Hedgehog finials - Xiongnu, Ordos Culture 400 BCE - 100 CE

"Military weapons are the means used by the Sage to punish violence and cruelty, to give peace to troublous times, to remove difficulties and dangers, and to succour those who are in peril. Every animal with blood in its veins and horns on its head will fight when it is attacked. How much more so will man, who carries in his breast the faculties of love and hatred, joy and anger! When he is pleased, a feeling of affection springs up within him; when angry, his poisoned sting is brought into play. That is the natural law which governs his being."

-Sima Qian, Shiji ch.25 fol.1

Hedgehog finials - Xiongnu, Ordos Culture 400 BCE - 100 CE.

Source:

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hedgehog_finials,_Xiongnu,_400_BC_to_100_AD,_bronze_-_%C3%96stasiatiska_museet,_Stockholm_-_DSC09559.JPG

https://collections.smvk.se/carlotta-om/web/object/110486

https://collections.smvk.se/carlotta-om/web/object/110485

https://collections.smvk.se/carlotta-om/web/object/110487

Quote:

Sima Qian, Shiji