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唐 Tang · 诗 Poem

武威送刘判官赴碛西行军

At, the, Wuwei, Seeing, Off, the, Officer, Liu, on, His, Way, to, the, Western, Desert, Campaign

岑参

Cen Shen

边塞Frontier 送别Farewell

火山五月行人少，看君马去疾如鸟。
都护行营太白西，角声一动胡天晓。

The, volcano, in, the, fifth, month, the, travelers, few,
See, your, horse, going, swift, like, the, birds.
The, camp, of, the, general, the, west, of, the, Venus,
The, sound, of, the, horns, one, move, the, barbarian, sky, dawns.

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Meaning

A poem of the frontier and the seeing off, written by Cen Shen. The volcano in the fifth month the travelers few, see your horse going swift like the birds — the horse of the opening. The camp of the general the west of the Venus, the sound of the horns one move the barbarian sky dawns — the frontier of the close. The poem is the frontier and the seeing off: the volcano, the horse, and the close's horns.

火山五月行人少，看君马去疾如鸟。都护行营太白西，角声一动胡天晓。

Appreciation

[Plain Paraphrase] The, volcano, in, the, fifth, month, the, travelers, few, see, your, horse, going, swift, like, the, birds. The, camp, of, the, general, the, west, of, the, Venus, the, sound, of, the, horns, one, move, the, barbarian, sky, dawns. [Structure and Thought] The poem moves from the seeing off of the volcano and the swift horse with the travelers few, through the camp of the general, to the close's the horns of the barbarian sky. [Key Technique] The poem's art is the close of the frontier: the camp of the general the west of the Venus, and the close's the sound of the horns one move the barbarian sky dawns — the seeing off gathered in the camp and the close's horns. [Emotional Tone] Grand, swift, and heroic: the poem is the volcano, the horse and the close's horns.

【白话串讲】岑参写《武威送刘判官赴碛西行军》：“火山五月行人少，看君马去疾如鸟”——“都护行营太白西，角声一动胡天晓”——他写刘判官飞马赴边。【意象与手法】此诗写送刘判官赴碛西行军，以边塞风光写壮行，是岑参的名篇。前两句「火山五月行人少，看君马去疾如鸟」写壮行——「火山五月行人少」写火山五月行人稀少，「看君马去疾如鸟」写看君马去疾如飞鸟；后两句「都护行营太白西，角声一动胡天晓」写行营与军威——「都护行营太白西」写都护行营在太白山之西，「角声一动胡天晓」写角声一动胡天破晓。全诗以边塞风光写壮行，写尽从军行军的豪情，正是岑参「语奇体峻」诗风的本领。【情感与主旨】此诗写送刘判官赴碛西（沙漠以西）行军。刘判官是岑参的友人，赴碛西都护府行军（军中），岑参在武威（今甘肃武威）送别。此诗写送别时的所见所感：火山（今新疆吐鲁番的火焰山）五月行人少，看君马去疾如飞鸟；都护行营在太白山之西，角声一动胡天破晓。诗人以「火山五月行人少」写五月的火山炎热、行人稀少，「看君马去疾如鸟」写刘判官马去疾如飞鸟——「疾如鸟」写尽马行之快，也写尽赴军的急切；「都护行营太白西」写都护的行营在太白山之西——太白指太白金星，古人以为太白主兵，「太白西」写行营在太白之西，也暗写兵象；「角声一动胡天晓」写号角一响，胡天破晓——「角声一动」写军号一响，「胡天晓」写胡天破晓，以角声写军威，写尽从军的豪情。全诗以边塞风光写壮行，写尽从军行军的豪情，正是岑参边塞诗豪迈本色的代表。【名句点睛】常考「看君马去疾如鸟」写马行之快与赴军的急切；「火山五月行人少」写征程的炎热；「都护行营太白西」以太白写兵象；「角声一动胡天晓」以角声写军威；以及全诗以边塞风光写壮行、以少胜多的手法。

Background

Cen Shen (c. 715-770), the poet of the frontier of the Tang, wrote this 'At, the, Wuwei, Seeing, Off, the, Officer, Liu' of the frontier and the seeing off — the heroism of the frontier campaign. The volcano with the swift horse, the camp of the general, and the close's the horns of the barbarian sky — the poem gathers the heroism of the poet, the swiftness of the farewell. The poem is one of the famous works of the poet's poems of the frontier.

