The Invention Of The Stirrup

According to murals and other cultural relics unearthed in Mobei, the Xiongnu people may be the first people to use stirrups.
In the absence of stirrups, the ancient man rode a horse, for when galloping or prancing, the rider sat in the saddle with his feet in the air, and had to hold the horse between his legs; at the same time, he held the horse's mane firmly with his hands to prevent him from falling.
The ancient armies of the Persians, Assyrians, Egyptians, Romans, Babylonians, and Greeks did not know, let alone use, stirrups; Even when Alexander the Great led his armies across Central Asia, his knights had their legs straddled on either side of the saddle, with nothing to support their feet.
With the invention of the stirrup, this problem was easily solved. The origin and invention of the ancient stirrup has always been a concern of the academic circles. It is believed that by about the 3rd century AD, China had made great progress in smelting and began to make stirrups made of copper or iron. The idea of the invention of the stirrup is likely to be inspired by the experience of occasionally using a leather rope to make a ring and then stepping on the ring. But so far no metal stirrups used in the Han Dynasty have been found, and the earliest single stirrups found in the era appear on sculptures in the south of the Yangtze River, that is, the equestrial terracotta of the tomb of Yongning in the second year of the Western Jin Dynasty in Changsha. Therefore, "by about the 3rd century AD, China had made great progress in smelting and began to make stirrups made of copper or iron" is an unfounded conjecture.
From 1955 to 1960, in Changsha, Hunan Province, in the West Jin Yongning second year (302) tomb, unearthed three equestric celadon terra-cotta tomb items, found that the saddle left front side of the triangular stirrup, which is the earliest celadon stirrup image. However, it is worth noting that the right side of the horse is not equipped with stirrups, the rider's feet did not step in the stirrups, the stirrups are above the front of the foot, and the stirrup leather is very short, only half the length of the human leg.
In 1965, Guanyingzi, Beipiao, Liaoning Province excavated the tomb of Fengsufu of Beiyan and obtained the physical data of stirrups. He died in the seventh year of Peace (415). In 1983, a stirrup was found in the tomb No. 154 of Xiaomin Tun, Anyang, Henan Province. The tomb is roughly equivalent to the late Western Jin Dynasty to the early Eastern Jin Dynasty (around 316 years). Another set of objects slightly later than the stirrup unearthed in this tomb was unearthed in the Eastern Jin Dynasty tomb of Yuan Taizi, Chaoyang, Liaoning. The stirrups unearthed in Xiaomin Tun No. 154, Yuan Taizi tomb and Feng Sufu tomb have a common feature, that is, they are all wood core embedded bronze pieces, and the bronze stirrups of Xiaomin Tun No. 154 and Feng Sufu tomb are gilded with gold decoration. They also have obvious differences, that is, Tomb No. 154 of Xiaomintun is single stirrup, while the other two tombs are double stirrup; At the same time, the stirrups of Xiaomin Tun 154 tomb are incompatible with long stirrups, the stirrups are oblate, and the stirrups are slightly concave, while the stirrups of Feng Sufu tomb have short stirrups, the stirrups are rounded triangles, and the stirrups are relatively straight.
In short, from Changsha Yongning 2 tomb to Xiaomin Tun No. 154 tomb, to Chaoyang Yuan Taizi tomb, and then to the unearthed tomb of Feng Sufu, shows that in the early 4th century, China may have stirrups, and the occurrence and development of stirrups from the initial single stirrups to more complete double stirrups such a process.
After the northern and southern Dynasties, the shape of stirrups gradually changed, and finally formed more convenient stirrups. At this time, the stirrup, the stirrup shaft is shortened, the upper part of the stirrup body is rounded, and the foot forms a wide flat edge with a slight arc.