Tang riding horse harness terminology

 Salvete Omnes,

Tang Dynasty period in Chinese history is famous for the ceramics in shape of horse and horse & rider. 

I have a book - actually an exhibit catalog from  the Kentucky Horse Park (published 2000AD).
Title: The Imperial China, The Art of the Horse in Chinese (review). 
In the Chapter: The Horse in Chinese History by Bill Cooke (director emeritus of the International Museum of the Horse at the Kentucky Horse Park) there is a description of the Chinese terminology around the Tang Dynasty period. 

The author provided information on the horse harness terminology -

Jisheng on the crouper harness

Bridle- 'luotou' and the Bit - 'Youle' with cheek-bars - 'Biao'

Saddle - 'An'

Pommel and cantle saddle with tree bars

High pommel saddle with a saddle cover, saddle pad, saddle mud guard, and stirrups

Behind the saddle, to the saddle tree Tang saddlemakers added 4-6 straps hanging down the saddle pad

horse with a crenellated mane

Saddle-pad - 'cun' and  Saddle mud-screen -  'zhang-ni'

Saddle cover - 'Anfu'

Saddle cinch/girth - 'Fudai'

Breastplate/breast-strap - 'Panxiong'

Crouper/crupper - 'Qiu'

Apricot/peach leaf ornament - 'Xingye'

Cranellated /crenelated mane - 'three flower' 'Sanhua'

Bounded Tail -  'Fuwei'

Crupper saddle adornment -'Jisheng' (parasite), also a version known as 'Fire pearl ' - 'Hounzhu'

enjoy

Valete

Horsemen from Li Chongrun or Prince Yide of Tang tomb c. 706AD

 Salvete Omnes,

our prayers are with the people of Western North Carolina, victims and survivors of the September 2024 Hurricane Helene. 

***

a peacock  feather crested lamellar helmet

it has been a while we visited the imperial Tang China and their horses -

within the famous Tang Qainling Mausoleum   there was a tomb of one unlucky Tang prince Li Chongrun, named posthumously Prince Yide of Tang. 

In his tomb they found   figurines of an imperial cataphract or heavy rider on some finely caparisoned horse with their heads protected with gilded  chamfrons. They were perhaps from the guard cavalry unit.  No bows, but perhaps they had lances.

..

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Valete

Emperor Xuanzong & a dancing horse from Cincinnati

 Salvete Omnes,

 

beautiful consorts and horses were supposedly the chief preoccupations of emperor Xuanzong

a very short entry -  

there was this fabled empire in China  circa 300 years in duration of the second half of I millennium AD, called Tang  - Golden Peaches of Samarkand is a must read and some other books on the Silk Road etc- and during this illustrious dynasty they had plenty of fine horses, polo, heavy cavalry and horse archery, and dancing horses - all depicted in their flowering arts, including sculpted and painted  horses, including figurines in porcelain and clay. 

And in the SiTech Daily digitally re-published the Heritage Science article about one of those sculpted and dancing horses of the Tang -  on the collaborated effort between the Cincinnati Art Museum and University of Cincinnati on whether this dancing horse had a tassel on its forehead.

 

The horse comes from the era of emperor Xuanxong of Tang (House of Li) - and thankfully there were works of art created during his reign or about his reign. (Tang military is perhaps  best read about via  Karl Ranitzsch's book from Montvert Pub. titled The Army of Tang China ( 1995).

nota bene, this august emperor had many mishaps during the last decade of his rule and retirement,

 

 when emperor Suzong became his successor , namely the defeat during the  battle of Talas against the Islamic conquest of Central Asia, and the An Lushan Rebellion and some other calamities, 

enjoy

Valete