大漠孤烟直

大漠孤煙直

dàmògūyānzhí

phrase

Meanings

1 over the great desert, a lone column of smoke rises straight
2 iconic image of the frontier landscape
3 a single plume against vast emptiness

Characters

Examples

站在戈壁滩上，他想起那句“大漠孤烟直”。

Zhàn zài gēbìtān shàng, tā xiǎng qǐ nà jù "dà mò gū yān zhí".

Standing on the gobi flats, he thought of the line 'over the great desert, a single plume of smoke rises straight.'

大漠孤烟直，长河落日圆，正是王维笔下的边塞气象。

Dà mò gū yān zhí, cháng hé luò rì yuán, zhèng shì Wáng Wéi bǐxià de biānsài qìxiàng.

'A lone plume rising over the great desert; the sun round above the long river' — just the frontier atmosphere Wang Wei captured.

Tips

history

From Wang Wei's (王维, Tang dynasty) 《使至塞上》 ('Mission to the Frontier'): 大漠孤烟直，长河落日圆 — 'over the great desert a lone column of smoke rises straight; along the long river the setting sun is round.' Written in 737 on his commission to the northwestern border; long considered a pinnacle of frontier poetry.

usage

Almost always cited alongside its twin 长河落日圆. 孤烟 traditionally refers to the beacon smoke raised at a frontier garrison — a single signal fire against the empty desert.

Stroke Order

大 dà

漠 mò

孤 gū

烟 yān

直 zhí