Tianma is an image in both Chinese and western myths. In the west, the image of Tianma is that of a galloping horse with wings on its back. The image of a unicorn is often a heavenly horse with a unicorn on its head. In China, the image of Tianma is usually a galloping horse without wings. In order to show the uniqueness of "Tianma", horses often draw clouds, which shows that Tianma can fly in the clouds. The only special case appeared in Ganling (Ganxian County, Xianyang City, Shaanxi Province), and the first pair of stone carvings in Ganling Shinto were ribbed wing patterns.
The god of war, one of the 12 zodiac animals, has many figures, which shows the martial spirit of the Han nationality. Among them, the most important horse god is popular, which is the embodiment of Liu Che, the emperor of the Han Dynasty. Tianma has infinite courage to be fearless of strong enemies, brave in sacrifice and enterprising. It is an idol worshipped by soldiers and one of the most important totems of the Han nationality.
Tianma is an anthropomorphic and deified horse, so the expressions of horse figurines are particularly vivid, some close their eyes, some whisper, some laugh and some are extremely angry. The shape of Tianma is obviously different from the real horse, and it needs to be peaceful and happy to show a very happy look, so it can also be called "Happy Horse".
A large number of Anping happy horse figurines were unearthed in Wuwei area, indicating that there were frequent wars and many garrisons in Hexi area during the Eastern Han Dynasty. Taoism prevailed in the Eastern Han Dynasty. In addition to Hexi area, horses are also unearthed in Sichuan, Shaanxi, Henan, Hebei and other places. The lifelike horse figurines show that the ancient people of China lived not only in reality, but also in mythology.