Published 08-01-2025
Keywords
- horse mouth,
- flat,
- pointed,
- Jiu yuan Gang
Copyright (c) 2025 Cambridge Arts and Humanities Research
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Abstract
Han dynasty literature records that the ancient sage Gao Yao's "horse mouth symbolizes utmost sincerity," using the flat and square shape of the horse's mouth to represent judicial fairness and justice. In reality, as well as in ancient murals, the depiction of horse mouths is predominantly flat. However, the Tang dynasty art historian Zhang Yan yuan mentioned in "Records of Famous Paintings" that "ancient paintings depict pointed horse mouths," which is quite rare. For example, in the murals of the tomb of Jiu yuan Gang in Xin Zhou, the horse mouths are all pointed.
References
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