2026 marks the Bingwu Year of the Horse in the Chinese lunar calendar. As one of the most dynamic cultural symbols in fine traditional Chinese culture, the horse once again takes center stage. The domestication and utilization of the horse constitute a major milestone in the development of human civilization. In ancient China, a complete body of knowledge surrounding horse evaluation, taming, and chariot driving was closely tied to the national economy and people’s livelihoods. To trace the cultural origins, symbolic evolution, and contemporary relevance of the horse, CSST recently interviewed scholars of literature, history, folklore, and art, seeking to illuminate the historical context and modern renewal of this enduring cultural symbol.

Profound influence on human civilization

Archaeological discoveries have outlined a relatively clear timeline for the domestication of horses in China. Scientific consensus indicates that the domestic horse descended from wild equines, and the western Eurasian grasslands are widely recognized by scholars as the earliest region of domestication.

The earliest confirmed remains of domesticated horses in China date to the Qijia Culture, approximately 3,600 to 4,000 years ago. Horse bones unearthed at sites such as Dahezhuang and Qinweijia in Yongjing County, Gansu Province, provide crucial evidence of early horse breeding in the upper reaches of the Yellow River. In the middle and lower Yellow River regions, the earliest remains appear at the Yinxu site of the late Shang Dynasty (c. 1600–1046 BCE), around 3,300 years ago. The large number of chariot-and-horse pits discovered there directly attests to the vital role of domesticated horses in social production, ritual life, and military affairs.

Until recently, the silk script Book of Horse Anthroposcopy, unearthed from the Mawangdui site in Hunan Province, was considered the earliest specialized Chinese text on horses. However, the recently published Tsinghua University Warring States Bamboo Manuscripts (Volume 15), collected by Tsinghua University, are now recognized as the earliest extant texts devoted specifically to horse judging, veterinary care, taming, and chariot driving, filling a significant gap in pre-Qin (prior to 221 BCE) studies of horse administration.

Cheng Hao, a tenured associate professor from the Center for Research and Conservation of Unearthed Texts at Tsinghua University, noted that the five related texts in the Tsinghua Bamboo Slips reveal a highly sophisticated understanding of horses and advanced domestication techniques during the Warring States Period (475–221 BCE).

The systematic development of horse domestication technology indirectly reflects the animal’s immense value in ancient society. From an academic perspective, the domestication and utilization of horses profoundly reshaped social structures and exerted lasting influence on the course of civilization.

Gu Yaqi, vice dean of the School of Arts at Renmin University of China, explained that, since ancient times, horses have performed multiple functions in transportation, haulage, agriculture, and warfare. They sustained commercial exchange and daily life while directly affecting state governance and military outcomes. The ancient description of a powerful polity as a “state of a thousand chariots” vividly captures the horse’s central position within political and military systems.

For this reason, the horse was honored as the chief of the six domestic animals. Huang Zhongshan, deputy director of the Institute of Culture at the Beijing Academy of Social Sciences, stated that in traditional Chinese culture, the horse was not merely an essential asset for production and transportation but also a spiritual emblem rich in symbolic meaning. Its fusion of practical utility and spiritual significance made this designation as the chief of the six domestic animals entirely fitting.

The horse also occupies a distinctive place among the Twelve Zodiac animals. Huang noted that its irreplaceable role in farming, warfare, and transport embedded it deeply in everyday life. Over time, it was further endowed with sacred attributes. Horses figure prominently in myths such as the Yellow Emperor’s battle against Chiyou and King Mu of Zhou’s western tour.

The veneration of horses among nomadic civilizations of the northern grasslands spread to the Central Plains through exchanges along the Silk Road, further elevating the horse’s cultural standing. Gu added that its inclusion in the Chinese Zodiac also reflects ancient understandings of natural order and cosmic rhythms: corresponding to the earthly branch wu, the horse aligns with the alternation of yin and yang throughout the daily cycle, embodying the ideal of “harmony between heaven and humanity.” Folktales of heavenly horses redeeming themselves through merit or displaying modesty in contests have further deepened emotional attachment to the animal.

Millennium evolution of cultural symbol

The symbolic image of the horse in traditional Chinese culture has never been static. Across shifting historical contexts, it evolved from a utilitarian tool to a layered cultural emblem, eventually condensing into a symbol of order, virtue, and perseverance. In the process, it became a spiritual totem bridging elite and popular spheres and linking Han and various other ethnic cultures.

