I am descended from horses. My mother’s maiden name is Mar. My maternal grandfather was Sunny Mar, who paid the Chinese Head Tax, prior to the 1923 Chinese Exclusion Act. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ma_%28surname%29
en.wikipedia.org
This is one of my favorite pieces of art. I first saw it in 1976 on a poster in my High School English 11 teacher’s classroom. When I found bronze replicas at the Shaanxi Province Museum in Xi’an, China – I had to bring one home.
“Among China’s various craft masterpieces, Bronze Galloping Horse Treading on a Flying Swallow 马踏飞燕 is unique with its splendid designs and is a classical work of Chinese ancient aesthetics.
“Bronze Galloping Horse Treading on a Flying Swallow was unearthed in 1969 in the Leitai Tomb of the Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220) in Wuwei County, Gansu Province. The bronze statue is a famous representative sculpture of the Han Dynasty. Wuwei County leapt to fame with the discovery of this national treasure.”