Emperor Taizong of Tang and Six Steeds of Zhao Mausoleum (昭陵六骏)

 Bai Di Wu

This above is a photo of a metal bas relief sculpture that hangs above my sister's couch.  I was with her the day she saw it and fell in love with it in a consignment shop.  She was reluctant to buy it because it wasn't in her budget, so we left without it and went to a few more shops, not looking for anything in particular, just doing what we like to do best when we get together on Saturdays - root through junk in search of treasures.  After hitting the shops and over lunch in our favorite diner she said she couldn't stop thinking about the mysterious Chinese horse sculpture.  I suggested that if she loved it that much she should go back and get it.  And she did.  Her husband didn't hate it as much as she thought he would and helped her hang it above the couch.  It's been hanging there for six years. 

This morning she called to tell me that she finally found the origin of her horse.  Yesterday, she and a friend visited  the Penn Museum where they came upon an exhibit of  the Taizong Horses:

The six stone horse reliefs, known in Chinese as “Zhaoling Liujun” 昭陵六骏 (the six stone horses of Zhao Mausoleum), were commissioned by Emperor Taizong of the Tang dynasty 唐太宗 (r. 627-649) in 636 CE and presumably completed in 649 CE, the time of his death.

The sculptures are regarded as ancient Chinese art treasures. They were broken by smugglers in 1914 and two of them were shipped out. The stonework is exhibited in the Stele Forest museum of Xi'an ( Sha Fa Chi, Bai Di Wu, Ti Qin Biao and  Qing Zhui) and museum of the University of Pennsylvania, USA (Quan Mao Gua and  Sa Lu Zi) separately.  

The steeds were six precious war horses of Taizong. They are from top left, clockwise:

1. Qing Zhui, ridden in 621, received 5 arrows from the front.

2. Ti Qin Biao, ridden into battle in 619. Taizong did not remove his armor or the horse saddle for 3 full days during the battle.

3. Sha Fa Chi, ridden in 621, helped Taizong defeat 2 enemies in one battle, received 4 four arrows from the front, 1 from the back.

4. Bai Di Wu, ridden in 618, carried Taizong about 100 km, shown in a flying gallop.

5. Quan Mao Gua, ridden in 622, received 9 arrows (6 from the front, 3 from the back).

6. Sa Lu Zi, ridden in 621. Records state that Taizong rode Saluzi into battle during a siege. The horse was struck by an arrow and this forced the emperor to switch horses with one of his favorite generals. The relief depicts that general removing the arrow from Sa Lu Zi's chest.

Emperor Taizong loved these horses so much he even wrote poems for them, to accompany the reliefs.

For providing me with the above information about the Emporer's horses, their correct names and anecdotes, I would like to thank:
Susan Doss
Berman Museum of World History
Anniston, AL
Website 

Li Shimin 李世民)

Emperor Taizong of Tang

  (23 January 599 – 10 July 649)

The second emperor of the Tang Dynasty of China, ruling from 626 to 649, he is typically considered as one of the greatest emperors in Chinese history.  Throughout the rest of Chinese history, Emperor Taizong's reign was regarded as the exemplary model against which all other emperors were measured, and his "Reign of Zhenguan" was considered a golden age of Chinese history and required study for future crown princes.  During his reign, Tang China flourished economically and militarily. For more than a century after his death, Tang China enjoyed peace and prosperity. During Taizong's reign, Tang was the largest and the strongest nation in the world. It covered most of the territory of present-day China, Vietnam, Mongolia and much of Central Asia as far as eastern Kazakhstan.  It laid the foundation for Xuanzong's reign, which is considered Tang China's greatest era.