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唐 Tang · 诗 Poem

杂曲歌辞：长乐少年行

Miscellaneous Songs: Ballad of the Chang'an Youth

崔国辅

Cui Guofu

乐府Yuefu (Music Bureau) 少年行Song of the Young Gallant 盛唐High Tang 游侠Roaming Knight-errant 春游Spring Outing

遗却珊瑚鞭，白马骄不行。
章台折杨柳，春草路旁情。

He let fall his coral whip,
His white steed proud would not move on.
At Zhangtai he breaks a willow sprig,
By the roadside spring grass, a tender feeling is born.

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Meaning

A pampered young gallant of the capital, on a spring outing, carelessly drops his precious coral whip while his white horse refuses to advance; at Zhangtai he breaks a willow branch and, facing the roadside spring grass, feels love stir. The quatrain captures the spoiled, romantic air of a High-Tang aristocratic youth at leisure.

随手遗落了名贵的珊瑚马鞭，那匹白马也骄纵地不肯前行。在章台折下杨柳枝，面对路旁萋萋春草，不禁动了春情。

Appreciation

The poem's art is 'extreme brevity portraying extreme tenderness,' twenty characters bringing a figure vividly to life, typical of Cui Guofu's 'short words, long feeling' Yuefu style. Two contrary details—the discarded coral whip and the proud, motionless horse—fix the youth's arrogant yet naive bearing; then the turn to 'breaks a willow' and 'a feeling is born' moves from outer stillness to inner stir, a camera-like, suggestively reserved close.

【白话串讲】崔国辅写长乐少年：“遗却珊瑚鞭，白马骄不行”——少年丢了珊瑚鞭，白马不肯走。“章台折杨柳，春草路旁情”——他写少年游侠的风流。【意象与手法】以「珊瑚鞭」「白马」写豪奢，「章台折杨柳」点送春之习，笔致娇憨风流。【情感与主旨】咏开天盛世都市侠少的任气风流，闲情中见盛时少年意气。【名句点睛】「遗却珊瑚鞭，白马骄不行」马不行而鞭遗地，憨态与富贵俱出。

Background

Cui Guofu was a poet of the Kaiyuan–Tianbao era, from Wu commandery (Suzhou); he rose to Academician of the Jixian Hall and Vice-Director of the Ministry of Rites, famed for short Yuefu poems, with one juan preserved in the Complete Tang Poems. This poem belongs to 'Miscellaneous Songs: Ballad of the Chang'an Youth,' a Yuefu topic singing the willful, romantic air of noble youths at play; Liang Jianwen Di and Northern Zhou Yu Xin had already written 'Song of the Youth,' and Tang poets followed, mostly writing the gallant's heroic mirth. Cui's exact date is hard to fix, roughly in the Flourishing Tang, when Chang'an youths roamed and rode in fashion, with Zhangtai horse-riding and willow-breaking for spring as urban norms. Notably, 'he let fall his coral whip' and 'at Zhangtai he breaks a willow' write a carefree moment of a youth's spring outing: the horse will not go and the whip falls, he breaks a willow and stirs at the spring grass—fully drawing the spoiled, romantic bearing of a noble scion, without heavy moralizing, purely in plain description with spirit. See the 'Miscellaneous Songs' headnote in the Yuefu Anthology and the Tangshi Jishi entry noting Cui 'excelled in quatrains and Yuefu'; this topic fits his Yuefu specialty. Read with Lu Zhaolin's 'Chang'an in Olden Days' and Wang Wei's 'Song of the Youth,' one sees Tang poets' differing brushes on the young roamer. Cui's 'small Yuefu lyrics' stand apart from Li Bai's boldness and Wang Wei's clarity as a clear, delicate line of the Flourishing Tang. As a 'Miscellaneous Song' it inherits the Han-Wei Yuefu 'arising from affair,' yet the Tang youth is no longer the Han knight-errant but the Tang noble—a social shift. Cui captures the spoiled, 'knows-no-sorrow' clip of Flourishing-Tang urban youth; its documentary value equals its literary worth, supplementing the poetic evidence for Chang'an manners in the Kaiyuan–Tianbao era.

