Editing Cavalry (section)

====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>