The paintings of Giuseppe Castiglione show the bodies of horses in full, their manes being of a different color from the body.
Laiyuan liu This horse is shown three-quarter back, facing to the right, and wearing a burnt
chestnut coat. The Chinese name may refer to the Qing-era office in the West,
Laiyuan si, but based on the name in the other languages, it may be trying to suggest a vigorous horse that can travel long distances.
Yueku lai This horse walking to the left is depicted in yellow color, possibly a
palomino coat. The name of the horse, Yueku lai, has been the subject of interpretations and translations. When written 月窟,
yueku is used in some classical Chinese texts to refer to the location of the moon or the light of the moon. Lai designates a horse over seven
chi tall. The word
yueku in Chinese may being referring to a county in the West. The
Manchurian inscription is
argatu sirha;
argatu denotes a stag or male roe deer, and
sirha is a variant of
sirga, denoting a color of reddish-brown in horses and deer. The reference to deer is probably to be understood as a reference to the male's pale coat color. The word
sirga seems to refer to a light color.
Lingkun bai Represented from the front, this horse has a gray coat. The name in Chinese is a reference to the
Kunlun Mountains, being used here to indicate high mountains in general. The Mongol name means "magic white horse". ==Analysis==