崔国辅，唐开元、天宝间诗人，吴郡（今苏州）人，一说山阴人，官至集贤直学士、礼部员外郎，以乐府小诗著称，《全唐诗》卷一一九存诗一卷。此诗属《杂曲歌辞·长乐少年行》，题本乐府，咏贵游少年任侠使气、春游风流之态，南朝梁简文帝、北周庾信已有《少年行》，唐人沿作多写侠少豪情。崔国辅此篇具体作年难考，约在开天盛世，时长安少年游冶成风，章台走马、折柳送春皆都市常态。值得注意的是，诗中「遗却珊瑚鞭」「章台折杨柳」写少年春游中一段闲情：马不行而鞭遗地，折柳而对春草动情，极写贵介子弟的娇憨与风流，并无讽劝之重，纯以白描传神。可参看《乐府诗集》卷六七「杂曲歌辞」题解，及《唐诗纪事》卷一五崔国辅条载其「诗以绝句、乐府擅场」，知此题与其乐府专长相契；亦可与卢照邻《长安古意》、王维《少年行》同观，见唐人写少年游冶的不同笔致。又崔国辅诗以「乐府小词」擅场，《全唐诗》卷一一九所收多绝句、乐府，风格宛转情深，与李白之豪放、王维之澄淡并立盛唐三派之外的一脉清丽。此题既属《杂曲》，则承汉魏乐府「缘事而发」之体，而盛唐写少年，已由汉之游侠转为唐之贵游，社会基础已然变迁。崔国辅捕捉的，正是开天盛世都市少年「不识愁滋味」的骄憨剪影，其史料价值不亚于文学价值，可补《开元天宝遗事》所记长安风气之诗证。

Art

The poem's art is 'extreme brevity portraying extreme tenderness,' twenty characters bringing a figure vividly to life, typical of Cui Guofu's 'short words, long feeling' Yuefu style. First, the opening 'He let fall his coral whip, his white steed proud would not move on' fixes the youth's image through two contrary details: a precious coral whip casually dropped shows his wild disregard; the proud, motionless horse shows his pampered ease—the two mutually illuminate, writing the spoiled arrogance of a noble scion. Second, the close 'At Zhangtai he breaks a willow sprig, by the roadside spring grass, a tender feeling is born' moves from object to feeling: Zhangtai was Han Chang'an's pleasure quarter (later 'Zhangtai willow' specially meant a singing girl), and breaking willow joins the old customs of parting and spring outing; the youth breaks a willow and is stirred by the 'roadside spring grass,' writing adolescent spring-heart with reserve and vividness. Third, the structure is exquisite: the first two lines write 'stillness' (dropped whip, unmoving horse), the last two write 'motion' (breaking willow, born feeling), moving from outer stillness to inner stir, with measured tension. Fourth, the wording is spirited: 'let fall' uses 'que' for completion, writing an inadvertent lapse; 'proud' personifies, the horse's pride is the man's; 'feeling' closes, a dot that ends yet lingers. The whole poem uses no ornament, pure colloquial plain-description, yet by catching the youth's peculiar spoiledness and spring feeling it is highly cinematic—a model of 'much in little' among Flourishing-Tang Yuefu. Its camera sense: like a montage—first a close-up of the hand 'letting fall the coral whip,' then a full shot of 'the white steed proud will not move,' then pan to 'the man breaking a willow at Zhangtai,' ending on 'the heart by the roadside spring grass'—from object to man, from outer to inner, twenty characters with film-cutting wonder. And 'proud will not move' writes man through horse, 'spring-grass feeling' writes heart through scene—both 'writing without writing,' more lingering than directly stating 'the youth roams in joy.' Cui's Yuefu 'naturally wonderful' lies exactly here: no carving yet the spirit is true, on the same aesthetic as Li Bai's 'lotus from clear water,' but leaning more to the graceful.

