u/harryyy7

I think this feels like a historic and joyful moment.

For decades, and perhaps even longer, the Tianma, or “Heavenly Horse,” has often been understood mainly through a Chinese imperial lens. Great minds have touched this mystery before, from Sima Qian and Ban Gu to Arthur Waley, Homer H. Dubs, Eduard Erkes, Victor H. Mair, and Stanley J. Olsen.

But this recently published research on the Saka bronze finial known as the “Heavenly Horse” helps open the story from its deeper beginning: Central Asia, the Eurasian steppe, Bactria, elite horse cultures, celestial symbolism, and the Silk Road.

In this view, China does not disappear from the story. Instead, the Chinese imperial tradition becomes one of its great later chapters, where the Heavenly Horse was remembered, named, and carried into historical imagination.

For people who care about the heritage of Central Asia and the Eurasian steppe, this feels like a proud and beautiful moment.

The Heavenly Horse is coming home to the wider world where its story began.

Article:

https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0752/15/6/116