Horses in ancient China
http://www.cs.iastate.edu/~baojie/history/chinese/2002-12-02_horse.en.htm
A nice, long article on the role of horses, basically in the military, from pre-Shang to post-Zhou times.
Why would we be interested? It casts new light on why horses are so important in the Yi: why Prince Kang would be especially honoured by a gift of horses; why you would be anxious to run after a lost horse – and so on.
This article is a reminder that horses aren’t just fast, beautiful, and a status symbol. They also bestow a huge military advantage. The author suggests that the Zhou could conquer the Shang in part because their own closer contact with nomadic tribes meant they were better equipped and more skilled with chariots.
Also interesting to read:
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-08/24/content_3396344.htm