Tianma (天馬 Tiānmǎ, "heavenly horse") was a winged (perhaps metaphorically) flying horseinChinese folklore.
The Tianma is a flying horse was sometimes depicted with chimerical features such as dragon scales and was at times attributed the ability to sweat blood, possibly inspired by the parasite Parafilaria multipapillosa,[1] which infected the highly sought-after Ferghana horse (大宛馬), sometimes conflated with Tianma. Tianma, the flying horse, is clearly connected to Pegasus from the Western Han dynasty artwork[2] and in the Tang dynasty sources, as coming from Hellenized Central Asia.[3]
In the Western Zhou Empire, Tianma referred to a constellation.[4] Tianma is also associated with Emperor Wu of Han, an aficionado of the Central Asian horse,[5] and the famous poet Li Bo.[6] The bronze statue Gansu Flying Horse is a well-known example.
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