3) But some horses weren't so lucky - one slow horse was named Whip its Rear, highlighting how pressured and fast-paced the frontier postal service was. This job was hard on horses' bodies. Many horses were registered as lame or as having saddle sores, and one was even injured by a blade!
Excited to say that my article on horse names in China's ancient postal system has been published with Early China! 🐎✉️🌿 Meet Skittish Fish, Calm at the Carriage, and, my personal fave, Cinnamon Stick, at the link below:
#animalhistory
2) In the eyes of the law, horses were worth more dead than alive if they got injured on the job, and yet a 24-year-old horse Yarrow Elder enjoyed retirement at the end of his working life. Some horses clearly received special treatment!
Rounding out 2025 with an essay for T'oung Pao discussing recent publications on Chinese animals, including books on talking parrots, sacred oxen, marital camels, and bathing elephants! It's definitely been an exciting year in an exciting field of research 🐉🐘🐫🐃🦜
brill.com/view/journal...