Looking back through history, the horse’s symbolic significance gradually extended beyond elite circles into popular culture, accumulating new layers of meaning in the process. During the Shang and Zhou (1046–256 BCE) dynasties, the horse served as a strict symbol of hierarchical ritual: The Song of Heaven [king] rode in a six-horse chariot, while dukes and princes rode in four-horse chariots, clearly demarcating rank. In the Spring and Autumn (770–476 BCE) and Warring States periods, horses were indispensable to interstate rivalry and thus emblematic of national strength. By the Han (206 BCE–220 CE) and Tang (618–907) dynasties, their cultural meaning had expanded further, symbolizing national prosperity and becoming a central and enduring motif in literature and art. From the Song (960–1279) through the Yuan (1271–1368), Ming (1368–1644), and Qing (1644–1911) periods, the horse gradually shifted from state narratives and scholarly discourse into the realm of folk life. Expressions such as madao chenggong (winning instant success) and yima dangxian (taking the lead) became embedded in everyday speech, and the horse’s auspicious connotations permeated popular prayers and customs.

In Confucian culture, the horse was further endowed with moral dimensions such as order and moral conduct, serving as a metaphor for ideal personal qualities and social order. Gu pointed out that, from the perspective of traditional Chinese ethics and spirit, whether in the ideal horse’s virtues of loyalty, courage, benevolence, and wisdom, or in the narratives of the Qianlima (thousand-mile horse) and Bo Le (horse judge), the underlying thrust is a shared pursuit of values grounded in virtue and harmony.

In ethnic cultures and intangible cultural heritage (ICH) practices, the horse remains deeply embedded in local societies and displays pronounced regional variation. Yi Na, a research fellow from the Institute of Ethnic Literature at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, noted that horse-related customs and ICH traditions arose from distinct transportation patterns and modes of livelihood. Kazakh horse harness craftsmanship, Tibetan equestrian performances, and the caravan culture of Yunnan Province each preserve historical memories of grassland nomadism, plateau riding, and southwest Silk Road trade.

Year of the Horse customs across China are particularly diverse. Naadam horse races on the northern grasslands celebrate bravery and solidarity; Tibetan horse festivals, including so-called “walking-horse” festivals that showcase specialized gait performances, combine athletic competition with ritual, expressing hopes for prosperity of people and livestock alike. In the Central Plains, people paste horse-themed New Year prints, hang horse lanterns, and perform bamboo-horse dances to invoke the blessing “winning instant success.” Among Hakka communities, the horse lantern dance treats the animal as an auspicious being that wards off evil and brings good fortune.

Many of these practices, Yi noted, can be traced to ancient horse administration systems and sacrificial rites dating back to the pre-Qin era. Over centuries, Year of the Horse folk customs have preserved the totemic ideal of the “spirit of dragon and horse” while adapting to local ecological and social contexts, becoming tangible, visible, and participatory expressions of cultural identity.

From a global perspective, horse culture exhibits both cross-civilizational commonalities and marked differences in specific expressions. Its universality stems from the horse’s biological advantages in the preindustrial world, while divergences reflect distinct geographic environments, production modes, and value systems in China and the West.

Gu observed that in both agricultural and nomadic traditions, traditional Chinese culture has always situated the horse within broader historical relationships and collective destiny, making it a composite symbol of order, responsibility, and vital energy. In Western cultural narratives, by contrast, the horse is more often associated with individual heroism, aristocratic status, and the spirit of conquest—from the Trojan Horse of Homeric epic to the chivalric ideals of the medieval period.

Contemporary inheritance, revitalization

In modern society, the horse’s practical functions have largely been supplanted by mechanization and technology. Many precious horse-related customs and ICH practices now face challenges of transmission. Yet the cultural value and public perception of the horse have continued to grow with the times, with modes of dissemination shifting from everyday utility to spiritual experience, emotional resonance, and cultural identity.

Horse imagery drawn from archaeological finds has entered popular culture. The National Museum of China has launched its “A Dark Horse” series of cultural and creative products, while the Gansu Provincial Museum has developed widely recognized “green horse” and “red horse” IPs. Films, television dramas, and documentaries such as War Horse and Mongolian Horse, as well as short videos showcasing herding life and ICH skills, have helped horse culture transcend geographic boundaries and reach broader audiences, becoming a cultural carrier of values and aesthetic sensibilities.

Gu remarked that whereas in traditional society, horse culture was sustained through festivals, folklore, and daily life, grounded in shared lived experience and collective participation, in contemporary society, it circulates through diversified forms—equestrian sports, cultural and creative products, film and television IPs, and themed cultural tourism—and has gradually taken shape as a communicable, consumable cultural image.

In the highly symbolic context of the Year of the Horse, revitalizing the value of traditional horse culture requires aligning its core spirit with the rhythms of modern life. Ultimately, the enduring vitality of horse culture stems from the spiritual qualities it has long embodied: diligence, freedom, resilience, and loyalty. Only by connecting these spiritual attributes with contemporary values and the lived experiences of younger generations can cultural development thrive, enabling the spirit of the dragon and horse to shine anew in the Bingwu Year of the Horse.