此诗艺术上以「极简白描写极浓风情」为特长，二十字而神态毕肖，典型体现崔国辅乐府「语短情长」的风格。其一，起句「遗却珊瑚鞭，白马骄不行」以两个反常细节立住少年形象：名贵珊瑚鞭竟遗落不顾，座下白马也骄纵不肯行——鞭遗见其疏狂不羁，马骄见其养尊处优，二者互文，写尽贵游子弟的骄憨之态。其二，结句「章台折杨柳，春草路旁情」由物及情：章台本汉长安妓馆繁盛之地（后世「章台柳」专指歌妓），折柳兼关送别与春游古俗，少年折柳而对「春草路旁情」怦然心动，将少年春心写得含蓄而鲜活。其三，结构极巧：前两句写「静」（遗鞭、马不行），后两句写「动」（折柳、生情），由外物之静置转入内心之萌动，张弛有度。其四，炼字传神：「遗却」之「却」表完成，写出不经意间的疏失；「骄」字拟人，马之骄即人之骄；「情」字收束，点睛而止，余味悠长。全诗不事藻绘，纯用口语式白描，却因捕捉到少年特有的骄憨与春情而极具镜头感，是盛唐乐府小诗中「以少总多」的典范。再味其镜头感，全诗如一组蒙太奇：先特写「遗却珊瑚鞭」之手，再全景「白马骄不行」之姿，继而摇至「章台折杨柳」之人，终以「春草路旁情」之心收束，由物及人、由外及内，二十字而具电影分镜之妙。且「骄不行」以马写人、「春草情」以景写心，皆「不写之写」的含蓄手法，较之直赋「少年游冶乐」更具余味。崔国辅乐府之「天然入妙」，正在于此：不事雕绘而神态自肖，与李白「清水出芙蓉」同一审美归趣，而更偏于婉约一边。

Allusions

The allusions in the poem all draw on Chang'an pleasure-quarter and willow-breaking lore. First, 'coral whip' derives from the Jin History 'Shi Chong Biography' of Shi Chong flaunting coral trees, and the Western Capital Miscellany of a Han favorite's coral whip—later meaning a noble's precious whip; Cui writes the youth 'letting fall his coral whip,' exaggerating his lavishness and disregard by dropping so precious a thing. Second, 'Zhangtai' was Han Chang'an's Zhangtai Street, where Han Shu records Zhang Chang rode; later it became a byword for singing houses; Tang Han Hong's 'Zhangtai willow' tale made 'breaking willow at Zhangtai' a literary sign of spring roaming and romance—here the youth breaking willow hints urban romance. Third, 'breaking willow' is an old Yuefu topic (Song of Breaking Willow), a Han horizontal-flute piece originally about parting, since the Six Dynasties also sung for spring outing—breaking willow to give at parting, planting willow to welcome spring, both its customs; here breaking willow fits the season and carries romance. Fourth, 'spring grass' quietly uses the Chu Ci 'Summoning the Hermit' ('the prince roams and does not return, spring grass grows lush') and Xie Lingyun's 'pond greens with spring grass,' raising feeling from spring grass—a lightening of the classical 'fragrant grass provokes sorrow' motif. All these allusions take urban wealth and spring-outing lore, melted into plain description, giving the short piece both historical depth and living breath. Also 'Chang'an' was a Han palace name; Tang poets often used 'Chang'an youth' broadly for the capital's nobles, carrying the 'everlasting joy' blessing—so the topic itself bears a Flourishing-Tang ground. 'Coral whip' besides the Western Capital Miscellany wealth tale also connects to Sui-Tang Anecdotes' fashion of coral ornaments among nobles; the Flourishing Tang especially prized Western-region luxuries, a coral whip exactly shows Silk-Road nurtured splendor. The 'Zhangtai / break willow'组合 by Tang had congealed into the fixed sign of 'seeking romance—parting,' yet Cui uses it here for spring-outing romance, not yet fallen into the louche—showing the freshness of the symbol in its forming stage.

