The Saddles of the Bronze Horses of Lei-t'ai

Abstract

IN A RECENTLY PUBLISHED ARTICLE I have attempted to show, in summary fashion, what we have learned about the early history of the saddle in China.' In the present paper I shall concentrate mainly on one type of saddle, a part of the cavalry equipment used around the end of the Eastern Han. This is the saddle displayed by a number of horses, some of them riderless, in the impressive group of bronze figurines found in a tomb at Lei-t'ai, Wu-wei District, Kansu -tAA ;S in 1969. While some tentative remarks will be addressed to the artistic and mortuary aspects of these equestrian figures, my main object will be to account for the unique shape of the Lei-t'ai saddle in relation to the kind of combat undertaken by the Han cavalryman. Altogether this tomb, the grave of a military commander of the Chang X family, contained 39 horses, including the renowned and masterful Flying Horse.2 The bronze figurines must originally have been arranged in a definite formation. Unfortunately, the tomb was twice entered and robbed in ancient times, leaving some of the objects damaged or in disorder. However, attempts have been made to restore the presumed order of the original cavalcade, following literary sources and roughly contemporary archaeological evidence.3 Much has been written on the meaning of the processions of horses, carriages and riders which are found in tombs of Han date, usually in the form of paintings or stone engravings adorning the wall surfaces. While one must always be prepared for tomb decorations to express a religious purpose, it seems that such interpretations as have been offered cannot be sustained in the present case. As specialists who have studied numerous tomb cavalcades of Han date almost universally agree, these processions were apparently meant simply to portray the degree of importance and grandeur enjoyed by the deceased during his