Editing Cavalry (section)

===East Asia===
{{further|Horses in East Asian warfare}}

====China====
{{multiple image| align = left | direction = horizontal | header = | header_align = left/right/center | footer = An [[Eastern Han]] glazed ceramic statue of a horse with [[bridle]] and [[halter]] headgear, from [[Sichuan]], late 2nd century to early 3rd century AD| footer_align = left | image1 = Sichuan, han orientali, cavallo con ciuffo e criniera corta, seconda metà II-inizio III sec. 02.JPG | width1 = 108 | caption1 = | image2 = Sichuan, han orientali, cavallo con ciuffo e criniera corta, seconda metà II-inizio III sec. 03.JPG | width2 = 220| caption2 = }}

Further east, the [[Military history of China (pre-1911)|military history of China]], specifically [[North China|northern China]], held a long tradition of intense military exchange between [[Han Chinese]] infantry forces of the settled dynastic empires and the mounted [[nomads]] or "barbarians" of the north. The [[naval history of China]] was centered more to the south, where mountains, rivers, and large lakes necessitated the employment of a large and well-kept [[Naval warfare|navy]].

In 307 BC, [[King Wuling of Zhao]], the ruler of the former [[Jin (Chinese state)|state of Jin]], ordered his commanders and troops to adopt the [[trousers]] of the [[nomad]]s as well as practice the nomads' form of mounted archery to hone their new cavalry skills.{{sfnp|Ebrey|Walthall|Palais|2006|pp=29–30}}

[[File:Emperor Taizongs horses by Yan Liben.jpg|thumb|right|A bas-[[relief]] of a soldier and horse with saddle and [[stirrup]]s, from the tomb of Chinese [[Emperor Taizong of Tang]] (r. 626–649), {{circa|650}}]]
The adoption of massed cavalry in China also broke the tradition of the [[Chariot (Ancient China)|chariot]]-riding [[Four occupations|Chinese aristocracy]] in battle, which had been in use since the ancient [[Shang dynasty]] ({{circa|1600}}–1050 BC).{{sfnp|Ebrey|Walthall|Palais|2006|p=29}} By this time large Chinese infantry-based armies of 100,000 to 200,000 troops were now buttressed with several hundred thousand mounted cavalry in support or as an effective striking force.{{sfnp|Ebrey|Walthall|Palais|2006|p=30}} The handheld pistol-and-trigger [[crossbow]] was invented in China in the fourth century BC;{{sfnp|Ebrey|1999|p=41}} it was written by the [[Song dynasty]] scholars Zeng Gongliang, Ding Du, and Yang Weide in their book ''[[Wujing Zongyao]]'' (1044 AD) that massed missile fire by crossbowmen was the most effective defense against enemy cavalry charges.<ref name="peers 130">Peers, 130. we can right anything</ref>

[[File:The Qianlong Emperor in Ceremonial Armour on Horseback.jpg|thumb|upright|left|The [[Qianlong Emperor]] in ceremonial armor on horseback, painted by [[Giuseppe Castiglione (1688–1766)|Giuseppe Castiglione]], dated 1739 or 1758]]
On many occasions the Chinese studied nomadic cavalry tactics and applied the lessons in creating their own potent cavalry forces, while in others they simply recruited the tribal horsemen wholesale into their armies; and in yet other cases nomadic empires proved eager to enlist Chinese infantry and engineering, as in the case of the [[Mongol Empire]] and its sinicized part, the [[Yuan dynasty]] (1279–1368). The Chinese recognized early on during the [[Han dynasty]] (202 BC – 220 AD) that they were at a disadvantage in lacking the number of horses the northern nomadic peoples mustered in their armies. [[Emperor Wu of Han]] (r 141–87 BC) went to war with the [[Dayuan]] for this reason, since the Dayuan were hoarding a massive amount of tall, strong, Central Asian bred horses in the [[Hellenized]]–[[Greeks|Greek]] region of [[Fergana]] (established slightly earlier by [[Alexander the Great]]). Although experiencing some defeats early on in the campaign, Emperor Wu's war from 104 BC to 102 BC succeeded in gathering the prized tribute of horses from Fergana.

