马镫不是支那人发明

支那人一再坚持马镫是支那晋朝人发明，是人类历史上最伟大的发现之一，并且通过北方游牧民族传到中亚、西亚，最后是欧洲，引起骑兵作战方式的革命性改变。

证据是出土的一具晋朝的陶俑，号称是人类最早的马镫。

青瓷骑俑（2件)——最早的马镫
　　西晋（公元265-317年）
　　 分别高24、23.5厘米
　　 1958年湖南长沙金盆岭出土
　　 中国国家博物馆藏
　　

从这具陶俑上看，骑手根本没有使用马镫，骑手的腿是竖直的垂下，使用马镫时，双腿是弯曲的。

显然，马背上的那个三角状的东西，并不能证明是是马镫。

也许只是一种装饰物，或者类似趾扣的东西。

The evolution of the saddle - the tree
We’ve been trying to make ourselves comfortable on the horse’s back from time immemorial! A fascinating history of the saddle

Ancient man was domesticating animals, including horses, as far back as 4,000 BC, and it’s likely that a form of riding would have coincided with this, albeit without a saddle. Even a few centuries later, the cavalries of Ancient Greece still thought nothing of charging into battle riding bareback – no padding, no stirrups, but with incredible courage!

First saddles
The first saddles are thought to have been developed around 800 BC during the late Iron Age by either the Assyrians in Ancient Mesopotamia, or the Moors of North Africa. They were a basic form of padding attached to the horse by a rudimentary surcingle, most likely made from animal hide. It wasn’t long before saddles became status symbols, with elaborate patchwork, precious metals, jewellery or intricate embroidery.

However, the saddle was still very basic, having neither a solid tree, nor stirrups. It served only to provide a degree of protection and comfort to the rider, not to the horse.


The tree
Over the centuries, saddle design increased in complexity. By 300 BC, the Sarmatians, a tribe of accomplished horsemen from Iran, were using saddles that had a breastplate and girth to ensure they stayed securely in place. 

By 200 BC, they had developed a major turning point in saddle design – the solid saddle tree.

By raising the rider above the horse’s back, and distributing their weight onto either side of the animal’s spine, rather than directly onto its back, it served to improve both the comfort of horse and rider, and prolong the animal’s working life significantly.

Advanced technology... for the period
Furthermore, the solid saddle tree would eventually allow for the development of what we now consider the true stirrup, although variants of stirrup design had existed before this.

In Asia, the wooden frame of the saddle tree was covered in felt, whilst back in Europe, the Romans introduced the ‘four-horn’ design of saddle. In each case there is a good thickness of padding to prevent the material of the frame rubbing on the horse’s body. However, the inclusion of stirrups remained elusive.

The earliest manifestation of the stirrup was a toe loop that held the big toe and was used in India, possibly as early as 500 BC.[4] This ancient foot support consisted of a looped rope for the big toe which was at the bottom of a saddle made of fibre or leather. Such a configuration was suitable for the warm climate of south and central India where people used to ride horses barefoot.[5] A pair of megalithic double bent iron bars with curvature at each end, excavated in Junapani in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh have been regarded as stirrups although they could as well be something else.[6] Buddhist carvings in the temples of Sanchi, Mathura and the Bhaja caves dating back between the 1st and 2nd century BC figure horsemen riding with elaborate saddles with feet slipped under girths.[7][8] In this regard Sir John Marshall described the Sanchi relief as "the earliest example by some five centuries of the use of stirrups in any part of the world".[8]

Later, a single stirrup was used as a mounting aid by a nomadic group known as the Sarmatians.[9]

Depiction of a Kushan divinity using an early platform-style stirrup, circa AD 150. British Museum.

The invention of the solid saddle tree allowed development of the true stirrup as it is known today.[10] Without a solid tree, the rider's weight in the stirrups creates abnormal pressure points and make the horse's back sore.[11] Modern thermography studies on "treeless" and flexible-tree saddle designs have found that there is considerable friction across the center line of a horse's back.[12]

In Asia, early solid-treed saddles were made of felt that covered a wooden frame.[13] These designs date to approximately 200 BC.[14] One of the earliest solid-treed saddles in the west was first used by the Romans as early as the 1st century BC,[15] but this design also did not have stirrups.[14] The first dependable representation of a rider with paired stirrups was found in China in a Jin Dynasty tomb of about AD 322.[16][17][18] The stirrup appeared to be in widespread use across China by AD 477.[19]

