In the Han Dynasty, people deified horses by loving them, and with rich imagination, put a pair of wings on them, so that every horse that could only run on land became a "heavenly horse" that could fly freely in heaven. Let the sky run wild. Tianma has become a very convenient riding tool in the eyes of Han people. Therefore, people in the Han Dynasty created the artistic image of "Tianma".

Historical Records. Biography of Dawan: "In the early days, the son of heaven issued the book Yi, saying: God should come from the northwest. Wusun's horse is good, and he is called "Tianma". He also got the Dawan Blood Horse, which is strong and strong, and renamed Wusun Horse as "Xiji", and Dawan Horse as "Tianma" and "Yun". ..... and the son of heaven is like a horse, and the messengers face each other. "

The good horses that Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty got from Wusunguo and Dawanguo in the Western Regions were all named "Tianma". Later, it was used as a code name to praise the fine breeds of good horses, or as a metaphor to refer to the tribute of tribes outside the Great Wall.

1966, a white jade sculpture of a feathered man riding a heavenly horse was unearthed at the site of Shouguan in Ling Wei of the Western Han Dynasty in Chengyang, Shaanxi. The image of "Tianma" can also be seen in Nanyang Han Dynasty stone reliefs: in front of it, a tiger is biting a monster trying to block the road to immortality, and behind it, a "Tianma" is flying in the clouds. The soul of the tomb owner will soar in the sky on a "Tianma".

Extended data:

1983, China Tourism Administration decided to use "Tianma" as a graphic symbol of China tourism. The image of this national symbol is based on a bronze sculpture in the Eastern Han Dynasty (AD 25-220). 1969, this cultural relic was unearthed in Wuwei, Gansu Province, which immediately shocked the whole country and sensationalized the world. It is the crystallization of China's ancient plastic arts, smelting and casting technology, and a representative masterpiece of China's long cultural history. ?

Tianma is light in posture, both in form and spirit, and extremely vivid and fit from the front and side. Hold your head high, hold your head high, fly on all fours, be free and unrestrained, and coordinate your movements, which not only makes people feel strength, but also stimulates their imagination. The most amazing thing is that a horse's hind foot is stepping on the back of a sparrow. Dragonfinch is a part of the whole work of art, and it is also the base of the horse, which keeps the soaring Tianma skillfully balanced and solves the problem of supporting the main image. The instantaneous image of this flight is extremely magical, and its superb design concept is amazing even today after 2000.

There is no reins, saddle stirrups and reins on the horse's back, but there is a wave of garlands fluttering in the wind on the head, and the tail tip is knotted. This subtle artistic treatment has strong China characteristics and style. At first, people called this ancient work of art "bronze galloping horse", while others called it "riding a swallow". The title "Flying Swallow on horseback" is vivid and elegant, and is widely used.

Later, it was found that the horse stepped on sparrows instead of swallows. Dragonfinch is a legendary god bird, also called Fei Lian. There is a record in ancient books that "Ming Di went to Chang 'an to meet Fei Lian's bronze horse". We are not sure whether this kind of handicraft was welcomed by Emperor Han Ming, but at least it was very precious at that time. Dragonfinch is a fengshen, flying fast, but the horse stepped on it and surpassed it. This is really a horse.

References:

Baidu encyclopedia-Tianma