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唐 Tang · 诗 Poem

碛中作

Written in the Desert

岑参

Cen Shen

边塞frontier 思乡homesickness

走马西来欲到天，辞家见月两回圆。
今夜未知何处宿，平沙莽莽绝人烟。

Riding hard from the west, as if to reach the sky;
Since leaving home I have seen the moon round twice.
Tonight I know not where I shall lodge—
The vast flat sand, no trace of man.

Listen

Meaning

Riding west on horseback, as if to the very end of the sky; since leaving home I have seen the moon grow round two times (two months have passed). Tonight I still know not where I shall rest; only the boundless desert stretches, cut off from any dwelling.

骑马西行，仿佛要到天的尽头；离开家乡，已经看见月亮圆了两回（两个月过去了）。今夜还不知道将在何处歇宿，只见平旷的沙碛莽莽苍苍，隔绝了人烟。

Appreciation

This poem by Cen Shen of the Tang opens with 'riding hard', writing the far reach of space; 'as if to reach the sky' uses hyperbole to speak the distance of the westward road, opening a broad realm. 'Since leaving home I have seen the moon round twice' uses the ease of the moon's rounding against the dimness of the homeward date to write the depth of parting—lifting the heavy with a light hand. The last two lines, led by a question, show the lone traveller with no lodging in the boundless waste, feeling within the scene. The whole moves between narrative and reflection, vast yet desolate, writing the loneliness of the far desert in plain words, with a far, lofty air—much of the High-Tang frontier poem's 'solemn yet open' cast.

【白话串讲】 “走马西来欲到天，辞家见月两回圆”——岑参骑马西行，离家已经两个月，看了两回圆月。“今夜未知何处宿，平沙莽莽绝人烟”——今晚不知睡在哪，眼前只有无边的平沙。边塞的孤独，写到了骨头里。【意象与手法】诗以“走马”起笔，写空间之辽远；“欲到天”以夸张极言西行之远，境界开阔【情感与主旨】岑参于唐玄宗天宝八载（749）赴安西节度使高仙芝幕任掌书记，首次出塞【名句点睛】中高考常从“思乡”与“边塞景物描写”设题。常考：一、“辞家见月两回圆”如何表达思乡？

Background

In the eighth year of Tianbao (749) of Emperor Xuanzong, Cen Shen joined the staff of Gao Xianzhi, commander of Anxi, as secretary, his first going to the frontier. Written in the Desert was composed on the way across the desert (qi means desert) to his post. The poem writes the farness of the journey, the longness of absence from home, and the barrenness of the borderland, with a touch of homesickness. 'Qi' is the Gobi desert, which Tang men passed on the way to the Western Regions. Unlike his later 'Song of White Snow' with its heroic manner, this poem does not boast of war but lodges a faint homesickness in the vast and far—showing the poet's true heart on first reaching the remote land.

《碛中作》为盛唐诗人岑参所作。岑参（约715—770），江陵人，盛唐边塞诗派的代表，两度出塞，久佐戎幕，有“诗雄”之称。此诗写诗人西行碛中（沙漠）时的所见所感：走马西来欲到天，辞家见月两回圆；今夜未知何处宿，平沙莽莽绝人烟。全诗以“走马西来”“见月两回圆”写离乡之久，以“平沙莽莽绝人烟”写大漠之荒，写尽征途的艰辛与壮阔，是岑参边塞诗的名篇。岑参以善写边塞奇景著称，此诗即其代表作——以大漠的莽莽写征途的壮阔，以见月两回写离乡之久。

Art

The poem opens with 'riding hard', writing the far reach of space; 'as if to reach the sky' uses hyperbole to speak the distance of the westward road, opening a broad realm. 'Since leaving home I have seen the moon round twice' uses the ease of the moon's rounding against the dimness of the homeward date to write the depth of parting—lifting the heavy with a light hand. The last two lines, 'Tonight I know not where I shall lodge—the vast flat sand, no trace of man', led by a question, show the lone traveller with no lodging in the boundless waste, feeling within the scene. Narrative and reflection breed; vast yet desolate, it writes the loneliness of the far land in plain words, with a far, lofty air.

