一骑红尘妃子笑

一騎紅塵妃子笑

yíqíhóngchénfēizǐxiào

phrase

Meanings

1 a single horseman in a cloud of red dust — and the consort smiles
2 fig. fresh lychees couriered a thousand li to please Yang Guifei
3 Du Mu's biting image of extravagance at Tang court

Characters

horseman (classically jì)

imperial consort

Examples

一骑红尘妃子笑，无人知是荔枝来。

Yí qí hóng chén fēi zǐ xiào, wú rén zhī shì lìzhī lái.

A single horseman in the red dust, and the consort smiles — no one knew it was the lychees arriving.

老师讲到一骑红尘妃子笑，说这是讽刺统治者奢侈。

Lǎoshī jiǎng dào yí qí hóng chén fēi zǐ xiào, shuō zhè shì fěngcì tǒngzhìzhě shēchǐ.

The teacher discussing 'a single rider, red dust, the consort smiles' said it satirizes the ruler's extravagance.

Tips

history

From Du Mu's (杜牧) Late Tang poem 《过华清宫》 (Passing Huaqing Palace): 长安回望绣成堆，山顶千门万户开。一骑红尘妃子笑，无人知是荔枝来。 — 'Looking back at Chang'an, embroidery-heaps of palaces; on the summit a thousand gates, ten thousand doors all open. A single rider in red dust, and the consort smiles — no one knew it was the lychees arriving.' A sharp jab at Emperor Xuanzong running a postal relay from Lingnan for Yang Guifei's fresh fruit.

usage

骑 in this line is traditionally read jì (mounted rider) in Taiwan and in classical Chinese class, though mainland PRC dictionaries have standardized it to qí. Both readings are cited; don't be surprised by either. Always paired with the closing 无人知是荔枝来.

In Pop Culture

杨贵妃 Yáng Guìfēi

Yang Guifei

Consort of Emperor Xuanzong, whose appetite for fresh Lingnan lychees is the scene's target — the eternal shorthand for imperial indulgence.

Stroke Order

一 yī

骑 qí

红 hóng

尘 chén

妃 fēi

子 zǐ

笑 xiào