唐 Tang · 诗 Poem
走马川行奉送出师西征
Song of the Zouma River, Seeing Off the Army Marching West
君不见走马川行雪海边，平沙莽莽黄入天。
轮台九月风夜吼，一川碎石大如斗，随风满地石乱走。
匈奴草黄马正肥，金山西见烟尘飞，汉家大将西出师。
将军金甲夜不脱，半夜军行戈相拨，风头如刀面如割。
马毛带雪汗气蒸，五花连钱旋作冰，幕中草檄砚水凝。
虏骑闻之应胆慑，料知短兵不敢接，车师西门伫献捷。
In the ninth month at Luntai the night wind roars; a river of stones big as bushel measures rolls and scatters on the ground with the wind.
The Xiongnu grass is yellow, their horses fat; west of the Golden Mountains dust and smoke are seen, the Han general marches west.
The general's gilded armor he does not remove at night; at midnight the army moves, lance against lance; the wind's edge like a knife cuts the face.
The horse's coat bears snow, its sweat steams; the five-flower, the linked-coin, instantly turn to ice; in the tent, writing the proclamation, the inkstone water freezes.
The barbarian riders hearing this should tremble; surely they dare not meet at short arms, before the Western Gate of Jishi await the victory report.
Meaning
Cen Shen, in his post under the Anxi commander Feng Changqing, wrote this seeing-off as Feng marched west against Buxian (Kuche). With strange, cliff-like brush he paints the frontier's bitter cold and the Tang army's awe-inspiring might, a representative high-Tang frontier poem.
你没看见走马川旁紧挨着雪海边缘，茫茫平沙一片昏黄直与天接。轮台九月狂风在夜里怒吼，满川碎石大如斗，随风满地乱滚。匈奴草黄马正肥壮，金山西面已见烟尘飞扬，大唐大将向西出师。将军夜里不解金甲，半夜里行军兵器相碰，寒风如刀割面。马毛沾雪汗气蒸腾，旋即结成了冰，帐中写檄文时砚台的水也冻凝。敌骑闻讯应当胆寒，料定不敢短兵相接，且在车师西门伫候献捷。
Appreciation
The whole uses odd-line rhyme, shifting every three lines, every line rhyming, rhythm urgent like war drums, born with the march. With 'wind' as the thread: wind roars at night, stones scatter, wind's edge like a knife, layer on layer of harshness. Then details 'horse's coat bears snow, sweat steams, instantly turns to ice' write the extreme cold. The close 'barbarian riders tremble, await the victory report' wins by virtual writing, firm, heroic, Cen Shen's trademark 'strange and steep' style.
【白话串讲】 “一川碎石大如斗，随风满地石乱走”——岑参写边塞的风，能把斗大的石头吹得满地乱跑。这是盛唐边塞诗最生猛的一幅画面。 【意象与手法】 全篇奇句入韵、三句一换韵，句句押韵，节奏急骤如军鼓，与行军气势相生。以「风」为线索：风夜吼、石乱走、风头如刀，层层渲染环境酷烈；再以「马毛带雪」「汗气蒸」「旋作冰」等细节写边寒之甚。末以「虏骑胆慑」「伫献捷」虚写取胜，刚健豪迈，典型的岑参「奇峭」风格。 【情感与主旨】 此诗约作于唐玄宗天宝十三载（754）岑参任安西节度使封常清幕府判官时。时封常清率师西征播仙（今新疆且末），岑参在轮台作此送行。走马川即左末河（今车尔臣河）。诗以奇丽笔触写边地苦寒与唐军军威，是盛唐边塞诗代表作。 【名句点睛】 高频考点为环境描写的作用与艺术特色；「马毛带雪汗气蒸，五花连钱旋作冰」的细节描写；三句一换韵的节奏与军威的呼应；与《白雪歌送武判官归京》的比较阅读。
Background
Written about the thirteenth year of Tianbao (754) when Cen Shen served as judge in the Anxi commander Feng Changqing's headquarters. As Feng marched west against Buxian (today's Qiemo, Xinjiang), Cen Shen composed this seeing-off in Luntai. Zouma River is the Zuoma River (today's Qarqan River). With strange, bright brush the poem writes the border's bitter cold and the Tang army's might, with 'Song of Luntai' and 'Song of White Snow' called the 'three poems seeing off Feng Changqing's western campaign.'