《碛中作》艺术上以时空的旷远与征途的壮阔见长。全诗四句，层层写来：“走马西来欲到天”写西行之远——“欲到天”写大漠辽阔，似可行至天际；“辞家见月两回圆”写离乡之久——辞家以来，已见两回圆月；“今夜未知何处宿”写征途之艰——今夜不知何处投宿；“平沙莽莽绝人烟”写大漠之荒——平沙莽莽，绝无人烟。全诗以“走马”“见月”写时间之推移，以“欲到天”“绝人烟”写空间之旷远，时空交叠，写尽征途的艰辛与壮阔。以“平沙莽莽绝人烟”收束，大漠的苍茫如在目前，正是岑参边塞诗“雄奇”的风格。

Allusions

'Qi' means desert and Gobi, a common frontier geographic term in Tang poetry, not an allusion. 'Seeing the moon round twice' quietly uses the classical homesick motif of 'the moon rounds but the man does not', of a piece with Xie Zhuang's 'Moon Rhapsody' ('a thousand li apart, yet the same bright moon') and Du Fu's 'the moon is bright in my old home'—yet the poet does not quote a line but writes from the scene that two months have passed, touching the scene and feeling, not citing a tale. The language is plain, almost without classical reference—just the High-Tang frontier strength of 'every word native, without ornament'.

《碛中作》用典少而意象皆自出。“碛”指沙漠，“走马西来”写其西行，“见月两回圆”以月圆写离家之久（两回圆月即离家两月），“平沙”写大漠之沙，“人烟”指人家烟火。全诗以这些写实的意象写征途之景，不用深典而气象自见。岑参以善写边塞奇景著称，其诗多写大漠、雪山、烽火等奇景，此诗写碛中之行，正见其“诗雄”的笔力——以大漠的莽莽写征途的壮阔，以平实的语言写真切的感受。

Commentary

Later critics of Cen Shen's frontier poetry often praise its 'grand, strange, and splendid' cast, yet this piece excels in plainness and vast desolation. The Ming man Xu Xianzhong said 'the words need not be deep, yet the far, open air comes of itself'. Moderns often read it beside 'Meeting an Envoy Going to the Capital' ('on horseback we meet, no paper or brush')—both write homesickness amid hurried travel, one vast and desolate, one plain and sincere, showing the tender heart within the High-Tang boldness on going to the frontier.

《碛中作》是岑参边塞诗的名篇，也是其西行途中的实录。此诗以四句写尽征途之艰与大漠之荒，向为论者称道。论者多赏其“走马西来欲到天”的起笔——以“欲到天”写大漠辽阔，奇而有势；“平沙莽莽绝人烟”以大漠写荒凉，更见苍茫。岑参与高适并称“高岑”，为盛唐边塞诗的代表，其诗以“雄奇”著称，此诗正见其风格——不写战场的厮杀，而写征途的苍茫，别是一番气象。此诗与其《白雪歌送武判官归京》《走马川行》同为边塞名篇，可见其边塞诗的多面。

Prosody

Form Seven-character quatrain七言绝句

Rhyme Ping-shui rhyme, xian-han shared rhyme (sky xian; round, smoke han; first line borrows a rhyme)《碛中作》为七言绝句，押平声韵。此诗用韵：天、圆、烟（先部），一韵到底，音节悠远。七绝句式整饬，宜于写征途之景。

Tone pattern First line enters rhyme, level-onset level-close七言绝句以声调抑扬、音节流丽见长。此诗以“走马西来欲到天”起，音节舒展如大漠辽阔；“辞家见月两回圆”以“两回圆”承，声情深沉；“今夜未知何处宿”写征途之艰，音节顿挫；“平沙莽莽绝人烟”以“绝人烟”收，声情苍茫。全诗以平韵贯底，声调与征途的壮阔苍茫相合，是七绝中雄奇苍茫的一路。

Reading note The third line 'lodge' is an entering-tone oblique close, shifting tone and meaning; near a quatrain with a slightly loose rhyme.《碛中作》为七言绝句，是岑参边塞诗的名篇。此诗以四句写尽征途之艰与大漠之荒：走马西来、欲到天边，写空间之旷远；辞家两月、见月两回，写时间之久长；今夜无宿、平沙绝烟，写征途之艰辛。以“欲到天”写大漠之辽阔，以“绝人烟”写荒凉之极，正是岑参边塞诗“雄奇”的风格。岑参与高适并称“高岑”，其诗以善写边塞奇景著称，此诗正是其西行途中的实录。

Line by line

走马西来欲到天，辞家见月两回圆。

Spurring the horse west, I seem to reach the sky; since leaving home, I have seen the moon full twice.

纵马向西而来，仿佛要到天边；辞别家乡以来，已经见过两回圆月。

Spurring the horse westward, as if bound for the edge of the sky; since I left home, I have seen the full moon twice.