此诗写送刘判官赴碛西（沙漠以西，今新疆哈密一带）行军，是岑参的名篇。岑参（约715—770），江陵（今湖北荆州）人，盛唐著名边塞诗人，与高适并称「高岑」。岑参两度出塞，曾在安西、北庭等地幕府任职，对边塞风光与军旅生活有深切的体验。刘判官是岑参的友人，赴碛西都护府行军（军中），岑参在武威（今甘肃武威，时为河西重镇）送别。此诗写送别时的所见所感：「火山五月行人少」写火山（今新疆吐鲁番的火焰山）五月炎热、行人稀少；「看君马去疾如鸟」写刘判官马去疾如飞鸟——「疾如鸟」写尽马行之快与赴军的急切；「都护行营太白西」写都护的行营在太白山之西——太白指太白金星，古人以为太白主兵，主杀伐，「太白西」写行营所在，也暗写兵象；「角声一动胡天晓」写号角一响，胡天破晓——「角声一动」写军号一响，「胡天晓」写胡天破晓，以角声写军威。盛唐边塞连年征战，士人赴边从军求取功名，此诗正以边塞风光写壮行，写尽从军行军的豪情，是理解岑参边塞诗与盛唐从戎心态的重要篇章。

Art

The poem's art is the art of the frontier. The seeing off opens: the, volcano, in, the, fifth, month, the, travelers, few — the volcano of the travelers few; see, your, horse, going, swift, like, the, birds — the horse of the swift like the birds. The frontier follows: the, camp, of, the, general, the, west, of, the, Venus — the camp of the west of the Venus; the, sound, of, the, horns, one, move, the, barbarian, sky, dawns — the barbarian sky of the horns — the volcano, the horse and the close's frontier, gathered in the poem.

此诗的艺术特色可从四个方面解析。其一，以对比写壮行。前两句「火山五月行人少，看君马去疾如鸟」写壮行——那「火山五月行人少」写五月的火山炎热、行人稀少，以行人之少写征程之艰；「看君马去疾如鸟」写刘判官马去疾如飞鸟，以「疾如鸟」写马行之快，以行人之少与马行之快的对比，写尽赴军的急切与壮行。其二，以比喻写迅捷。「看君马去疾如鸟」以「疾如鸟」的比喻写马行之快，写尽赴军的迅捷与急切。其三，以太白写兵象。「都护行营太白西」写都护行营在太白山之西——那「太白」指太白金星，古人以为太白主兵、主杀伐，「太白西」写行营所在，也暗写兵象，以天象写军事。其四，以角声写军威。「角声一动胡天晓」写角声一动、胡天破晓——那「角声一动」写军号一响，「胡天晓」写胡天破晓，以角声的响动写军威，以少胜多，写尽从军的豪情。四重手法，使此诗以边塞风光写壮行，写尽从军行军的豪情，正是岑参「语奇体峻」诗风的本领。

Allusions

'The volcano' (huo shan) is the volcano — the mountain of the fire, the heat of the frontier; 'the west of the Venus' (tai bai xi) is the west of the Venus — the west of the Venus, the camp of the general; 'the barbarian sky' (hu tian) is the barbarian sky — the sky of the barbarian, the dawning of the close.

此诗的用语深植于边塞与军事的传统。「火山」令人想到今新疆吐鲁番的火焰山——「火山突兀赤亭口」（岑参《火山云歌送别》），也令人想到「火山五月行人少」的边塞炎热意象；「行人少」令人想到「绝人烟」的荒凉，也令人想到「行人绝」的边地；「疾如鸟」令人想到「疾如飞鸟」的迅捷意象，也令人想到「快马加鞭」的赴军急切；「都护行营」令人想到「都护」写边地军事长官的意象——「都护铁衣冷难着」（岑参《白雪歌送武判官归京》），也令人想到「行营」写军中营地的意象；「太白西」令人想到「太白」写太白金星的意象——古人以为太白主兵，主杀伐（《史记·天官书》「太白主兵」），也令人想到「太白西」写行营所在与兵象；「角声」令人想到「角声」写军中号角的意象——「角声满天秋色里」（李贺《雁门太守行》），也令人想到「胡笳」「画角」的边塞号角传统；「胡天晓」令人想到「胡天」写边地的意象——「胡天八月即飞雪」（岑参《白雪歌送武判官归京》），也令人想到「胡天」写边塞之地的苍茫，更令人想到「晓」写破晓的意象——「角声一动胡天晓」以号角报晓，写尽军中的军威。全诗化用火山、都护、太白、角声、胡天的边塞军事意象，以边塞风光写壮行，正是岑参「语奇体峻」、承边塞军事传统写豪情的本领。

Commentary

This poem is one of the famous works of Cen Shen's poems of the frontier, quoted for the swiftness of its seeing off and the grandeur of its close. The horse swift like the birds, and the horns of the barbarian sky, are among the admired passages of the poet's poems. Critics praise the poem's heroism: the seeing off gathered in the camp, to the close's horns.

