Were there cavalry in the Han Dynasty?

There were cavalry in the Han dynasty, which can be seen from some pottery sculptures and murals in the Han tombs that have been excavated. For example, from the painted cavalry figurines unearthed in Yangling, Han Jing, it can be seen that a group of people are riding a person immediately, and their upper limb movements are typical of pulling the reins. Shaanxi History Museum also has a mural of the Han tomb riding horses, which clearly depicts the Han people riding horses and even holding flagpoles.

Not only that, the estimation handed down from ancient times also recorded the cavalry in the Han Dynasty. For example, the standard of cavalry recorded in ancient books of the Han Dynasty: "Twenty-three years old is right, one year old is guard, and one year old is material officer and knight, learning to shoot, ride and fight." The "knight" here refers to the cavalry. After becoming a cavalry, there are not only strict training, but also regular assessment results, which are the responsibility of the central and local governments respectively. This shows that there were indeed cavalry in the Han Dynasty.

However, another problem arises here, that is, how did the cavalry of the Han Dynasty cultivate cavalry without stirrups? First of all, there is a speculation that stirrup appeared in the Han Dynasty, but because it is made of wood, it is easy to be lost in the long historical process. To put it another way, it is more true that the cavalry of the Han Dynasty learned to ride bareback. In fact, nomadic people can do this very early. In the Han Dynasty, "two families" from northwest Longxi, Tianshui, Anding, Beidi, Shang Jun, Xihe and other counties were deliberately selected as the main sources of cavalry in the Han Dynasty. This is mainly because these places are greatly influenced by ethnic minorities and have been exposed to ethnic minorities since childhood, so there are more people who are good at riding and shooting.

In addition, the cavalry in Han dynasty used sabre as the most weapon in melee, which was convenient for quick killing. In the Sino-Hungarian War, the cavalry of the Han army was naturally the main force. Under the leadership of Wei Qing, Huo Qubing and other generals, hundreds of cavalry gave full play to their advantages, eventually forcing the Huns to flee to the northwest.