诗中用典皆取长安游冶与折柳古俗。其一，「珊瑚鞭」典出《晋书·石崇传》载石崇以珊瑚树斗富，及《西京杂记》载汉成帝宠臣以珊瑚为鞭，后代指富贵人家的名贵马鞭；崔国辅写少年「遗却珊瑚鞭」，以极贵之物随手遗落，夸张地写出其豪奢与不羁。其二，「章台」本汉长安章台街，《汉书·张敞传》载张敞走马章台街，后为歌馆妓院代称；唐人韩翃「章台柳」故事（许尧佐《柳氏传》）更使「章台折柳」成为春游寻芳的文学符号，此处写少年章台折柳，暗含都市风流意绪。其三，「折杨柳」为乐府古题（《折杨柳歌辞》《折杨柳枝》），汉横吹曲辞，本写离别，六朝以来兼咏春游，折柳赠别、插柳迎春皆其遗俗；此处折柳既应春时，亦带风流。其四，「春草」暗用《楚辞·招隐士》「王孙游兮不归，春草生兮萋萋」及谢灵运「池塘生春草」，以春草起情思，是古典诗歌「芳草惹愁」母题的轻化。诸典皆取都市富贵与春游古俗，融化于白描，使短章兼具历史厚度与生活气息。又「长乐」本汉宫名，唐人多以「长乐少年」泛指京华贵游，含「长乐未央」的富贵祝意，故此题自带盛世底色。「珊瑚鞭」除《西京杂记》富豪故实，亦通《隋唐嘉话》所载贵族以珊瑚为饰的风尚，盛唐尤重西域珍玩，鞭以珊瑚为之，正见丝路贸易滋养下的奢华。「章台」「折柳」组合，至唐已凝为「寻芳—赠别」的固定符号，崔国辅此用作春游之风流，尚未落于狭邪，可见符号生成期的清新。

Commentary

Though short, critics have praised Cui's poem as 'naturally wonderful.' The Song scholar Ji Yougong in Tangshi Jishi called him 'mostly Yuefu and small lyrics, graceful in feeling'—this piece fits. The Ming scholar Hu Yinglin in Shi Sou, discussing Tang quatrains 'some natural, some crafted,' counts 'he let fall his coral whip' among the best of natural language. The Qing Shen Deqian in Tangshi Biecai did not include this short piece, yet his general note on Cui—'small in scope, feeling entangled and tender'—fits 'by the roadside spring grass, a tender feeling.' Wang Shizhen in Tang Ren Wanshou Jueju Xuan praised Cui's 'swaying spirit,' and this plain-description-with-spirit piece exactly shows it. The modern Liu Yongji in Tang Ren Jueju Jinghua赏析 it, saying 'twenty characters write fully the spoiled spring bearing of a noble youth, as if seeing the man,' pointing out its plain-description craft. Modern annotated Cui collections also take this as a Yuefu representative. In sum, though critics differ in detail, they agree on 'short words, long feeling; plain-description with spirit,' seeing it as a specimen of Flourishing-Tang Yuefu's 'natural wonder.' Liu Yongji's note 'twenty characters write fully the spoiled spring bearing of a noble youth, as if seeing the man' is a just verdict. Wang Shizhen's 'swaying spirit' fits this plain-description-with-spirit piece. Yuan Xingpei's Literary History of China, on Flourishing-Tang quatrains, uses 'each to its utmost'—Cui's clarity exactly supplements Li's and Wang's boldness. Synthesizing recent study, though short, the poem fixes the Flourishing-Tang youth image with the most economical brush, and preserves a living fossil of a Yuefu topic evolving from Han-Wei knight-errantry to Flourishing-Tang nobility—best read with Lu Zhaolin's 'Chang'an in Olden Days' and Wang Wei's 'Song of the Youth' to see the shift.

