The Animal-Riding Lute Player: a Lens on Gender and Ethnicity in Art and Texts

Abstract

Abstract This paper explores the theme of the horse- and camel-riding lute player appearing in Chinese art and texts as early as the Han dynasty (206 BCE-220 CE). Such works reflect the expansion of trade with Central Asian peoples in late Han, when texts first mention the introduction of lutes by steppe peoples who themselves played them on horseback. Many subsequent texts, poems, and works of art, particularly during the Tang dynasty (618-907), expand on this idea, highlighting not only the instrument’s steppe origins and association with non-Han men but also elite Han women, particularly those sent to the border regions as diplomatic brides. Drawing primarily on Tang writings and works of art, this paper examines issues of gender, social status, ethnicity and the complex meanings of the lute-playing, camel-riding theme and its depiction in art.