Although you inherited the Chinese Empire on horseback, you cannot rule it from that position.

This is a famous Chinese proverb which predates Genghis by over a thousand years. According to Anatoly M. Khazanov, it was quoted to Genghis's son Ögedei Khan by his Chinese advisors. Anatoly M Khazanov: "Nomads of the Eurasian steppes in historical retrospective". In

See also "Societies and cultures in world history" (1995), by Mark Kishlansky et al, pg 326. | The saying was originally uttered by Confucian philosopher Lu Jia (陸賈; died 170 BC), to Emperor Gaozu (256 or 247 – 1 June 195 BC), founder of the Han dynasty. It is quoted in the Shiji, chapter 97 (Biographies of Li Shiji and Lu Jia), part 12, and the Han Shu, Biography of Li Lu Zhu Liu Shusun, part 13.