Cavalry tactics in China were enhanced by the invention of the saddle-attached [[stirrup]] by at least the 4th century, as the oldest reliable depiction of a rider with paired stirrups was found in a [[Jin dynasty (265–420)|Jin dynasty]] tomb of the year 322 AD.<ref name="Dien">{{cite web| url = http://www.silk-road.com/artl/stirrup.shtml| title = Dien, Albert. 'The Stirrup and its Effect on Chinese Military History'}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url = http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1310/is_1988_Oct/ai_6955868 |title = 'The stirrup – history of Chinese science'. ''UNESCO Courier'', October 1988 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071013231319/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1310/is_1988_Oct/ai_6955868 |archive-date=13 October 2007 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.chinaculture.org/gb/en_madeinchina/2005-07/21/content_70825.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081203175410/http://www.chinaculture.org/gb/en_madeinchina/2005-07/21/content_70825.htm|title="The invention and influences of stirrup"|archive-date=December 3, 2008}}</ref> The Chinese invention of the [[horse collar]] by the 5th century was also a great improvement from the breast harness, allowing the horse to haul greater weight without heavy burden on its skeletal structure.<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 322">Needham, Volume 4, Part 2, 322.</ref><ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 305">Needham, Volume 4, Part 2, 305.</ref>

====Korea====
The horse warfare of [[History of Korea|Korea]] was first started during the ancient Korean kingdom [[Gojoseon]]. Since at least the 3rd century BC, there was influence of northern [[nomad]]ic peoples and [[Yemaek]] peoples on Korean warfare. By roughly the first century BC, the ancient kingdom of [[Buyeo Kingdom|Buyeo]] also had mounted warriors.{{sfnp|Ebrey|Walthall|Palais|2006 |p=120}} The cavalry of [[Goguryeo]], one of the [[Three Kingdoms of Korea]], were called ''Gaemamusa'' (개마무사, 鎧馬武士), and were renowned as a fearsome heavy cavalry force. [[Gwanggaeto the Great of Goguryeo|King Gwanggaeto the Great]] often led expeditions into the [[Baekje]], [[Gaya confederacy]], [[Buyeo Kingdom|Buyeo]], [[Later Yan]] and against [[Yamato period|Japanese]] invaders with his cavalry.<ref>Lee, Peter H & Wm. Theodore De Bary. ''Sources of Korean Tradition'', pp. 24–26. Columbia University Press, 1997.</ref>
In the 12th century, [[Jurchen people|Jurchen]] tribes began to violate the Goryeo–Jurchen borders, and eventually invaded [[Goryeo]] Korea. After experiencing invasion by the Jurchen, Korean general [[Yun Kwan]] realized that Goryeo lacked efficient cavalry units. He reorganized the Goryeo military into a professional army that would contain decent and well-trained cavalry units. In 1107, the Jurchen were ultimately defeated, and surrendered to Yun Kwan. To mark the victory, General Yun built nine fortresses to the northeast of the Goryeo–Jurchen borders (동북 9성, 東北 九城).[[File:Samurai on horseback.png|thumb|upright|A mounted [[samurai]] with bow and arrows, wearing a horned helmet. {{Circa|1878}}]]

====Japan====
[[File:Sakaotosi.jpg|thumb|upright|In the [[Battle of Ichi-no-Tani]], Japanese cavalry moving down a mountain-side]]
The [[History of Japan|ancient Japanese]] of the [[Kofun period]] also adopted [[Kofun period#Introduction of equine culture to Japan|cavalry and equine culture]] by the 5th century AD. The emergence of the [[samurai]] aristocracy led to the development of armoured horse archers, themselves to develop into charging [[lancer]] cavalry as gunpowder weapons rendered bows obsolete.  Japanese cavalry was largely made up of landowners who would be upon a horse to better survey the troops they were called upon to bring to an engagement, rather than traditional mounted warfare seen in other cultures with massed cavalry units.

An example is [[Yabusame]] (流鏑馬), a type of mounted archery in traditional Japanese archery. An archer on a running horse shoots three special "turnip-headed" arrows successively at three wooden targets.

This style of archery has its origins at the beginning of the Kamakura period. [[Minamoto no Yoritomo]] became alarmed at the lack of archery skills his samurai had. He organized yabusame as a form of practice.
Currently, the best places to see yabusame performed are at the Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gū in Kamakura and Shimogamo Shrine in Kyoto (during Aoi Matsuri in early May). It is also performed in Samukawa and on the beach at Zushi, as well as other locations.

Kasagake or Kasakake (笠懸, かさがけ lit. "hat shooting") is a type of Japanese mounted archery. In contrast to yabusame, the types of targets are various and the archer shoots without stopping the horse. While yabusame has been played as a part of formal ceremonies, kasagake has developed as a game or practice of martial arts, focusing on technical elements of horse archery.