Ancient saying goes: "The horse is the foundation of armor and war, and the great use of the country." Modern people say: "There are as many horses as the country is." Before the widespread use of firearms, the development of horse raising was the fundamental strategy for the Central Plains dynasty to strengthen its military strength. To vigorously develop the horse politics, a good horse farming land is a necessary condition. Why did the Song Dynasty never forget the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun? In addition to the concept of "no inch of land can be lost", it also lies in the lack of a place for raising horses in the Song Dynasty, and Youyun has been an important horse farming place for the Central Plains dynasty since ancient times.
History of raising horses
Horse is one of the earliest domesticated animals in humans. Archaeological discoveries in Chengziya, Longshan Town, Zhangqiu, Shandong prove that ancestors more than 4,000 years ago have begun to consciously raise horses.
Horses are the first among all animals (horse, cow, sheep, chicken, pig, and dog). Whether in nomadic civilization or farming civilization, horses are an indispensable helper for ancestors, or horses are the symbols of productivity. It can be said that in ancient times, horses took care of almost all the heavy work in the countryside. So at the beginning, horses were only used for agricultural production and transportation.
. The first horse used as military appeared in the Western Zhou Dynasty. As recorded in " Zhou Li·Xia Guan ", the main purpose of horses at the time of the Western Zhou Dynasty had already appeared in the "army horse" for military use. The large-scale application of war horses was in the Spring and Autumn Period. For example, in 636 BC, when Qin Mugong sent Jin Gongzi Chong'er to return to China, he sent "Chat 2,000 cavalry"; in the Warring States Period, , Zhao State , in order to deal with the northern nomadic peoples with strong cavalry, they vigorously developed cavalry and even promoted Hu clothing cavalry; in the Battle of Changping, Qin Zhao, Qin general Bai Qi used five thousand elite cavalry to cut off the Zhao army, which was the earliest record of large-scale cavalry war.
As horses become more and more widely used, the industry of horse racing has also emerged. For example, the cold wind in the spring and autumn of the Warring States period , the eyes of the Ma Chao, the eyes of Qin Ya, the eyes of the king and the emperor..., as well as the forehead of Yi Changru in the Western Han Dynasty, the teeth of Zhongbo, the teeth of Xie, the horse's hair and horse lips, the figure of Dingdu, the horse's figure, etc.
The master of horse racing is Ma Yuan of the Eastern Han Dynasty. He selected the research results of his predecessors and concentrated the excellent shapes of various parts of the good horse on a horse, so that the shape and bone aspects of the horse can reach the most perfect state of a good horse. This is Ma Yuan’s first “famous horse style”.
Ma Yuan’s innovation was, on the one hand, to better develop and improve horses, and on the other hand, to educate others to learn how to look at horses, so he said: “It is better to see rumors than to see them personally, and it is better to observe the situation. Now if you want to shape them in order to grow horses, it is difficult to have bone methods, and it must be passed on to future generations.” So he placed the copper cast good horse model he made at the gate of Luoyang, the capital of the Eastern Han Dynasty, for exhibition, so as to gain the opportunity and effect of everyone to know the good horse.
The "famous horse style" made by Ma Yuan is the earliest good horse model in the world. He has collected the great achievements of the views of famous horse masters of all generations to visualize it. It also played an important guiding and exemplary role not only for the time, but also for the subsequent horse breeding.
Why do horse raising require excellent horse raising ground
Many people have misunderstandings: Isn’t it enough to feed the horses? Isn’t grass everywhere? Raising a horse is a very simple thing. Actually, this is a big mistake.
First of all, it is true that horses are herbivores, but horses have weak digestive abilities, because horses do not ruminate like cows. Therefore, it is impossible to feed horses several meals at a time without eating them. There are similar records in history: " Dazhong Xiangfu On February 2, the sixth year of the sixth year, the Masjid ordered the envoy to speak, Chunze and other horses were in charge. Every winter, when the grass came, the horses were in the wild before spring came out, and the horses were in the wild, and the grass became thin because there were few grasses." And once the horses were thin, they could not do their jobs.
Secondly, horses have a big appetite. According to data on the agricultural situation in North China in the last century, the main forage of horse and mule in North China is corn leaves, and the annual demand for a horse is about 3,650 jin per head; while the feed for cattle is relatively broad, with wheat straw, sorghum stalks and millet poles, which is only 2,920 jin a year; although donkeys are the same as horses, they do not ruminate, but a donkey needs 2,190 jin a year, which is much less than a horse.