此诗约作于唐玄宗天宝十三载（754），时岑参任安西节度使封常清幕府判官，驻守轮台（今新疆轮台）。是年封常清率师西征播仙（今新疆且末一带），岑参在轮台作此诗相送。走马川即左末河，今名车尔臣河，位于塔克拉玛干沙漠东南缘；雪海指天山一带的茫茫雪原。岑参两度出塞，前后在边塞生活约六年，对西域的奇寒大漠、风沙雪海有切身体验，遂能以亲历之笔写出常人难以想象的真实。此诗与《轮台歌奉送封大夫出师西征》《白雪歌送武判官归京》合称「送封常清西征三诗」，是岑参边塞诗最富盛名的组群。诗中极写边地之酷烈而益显唐军之豪迈，正是盛唐国势鼎盛、士人积极用世的精神写照——在岑参笔下，苦寒不是畏途，而是立功报国的背景板，这种乐观昂扬的基调，是盛唐边塞诗区别于后世同类题材的根本所在。岑参于天宝八载（749）首次出塞，任高仙芝幕府掌书记；天宝十三载（754）再赴北庭，入封常清幕为判官，此诗即写于第二次出塞期间。两次出塞使岑参积累了丰富的边地生活经验，他笔下的火山、热海、走马川、轮台雪海，皆非文人想象而是亲历实写。盛唐边塞诗人中，岑参写边地奇景最为大胆奇崛，此诗正是其「以奇取胜」的典型，其乐观昂扬的基调，也折射出盛唐士人「功名只向马上取」的时代精神。
Art
The whole uses odd-line rhyme, shifting every three lines, every line rhyming, rhythm urgent like war drums, born with the march. With 'wind' as the thread: wind roars at night, stones scatter, wind's edge like a knife, layer on layer. Then 'horse's coat bears snow, sweat steams, instantly turns to ice' writes the extreme cold. The close 'barbarian riders tremble, await the victory report' wins by virtual writing, firm, heroic, Cen Shen's 'strange and steep' style.
此诗艺术上最独特处在节奏：全篇句句押韵，三句一换韵，共六组十八句，奇句入韵，韵脚密集如鼓点，读来急骤铿锵，恰与夜间急行军的紧张节奏相应，前人以「如闻战鼓」评之。结构上以「风」为贯穿线索层层推进：开篇「平沙莽莽黄入天」先写风沙之浑茫，继以「轮台九月风夜吼，一川碎石大如斗，随风满地石乱走」写风之暴烈，以「石乱走」的夸张把无形之风写得有形可怖；中段「风头如刀面如割」以触觉写风之凛冽，与「马毛带雪汗气蒸，五花连钱旋作冰」的细节互证边寒之甚——汗气蒸腾与旋即成冰的强烈反差，极写严寒之酷；末段转写敌军胆慑、伫候献捷，虚写取胜，豪情喷薄。写景由远及近、由面到点，写军由外而内、由行到胜，层层逼进，步步加强，全诗刚健奇峭，正是岑参「语奇体峻，意亦造奇」的典型风格。此诗写军威也极见章法：先以恶劣环境层层反衬，再以「将军金甲夜不脱」的细节正面写将，以「半夜军行戈相拨」的细节侧面写兵，最后以「虏骑闻之应胆慑」的虚写收束，实写与虚写结合，正面与侧面相济，把一场尚未进行的战斗写得胜券在握。全诗未写一刀一枪，而军威之盛、必胜之气溢于纸上，正是盛唐边塞诗「以气胜、以势胜」的写法，也是岑参「奇才奇气，风发泉涌」的具体体现。
Allusions
'The Han general' uses Han for Tang, a common frontier-poem metonym (as 'Han house dust east of the pass'). 'Jishi' is a Han Western Regions state (former Jishi), here the Tang army's westward aim. 'Golden Mountains' (west seen dust) is the Altai. The poem uses few allusions, mostly direct description, using Han and Western Regions' old names for the current war, the regular 'Han for Tang' method.
