古代马之骑乘与驾车探源

Horse Riding and Carriage Driving in Ancient China

马和马车作为中国古代最重要的交通工具,在中国古代交通史及军事史上均起着举足轻重的作用。关于古代骑马的起源学术界众说纷纭,赵武灵王胡服骑射说、春秋说和先周说为最主要的三种观点,但这三种观点均是在马之骑乘晚于驾车的基础上提出来的。从传世文献和考古成果得知,马之骑乘早于马之驾车,唐前士大夫阶层极少骑马,可能出于礼制、安全,尤其是政治等方面的原因。

Horse and carriage,as the most important means of transportation,played a vital role in the history of transportation and military affairs in ancient China.The riding of horses can be dated back to King Zhao Yong’s Reign,or the Spring and Autumn Period or Zhou Dynasty.Opinions about the origin of riding horses vary in the historical academia,however they were all based on the presumption that carriage driving preceded horse riding.According to the literature and archaeological findings,horse riding actually took place before carriage driving.Few of the gentry rode horses because of courtesy,safety or political reasons before Tang Dynasty.