Legend has it that the Matouqin was first made by a little shepherd boy named Su He in the Chahar grassland. Su He was raised by his grandmother, and the mother-in-law and grandchildren lived on more than twenty sheep. Su He went out every day to herd the sheep and helped his grandmother cook breakfast in the morning and evening. At seventeen, Su He had grown up to be a full grown-up. He had an extraordinary singing talent, and the neighboring herders were eager to hear him sing.

One day, the sun had set and the sky was getting darker. But Su He had not come back yet. Not only was grandma anxious, but even the neighboring herders were a little panicked. Just when people were very anxious, Su He came into the yurt with a little furry thing. When people saw it, it turned out to be a newborn foal. Su He looked at everyone's astonished eyes and said to everyone, "On my way back, I met this little guy, lying on the ground and moving straight. When I saw that no one was picking him up, I was afraid that it would be eaten by wolves in the dark, so I brought him back."

Day by day, the little white horse grew up under the careful care of Su He. It was snow-white, beautiful and strong, and everyone loved it, and Su He loved it even more.

One night, Su He was awakened from his sleep by the hiss of the horse. Thinking of the little white horse, he hurriedly got up and went out to take a look, only to see a big bad wolf blocked by the little white horse outside the sheep pen. Su He chased the big bad wolf away. Seeing that the little white horse was sweaty, he knew that the big bad wolf must have been here for a long time. Thanks to the little white horse, he protected the flock for him. He gently stroked the little white horse's sweaty body and said to it, "Little white horse! Thanks to you."

One spring, news came from the grasslands that the prince was going to hold a horse race at the Lama Temple, because the prince's daughter wanted to choose the best rider to be her husband, and the prince would marry the daughter who won the first place. When Su He heard the news, his neighbors encouraged him to lead the little white horse to the competition. So Su, he took his beloved little white horse and set off.

The horse race began, and many strong young men raised their whips and galloped. In the end, Su He's little white horse ran to the front. The prince ordered, "Call the rider on the white horse to come on stage!" When Su He walked up to the stands, the prince saw that the first runner turned out to be a poor herdsman. He changed his mind and said unreasonably, "I'll give you three big ingots, leave the horse for me, and go back quickly!"

"I'm here to race horses, not sell them." Su He became angry when he heard the prince's words. Can I betray the little white horse? He thought so, and said those two words without thinking.

"How dare you, poor herdsman, rebel against the prince? Come on, give me a good beating of this cheap bone." Before the prince could finish speaking, the thugs started to move. Su He was beaten unconscious and was thrown under the stands. The prince took the little white horse and went back to the house in a majestic manner.

Su He was rescued by relatives and friends and went home. Under the careful care of his grandmother, he recuperated for a few days and gradually recovered. One night, Su He was about to go to sleep when he suddenly heard the door ring. He asked, "Who?" But no one answered. The door still bumped. Grandma pushed the door and looked at him: "Ah, it's a little white horse!" This scream made Su He rush out. He saw that the little white horse was indeed back. He was struck by seven or eight sharp arrows and ran with sweat. Su He gritted his teeth, endured the pain in his heart, and pulled the arrow from the horse. Blood flowed from the wound like a fountain. The horse was too badly injured and died the next day.

It turned out that the prince was very happy because he got a good horse, so he chose an auspicious day, set up a banquet, and invited relatives and friends to celebrate. He wanted to show his good horse in front of people, and asked the samurai to bring the horse over and show it.

As soon as the prince got on the horse, before he could sit down, the white horse kicked him hard and threw him off. The white horse broke free of the thick rope and ran through the crowd. The prince got up and shouted, "Catch him, if you can't catch him, shoot him to death!" The arrows of the archers flew towards the white horse like torrential rain. Although the white horse was struck with a few arrows, it ran home and died in front of its dearest master.

The death of the white horse brought even more grief to Su He, and he could not sleep for several nights. One night, Su He saw the white horse alive in his dream. He touched it, and it came close to him, and said softly to him, "Master, if you want me to never leave you and relieve you of loneliness, then you can use my bones to make a piano!" When Su He woke up, he made a piano out of its bones, tendons and tail according to the words of the little white horse. Whenever he played the piano, he would think of his hatred for the prince; whenever he remembered the excitement of riding a horse at a gallop, the sound of the piano would become more beautiful. From then on, Matouqin became a comfort to the herdsmen on the grassland. As soon as they heard the beautiful sound of the piano, they would forget the fatigue of the day and would not leave for a long time.