In most people's thinking and language habits, "Dragon and Horse" are often mentioned together. Behind this pairing, one can not only see people's reverence and praise for the Horse in the Chinese zodiac but also reflects the profound and extensive culture of the zodiac Horse.
Since the inception of the Horse zodiac sign, ancient Chinese people associated it with the principles of Yin-Yang and the Five Elements. According to the "Chunqiu Wei: Shuotici" (Spring and Autumn Apocrypha: Explaining the Inscription), "The essence of the earth gives birth to the Horse, which is born in the twelfth month, responding to Yin and harmonizing with Yang to achieve merit. Thus, humans harness the Horse to carry heavy loads and travel far, benefiting the world. The moon moves swiftly, so the Horse is good at running." This means the Horse belongs to Earth and Yin. In contrast, the "Yijing" (Book of Changes) associates the Horse with Heaven and Yang, highlighting its untamed, soaring, and transcendent nature. Therefore, ancient people were conflicted over whether the Horse belonged to Yin or Yang. Correspondingly, the tall and robust characteristics of the stallion were seen as symbols of masculinity, while the mare's endurance and swiftness were viewed as symbols of femininity. In this way, the Dragon, symbolizing water and bridging Heaven and Earth, and the Horse, belonging to Wu (the seventh Earthly Branch) and bridging Yin and Yang, naturally came together as the "Dragon-Horse" (a mythical creature embodying both qualities).
Regarding the definition of "Longma (Dragon Horse)," the "Longma Ji (Record of the Dragon Horse)" states quite clearly: "The Dragon Horse is the essence of heaven and earth. In form, it has a horse's body and dragon scales, hence it is called the Dragon Horse. It stands eight feet five inches tall, resembles a Bactrian camel with wings, walks on water without sinking, and when a sage is on the throne, it emerges from the Meng River carrying a diagram on its back." The "Zhouli Xiaguan (Rites of Zhou, Office of Summer)" also says: "A horse over eight feet tall is considered a dragon." Similar statements appear in the "Lüshi Chunqiu (Spring and Autumn of Mr. Lü)": "Among the finest horses, the green dragon is a match." The "Liji Liyun (Book of Rites, Conveyance of Rites)" mentions "the river produces a horse diagram," with commentary explaining: "A dragon that resembles a horse is therefore called a horse diagram. It is the Dragon Horse emerging with a diagram on its back." Here, dragon and horse are conflated. The "Suishu Jingjizhi (Book of Sui, Treatise on Classics)" cites the "Ruiying Tu (Diagrams of Auspicious Omens)," recording: "The Dragon Horse is a divine horse, the essence of river waters. It stands eight feet five inches tall, has a long neck, wings on its sides, hanging hair on its flanks, and its neighing produces nine sounds. It appears when there is an enlightened ruler."
The "Song Shu (Book of Song)" records in the chapter "Furui Zhi (Treatise on Auspicious Signs)": "A radiant light emerged from the river, a peaceful aura filled the four directions, white clouds rose, and a whirlwind stirred. Then a dragon-horse appeared carrying a diagram on its back, with red patterns and green colors. It approached the altar, stopped, and spat out the diagram before departing." Some also compared horses to dragons. Li Shimin, Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty (618-907), wrote in his poem "Yong Yin Ma (Drinking Horse)": "A noble steed drinks from the long stream, splashing water onto its reins. Fine ripples gather at its snorts, tangled water plants wrap around its hooves. Water light glimmers beside the saddle, the horse's shadow crosses the stream. It seems as if in a heavenly pond, where waves surge and a dragon offspring is born."