崔国辅此诗虽短，论者亦多许其「天然入妙」。宋人计有功《唐诗纪事》称其「诗多乐府、小词，情致婉约」，此篇正合。明人胡应麟《诗薮》论唐人绝句「有自然语言，有工语」，以此类「遗却珊瑚鞭」为自然语言之佳者。清人沈德潜《唐诗别裁集》虽未录此短章，然于崔国辅总评「寄情小幅，情致缠绵」，移评此诗「春草路旁情」恰切。王士禛《唐人万首绝句选》选崔国辅诗颇多，推其「风神摇曳」，此篇白描传神正具其谓。近人刘永济《唐人绝句精华》赏析此诗，谓「二十字写尽贵游少年骄憨春态，如睹其人」，点出其白描之工。今人《崔国辅诗注》诸本亦多以此篇为崔氏乐府代表作。综之，诸家虽详略不一，而于其「语短情长、白描传神」的判断则基本一致，视其为盛唐乐府小诗「天然入妙」的标本。今人刘永济《唐人绝句精华》赏此诗「二十字写尽贵游少年骄憨春态，如睹其人」，的评也。王士禛《唐人万首绝句选》推崔国辅「风神摇曳」，此篇白描传神正具其谓。袁行霈《中国文学史》论盛唐绝句，以「各极其致」括之，崔之清丽恰补李、王之雄淡。综合近世研究，此诗虽短，却以最经济的笔墨立住盛唐少年形象，且保留了一题乐府由汉魏侠气向盛唐贵气演化的活化石意义，宜与卢照邻《长安古意》、王维《少年行》并读以观流变。

Prosody

Form Five-character quatrain (Yuefu 'Ballad of the Chang'an Youth' in quatrain form)五言绝句（乐府《长乐少年行》入绝句体）

Rhyme Lower-level eighth Geng rhyme (move on / feeling), one rhyme throughout下平八庚韵（行、情）一韵到底

Tone pattern Level-beginning, first line not entering rhyme; a twenty-character short piece, tone-pattern follows basic quatrain rules平起首句不入韵式，二十字短章，平仄合绝句基本法度

Reading note Though titled the Yuefu 'Miscellaneous Songs: Ballad of the Chang'an Youth,' this poem is actually written as a five-character quatrain. The opening 'He let fall his coral whip' is a level-beginning, non-rhyming line ('whip' is in the Xian rhyme, not rhyming with the next), the second line 'move on' enters the lower-level eighth Geng rhyme, the last line 'feeling' also rhymes in Geng—one rhyme runs through beginning and end (the first line not rhyming is the normal quatrain pattern). In tone-pattern, 'He let fall his coral whip' is 'level-oblique-level-level-level' (que is entering-tone oblique, hu is level, whip is level), 'his white steed proud would not move on' is 'oblique-oblique-level-level-level,' roughly following the five-quatrain level-beginning pattern; though 'whip,' 'move on,' 'feeling' were close in ancient sound, Flourishing-Tang Yuefu entering quatrains is often looser than strict lü, which suits its natural fluency. In structure the first two lines write the 'stillness' of 'dropped whip, unmoving horse,' the last two write the 'motion' of 'breaking willow, born feeling'—though short, it has inception, continuation, turn, and close, typical of the quatrain's 'short words, long meaning.' Cui excelled in quatrains and Yuefu; this twenty-character plain-description-with-spirit piece, with clear and graceful bone, can be read alongside the 'quatrain' class in the Tangshi Pinhui for its 'swaying spirit, natural feeling.' Qing critics valued quatrains for 'inexhaustible meaning'; this poem's 'by the roadside spring grass, a tender feeling' exactly ends with scene to convey feeling, with endless aftertaste.此诗虽题为乐府《杂曲歌辞·长乐少年行》，实以五言绝句成篇，起句「遗却珊瑚鞭」为平起不入韵式（「鞭」先韵，与下句不押），次句「行」字入下平八庚韵，末句「情」字同押庚韵，一韵贯通首尾（首句不入韵乃绝句常格）。平仄方面，「遗却珊瑚鞭」为「平仄平平平」（却为入声仄、瑚平、鞭平），「白马骄不行」为「仄仄平平平」，大体合五绝平起式，虽「鞭」「行」「情」古音有近，而盛唐乐府入绝句往往宽于严律，正宜其天然流畅。章法上，前两句写「遗鞭、马不行」之静，后两句写「折柳、生情」之动，起承转合虽短而具，是绝句「语短意长」的典型。崔国辅以绝句、乐府擅场，此篇二十字白描传神，骨力清婉，可据《唐诗品汇》「绝句」类参看其「风神摇曳、情致天然」的体性；清人论绝句重「不尽之意」，此诗「春草路旁情」正以景结情、余味无穷。

Line by line

遗却珊瑚鞭，白马骄不行。

He carelessly let fall his coral whip; his white steed, proud, would not go on.