Third, horses cannot just eat grass, but also have to feed food. , especially when doing heavy work, let alone war horses in wartime, almost all "three meals a day" have to feed food, even ordinary people cannot eat beans. According to a rural survey of Qingyuan, Hebei during the Republic of China period, a donkey who does heavy work has to feed sorghum .6 stones a year, and the horse is more than three times that of a donkey (12.2 stones). Therefore, after the horse loses its military role, its historical mission has basically ended.
Fourth, in addition to the high cost of raising horses in normal times, even if there is no heavy work, accidents will occur in peacetime. For example, Raozhou "has 562 males, 362 males, and 35 were killed, and 27 were born." 562 horses died, and 315 were killed, and 12 were killed in foals. There is a view that the Song Dynasty did not work for raising horses because it was state-owned, and it would be great if it were private to raise horses. So, what if the horse stewardship is not good, what if it is really allowed to be raised by a private person?
In fact, the Song Dynasty also tried to encourage people to raise horses. "History of Song 2" records: "In the spring of the third year of Yuanfeng, with the invitation of Wang Gongchen , the number of households in Kaifeng Prefecture, Beijing East and West, Hebei, Shaanxi, and Hedong Road and Prefecture counties is calculated. The households with property of Fangguo and 3,000 s, rural 5,000 s, Ruofangguo and rural 3,000 s, each with one horse, and the same is true for the doubled horse." Obviously, the households with property of urban households must reach 3,000 s, and rural 5,000 s, so that they can afford to raise horses. This requirement is obviously relatively high, and ordinary farmers cannot afford to raise horses.
Besides, raising horses requires a lot of land. The Song Dynasty's group pastor said: "The horse supervision grassland is more than 48,000 hectares, and now it is based on 50,000 horses. One horse covers an area of 50 acres." And 50 acres of land are almost at the level of a family of five. Therefore, folk horse raising is limited to imagination.
Therefore, the development of horses absolutely requires an excellent horse farming ground. Although it cannot solve the problem of feeding food, at least other conditions are basically met.
The six major horse-raising areas in ancient times
1. Northwest horse-raising area: five-star
This area includes ancient Western Regions , with abundant grasslands. People of all ethnic groups have always made a living by animal husbandry and have abundant good horses. For more than 2,000 years, it has been China's main resource for horses. Horse raising in Shaanxi and Gansu also has a long history. About 900 BC, Feizi was awarded the title of raising horses for King Xiao of Zhou in the wilderness of Wei and became the founder of Qin State, and Qin horses were also famous for this. Later, large state-nutrition horse farms in the Han and Tang dynasties were mainly distributed in this area.
represents horse breeds: Hequ horse, Dayuan horse
Hequ horse, it is the largest excellent horse among the local breeds in China. Its biggest advantage is its weight resistance (can carry 100-150 kilograms, and a single set of large trucks can pull 500 kilograms of weight), strong endurance (can travel 50 kilometers a day under maximum load), and fast fatigue recovery. The one that Duke Mu of Qin hordes for the emperor of Zhou was the Hequ horse, and the war horses used by Qin Shihuang to unify the six kingdoms were also the Hequ horses.
Dayuan horse, Dayuan is the name of an ancient Western Region country. Dayuan horse is the most famous horse breed in the Western Regions, and it is also what people often call sweat and blood horses. The sweat-blooded BMW is in good shape, obedient, fast and suitable for long-distance marching. It is not only a weapon of war, but also the first choice for ancient emperors to ride. Li Shimin Among the six horses of Zhaoling, "Shifachi" and "Terepi " are Dayuan horses.
2. Horse breeding area in the northern part of the Seizure: Five-star
Warring States After Huns , Turkic , Mongolia and other nomadic peoples emerged one after another in the northern part of the Seizure and had huge horse herds. Through trade, war and migration among ethnic groups, a large number of horses in this area have been continuously introduced to the Central Plains since the Zhou and Qin dynasties. For example, set up a horse market in the north in the Tang Dynasty, and some tribute horses even came from in the Baikal area. The quota for major border towns such as the Ming Dynasty, Qing Dynasty, and Datong is 34,000 horses to the outer markets every year. From the Liao, Jin, Yuan, and Qing dynasties, the Chahar grassland was the main horse-raising land.
represents horse breed: Mongolian horse
Mongolian horse, compared with European horses and Dayuan horses, although Mongolian horses are relatively short, they are better than thick skin and thick fur and extremely strong tolerant. They can not only march for several days and nights, but also tolerate the severe cold of minus forty degrees. This is a great courage to launch an offensive in winter during the second Western Expedition of Mongolia. The Mongolian horse's advantage of resisting severe cold is fully utilized.