首二句写西行之远与离乡之久。“走马西来欲到天”写空间之远——“走马”写其疾行，“西来”写其西向，“欲到天”写大漠辽阔，仿佛可行至天际；“辞家见月两回圆”写时间之久——“辞家”点出离乡，“见月两回圆”写离家已两月。二句以“欲到天”写空间之旷远，以“两回圆”写时间之推移，时空交叠，写尽征途的漫长。一个“欲到天”，写大漠之辽阔与行路之无尽；一个“两回圆”，写离家之久与望月之思。以“走马”写疾行，以“见月”写思念，正见岑参边塞诗的壮阔与深情。

The first two lines write the distance of the westward road and the length of time away. 'Spurring the horse west, I seem to reach the sky' the space's distance — 'spurring the horse' the speed, 'west' the direction, 'seem to reach the sky' the vast desert, as if one could ride to the edge of heaven; 'since leaving home, I have seen the moon full twice' the time's length — 'leaving home' the parting, 'seen the moon full twice' two months gone. Two lines, 'seem to reach the sky' the space's vastness, 'full twice' the time's passing, space and time overlapped, writing the long road. The one 'seem to reach the sky' the desert's vastness and the road's endlessness; the one 'full twice' the time away and the longing at the moon. Writing speed through 'spurring the horse', writing longing through 'seen the moon', the grandeur and depth of Cen Shen's frontier verse.

今夜未知何处宿，平沙莽莽绝人烟。

Tonight I know not where I shall lodge; the flat sand stretches on and on, utterly void of men.

今夜不知要到何处投宿，眼前只有莽莽的平沙，绝无人烟。

Tonight I know not where I shall find lodging; before me, only the boundless flat sand, utterly void of human trace.

后二句写征途之艰与宿处之无。“今夜未知何处宿”写投宿之难——“今夜”点出日暮，“未知何处宿”写无处可宿，征途的艰辛尽在其中；“平沙莽莽绝人烟”写大漠之荒——“平沙莽莽”写沙原之辽阔，“绝人烟”写人烟之绝。二句由“未知何处宿”的悬念，写到“平沙莽莽绝人烟”的实景：四野无人，何处可宿？大漠的苍茫与征途的艰辛交织。以“绝人烟”收束，既写大漠之荒，亦写孤旅之寂。这一收束，把征途的苍茫写到极处，正是岑参“诗雄”的笔力——以四句写尽大漠的辽阔与孤旅的艰辛。

The last two lines write the hardship of the road and the lack of a lodging. 'Tonight I know not where I shall lodge' the difficulty of lodging — 'tonight' the dusk, 'know not where' no place to stay, the hardship of the road all within; 'the flat sand stretches on and on, utterly void of men' the desert's waste — 'flat sand stretches' the sand-sea's vastness, 'utterly void of men' the total absence of men. Two lines, from the suspense of 'know not where I shall lodge' to the real scene of 'flat sand stretches on, void of men': no one on all sides, where to lodge? The desert's desolation and the road's hardship interwoven. Closing with 'utterly void of men', writing both the desert's waste and the lone traveler's solitude. This close writes the road's desolation to the extreme, the force of Cen Shen's 'poem of the hero' — four lines writing the desert's vastness and the lone journey's hardship.

Study

Word focus

欲到天 'as if to reach the sky' writes the exaggerated sense of nearing the horizon—not literal, yet it sets out the farness of the westward road and the openness of the remote land in a single stroke. “走马西来欲到天”之“欲到天”，写大漠辽阔仿佛可至天际，是全诗写空间之远的点睛之词。“欲”写将要，“到天”写至天边——走马西来，仿佛要到天边。这一词以夸张之笔写大漠之辽阔：不是写实的地平线，而是“欲到天”的苍茫；不是一段路程，而是无尽的天涯。以“欲到天”写远，正是岑参边塞诗“雄奇”风格的体现——奇而有势。

两回圆 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. “辞家见月两回圆”之“两回圆”，写离家以来见过两回圆月，是全诗写离乡之久的关纽。“两回圆”即两个满月，即离家两月——以月之圆缺写时间之推移，含蓄而情深。这一词不直言“两月”，而写“见月两回圆”，既写离家之久，亦写望月之思：月圆人未归，正见乡愁。以“两回圆”写时，正是岑参以景写情、含蓄深婉的笔法。

未知 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. “今夜未知何处宿”之“未知”，写今夜不知投宿何处，是全诗写征途之艰的关键词。“未知”即不知，着一词，今夜的前途便成了未知——不知何处可宿，不知何时可安。这一词写征途的不定：不是有处可宿而不定，而是无处可宿而不安；“未知”二字，把孤旅的漂泊感写到极处。以“未知”写宿，正是岑参写边塞征途之艰的绝妙一笔。

绝人烟 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. “平沙莽莽绝人烟”之“绝人烟”，写大漠绝无人烟，是全诗写大漠之荒的归结。“绝”写断绝，“人烟”写人家烟火——平沙莽莽，绝无人烟。这一词以“绝”写荒凉之极：不是人烟稀少，而是绝无人烟；不是荒凉可居，而是荒无人迹。以“绝人烟”收束，既写大漠之荒，亦写孤旅之寂，把征途的苍茫写到极处。正是岑参边塞诗“雄奇而苍茫”的笔法。

碛中作