Beijing ‘Eight Horses’

Description

Few stories in Chinese mythology are as fascinating as the legend of the Eight Horses of King Mu of Zhou (Wang Mu). Its roots reach back almost 3,000 years, to the Western Zhou dynasty (1046–771 BC), while the story of King Mu’s legendary journey was recorded centuries later in the Mu Tianzi Zhuan (“The Travels of King Mu, Son of Heaven”), one of the earliest surviving accounts of the legendary king’s travels.

King Mu, the fifth ruler of the Zhou dynasty, was an extraordinary traveller and a man deeply fascinated by the possibility of immortality. He set out on a great expedition westward, towards the mythical Kunlun Mountains, where Chinese mythology placed a celestial paradise and the legendary Peach Tree of Immortality. The peaches that grew on this tree were said to grant immortality to those who ate them. Kunlun was also associated with the Jade Pool (Yaochi), the mythical palace of the Yellow Emperor, and the dwelling of Xi Wangmu, the Queen Mother of the West, one of the most powerful figures in Chinese mythology.

To undertake this extraordinary journey, Wang Mu relied on eight legendary horses, each said to possess a different appearance and supernatural ability. Their incredible speed and powers allowed the king to cross vast and otherwise impossible distances on his journey towards the western edge of the known world. Guiding the royal chariot was Zao Fu (造父), the legendary master charioteer whose extraordinary skill became an essential part of the story. At last, according to the legend, Wang Mu reached Kunlun and its celestial paradise. This magnificent 19th-century Peking/Beijing carpet depicts that extraordinary moment on a rare orange field: the Eight Horses have finally arrived at Kunlun and can rest after their legendary journey, while King Mu continues his quest for immortality. The scene brings together some of the most enduring themes of Chinese mythology — the emperor, the supernatural horse, the sacred western mountains, the paradise of the immortals, and humanity’s ancient desire to escape the limits of mortal life. It is this combination of history, legend, and imagination that makes the Eight Horses of King Mu one of the most captivating subjects to appear in Chinese art.

Size 150 x 72 cm / 4’11” x 2’4″

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