Moreover, Mongolian horses can forage in the snow, soldiers can also rely on the mare's milk to satisfy their hunger, greatly reducing the pressure on logistics supply.
The mobility of Mongolian cavalry is unparalleled in the world, thanks to the Mongolian horses. Mongolian cavalry can not only fight and march while marching, but also advance 80 kilometers every day, which is nearly half the distance between European knights.
3. Southwest horse production area: Samsung
includes the Tibet region, and the southwest horse breeding can be traced back to the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. Han Dynasty Ba Shu merchants have traded horses and other livestock products here. The Eastern Han Dynasty once set up Mayuan in Sichuan and Yunnan. Southwest horses are suitable for mountainous ecological environments, and there are many precious horses, but they are not as useful as northern horses. According to the "Guihai Yuhengzhi·Beast Zhi", the " fruit " produced in the south is less than three feet tall, and is the best produced in Deqing, Guangdong.
represents horse breeds: Dali horse, Shu horse
Dali horse, short and compact, and sensitive to movement. The limbs are strong and the tendons are well developed. They are a combination of horse breeds.
Shuma, small in size, walks along the mountain roads. Li Kuangyi of the Tang Dynasty said in the volume of "Zixia Ji": "For its convenience, it is called Shu Horse."
4. Northeast Horse Raising Area: Four-star
Northeast Horse Raising Area includes the current Northeast region and the sixteen prefectures of Youyun in ancient times. The Donghu during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period and the Xianbei and Wuhuan were all hunting tribes. The people of Fuyu in the Nenjiang and Songhua River basins east of the Xianbei region mainly invest in farming and also produce famous horses. Khitan and Juchen have successively established Liao and Jin dynasties, and a grand group herd organization was established. The Liao Dynasty raised more than one million motors, and at the time of , Jin Shizong, , it raised 470,000 horses by only 7 herds. In modern times, due to the large number of immigrants outside the customs, the urgent need for animal strength, the three northeastern provinces have become the region with the largest number of horses in the country in the past century.
represents horse breed: Jilin horse , Heilongjiang horse , Northeast horse
Jilin horse, Jilin horse is both fast and fast, light and flexible, has strong adaptability, has a strong durability, has strong endurance, and is easy to raise and control. Most of the horses used by the Eight Banners soldiers are this breed.
Heilongjiang Horse, slightly lightweight, strong resistance to cold, strong constitution, dry, and powerful.
Northeast horse, it is bred with hybridization of light horse breeds and heavy breeds on the basis of Mongolian horses. Therefore, the Northeast horse has strong ability to use horses and strong physical fitness, which is suitable for agricultural use.
5. Zhongyuan Horse Raising Area: Two-star
Central Plains has been cycling since ancient times, and horse raising is quite prosperous. In the Tang Dynasty, there was a pastoral supervisor in Hedong (now Shanxi). "The horses are very rich", but due to the long-term lack of excellent horse breeds, the horses raised here are generally used for civilian purposes, except for the Song Dynasty. Due to the lack of excellent horse-raising places in the Song Dynasty, the pastoral prisons they set up were mainly distributed in the Central Plains, with as many as 14 places in their heyday. However, most of these pastoral supervisors are poorly managed, which leads to their decline. Officials, horses, and herdsmen in the Ming Dynasty were also mainly promoted here. In the Qing Dynasty, people were prohibited from raising horses, and the number of people growing increasingly and the lack of pasture land was insufficient, so the horse-raising industry in the Central Plains was in a slump.
6. Southeast Horse Raising Area: One Star
China has always said that "southern ships and north horses" is not developed. The horse farming industry in the southeast is not developed, but it is not absolutely not suitable to raise horses. For example, in the late Spring and Autumn Period, the Wu Kingdom in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River , was developing rapidly due to the need for chariots. From the Tang Dynasty to the Song Dynasty, horse farms were established in Zhejiang, Fujian, Jiangxi, Hubei and other places in the south. In the early Ming Dynasty, 14 pastoral supervisors were established between , Jianghuai, and southern Jiangsu, which was unprecedented in the history of southern China.
