A constant steed of strength

"That confidence is epitomized by Tang portrayals of horses — in sculptures, paintings and poetry," says Ma Shunping from the Palace Museum in Beijing.

"Compared with their Han Dynasty predecessors, Tang horses appear more elongated and relaxed, their composed ease and dignity reflecting the era's profound self-assurance," he says, pointing to the renowned Tang Dynasty painting Lady Guo's Spring Outing — Lady Guo being the sister of Emperor Xuanzong's favored Consort Yang. In the painting, the court ladies sit with effortless poise, reflecting an age when riding was not only permitted for women, but also fashionable among the aristocracy. In a cosmopolitan world shaped by foreign influence, equestrian pursuits became part of ceremony, leisure and display.

Speaking of which, the burial chamber of Tang prince Li Xian (655-684), located in Xianyang city of Shaanxi province, features a mural filled with galloping horses and mallet-wielding riders. Long regarded as a simple scene of people at leisure, on closer examination, it reveals a deeper meaning. Across from the polo players stand foreign envoys, identifiable by their distinct features and dress, engaged in conversation with their Tang hosts. The polo ground was a major diplomatic stage — second only to the palace — where emperors received delegations and projected the vigor of their state.

No Tang poet wrote of horses with greater power than Du Fu (712-770), arguably the finest poet of ancient China:

"The nomad steed — renowned in Dayuan's land;

Its lean, sharp frame all sinew and bone;

Bamboo-hewn ears thrust high and taut;

The wind beneath its hooves — light, fleet, unwrought."