds. When the king mounted it, he felt the wind rushing past both ears as though soaring through clouds and mist; in the blink of an eye, the Horse had run more than a hundred li. The king was overjoyed and thereafter cherished the thousand-li Horse deeply.

The story of Bole judging Horses became an allusion passed down through the ages. People use “Bole” as a metaphor for someone skilled at discovering talent and “thousand-li Horse” as a metaphor for an outstanding person.

During the Spring and Autumn period, Duke Huan of Qi led troops in an attack against the Shanrong and lost his way during the journey. His minister Guan Zhong advised: “Old Horses know the road. Why not let several old Horses lead from the front?” Duke Huan accepted Guan Zhong’s suggestion and released several old Horses to walk at the head of the army. Sure enough, the Horses followed the route they had previously taken and led the Qi army out of danger.

The allusion “老马识途” has been passed down to the present day and is used to describe experienced people who understand the situation and can find their way through complex circumstances. In this story, the Horse is endowed with the symbolism of “wisdom” and “experience.” It is not merely physically strong, but also an elder distinguished by knowledge.

In Chinese folk legend, “Lord Horse” is a deity who governs Horses and is worshipped as a protective god by Horse keepers, cart drivers, and cavalrymen. Lord Horse is also called the “Horse God” or “Maming King.” Folk tradition holds that he became a deity after the Celestial Horse descended to earth and cultivated itself. Unlike ordinary Horses, Lord Horse has three eyes, with an additional divine eye on his forehead. This eye was a “wisdom eye” granted by the Jade Emperor, enabling him to distinguish all good and evil, loyalty and treachery in the world.

According to legend, during the Ming dynasty, the Prince of Yan Zhu Di, later the Yongle Emperor, led troops on campaign and fought in the region of Hebei. At the most critical moment of the battle, Zhu Di’s army was nearly surrounded by enemy forces. Just as he had no solution, a divine chestnut Horse suddenly descended from Heaven and carried Zhu Di out of the encirclement. The Horse ran with extraordinary speed, covering several hundred li in the blink of an eye, far beyond the enemy’s ability to pursue. Once Zhu Di had escaped danger, the divine Horse suddenly vanished. Believing that Lord Horse had manifested himself to provide assistance, Zhu Di ordered Horse King temples to be built throughout the country to enshrine images of Lord Horse.

In the Chinese classical novel *Journey to the West* (《西游记》), the image of the Horse receives especially vivid treatment. The White Dragon Horse, Tang Monk’s mount on his journey to obtain Buddhist scriptures in the West, was originally the third prince of the Dragon King of the Western Sea.

The White Dragon Horse was originally the third prince of Ao Run, Dragon King of the Western Sea, and was known as the Third Prince Yulong. After he set fire to a precious pearl in the palace, his father reported him to Heaven, and the Jade Emperor sentenced him to death for disobedience. At the critical moment, Guanyin Bodhisattva passed by and pleaded with the Jade Emperor, securing a pardon from the death sentence. Guanyin instructed the Third Prince Yulong to wait at Eagle Sorrow Stream for Tang Monk and to serve as his mount on the journey westward for the scriptures.

When Tang Monk passed Eagle Sorrow Stream, the Third Prince Yulong suddenly leapt from the water and swallowed Tang Monk’s White Horse in a single bite. Sun Wukong fought him, and Yulong, unable to defeat him, hid beneath the water. Guanyin Bodhisattva later arrived and enlightened the Third Prince Yulong, transforming him into a White Horse to carry Tang Monk westward in search of the scriptures. From then on, the White Dragon Horse followed Tang Monk in the form of a Horse, endured the eighty-one ordeals, and finally reached the Western Paradise. After the successful completion of the pilgrimage, the White Dragon Horse was granted by the Buddha the title “Eightfold Heavenly Dragon Horse.” He regained his Dragon body and coiled around a *huabiao* pillar.

