A constant steed of strength

Agalloping horse, caught in full flight in a moment of unrestrained exhilaration — all four hooves lifted from the ground, its head tipped to one side in joyous abandon. From its flared nostrils to its gaping mouth and wild, bulging eyes, each detail testifies to the boundless force surging through its every sinew in that single, blazing instant. Excavated in 1969 from a Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 220) tomb in Wuwei city in Northwest China's Gansu province — its chambers sealed nearly 19 centuries ago — the bronze horse has since become an emblem of strength. It stands as a testament to fortitude, a token of unbridled vigor and verve, capturing not only the spirit of its own age, but a vital strand of China's long historical arc.

"Throughout Chinese history, a horse is far from just a mount — it represents the might of a country, the dynamism of a culture, and the free spirit of a man," says Tan Zuowen, who teaches ancient Chinese literature at Beijing's Capital Normal University.

Tan traces the celebration — and divination — of the horse back to I Ching (Book of Changes), one of the oldest and most influential classics in Chinese thought, the origins of which stretch back more than three millennia.

At the core of I Ching are 64 hexagrams that chart the full spectrum of change in the universe. The very first, qian gua, represents unbroken creative force. "Qian is Heaven, is the circle, … is jade, is gold … is fire, is the horse, whether robust, lean or mottled," the text declares, invoking the many forms through which its vitality manifests.

"The horse is placed alongside Heaven, metal and fire — forces that govern and generate," Tan says.

"It shows just how deeply the animal is embedded in the Chinese imagination."

That imagination only deepened, as horse-drawn chariots thundered across early Chinese history, their presence etched into annals and tomb walls alike. By the late Shang Dynasty (c. 16th century-11th century BC), the chariot — drawn by teams of powerful horses — had emerged as a transformative force.