Whether there were stirrups in the Han Dynasty has never been a clear answer to this question - according to archaeological rules, only the excavation of physical objects can prove that something really existed, because the Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang unearthed "saddle horse figurines", so everyone acknowledges that saddles have appeared in the Spring and Autumn Warring States period.
From the actual Qin saddle figurines, we see that the war horses at that time did have a saddle bridge fixed by three belly belts, but it may be limited by the pottery figurine manufacturing process, and we did not see the existence of stirrups - it may also be leather stirrups, which have long been consumed by time.
If the reader looks closely at the three belly bands of the warhorse, he will find that the middle one has an object that the other two do not have—that is not a buckle, nor a useless ornament, but most likely the prototype of a stirrup—a foot pedal.
The foot pedal is a soft stirrup, which is also reflected in the Yinshan rock paintings, and has also been recognized by experts: "The horse wears a pair of armor and foot pedals (called saddles and stirrups after evolution), the armor (saddle) is flat back stacked, the front neck, the back crotch, and the legs and belly are all fastened; the horse's lower abdomen has a hanging pendant, which is a form of foot pedal (soft stirrup). ”
According to scientific measurements, the Stirrup Rock Paintings of Yinshan were formed in 210 AD, and in that year three major events occurred: Cao Cao built tongquetai (tongjuetai) in Yicheng, Liu Bei went to Jingkou to meet Sun Quan to borrow Nan County, and Zhou Yu died of illness on the way to enter sichuan.
Cao Cao only built Tongquetai after the defeat of Chibi, so it is impossible for Zhuge Liang to provoke Zhou Yu with "Cao Cao's Second Qiao": 210 AD was the fifteenth year of Jian'an, and the Battle of Chibi occurred in the thirteenth year of Jian'an, which means that at the time of the Chibi War, Tongquetai may still exist only on the drawings, and Cao Zhi could not have written the "Tongquetai Fu" before the Tongquetai was repaired.
Rendition novels often reverse the chronological order and causal relationship of historical events, such as Ma Teng's murder after Ma Chao's rebellion, and Huang Zhong's death before Liu Bei became emperor, all of which are confused by the novel.
The warhorses of the famous generals of the Three Kingdoms in the novel are all stirrups, so they can only hold or carry long-handled weapons with both hands when they fight -- if there is no stirrup, they will flash themselves off their horses.
At this time, there may be readers who have to say: in the Three Kingdoms period, there was no general single-handed, so it cannot be used as evidence that there were stirrups at that time.
The Three Kingdoms period was indeed not popular with the generals, but not popular does not mean that there is not, we look through the historical materials of the Three Kingdoms, we will find that there are at least three times the generals singled out, and the single generals, using extremely long spears and mallets.
In April of the third year of Chuping (192 AD), Dong Zhuo was murdered by Wang Yun and Lü Bu, and Li Dai and Guo Feng attacked Chang'an under the banner of avenging Dong Zhuo, and Wang Cang, one of Jian'an's seven sons, was on top of the city tower, witnessing Guo Feng and Lü Bu's single challenge:
"Guo Feng is in the north of the city. When the city gates were opened, the generals were slaughtered, saying, 'And the soldiers, but the body is determined to win or lose'. Fen and Bu Nai fought together, and Bu stabbed Fen with a spear, and After Fen rode forward to rescue Fen, Fen and Bu Sui each struck twice. ”
Lü Bu wielded a spear to pick Guo Feng off the horse, if there was no saddle stirrup, the reaction force would also push Lü Bu off the horse, at that time, without Li Dai's hand, Lü Bu would have been trampled to death by the horse.
This single challenge that determines the rise and fall of the Han Room is difficult to decide without the participation of stirrups - it is difficult to imagine Lü Bu grabbing the saddle with one hand (lest he fall down) and sprinting with a spear in the other hand, and only with the help of stirrups can Lü Bu borrow horsepower to help people and dance the spear to the tiger.
Lü Bu's red rabbit horse is recorded in the Book of Later Han and the Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms, and Lü Bu did not fall when the "red rabbit" flew over the trenches and city walls, which must have benefited from the help of stirrups.
Without stirrups, Lü Bu would not only not be a "flying general", but would also die under the hooves of the horse. In the same way, if there were no stirrups, Dianwei would not be able to move a pair of large iron halberds of eighty pounds on the horse, and he wore heavy armor to repel Lü Bu, which is also recorded in the Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms.
Whether Guan Yu had the Green Dragon Crescent Blade was doubtful for the time being, but Dianwei's good use of the long sword in addition to the iron halberd was well documented:
"Wei Hao held a large double halberd and a long sword, and the military said: 'A strong man under the tent has a pawn, and he lifts a pair of halberds and eighty pounds.'" ”
Fighting on horseback with a halberd in both hands, the only one who can maintain balance and control the advance and retreat of the warhorse can only rely on his feet--without stirrups, Dianwei's double halberds cannot be played at all.
Lü Bu died in the White Gate Tower, Dianwei died in The Zhang Xiu Rebellion, none of them were trampled by horses, first of all, they should be attributed to the war horses, saddles and stirrups, and Sun Ce survived the single confrontation with Tai Shi Ci because he first knocked down Tai Shi Ci's war horse:
"Ci Detective regards the importance of the matter, and Shi Du encounters a pawn with a pawn. Ce cong riding thirteen, all Han Dang, Song Qian, Huang Gai generation also. Ci Ben fought forward and was facing ce. If you stab the horse, and if you get the mercy, you will also get the sword. The two families rode and rode separately, and disbanded. ”
Tai Shi Ci with an entourage dared to fight with Sun Ce's fourteen men, because with the blessing of the war horse long gun and short halberd, his war horse was stabbed by Sun Ce, and he could only engage in hand-to-hand combat--the cavalry on both sides arrived, and they could only temporarily strike, because fighting with the cavalry with short soldiers on the ground was to seek their own death.
If there were no stirrups, Tai Shi Ci would have been beaten to death by Sun Ce's thirteen retinues, and this reader Zhu Jun could imagine with his eyes closed: everyone did not have stirrups, a knife from the left, a shot from the right, Tai Shi Ci dodged left and right, one did not pay attention and fell off the horse, Han Dang Huang Gai galloped on his horse, tai Shi Ci would be trampled into a stick.
Cao Cao has such a sentence in "But the East and West Doors": "The horse does not release the saddle, and the armor does not leave the bow." ”
Cao Zhi's "White Horse Chapter" also mentions the warrior's posture of flashing and moving on the horse:
"White horse as golden bondage, even flying northwestern... Pick up the flying fox and lean over to scatter the horse's hooves. Cunning over monkey apes, brave as leopards. ”
If there is no stirrup, leaning over on the horse to shoot an arrow (the horseshoe finger arrow target in the poem), let alone hitting the target, can not fall off the horse, that is the master of the master.
Conquest in the Three Kingdoms period, with the bow and crossbow as the first weapon, followed by the long spear spear (spears, mallets belong to the gun family), individual warriors, will also use the extended large knife, as for this big knife is the legendary Green Dragon Yanyue, or the extended version of the ring head knife, the slashing knife, this does not belong to the content of this article to discuss, we want to talk about, through the Three Kingdoms historical materials to see the war at that time: If there is no stirrup assistance, Lü Bu, Tai Shi Ci, Dianwei such fierce generals, are they trampled to death under the horse's hooves?