此诗历来被推为岑参的名篇，也是唐人边塞送别诗的代表。历代论者对此诗评价极高：清人评此诗「以边塞风光写壮行，雄浑奇逸」；近人更指出「看君马去疾如鸟」写赴军的迅捷，「角声一动胡天晓」写军威，是此诗的名句。在诗歌史上，此诗的特殊价值在于：它以二十字的短章写尽从军行军的豪情——那五月炎热的火山，那疾如飞鸟的马，那太白西的行营，那一声角声的胡天晓，都写尽了边塞的壮阔与从军的豪情；那「角声一动胡天晓」更以角声写尽军威。此诗与岑参的《走马川行奉送出师西征》同为送师壮行名篇，一写行军的风雪，一写送别的角声；又与李贺《雁门太守行》（「角声满天秋色里」）同为写角声军威的名篇，可见唐人边塞诗写军威的传统。对于今日读者，此诗是理解岑参边塞诗与盛唐从戎心态的窗口，也是中国诗写边塞壮行的经典——那一声角动的胡天晓，穿越千年，仍在诉说着盛唐从军的豪情。

Prosody

Form A quatrain of the frontier (qi yan jue ju)诗·七言绝句

Rhyme The poem rhymes on the level of the group — the cadence of the quatrain that carries the heroic swiftness.押平声萧韵（少、鸟、西、晓），转韵，音节奔放，正合豪情的奔放

Tone pattern The cadence is that of the heroism: the level opening with the seeing off, the turning with the camp, and the close's fall with the dawning.此诗为七言绝句，四句，前写壮行，后写军威。全诗仄起平收，节奏紧促，于紧促中见豪迈。

Reading note The poem's sound matches its heroism: the cadences of the quatrain, and the close — 'jiao sheng yi dong hu tian xiao' — falls with the dawning, the sound of the heroism of the frontier farewell.此诗为七言绝句，四句：前两句写壮行（火山五月行人少，看君马去疾如鸟），后两句写军威（都护行营太白西，角声一动胡天晓）。押仄声筱韵（少、鸟、晓）与平声齐韵（西），转韵，音节奔放，正合豪情的奔放。全诗以边塞风光写壮行——首句「火山五月行人少」写征程之艰，次句「看君马去疾如鸟」写马行之快，三句「都护行营太白西」写行营之象，结句「角声一动胡天晓」写军威之雄，起承转合，一气呵成。此诗最见岑参七绝的「语奇体峻」：前写壮行、后写军威，以少胜多。诵读此诗，宜以紧促的语调读「看君马去疾如鸟」的壮行，以豪迈的语调读「角声一动胡天晓」的军威，结句要读得铿锵而有力，方能传达出岑参的豪情。岑参七绝以「语奇」著称，此诗正是其边塞壮行七绝的典范。

Line by line

火山五月行人少，看君马去疾如鸟

On the Fiery Mountain in the fifth moon few travelers pass; I watch your horse go, swift as a bird.

火山五月行人稀少，看你的马去疾如飞鸟。

On the Flaming Mountains in the fifth moon there are few travelers; I watch your horse speed away, swift as a bird.

此联写壮行，以行人之少写征程之艰，以比喻写马行之快。「火山五月行人少」写火山五月行人稀少——那「火山五月」写五月炎热的火山，「行人少」写行人稀少，写尽征程的艰苦；「看君马去疾如鸟」写看你的马去疾如飞鸟——那「看君马去」写目送友人马行，「疾如鸟」写疾如飞鸟，以比喻写尽马行之快。这句的深意在于：它以「火山五月行人少」的艰苦与「看君马去疾如鸟」的迅捷，写尽赴军的壮行——五月炎热的火山，行人稀少，正是征程的艰苦，那「行人少」写尽边地的炎热与荒凉；而看你的马去疾如飞鸟，那「疾如鸟」以比喻写尽马行之快，也写尽赴军的急切与迅捷；行人之少与马行之快的对比，写尽刘判官不畏艰苦、疾驰赴军的壮行——越是艰苦的征程，越见赴军的迅捷与豪情；那「行人少」写尽征程之艰，那「疾如鸟」写尽赴军之快，一艰一快，写尽壮行的豪情。若换作直说「你走得很急」，则失其对比；唯以「火山五月行人少」写艰苦、「看君马去疾如鸟」的比喻写迅捷，写尽赴军的壮行，也让此联成为全诗壮行的开篇。