此诗用典极少而多用实写，其「典故」主要体现为以汉称唐的借代手法与西域地理名物的实指。「汉家大将西出师」以「汉家」代指大唐，系唐代边塞诗惯用的「以汉称唐」之法（如高适「汉家烟尘在东北」），既取汉武开拓西域的雄武气象以壮声威，又避免直书当代之嫌；「金山西见烟尘飞」之金山即今阿尔泰山，「车师」为汉代西域国名（车师前国，今新疆吐鲁番一带），此处借古国名指唐军西征所向之地，「车师西门伫献捷」以汉代名将立功西域的历史记忆，预写当代凯旋的必然。「匈奴」亦是以汉时敌国代指当代吐蕃、突骑施等部族。此外「五花连钱」指五花马、连钱骢等名贵马匹的毛色花纹，属唐代马政名物。全诗借汉地西域之古名写当朝之战事，虚实相生，于地理典故中见纵横开阖的气象。「雪海边」之「雪海」指天山北麓的雪原，为唐代安西四镇的地理名物；「走马川」即且末河，唐时属播仙镇辖地，诗中地名的实指，使这场送别带有鲜明的地理真实感。岑参以汉代的匈奴、车师、金山写唐代的吐蕃、突骑施与唐军西征，既取历史的气魄，又避当代的忌讳，正是唐代边塞诗「以汉称唐」的通行手法；而「伫献捷」三字以汉将立功西域的荣光预写唐军凯旋，更见盛唐人对武功的自信与向往。
Commentary
Yin Fan's River and Mountain Heroes anthology called Cen's poetry 'strange in language, lofty in form, original in idea.' Later readers pair it with 'Suddenly, as if a spring wind came overnight.' Qing critic Fang Dongshu praised its 'strange talent, strange air, wind bursting from a spring,' this poem shifts rhyme every three lines, 'a thousand-year spectacle,' with 'Song of White Snow' the twin peaks of Cen's frontier verse.
岑参边塞诗在盛唐独树一帜，殷璠《河岳英灵集》评其诗「语奇体峻，意亦造奇」，又谓「参诗语奇体峻，意亦造奇，如长风吹白茅，野火烧枯桑」，正是此诗「奇峭」风格的写照。清人方东树《昭昧詹言》评岑参「奇才奇气，风发泉涌」，并称《走马川行》「奇峭入神」，谓其「三句一转韵，句句用韵，是古体创格」。近人论盛唐边塞诗，常以岑参与高适并举：高适沉雄浑厚，岑参奇丽峭拔；高适多写军中之悲，岑参多写边地之奇。此诗与《白雪歌送武判官归京》并称岑参边塞双璧，一写风雪行军之壮，一写雪中送别之情，皆千古壮观。论者又谓此诗「以奇景写奇功」，把恶劣的自然环境转化为烘托英雄气概的舞台，是盛唐积极进取精神的诗化结晶，对后世边塞诗与军旅文学的浪漫化写法影响深远。从文学史看，此诗与《轮台歌》《白雪歌》共同确立了岑参「边塞诗圣手」的地位，其「三句一转韵」的创格更直接影响了后世歌行体的声律探索。历代选家无不录此诗，清人沈德潜《唐诗别裁》选岑参诗以此篇压卷，近人论盛唐边塞诗，亦多以此诗与高适《燕歌行》、王昌龄《出塞》并举。诗中「风头如刀面如割」的写实、「马毛带雪汗气蒸」的体物，至今仍是写边塞苦寒的典范笔墨，可见其艺术生命力之久远。
Prosody
Line by line
轮台九月风夜吼，一川碎石大如斗，随风满地石乱走
In the ninth month at Luntai the night wind roars; a river of stones big as bushel measures rolls and scatters on the ground with the wind.
轮台九月狂风在夜里怒吼，满川碎石大如斗，随风满地乱滚。
In the ninth month at Luntai the wind roars by night; a whole riverbed of rubble, great as a dipper, rolls wildly over the ground in the gale.