The story of the White Dragon Horse is the most vivid embodiment of the relationship between Horse and Dragon—a Dragon can transform into a Horse, a Horse can become a Dragon, and Dragon and Horse are fundamentally one.

In Chinese folk belief, the Horse was revered as the “Horse God,” with dedicated Horse King Temples or Horse God Temples established for worship. In the past, people who raised Horses and cart drivers made offerings to the Horse God every year on the twenty-third day of the sixth lunar month, traditionally believed to be Lord Horse’s birthday, praying for strong Horses and safe journeys. The formation of Horse-God worship was closely connected with the Horse’s central role in agriculture and warfare. Grateful for the Horse’s loyalty and hard labor, people deified and worshipped it. This belief also constituted part of the social foundation for the Horse’s inclusion in the twelve-animal zodiac.

As zodiac culture spread, it incorporated elements from the local cultures of different countries, and the image of the Horse developed different forms across East Asia.

Viewed across the origins and evolution of the Wu-Horse zodiac, a clear trajectory emerges: from plurality to unity, and from regional variation to an integrated system. Characters and texts tell us that because Yang energy reaches its height during Wu hour and because the Horse is regarded as a “Yang animal” belonging to Fire, the Horse forms a perfect Five-Element correspondence with the earthly branch Wu and its attribute of “Yang Fire.” Yet in the Qin bamboo-slip *Rishu* of the late Warring States period, the animal corresponding to Wu took three different forms in different regions—Deer, Horse, and Goat: the Shuihudi Qin slips pair Wu with the Deer, the Fangmatan Qin slips pair it with the Horse, while the Kongjiapo Han slips contain both Horse and Deer. These regional differences demonstrate that before Qin-Han unification, the twelve-animal zodiac system still existed in a plural state, with different regions maintaining their own versions. Only with Wang Chong’s Eastern Han *Lunheng* was Wu paired definitively with the Horse. The cultural integration of the Qin and Han dynasties thus pushed the Horse into its fixed seventh position in the zodiac.

Archaeology reveals the long history through which the Horse and Chinese civilization developed alongside one another. From Horse-bone remains of the late Neolithic period to the chariot pits of Yinxu, from the pottery Horses of the Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang to the Han bronze galloping Horse known as “Horse Treading on a Flying Swallow,” from the magnificence of Tang sancai Horses to the turbulent history of the Horse-head bronze of the Old Summer Palace—the Horse’s place in Chinese history continually rose, transforming from a source of meat into a strategic military resource, from a means of transportation into a cultural symbol, without interruption. The Horse was not merely an assistant in agricultural production, but also a core national strategic resource—“国之大事在戎，戎之大用在马.”

What truly gives the Wu-Horse its soul is the vast world of myths and legends. In these narratives born among the people, the Horse is the Celestial Horse whose wings were cut off, banished from Heaven to the human world yet ultimately reformed; it is the thousand-li Horse recognized by Bole’s discerning eye; it is the wise elder in the story of the old Horse that knows the way; it is the protective deity Lord Horse with three eyes; and it is the union of Dragon and Horse embodied in the “Eightfold Heavenly Dragon Horse” of *Journey to the West*. The Horse’s image moves from arrogance to humility, from Heaven to the human world, from divine beast to companion. This complete narrative of transformation endowed the Horse with the cultural qualities of “recognizing one’s errors and beginning anew” and “loyal dedication.”

When the Horse zodiac traveled beyond the Central Plains to Japan, Vietnam, and the Korean Peninsula, it acquired new forms within different cultures—the ema votive tradition of Japan and the symbolism of strength in Vietnam—while consistently retaining its honored position as the seventh animal of the zodiac. This perhaps suggests that the vitality of a cultural symbol lies not in whether it is reproduced without alteration, but in whether it possesses sufficient inclusiveness and symbolic power. The Wu-Horse is precisely such a symbol. It comes galloping from the grasslands of remote antiquity, bearing war chariots and carrying civilization, and has stamped upon the Chinese land its most heroic hoofprint.

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