This couplet writes the farewell, using the few travelers for the hardships of the journey and the simile for the speed of the horse. 'On the Fiery Mountain in the fifth moon few travelers pass' writes the burning Fiery Mountain of the fifth moon, travelers few, exhausting the hard march. 'I watch your horse go, swift as a bird' writes the watching of the friend's departure, 'swift as a bird' a simile for the speed of the ride. The deep meaning lies in setting the hardship of the burning mountain against the swiftness of the gallop—the hotter and more desolate the frontier, the more the speed and ardor of the march to the army show; it made this couplet the opening of the poem's farewell.

都护行营太白西，角声一动胡天晓

The Protector's camp lies west of the Great White star; when the bugle sounds, the barbarian dawn breaks.

都护行营在太白山之西，角声一响，胡天破晓。

The Protector's field camp is west of the star Tai Bai; when the bugle blares, the barbarian sky turns to dawn.

此联写行营的兵象与角声的军威，以太白写兵象，以角声写军威。「都护行营太白西」写都护行营在太白山之西——那「都护行营」写都护的军营地，「太白西」写行营在太白山之西，写尽行营的所在与兵象；「角声一动胡天晓」写角声一响胡天破晓——那「角声一动」写军中号角一响，「胡天晓」写胡天破晓，以角声的响动写尽军威。这句的深意在于：它以「都护行营太白西」的兵象与「角声一动胡天晓」的军威，写尽军中的威严——都护的行营在太白山之西，那「太白」指太白金星，古人以为太白主兵、主杀伐，「太白西」写行营所在，也暗写兵象，以天象写军事；号角一响，胡天破晓，那「角声一动」写尽军中号角的号令，「胡天晓」写尽号角声中胡天破晓——一声角响，天地为之破晓，正是军中号令的威严与军威的雄壮；那「太白西」写尽行营的兵象，那「角声一动胡天晓」写尽号角的威势，以少胜多写尽军中的威严，也写尽刘判官此去所赴的军旅之雄。若换作直说「军中很威严」，则失其形象；唯以「都护行营太白西」的兵象写行营、「角声一动胡天晓」的角声写军威，写尽军中的威严，也让此联成为全诗写军威的千古名句。

This couplet writes the camp's military omen and the bugle's martial awe, using the star for the omen and the horn for the power. 'The Protector's camp lies west of the Great White star' writes the Protector's military camp west of the Great White (Venus), which of old was thought the star of war and slaughter, the camp's site secretly read as a military omen. 'When the bugle sounds, the barbarian dawn breaks' writes that at a single bugle note the barbarian sky dawns, the one note rousing the world, the majesty of military order and the grandeur of the army fully present. It made this couplet the age-old celebrated verse on military awe.

Study

Word focus

疾 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 「看君马去疾如鸟」之「疾」字是写迅捷的关键字，一个「疾」字写尽赴军的迅捷。疾者，快速、疾速也。岑参以「疾如鸟」写马行，这个「疾」字至少有双重意味：其一，写马行之快——那「疾如鸟」写疾如飞鸟，那「疾」字写尽马行之快，如飞鸟掠过；其二，写赴军之切——那「疾」字更是写急切——马去疾如鸟，正见赴军的急切，那「疾」字写尽刘判官从军的急切与迅捷。以「疾」字写迅捷，正是岑参写壮行的枢纽——若换作「速」「快」等字，则或失其与「如鸟」的配合，或失其形象；唯「疾」字，以一字写尽马去疾如飞鸟的迅捷与赴军的急切，与「角声一动胡天晓」的军威相合，写尽从军的豪情，也让「看君马去疾如鸟」成为全诗写壮行的关键。

动 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 「角声一动胡天晓」之「动」字是写军威的关键字，一个「动」字写尽号角的威势。动者，响动、发动也。岑参以「角声一动」写号角，这个「动」字至少有双重意味：其一，写号角之响——那「角声一动」写号角一响，那「动」字写尽号角响动的瞬间，也写尽号令的发动；其二，写威势之震——那「动」字更是写威势——一声角动而胡天破晓，那「动」字写尽号角的威势与震撼。以「动」字写军威，正是岑参收束全诗的枢纽——若换作「鸣」「响」等字，则或失其与「胡天晓」的配合，或失其威势；唯「动」字，以一字写尽号角响动的瞬间与威势的震撼，与「胡天晓」相合，以角声写尽军威，也让「角声一动胡天晓」成为千古名句。