Myths featuring Horse

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Fuxi Discovering the Eight Trigrams

🐉 Chinese MythologyYellow River, Mengjin, ChinaFuxi • Nüwa • Dragon Horse

The culture hero Fuxi discovers the cosmic secrets of the universe by observing the patterns on the back of a mythical Dragon Horse. These patterns form the Eight Trigrams (Bagua), which provide the foundation for the I Ching and Taoist cosmology.

The Rat Tricking the Ox and Jumping off Its Nose to Win the Zodiac Race

🐉 Chinese MythologyYellow River, Henan, ChinaJade Emperor • Rat • Ox

In order to establish a calendar to help mortals track time, the Jade Emperor organized a Great Race for all the animals in the kingdom. The clever Rat, realizing he could not swim across the mighty Yellow River, persuaded the diligent and kindhearted Ox to carry him across. As the Ox approached the finish line on the opposite bank, the Rat leaped off the Ox's nose to claim first place,...

The Jade Emperor Declaring the Order of the Zodiac Animals Based on a Great Race

🐉 Chinese MythologyYellow River, Henan, ChinaJade Emperor • Rat • Ox

To create a calendar and measure time, the Jade Emperor invited the animals of the world to participate in a Great Race across a wide river. The first twelve animals to cross and reach the Heavenly Gate were assigned a year in the zodiac cycle. This story explains the order of the signs and the legendary rivalry between the rat and the cat.

The Pilgrims Finally Reaching Vulture Peak and Obtaining the True Buddhist Scriptures

🐉 Chinese MythologyVulture Peak, Himalaya BorderTang Sanzang • Sun Wukong • Zhu Bajie

After fourteen years of perilous travel, Tang Sanzang and his four disciples reach the sacred Vulture Peak to receive the true Buddhist scriptures from the Tathagata Buddha. The journey concludes with the pilgrims shedding their mortal forms, overcoming a final test of greed, and ascending to divinity as a reward for their perseverance. This climax represents the ultimate union of Buddhist...

Tang Sanzang Recruiting the Dragon Prince Who Ate His Horse as the White Dragon Horse

🐉 Chinese MythologyYingchou StreamTang Sanzang • Sun Wukong • White Dragon Horse (Yulong)

While journeying to the West, Tang Sanzang and Sun Wukong encounter a dragon at the Yingchou Stream who devours the monk's horse. After a fierce battle and the intervention of the Bodhisattva Guanyin, the dragon is revealed to be a disgraced prince seeking redemption. He is transformed into the White Dragon Horse to serve as Tang Sanzang's loyal mount for the remainder of the sacred pilgrimage.

Sun Wukong Forcefully Crossing Out His Name from the Book of Life and Death

🐉 Chinese MythologyFengdu Ghost City, Chongqing, ChinaSun Wukong • King Yanluo • Ten Kings of Hell

After achieving great spiritual power and immortality through Taoist practices, Sun Wukong is mistakenly dragged to the underworld by two soul-catchers. Enraged by this bureaucratic error, he rampages through the realm of the dead and reaches the Hall of the Ten Kings. There, he forces the lords of hell to produce the Book of Life and Death, where he strikes out his own name and those of his...