In the Bagua (Eight Trigrams), "Qian represents the horse," associating the horse with "heaven," which is essentially a variation of the dragon-horse. According to legend, Emperor Wu of Han, Liu Che, once obtained a divine horse and composed the "Taiyi Song" (Ode to the Supreme One), which reads: "Taiyi presents the heavenly horse descending, its frosty sweat red like ocher; it gallops swiftly across ten thousand miles, what can match it but the dragon as a friend?" There is also a "Xiji Tianma Ge" (Song of the Heavenly Horse from the Western Frontier): "The heavenly horse comes from the western frontier, traverses ten thousand miles to return to the virtuous one; bearing divine power it descends upon foreign lands, crossing the shifting sands to subdue the four barbarians." Here, like the dragon, the horse is closely linked to water, rulers, and sages. In the "Classic of Mountains and Seas, Northern Mountains, Third Series," it is recorded that "a creature resembling a white dog with a black head, which flies when seen by people, is called the heavenly horse." The heavenly horse can also soar through the air like a dragon. The most outstanding description of the heavenly horse's proximity to the dragon comes from the "Shiyi Ji, King Mu of Zhou" (Records of Gleanings, King Mu of Zhou): "The king drove eight dragon-like steeds: the first named Juedi (Earth-Scourer), whose hooves did not touch the ground; the second named Fanyu (Feather-Turner), whose speed surpassed flying birds; the third named Benxiao (Night-Racer), which traveled ten thousand miles in a single night; the fourth named Chaoying (Shadow-Chaser), which raced after the sun; the fifth named Yuhui (Radiance-Exceeder), whose coat shimmered brightly; the sixth named Chaoguang (Light-Surpasser), which cast ten shadows from one form; the seventh named Tengwu (Mist-Soarer), which galloped on clouds; the eighth named Xieyi (Wing-Bearer), which had fleshy wings on its body. They were harnessed in turn."
The reason why the Dragon and the Horse are often mentioned together and conflated is closely related to the totem worship of primitive peoples. In ancient China, there were many clans that worshipped the Horse as their totem. According to the "Classic of Mountains and Seas" (Shanhaijing), among the many totemic deities of antiquity, there were gods with "human faces and horse bodies," "horse bodies and dragon heads," "horse bodies and bird wings," and "horse-like forms without heads." This shows that, like the Dragon, the Horse was once a totem worshipped by certain clans and coexisted harmoniously with clans that worshipped the Dragon. Additionally, horse worship was associated with celestial constellations in people's beliefs. In ancient times, the Fang Constellation (Fang Xiu) was regarded as the "Heavenly Horse" and was also called the "Heavenly Quadriga" (Tiansi) or the "Fang Quadriga" (Fangsi). As a result, the Fang Constellation acquired many horse-related epithets, such as "Horse Star," "Horse Ancestor," "Horse Dragon," and "Horse King." The Fang and Xin Constellations both belong to the Azure Dragon Seven Mansions of the East. The Xin Constellation, also known as the "Great Star" (Dachen), forms the main body of the Azure Dragon Seven Mansions—the Dragon Star. Together, the Fang and Xin Constellations are referred to as the "Chen Horse," which is synonymous with the "Dragon Horse."
In summary, while the dragon is an imaginary creature, horses are commonly seen by people. The uninhibited, galloping, and leaping posture of horses, after being idealized by humans, has been endowed with the characteristics of perfection and extraordinary majesty. This can only be regarded as a manifestation of people's rich imagination.
Further Reading
The Legend of Ma Shihuang
In Taoist legend, there was a figure named Ma Shihuang, said to be a horse doctor during the time of the Yellow Emperor. According to Liu Xiang's "Liexian Zhuan" (Biographies of Immortals) from the Han Dynasty, he "knew the diagnosis of a horse's life and death, and his treatments always resulted in recovery." Ma Shihuang, skilled in healing horses, could also treat dragons. Once, a dragon came to him, and Ma Shihuang said, "This dragon is ill, and it knows I can cure it." He then applied acupuncture and administered herbal medicine, curing the dragon. From then on, sick dragons often emerged from the water to seek Ma Shihuang's treatment. Eventually, one dragon carried Ma Shihuang away on its back. In the Ming Dynasty edition of "Liexian Quanzhuan" (Complete Biographies of Immortals), Ma Shihuang is depicted giving acupuncture to a flying dragon, with a horse lying beside him. The legend of Ma Shihuang reflects the ancient Chinese concept of the unity between dragons and horses.