人类驯化马的时间是在公元前4000年，公元前800年，马鞍出现，这种马鞍一开始是很简易的垫子，披在马背上，后来出现皮做的马鞍，搭在垫子上。 公元前5世纪，印度人发明了趾扣，在马鞍上悬下两根绳子，身子末端有个环扣，骑手把大母脚趾扣在绳套里，借此保持稳定。只要把绳套稍微放大，把整个脚伸进去，就是马镫，这个想法一点不难，印度人肯定也想到过，但是做不到，原因在于当时的马鞍很不牢固，无法搭载马镫，用力过大，马鞍会滑下来，所以，印度人不得已把绳套缩小，只套住脚趾，稍微借力保持平衡。 公元前2世纪，伊朗人发明了固体马鞍，用整块木头做成硬质的马鞍，这种马鞍可以牢固的固定在马背上，而且马匹不容易疲劳，对马背的伤害也减小很多。 由此可见，这种马鞍一出现，趾扣立刻就能演变成马镫，几乎不用什么时间。 所以，马镫的出现当在公元前1-2世纪，地点可能在伊朗，也可能在印度。 又经过一段时间的发展，这种用绳子、皮条制成的马鞍又演变成硬质的马镫，用铁条、铜条或木头制成。 从公元150年的印度浮雕上可以看出，骑手脚下的马镫已经是硬质的马镫，不再是皮条制成。 这种简易又高效的装置很快向世界各地传播。 印度、伊朗、中亚是第一波，之后向东西两个方向扩散，一个传递到西亚，再传到欧洲、非洲。一个传到西域，然后传到蒙古草原，由此一面向东北、朝鲜、日本传递，另一个方向是传到支那。 显然，这才是马镫传播的真正路径，而不是相反-从支那传出去！ 从支那的浮雕、兵马俑都可以看出，东汉的陶俑依然没有装备马镫、硬质的马鞍。 支那出土的最早的马镫始于北魏。晋朝的陶俑上有三角环，但还不是马镫，因为骑手没有使用，显然只是装饰物或单为上马使用，还不能算是真正的马镫。 Early Civilization Reconstructed Roman military saddle (4-horn design) The North Iranian Eurasian nomads known in Europe as Scythians and in Asia as Saka developed an early form of saddle, which included two parallel leather cushions, with girth attached to them, a pommel and cantle with detachable bone/horn/hardened leather facings, leather thongs, a crouper and breastplate, and a felt shabrack adorned with animal motifs located in the Pazyryk finds.[2] Between the 9th and 7th centuries BC iconographic evidence of a predecessor to the modern saddle has been found in the art of the ancient Armenians, Assyrians, and steppe nomads depicted on the Assyrian stone relieves of Assurnassirpal II. This early back protection for the horse and rider consisted of a cloth, leather, or pelt shabrack kept on a horse by the use of breastplate and girth or perhaps a surcingle. The Scythians also developed an early saddle that included padding and decorative embellishments. Though they had neither a solid tree nor stirrups, these early treeless saddles and pads provided protection and comfort to the rider, with a slight increase in security.[citation needed] The Sarmatians also used saddles by about 300 BC,[3] with the addition of a breastplate and a girth to help keep the saddle on.[4] The development of the solid saddle tree was significant; it raised the rider above the horse's back, and distributed the rider's weight on either side of the animal's spine instead of pinpointing pressure at the rider's seat bones, reducing the force directed on any one part of the horse's back (lb/sq. in. or kg/sq. cm), thus greatly increasing the comfort of the horse and prolonging its useful life. The invention of the solid saddle tree also allowed development of the true stirrup as it is known today.[5] Without a solid tree, the rider's weight in the stirrups creates abnormal pressure points and make the horse's back sore.[6] Thermography studies on "treeless" and flexible tree saddle designs have found that there is considerable friction across the center line of a horse's back.[7] In Asia, early solid-treed saddles were made of felt that covered a wooden frame.[4] These designs date to approximately 200 BC.[3] One of the earliest solid-treed saddles in the west was the "four horn" design, first used by the Romans as early as the 1st century BC.[8] This design also did not have stirrups.[3] The stirrup was one of the milestones in saddle development. The first stirrup-like object was invented in India in the 2nd century BC, and consisted of a simple leather strap in which the rider's toe was placed. It offered very little support, however. The nomadic tribes in northern China are thought to have been the inventors of the modern stirrup, but the first dependable representation of a rider with paired stirrups was found in China in a Jin Dynasty tomb of about AD 302.[9][10] The stirrup appeared to be in widespread use across China by 477 AD.[11] which then spread to Europe. This invention gave great support for the rider, and was essential in later warfare. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 硬质马鞍的优点是非常明显的，它把骑手的重量分散到马背的两侧，之前的软马鞍，骑手的重量压在马的脊椎骨上，而且只压在一个小地方，使得马很容易疲劳，也容易受伤。 硬质马鞍牢固地固定在马背上，所以才能使马镫成为可能。马镫系在硬质马鞍上，受力同样被分散到马背两侧，软马鞍时代，如果加上马镫（或趾扣），受力点在马背上成一条线，使马很痛苦，而且使软马鞍容易滑落。 因此，马镫的想法在硬质马鞍之前就肯定出现，只不过当时无法实现而已。所以印度人不得已，把马镫缩小成为趾扣，偶尔会用它保持部分的平衡。 硬质马鞍一出现，可想而知，趾扣立刻就变成马镫，中间不会有多少时间。 所以，硬质马鞍在公元前2世纪，出现在伊朗，同样，马镫肯定也就在同时出现了，不是在伊朗、中亚附近，就是在印度。 然后向西域、蒙古草原传播过去，最后进入支那。 这才是马镫的传播路线。