Editing Qianlima (section)

==China==
Beginning around the 3rd century BCE, [[Chinese classics]] mention [[Bole (mythology)|Bole]], a mythological horse-tamer, as an [[wikt:exemplar|exemplar]] of horse judging. Bole is frequently associated with the fabled ''qianlima'' ({{zh|t=千里馬}}) "thousand-''miles'' horse", which was supposedly able to gallop one thousand ''[[Li (unit)|li]]'' (approximately 400&nbsp;km) in a single day (e.g. [[Red Hare]], [[Ferghana horse|sweats blood horse]]). ''Qianlima'' was a [[Classical Chinese|literary Chinese]] word for people with latent talent and ability; and Spring (1988:180) suggests, "For centuries of Chinese history, horses had been considered animals capable of performing feats requiring exceptional strength and endurance.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Fabulous Horses and Worthy Scholars in Ninth-Century China|first=Madeline K.|last=Spring|year=1988|journal=T'oung Pao|volume=74 |issue=74.4/5|pages=173–210|doi=10.1163/156853288X00013 }}</ref> Possibly it is for this reason that from early times horses have been used allegorically to represent extraordinary people." Bole recognizing a ''qianlima'' was a metaphor for a wise ruler selecting talented ''shi'' "[[scholar-officials]]". Thus, (Henry 1987:28) "Geniuses in obscurity were called thousand ''li'' horses who had not yet met their [Bole]".<ref>{{Cite journal|first=Eric|last=Henry|title=The Motif of Recognition in Early China|journal=Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies|volume=47 | issue = 1|year=1987|pages=5–30 [28]|doi=10.2307/2719156|jstor=2719156 }}</ref>