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古道西风瘦马

古道西風瘦馬
gǔdàoxīfēngshòumǎ
phrase

Meanings

  1. 1 old road, west wind, a gaunt horse
  2. 2 (fig.) the quintessential image of a weary traveler far from home
  3. 3 (lit.) old-road west-wind lean-horse

Examples

他画了一幅古道西风瘦马的水墨画，挂在书房。
Tā huàle yī fú gǔdào xīfēng shòu mǎ de shuǐmòhuà, guà zài shūfáng.
He painted an ink picture of 'old road, west wind, gaunt horse' and hung it in his study.
漂泊多年，他自嘲就像古道西风瘦马。
Piāobó duō nián, tā zìcháo jiù xiàng gǔdào xīfēng shòu mǎ.
After years of wandering he joked that he was like 'the old road, the west wind, the gaunt horse.'

Tips

history
From 马致远《天净沙·秋思》(Ma Zhiyuan, Yuan, 13-14th c.), one of the most famous sanqu 散曲 lyrics in Chinese: 枯藤老树昏鸦，小桥流水人家，古道西风瘦马。夕阳西下，断肠人在天涯 (Withered vines, old trees, crows at dusk; small bridge, flowing stream, a home; old road, west wind, a gaunt horse. The setting sun sinks west — the heart-broken traveler is at the world's edge). Twenty-eight characters; eleven images; zero main verbs. A model of classical minimalism.
usage
The line is three stacked nouns, no verb — a technique studied in Chinese poetics classes as 'image juxtaposition.' Quote for travel, exile, weariness. 瘦 (shòu) = thin/gaunt. 西风 = west wind, traditionally autumn wind, connoting loneliness.

Stroke Order

古 gǔ
道 dào
西 xī
风 fēng
瘦 shòu
马 mǎ