Through exchange with China and India, where horses were common, Vietnam came to' value these animals and incorporate them into legends and art. In the beginning of the 3rd century BC, when establishing an autonomous nation, the Vietnamese King followed the Golden Turtle God's footprints to build Co Loa Citadel - the first citadel of Viet Nam. In the 10th century, after a thousand years under foreign domination, Vietnamese people regained their independence. The first Hung King decided to move the capital to Ha Noi. This time, when building Thang Long Citadel, he had to follow the footprints of a white horse that appeared in a dream. According to Indian mythology, a white horse is a symbol of the Sun. Through Buddhism, the Vietnamese inherited this symbol.
However, this was not the first horse in Vietnamese legends. Before that white horse, Thanh Giong a national hero who fought the An invaders - rode a horse. This legendary fight took place in the era of the Hung Kings, somewhere between the first and second millenniums BC. The, legend was written later, so the. story about Thanh Giong was changed by Confucian writers influenced by Chinese culture. During the first to third centuries AD, Vietnamese heroines fighting against Chinese colonialism, like Ba Trung and Ba Trieu, used war elephants instead of horses. Many Chinese tribes fought on horseback, especially during the Tang dynasty (7th to 8th centuries AD).
However, Vietnamese could not do the same, as our country is crisscrossed by lakes and rivers that are hard to cross on horseback. For this reason, in the 13th century, the mounted Mongol armies failed three times in their bid to invade the Red River Delta. Many of Vietnam's key fights to retain our independence and def eat invaders have been waged on the water, such as Ngo Quyen's victory on the Bach Dang River in 928, Tran Hung Dao's victory in 1288; and the victory of King Quang Trung on the Rach Garn- Xoai Mut River (in the Me Kong River basin) in 1785. Therefore, verses about soldiers sacrificing their lives on the battlefield next to a horse are adopted from Chinese literature. In the ancient Vietnamese army, there were war elephants, not war horses.
Nonetheless, the horse still appears in Vietnamese art, although less commonly than in Chinese paintings and statues. The Vietnamese horse is a gentle animal th,at carries the newly graduated Doctor of Philosophy back to his .hometown to receive a warm welcome. The feudal lord rode his horse to show off, not to fight in battle. Therefore, most of the stone horses carved onto royal mausoleums and palaces are standing along the aisles. In temples atid shrines, white-painted, wooden horses are set on a stand with wheels. These horses are used for processions during local festivals. These horses walk slowly behind the palanquin during the god's procession. Vietnamese gods are borne on palanquins, not on horses.
Coming to Central Vietnam, Vietnamese people became acquainted with Cham people and learned to ride horses. In the past, Cham people did not raise horses. However, somewhere between the eight and the tenth centuries, the Cham imported horses from China by sea. They played a type of polo on horseback, driving a ball into the opposing team's net. The Da Nang Museum of Cham. Sculpture still exhibits a small stone-relief sculpture of two horse riders playing polo. This statue was found in Thach Han, Quang Tri province. Polo was very popular among Chinese aristocrats in the Tang dynasty (seventh to eighth centuries AD). Cham aristocrats must have learned this game from the Chinese. A horse statue was found in Khuong My, Quang Nam province and a relief-sculpture of a war-horse dating from the 12th or 13th century was found in Binh Dinh province. However, horse sculptures were not as popular or as vividly carved as those depicting the holy bull Nandin, the elephant-headed god Ganesh, the lion, or the monkey. Cultural interaction between . Vietnalllese and Cham people led to the raising of horses in some central coastal provinces, such as Quang Ngai and Binh Dinh. During festivals and the Tet holidays, the locals in these areas still organize horse-races that are not organized elsewhere.
Vietnamese and Cham people led to the raising of horses in some central coastal provinces, such as Quang Ngai and Binh Dinh. During festivals and the Tet holidays, the locals in these areas still organize horse-races that are not organized elsewhere.
The horse is a beautiful animal that inspires many artists. Vietnamese people love to see gentle horses portrayed in traditional paintings such as "Stone Horse" by the artist Buu Chi, and "The Year of the Horse" by artist Nguyen Tu Nghiem.
Dao Hung
