--- title: 'The monkey on the horse in China' description: 'Travelling around China, small statues of horses with monkeys on their backs are to be found in great number' lang: en-GB type: Article category: Blog tags: - Horse - 'art ' - collection - history image: 'https://www.horsemuseumfoundation.org/images/blog/scimmiasucavallo1.jpg' author: 'Maria Vittori' date: '2021-02-25T15:05:20+00:00' lastmod: '2022-01-05T17:07:22+00:00' canonical_url: 'https://www.horsemuseumfoundation.org/en/blog-en/the-monkey-on-the-horse-in-china' --- Maria Vittori 25 February 2021 ![Monkey on horse in brass of good wishes](https://www.horsemuseumfoundation.org/images/blog/scimmiasucavallo1.jpg) Horses came to China from **Central Asia, Mongolia and Tibet.** In the ancient *Yi Jing* tradition, **the horse is the “yin”** to the dragon’s “yang”. The god of war **Guan Yu** rode a horse with red hair, and this animal is associated with the power of metal and with the west. In the *Tang and Mongol* dynasties, which came from the north, **horses were much admired animals**, appearing in many works of art. One Tang emperor had a troupe of dancing horses for his entertainment. Travelling around China, small statues of horses with monkeys on their backs are to be found in great number. The Chinese calendar features a series of animals, with the mounted monkey having a meaning all its own. In *Feng Shui*, the horse (the seventh sign of the Chinese Zodiac) symbolizes **nobility**, perseverance, strength, loyalty, victory, power, freedom, speed and success. It is believed that placing **an image of a horse in a home or a workplace** reinforces the positive characteristics of the people who live or work there. The monkey (the ninth sign of the Chinese Zodiac) is known to be agile and playful, yet extremely intelligent and quickwitted. ![Cavalli imperiali in resina](https://www.horsemuseumfoundation.org/images/blog/cavalli-cinesi-mod.jpg) ![Ceramic monkey on horseback statue](https://www.horsemuseumfoundation.org/images/blog/scimmia-cavallo-2-mod.jpg) All of which make the monkey and the horse a **potent combination when it comes to promoting success in business**. In Chinese, a monkey sitting on a horse is written,***“Ma Shang Feng Hou”***, which translates into ***“success is fast approaching”.*** And when the monkey is holding a peach, it draws positive vibrations for good health, longevity, even immortality. [Horse](https://www.horsemuseumfoundation.org/en/tags/horse) , [art ](https://www.horsemuseumfoundation.org/en/tags/art) , [collection](https://www.horsemuseumfoundation.org/en/tags/collection) , [history](https://www.horsemuseumfoundation.org/en/tags/history) --- [](https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.horsemuseumfoundation.org%2Fen%2Fblog-en%2Fthe-monkey-on-the-horse-in-china) [](https://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.horsemuseumfoundation.org%2Fen%2Fblog-en%2Fthe-monkey-on-the-horse-in-china&title=The%20monkey%20on%20the%20horse%20in%20China&summary=Horses%20came%20to%20China%20from%20Central%20Asia%2C%20Mongolia%20and%20Tibet.%20In%20the%20ancient%20Yi%20Jing%20tradition%2C%20the%20horse%20is%20the%20%E2%80%9Cyin%E2%80%9D%20to%20the%20dragon%E2%80%99s%20%E2%80%9Cyang%E2%80%9D.&source=Horse%20Museum%20Foundation) [](https://wa.me/?text=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.horsemuseumfoundation.org%2Fen%2Fblog-en%2Fthe-monkey-on-the-horse-in-china) [](https://snapchat.com/scan?attachmentUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.horsemuseumfoundation.org%2Fen%2Fblog-en%2Fthe-monkey-on-the-horse-in-china&utm_source=Horse%20Museum%20Foundation) × Books on horses You like horses? Read our two **free eBooks**: 1. *Stories of women, men, horses and art* 2. *Freedom and the horse* ![](https://www.horsemuseumfoundation.org/images/storie-di-donne-uomini-cavalli-e-arte-cover.png) ![](https://www.horsemuseumfoundation.org/images/la-liberta-e-il-cavallo-cover.png) [ Request PDF now!](https://www.horsemuseumfoundation.org/index.php?Itemid=172&lang=en-GB)