Introduction1/5

Emperor Taizong of Tang2/5

Creation of the Six Stone Horses 3/5

Damage, Sale and Movement of the Horses4/5

Conclusion5/5

The Six Stone Horses of Zhaoling

The creation and travels of Tang Taizong's six royal steeds

A visit to the University of Pennsylvania Museum would be incomplete without a stop at two massive stone reliefs depicting warhorses belonging to Chinese Emperor Taizong (r. 626-649)—works considered to be among the most important examples of Chinese sculpture outside of China.

These two horses were originally a part of a group of six that stood on the grounds of the emperor's mausoleum, located on the north slope of Jiuzong Mountain, Shaanxi province.

The other four now reside at the Beilin Museum in Xi'an, Shaanxi province, 56 miles southeast of their original mountainside home.

Who was Emperor Taizong, why did he commission these unique masterpieces, and how did two of them come to be separated from the others, crossing the Pacific and living for the last 100 years in a museum in Pennsylvania?

Emperor Taizong of Tang

Emperor Taizong, personal name Li Shimin, was the second emperor of the Tang Dynasty (618-907), though many regard him as the dynasty's co-founder for the role he played in encouraging his father, Li Yuan, to rebel against the preceding Sui Dynasty (581-618). Li Shimin also played a significant part in battles leading to the Sui's collapse.

Shortly after the downfall of the Sui and establishment of the Tang dynasty by his father in 618, a power struggle ensued between Li Shimin and two of his brothers, culminating in a coup in 626 that led to the deaths of both brothers, and his father's abdication of the throne.

Li Shimin went on to rule for 23 years (626-649)—a period considered a golden age in Chinese history—the empire remaining both internally peaceful and externally powerful. Li Shimin's approach to governing, particularly in the early years of his reign, became a model for succeeding rulers and ministers. The coup did however cast some doubt over the legitimacy of his rule at the time.

Creation of the Six Stone Horses

In planning for his final resting place on Jiuzong Mountain, Li Shimin specified a relatively modest burial chamber (Tang da zhaoling ji), surrounded by an unusually large area for the grounds (37 mi/60 km in circumference). The spatial design of the site echoed the layout of the Tang-dynasty capital, Chang'an (modern-day Xi'an), and housed as many as 200 auxiliary tombs of relatives, nobles, and favored officials.

The design of the stone horses, each measuring roughly 7 ft x 6 ft x 2 ft and weighing approximately 7500 lbs., has been credited to Yan Lide and Yan Liben, two brothers working at Li Shimin's court. The horses are carved in high relief (~ 6in / 15cm) and feature a sense of three-dimensionality that was uncommon in funerary decorations from the period. As warhorses, many are seen with arrows protruding from their bodies. Three of them are shown galloping, two are walking, and one stands with a man pulling an arrow from its chest.

Li Shimin composed a eulogy for each horse—these were recorded on a separate stone stele but were likely originally intended for the empty block seen in the upper corner of each sculpture. If they were inscribed there however, no signs remain visible today.

Author Zhou Xiuqin, formerly of the Penn Museum, has proposed that the six stone horses originally sat somewhere near the que gate towers—the official entrance for visitors coming to pay their respects. The image seen here is a digital reconstruction of the upper three terraces of the site, with the approximate location proposed by Zhou Xiuqin circled in blue.

Ultimately however, the horses were placed alongside statues of 14 foreign leaders, in these small pavilions on the uppermost terrace.

What motivated the creation of these unusual sculptures has been the subject of some debate. The scholar Ge Chongyong has argued that they were an adaptation of Turkic funerary traditions, which often involved the sacrifice of horses. Zhou Xiuqin argues that it was politically driven: "Instead of selecting horses representing all phases of his military career…he selected only the warhorses he rode in the victorious battles between 618-622 that enabled him to show his superiority to his elder brother and rival, the Crown Prince….to justify his coup and legitimize the power he had seized through objectionable means."

Damage, Sale and Movement of the Horses

The six stone horses seem to have survived mostly unharmed for a thousand years following the death of Li Shimin. In the 18th century, for the first time, the horses were documented as having been severely damaged—likely from earthquakes that hit the Shaanxi area in the 16th century. Damages sustained prior to the 20th century can be seen in photos captured by French sinologist Édouard Chavannes in 1907.

