Ferghana horse

Ferghana horses (Chinese: 大宛馬 / 宛馬; pinyin: dàyuānmǎ / yuānmǎ; Wade–Giles: ta-yüan-ma / yüan-ma) were one of China's earliest major imports, originating in an area in Central Asia. These horses, as depicted in Tang dynasty tomb figures in earthenware, "resemble the animals on the golden medal of Eucratides, King of Bactria (Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris)."

Dayuan, north of Bactria, was a nation centered in the Ferghana Valley of present-day Central Asia, and even as early as the Han dynasty, China projected its military power to that area. The Han imperial regime required Ferghana horses and imported such great numbers of them that the rulers of Ferghana closed their borders to such trade. That move resulted in a war that China won. In 102 CE, the Chinese required of the defeated Ferghana that they provide at least ten of their finest horses for breeding purposes, and three thousand Ferghana horses of ordinary quality. However, there are other views: the Records of the Grand Historian and Book of Han provide no description of Ferghana horses, and as it seemed from these chronicles they were not employed in any known Han expeditions and campaigns.

Chinese statuary and paintings, as well as the Bactrian coin shown above, indicate that these horses had legs that were proportionally short, powerful crests, and round barrels. The forelegs of the Chinese depictions are very straight, resembling the Guoxia (Chinese: 果下; pinyin: gǔoxìa; Wade–Giles: kuo³ hsia⁴; literally: "under the fruit [trees]") horse of present-day China. According to tradition, these horses sweat blood, giving rise to the name: "sweats blood horse" (in Chinese: 汗血馬; pinyin: hànxuèmǎ). Modern authorities believe that blood-sucking parasites caused sweat to get mixed with blood when the horses were worked.

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