此三句以极度夸张的笔法写边地狂风的暴烈，是岑参「奇峭」风格的集中体现。「风夜吼」的「吼」字以拟人赋风以兽性，写风在夜间的咆哮，先声夺人；「一川碎石大如斗」先写石之大，为下文铺垫——如此巨大的石头竟被风吹得「满地乱走」，风的威力不言自明，以静写动、以巨写狂，想象力惊人。全句三个画面层层递进：夜风怒吼是声，碎石如斗是形，石乱走是态，声色并作，将塔克拉玛干边缘的风沙之暴写得如在目前。此景既是实写，更是夸张，恰见盛唐诗人写边地之奇的胆魄，也以环境的酷烈为后文写将士之勇作了有力的衬托。
These three lines use extreme hyperbole to write the frontier gale's violence, the concentrated embodiment of Cen Shen's strange-steep style. The wind roars by night's roars personifies the wind with beastliness, writing the wind's night roar, sound first winning. A whole riverbed of rubble, great as a dipper first writes the stones' bigness, preparing below - such huge stones actually rolled wildly by the wind; the wind's might goes without saying, using stillness to write motion, using the giant to write the frenzy, imagination astonishing. The whole sentence's three pictures layer by layer: night wind roaring is sound, rubble great as a dipper is form, stones rolling wildly is state; sound and color together, writing the Taklamakan edge's sandstorm violence as if present. This scene is at once real writing and hyperbole, precisely showing the High-Tang poet's boldness in writing the frontier's strangeness, also using the environment's cruelty as forceful foil for the later soldiers' bravery.
将军金甲夜不脱，半夜军行戈相拨
The general's gilded armor he does not remove at night; at midnight the army moves, lance against lance.
将军夜里不解金甲，半夜里行军兵器相碰。
The general's golden armor is not removed by night; at midnight the army marches, lances clashing.
此二句由写景转入写人，是环境描写向军威描写过渡的关键。「将军金甲夜不脱」一个细节写尽军情之紧急与将军之戒备——不是偶尔一夜不解甲，而是夜夜不解，说明唐军已处于随时可能接战的临战状态，将军身先士卒、枕戈待旦的精神品格从这一个细节中自然托出。「半夜军行戈相拨」写夜行军时兵器相互碰撞的声音，既有侧面写行军之密、队伍之长的效果，又营造出夜色中大军无声疾进的紧张氛围——戈相拨正是为了避免发出更大的声响，此起彼伏的轻微碰撞声，比任何呐喊都更能见出军纪的严明与行动的果决。两句一写将、一写兵，由点及面，唐军整肃威武的形象已跃然纸上。
These two lines turn from scenery to people, the key transition from environment description to military-might description. The general's golden armor is not removed by night one detail exhausts the military urgency and the general's vigilance - not occasionally one night without armor, but every night without armor, showing the Tang army already in the instant-battle state; the general's leading from the front, resting with weapon at pillow, naturally emerges from this one detail. At midnight the army marches, lances clashing writes the night march's weapon-clashing sound; at once writing from the side the march's density, the column's length, and creating the night army's silent fast-advance tense atmosphere - lances clashing precisely to avoid making louder noise; the rising-and-falling slight clashing sounds, more than any shouting, show military discipline's strictness and action's decisiveness. The two lines one write the general, one the soldiers, from point to surface; the Tang army's orderly, mighty image already leaps onto the page.
马毛带雪汗气蒸，五花连钱旋作冰
The horse's coat bears snow, its sweat steams; the five-flower, the linked-coin, instantly turn to ice.
马毛沾雪汗气蒸腾，五花马连钱骢身上旋即结成冰。
Horsehair holds snow, sweat rising in steam; dappled coats and spotted flanks turn to ice in an instant.
