When Chinese Civilization Adopted Horseback Riding, 350 B.C.

A piece written after reading A Record of Horseback Riding, Written in Bone and Teeth

Article Summary

Until now, the period when Chinese civilization adopted horseback riding had remained shrouded in mystery. According to a recent study of horse bones discovered in northwestern China, Chinese civilization appears to have mastered horseback riding around 350 B.C. The evidence lies in the deformation of the horses’ vertebrae and the traces of bridles visible on their teeth. In the Mongolian region, people had begun riding horses as early as around 1200 B.C. But until the adoption of horseback riding, horses in China had served only to pull chariots. This study lends greater support to the hypothesis that the emergence of cavalry led to Qin Shi Huang’s unification of the Warring States, and also influenced the opening of the Silk Road.

My Opinion

1. Shirenzigou, where the horse bones were found, lies in the Xinjiang Uyghur region of northwestern China, near the old Xiliang. It is also where the Tocharians once lived. It marks the eastern frontier of the Aryan expansion. If the paper’s argument is correct, we can infer the route by which the emergence of cavalry influenced China. What is surprising, however, is that the riding skill was not acquired by way of Mongolia, which is closer to the traditional Central Plains region.

2. Shirenzigou is not part of the traditional Chinese civilization area. Its distance from the Central Plains is no different from that of the Mongolian Plateau. If anything, due to geographic conditions, its contact with Chinese civilization was less than that via Mongolia. Can horse bones found here really be used to argue that Chinese civilization adopted horseback riding?

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