Horse farming land belonging to the Central Plains dynasties
Han Dynasty:
Emperor Wu of Han The cavalry general Huo Qubing captured the Hexi Corridor. Emperor Wu of Han set up four counties here Wuwei , Jiuquan , Zhangye and Dunhuang. The Hexi Corridor became the horse farming land of the Han Dynasty for the first time.
In 60 BC, Emperor Xuan of Han Liu Xun established the Western Regions Protectorate in Wulei City, and officially established officials, garrisons, and promoted administrative orders in the Western Regions. It is known in history that "the Han Dynasty's command is the Western Regions!" From then on, the good horses in the Western Regions continued to enter the Han Dynasty.
According to records, during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han, the Han military had reached more than 500,000 war horses. This is a contribution of the Han Dynasty to the northwest horse breeding area.
Tang Dynasty :
During the heyday of the Tang Dynasty, Anxi Protectorate and Beiting Protectorate were set up in the Western Regions, and the entire Western Regions and north of the Tianshan Mountains were placed under the jurisdiction of Datang . Longyou and Hexi were the core areas of the Tang Dynasty.
"Old Book of Tang" records that in the fifteenth year of Zhenguan, from Chang'an to Longyou, there were eight war horse breeding bases including Baole, Ganling, Qiyang, Taiping, Anding, and each war horse was more than 5,000. After that, even the horse-raising areas in Longyou could not accommodate these war horses, so they had to migrate to the north of the Yellow River in Gansu. During the reign of Emperor Gaozong of Tang Dynasty, the number of war horses in the Tang Dynasty reached its peak, with more than 1 million war horses. After the Anshi Rebellion in the Tang Dynasty, Longyou fell into Tubo, but the animal husbandry of the Tang Dynasty was still developed, and other places where horses were raised were within the control of the Tang Dynasty.
Yuan Dynasty :
Mongolia As the most prosperous dynasty in history, there has always been no shortage of horse farming land and war horses.
During the ruling of the Yuan Dynasty, the Patriotic Horseland was divided into 12 large pastoral areas from southeastern Siberia, through Chahar to the lower reaches of the Yellow River. The number of horses in each pastoral area is as large as hundreds of thousands and as few as thousands.
Song Dynasty:
Song Dynasty neither controlled the northwest nor lost the sixteen prefectures of Youyun, so the war horses in one of the Song Dynasty were rare. For example, in the eighth year of Xining, the number of war horses recorded by the official records was only more than 30,000. In the twelfth year of Shaoxing of Emperor Gaozong of Song Dynasty, Zhao Gou claimed to have 13,000 war horses. Moreover, except for the import of trade from the northwest region, the war horses of the Song Dynasty were basically Shu horses and Dali horses in the southwest region. It is recorded that Kublai Khan's Mongolian army attacked Yunnan in advance before the Southern Song Dynasty was destroyed to cut off the source of the Song Dynasty's horses.
Ming Dynasty:
The most powerful period of the Ming Dynasty was only controlled to the Longyou area, and there was no point in the Western Regions. In the Ming Dynasty, military horses were cultivated and breeded in Shaanxi and Gansu provinces, and horse farms were built to the far end of the Hexi Corridor.
Zhu Yuanzhang started from the south and the battle with Chen Youliang in the Fanyang Lake was also a water battle. Therefore, Zhu Yuanzhang did not pay attention to the cavalry at the beginning. Later, in order to prevent the resurgence of the Mongolian Yuan, Zhu Yuanzhang vigorously developed the horse politics and implemented the tea-horse system. He imported tens of thousands of horses from the northwest and northern border areas to the inland every year. The number of war horses in the Ming Dynasty was only more than 200,000. During the Yongle period of the Ming Dynasty, the Horse Market was established in , Liaodong and other places, and acquired horses from the Songhua River to Heilongjiang, and established Liaodong Yuanma Temple to host horse raising. From then on to the Xuanzong Dynasty, the number of war horses in the Ming Dynasty remained at about 200,000.
Qing Dynasty :
The Qing Dynasty started with the Eight Banners of Manchuria, and the number of war horses was second only to the Yuan Dynasty in terms of quality and quantity. Most of its military horses were taken from the Chahar grassland in the north of the Frontier and the Northeast region. Later, the Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong dynasties pacified the Junggar tribe in Xinjiang and placed the northwest horse breeding area under the rule. The horse breeding industry in the Qing Dynasty reached its peak. However, with the promotion and application of firearms, the horse farming industry declined significantly in the mid-Qing Dynasty, and the horse farms set up in the northeast, northwest and other places in the Qing Dynasty were all in name only.