Chavannes's images also likely contributed significantly to interest in the horses abroad, and just as the foreign market for Asian art was exploding. In the early 20th Century, China was going through immense change—the 2,000-year imperial dynastic system collapsed, and a war was lost to Japan. More than one million objects left China between the 1840s and 1940s, joining collections in over 200 Western museums.

Two failed attempts were made by French dealers to purchase the horses between 1912 and 1914—both likely involved arrangements with local government officials, and both appear to have been stopped by local resistance of some sort.

In the failed second sale, it was reported that the dealer hired local stonemasons to cut the reliefs into more manageable pieces—these cuts can be seen in comparisons of Chavannes' 1907 photos to modern ones.

In 1914, two of the horses were moved by a local military commander, Zhang Yunshan, to his compound in nearby Xi'an. Records of a preliminary discussion of sale to well-known art dealer C. T. Loo have surfaced from this time, though the sale does not appear to have been finalized.

In 1916, the two horses in Xi'an were moved to Beijing, allegedly to decorate the garden of then president Yuan Shikai, but it's possible they were moved to facilitate a sale, again through Loo, who is known to have had connections with important government figures in Beijing. Freer Gallery Director John E. Lodge (1876-1942) stated in 1923, “I am told he [Loo] has some sort of serviceable hold on a Chinese government official, and is thus able to get things and take them out of the country much more reasonably than others can.”

The sale of the two horses to Loo in the amount of $50,000 USD was finalized in early 1916, and shortly thereafter, the horses were shipped by boat to New York City. Who facilitated the sale to Loo remains unclear, but it appears most likely to have been orchestrated by Yuan Kewen, the second son of President Yuan Shikai.

In 1917, another attempt to purchase the remaining four horses was made by the French dealers involved in the failed 1913 sale. The four horses were apparently brought down the mountain on carts, placed on boats, and began travel along the Wei River. When locals learned of the move, they informed the Shaanxi Provincial Congress, and the boats were ultimately forced to return to Xi'an.

Loo initially offered the two horses he had secured to the Cleveland Museum of Art, but the museum declined, likely due to a high asking price. In 1920, the two were sold to the University of Pennsylvania Museum for $125,000 USD (approx. $1.9m in 2024), where they were added to the newly opened Chinese Rotunda.

Conclusion

Historic complexities abound in the stories of the six horses, two of which have spent more than 100 years separated from the rest, confronting visitors to the Penn Museum who may not otherwise have discovered these wonders of Chinese civilization.

In collaboration with Xi'an Jiaotong University, the University of Chicago has digitally restored the six stone horses in Emperor Taizong's Mausoleum—the production of this digital restoration has facilitated international dialog regarding conservation of these important artifacts and invites people to consider this complex shared history in a new way.

Image Notes

Part 1 - Introduction

Chinese rotunda at Penn Museum, courtesy of the Penn Museum

View of Jiuzong Mountain at Zhaoling Mausoleum, 2023

The six horses (4 original and 2 replicas) at the Beilin Museum, Xi'

Part 2 - Emperor Taizong of Tang

National Palace Museum, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Part 3 - Design and Creation of the Six Stone Horses

Map of Zhaoling (14th Century), Chang'an zhi

Saluzi, courtesy of the Penn Museum

Digital reconstruction of upper three terraces of Zhaoling, highlighting original location of the six horses proposed by Xiuqin Zhou

Digital reconstruction of top terrace of Zhaoling, showing pavilions where the horses were ultimately located

Digital rendering of three horses within pavilions at Zhaoling

Part 4 - Damage, Sale and Movement of the Horses

Telebiao, photographed at Zhaoling by Édouard Chavannes in 1907

Cover page of La Chine Septentrionale, by Édouard Chavannes, 1909

Saluzi, photographed at Zhaoling by Édouard Chavannes in 1907

C.T. Loo, Loo Family Photographs/Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian

View of Zhaoling and surrounding plane from Mount Jiuzong, 2024

Exterior of the Penn Museum (then known as the University Museum) showing the Harrison Rotunda in 1924

Part 5 - Conclusion

Digital rendering of three horses within pavilions at Zhaoling

Digital rendering of view from upper terrace of Zhaoling