此二句以精微的细节写极度的严寒，是岑参体物入微的绝活。「马毛带雪汗气蒸」写战马疾驰之下汗气蒸腾，热气弥漫在沾雪的鬃毛之间，本是极平常的生理现象；下一句却奇峰突起，「五花连钱旋作冰」——那蒸腾的汗气在极寒中「旋」即结成冰，挂在马身上。「旋」字最见笔力，顷刻之间，汗已成冰，一热一寒的急剧转换，把边地严寒的酷烈写得触目惊心。前句写热、后句写寒，热是为寒作势，寒才是真意所在；以马写人，战马尚且如此，将士之艰苦不言自明。此二句是「奇」与「真」的统一：情境越奇，越见诗人亲历其境的真实感，故历来被视为写边寒的千古名句。
These two lines use minute detail to write the extreme cold, Cen Shen's thing-rendering finesse masterwork. Horsehair holds snow, sweat rising in steam writes the warhorse's galloping sweat-steam, hot breath spreading among the snow-damp mane; originally a most ordinary physiological phenomenon. The next line yet rises like a peak: dappled coats and spotted flanks turn to ice in an instant - that steaming sweat in the extreme cold in an instant turns to ice, hanging on the horse's body. In an instant most shows brush force: in a moment, sweat already ice; one heat one cold's abrupt conversion, writing the frontier cold's cruelty startling. The previous line writes heat, the next cold; heat stores force for cold, cold is the true intent. Using the horse to write the people: the warhorse already thus, the soldiers' hardship goes without saying. These two lines are strange-and-true unity: the stranger the situation, the more showing the poet's on-the-ground reality; hence through the ages regarded as the age-famous line writing frontier cold.
Study
Word focus
Related Reading
Both write Feng Changqing's western campaign; compare their marshaling of the army and environment contrast.
《轮台歌奉送封大夫出师西征》与《走马川行》同作于天宝十三载，同为送封常清西征而作，题材完全相同，写法却各有侧重。《轮台歌》重在正面铺排军容之盛，「上将拥旄西出征，平明吹笛大军行」写旌旗蔽日、鼓角相闻的堂堂之阵，气象雄浑；《走马川行》则重在侧面烘托环境之酷，以风沙雪寒的极度渲染反衬唐军的豪迈。两诗一正一侧、一宏一峭，恰成互补；《轮台歌》多写白日行军之壮，《走马川行》多写夜行急进之苦，合观可见岑参同一题材也能翻出两样笔墨的大家手段。
白雪歌送武判官归京 Song of White Snow, Seeing Off Judge Wu Back to the Capital 岑参 · 同作者边塞送别名篇，并称岑参边塞双璧 Same poet, famous frontier seeing-offCalled the twin peaks of Cen's frontier verse; compare the strange snow scene and seeing-off feeling.
《白雪歌送武判官归京》与《走马川行》同写边地奇寒，并称岑参边塞双璧，而情调迥异。《白雪歌》以「忽如一夜春风来，千树万树梨花开」的奇喻写雪景之美，把严寒写成春意，笔调瑰丽浪漫，送别之情在「山回路转不见君，雪上空留马行处」中转为悠长怅惘；《走马川行》则以「风夜吼」「石乱走」「旋作冰」写严寒之酷，笔调奇峭刚健，通篇是急行军与必胜信念的昂扬。一写雪之「美」，一写风之「暴」；一以绮丽出之，一以劲健出之；一结于离情，一结于豪情。两诗对照，可见岑参笔下的边地既可以是仙境也可以是战场，其「奇」正来自这种视角的丰富与想象的大胆。
燕歌行 Song of Yan 高适 · 同属盛唐边塞诗，一沉雄一奇峭，风格对照 Both high-Tang frontier poetryCompare Gao and Cen's frontier styles: Gao restrained, Cen strange and steep.
高适《燕歌行》与岑参《走马川行》并列为盛唐边塞诗的两座高峰，而风格判然有别。高诗以「战士军前半死生，美人帐下犹歌舞」的对比写军中之悲，笔调沉郁浑厚，寄寓对士卒的同情与对边帅的批判，思理深至；岑诗以「将军金甲夜不脱，半夜军行戈相拨」的细节写军中之勇，笔调奇峭昂扬，充满立功报国的豪情，气象雄放。高适之悲在「战士」，岑参之壮在「军威」；高诗让人深思，岑诗令人振奋。二诗合观，正可见盛唐边塞诗同一题材下的多元面貌：既有高适的深沉忧思，也有岑参的浪漫豪情，共同构成了盛唐边塞诗雄浑壮阔的整体气象。