New Discussion on the Origins and Transmissions of the "Dark Ox and White Horse" Legend and Ritual: The 'Longue Durée' Survival of a Kitan Cultural Pattern

The ritual of the Dark Ox and White Horse ( qingniu baima 青牛白馬), and its related legends, is an iconic element of Kitan culture, yet its significance remains hitherto largely unexplored. As a new Kitan community emerged from the convergence of two polities during the middle and late Tang period, this ritual appeared as a central component of sacrificial oaths. The connection of the ritual to Heaven and Earth was later codified after the founding of the Liao dynasty. The Dark Ox and White Horse ritual continued after the fall of the Kitan Empire, transmitted by Jin and Yuan popular literature into Han society, and then with the fall of the Yuan dynasty merging into Mongol and Manchu oaths. In the longue durée , the Dark Ox and White Horse oath ritual exemplifies how ethnicities lost to time could have their cultural features retained and perpetuated by other groups.