随手遗落了名贵的珊瑚马鞭，那匹白马也骄纵地不肯前行。

He dropped his coral whip; the white steed, proud, refuses to move.

此联为全诗起手，以两个反常细节速写少年形象，堪称「二十字之人物小像」。上句「遗却珊瑚鞭」写极贵之物（珊瑚鞭出《西京杂记》富豪典故）竟被随手遗落，「却」字表动作完成，写出少年疏狂不经意间的豪奢——非不知其贵，乃不屑顾惜，骄气自见。下句「白马骄不行」以拟人笔法写马：马本驯物，此处却「骄」而「不行」，马之骄即人之骄，主仆（主马）同具贵介骄态，互文见义。两细节并置，一写人遗鞭、一写马停步，皆「静」态却暗含「动」的叙事张力——仿佛可见少年勒马章台、鞭落草间的那一瞬。艺术上，此联对仗工致而语极自然，「遗却」对「骄不」，动宾结构与偏正结构相生，毫无斧凿。更深一层，盛唐少年行题材多写「相逢意气为君饮」的豪侠，崔国辅独写「遗鞭马不行」的娇憨，由侠气转向贵气与稚气，开了以生活细节写少年的新径，与王维《少年行》「白马金羁侠少年」的英武形成有趣对照。

This couplet is the whole poem's opening, using two abnormal details to sketch the youth, worthy of a twenty-character portrait of a person. The upper line he dropped his coral whip writes the most precious object (coral whip from Western Capital Miscellany's wealthy-family allusion) casually dropped; the却 character marks action complete, writing the youth's wild carelessness's luxury - not ignorant of its value, but disdainful to cherish; the pride self-shows. The lower line the white steed, proud, refuses to move uses personification to write the horse: the horse is originally a tame thing, yet here proud and refuses-to-move; the horse's pride is the person's pride, master-and-horse both holding noble pride,互文见义. Two details juxtaposed, one writing the person dropping the whip, one writing the horse stopping; both static yet secretly holding dynamic narrative tension - as if seeing the youth rein his horse at Zhangtai, the whip falling among grass in an instant. Artistically, this couplet's parallel refined yet language most natural; dropped against proud-refuses, verb-object structure and modifier-head structure mutually generating, absolutely no carving. One layer deeper, High-Tang young-noble-xing themes mostly write meeting-and-soul-common-for-you's-drink's gallantry; Cui Guofu alone writes dropped-whip-horse-refuses-to-move's娇憨, from gallantry turning to nobleness and childishness, opening the new path of using life details to write youth; with Wang Wei's Young Noble Xing's white horse golden-bridle gallant youth's martiality forms an interesting contrast.

章台折杨柳，春草路旁情。

At Zhangtai he breaks a willow sprig; by the roadside spring grass, a tender feeling stirs.

在章台折下杨柳枝，面对路旁萋萋春草，不禁动了春情。

By Zhangtai he breaks a willow; spring grass by the road stirs his heart.

此联为全诗收束，由外物之静转入内心之动，将少年形象点活为一段春心。「章台折杨柳」化用长安章台街与折柳古俗：章台自汉即为游冶之地（张敞走马）、唐更以「章台柳」指歌妓风流，折柳既应春时、亦带都市绮思；少年信手折柳，动作闲雅而暗含风流体性。「春草路旁情」则以景结情：路旁春草萋萋（《楚辞·招隐士》「春草生兮萋萋」、谢灵运「池塘生春草」皆以草起情），少年对草动情，「情」字点睛，将前面所有的骄憨、闲适收束为一缕朦胧春心，含蓄不尽。艺术上，此联由「遗鞭—马不行」的静，转到「折柳—生情」的动，结构张弛得法；且「情」字收尾，留白悠长，较之直写「少年游冶乐」更耐寻味。短短十四字，以章台、杨柳、春草三个古典意象编织出盛唐都市少年的春游心事，是典型的「以景语作情语」，亦见崔国辅乐府「寄情小幅」的婉约本色。

This couplet is the whole poem's close, from the external-thing's stillness turning to inner-heart's motion, enlivening the youth image into a thread of spring feeling. By Zhangtai he breaks a willow transforms Chang'an Zhangtai street and willow-breaking ancient custom: Zhangtai since Han has been the pleasure ground (Zhang Chang riding horse), Tang additionally using Zhangtai willow to refer to courtesan romance; breaking willow both responds to springtime, and carries urban gorgeous thought; the youth casually breaks willow, action elegant yet secretly holds romantic nature. Spring grass by the road stirs his heart then closes feeling in scenery: roadside spring grass lush (Songs of Chu, Summons for the Recluse's spring grass grows lush, Xie Lingyun's pond produces spring grass both use grass to arouse feeling), the youth moved by grass; feeling is the finishing stroke, gathering all the previous pride-and-innocence, leisure into a thread of hazy spring heart, reserved and endless. Artistically, this couplet from dropped-whip-horse-refuses-to-move's stillness, turns to break-willow-arouse-feeling's motion, structure open-and-close well-controlled. And feeling closes, blank space long, compared with directly writing the youth's pleasure more savor-worthy. Within a mere fourteen characters, using Zhangtai, willow, spring grass three classical images to weave High-Tang urban youth's spring outing heart-affairs; typical of closing scenery-words into feeling-words, also showing Cui Guofu's yuefu's寄情-small-painting graceful native color.

Study

Word focus

骄 Proud / arrogant: a personifying stroke that gives the horse a noble youth's willful pride, so the horse's pride stands for its master's—writing the animal is writing the man. 「白马骄不行」之「骄」字，是全诗炼字最活处，亦最具崔国辅乐府的传神之妙。「骄」本指骄傲、骄纵，此处用在马身上，是拟人化的妙笔——白马本无言从之畜，诗人却赋予它「骄」的性情，不肯前行，俨然一位恃宠而骄的贵介少年。其妙有三：一在物我互文，马之骄即人之骄，写马实写人，主人公的贵气通过坐骑折射出来，比直接写「少年骄」更含蓄有味；二在反常合道，马不行为悖常（行旅本应前进），正因「骄」而悖常，这一悖常细节恰恰是贵游子弟「不须急行」的特权写照；三在动态张力，「不行」是静，而「骄」赋予静以性格，静中有态。自修辞观之，「骄」字以形容词作谓语，简劲有力，与「遗却」（动词）对举，一静一动。溯其渊源，以物拟人写贵气可溯至六朝乐府，而崔国辅提炼为「骄不行」三字，鲜活如画，足见其「语短情长」的炼字功力，亦使这首小诗凭一「骄」字而神态毕肖。

遗 Let fall / inadvertently drop: writes the youth's careless discarding of a precious coral whip, a single stroke revealing both his wealth and his spoiled, artless abandon. 「遗却珊瑚鞭」之「遗」字（「却」为补语，表完成），写少年随手失落名贵马鞭，是全诗第一处性格速写。「遗」本义为遗失、遗漏，此处写极贵之物（珊瑚鞭，典出《西京杂记》富豪斗富）竟被不经意遗落，一字而具三重意涵：一在写豪奢——珊瑚鞭非寻常物，遗之不顾，足见少年家中珍宝之伙；二在写疏狂——非不能惜，乃不屑顾，一种「视金玉如敝履」的贵介狂态跃然；三在写天真——「遗却」带完成时态，仿佛可见他方才挥鞭、此刻忘形的那一瞬的娇憨。自修辞观之，「遗却」以动词带动态助词，口语而精准，避开了「弃」「弃掷」的刻意，更显不经意的自然。较之李白「五花马，千金裘，呼儿将出换美酒」的豪爽外放，崔国辅此「遗」字更内敛含蓄，是盛唐少年题材由「侠」入「贵」、由「壮」入「娇」的微妙转移。一字之炼，使全诗以最经济的笔墨立住了人物，正是崔国辅乐府「以少总多」的看家本领。