Classical Prose
马说
世有伯乐，然后有千里马。
千里马常有，而伯乐不常有。
故虽有名马，祇辱于奴隶人之手，骈死于槽枥之间，不以千里称也。
马之千里者，一食或尽粟一石。
食马者不知其能千里而食也。
是马也，虽有千里之能，食不饱，力不足，才美不外见。
且欲与常马等不可得，安求其能千里也？
策之不以其道，食之不能尽其材，鸣之而不能通其意。
执策而临之，曰：“天下无马！”
呜呼！其真无马邪？其真不知马也！
Translation
Only when there is a Bo Le can there be a thousand-li horse. Thousand-li horses are often found, but men like Bo Le are not often found. Therefore, even if a fine horse exists, it may suffer humiliation in the hands of lowly stablemen, die beside the manger with ordinary horses, and never be known as a thousand-li horse. A horse capable of traveling a thousand li may sometimes eat a whole measure of grain at one meal. Yet those who feed horses do not feed it according to its ability. Though it has extraordinary power, it is not fed enough; its strength is insufficient, and its talent cannot appear. If it cannot even be treated as equal to an ordinary horse, how can one expect it to travel a thousand li? They drive it without the proper method, feed it without allowing its talent to be used, and hear it neigh without understanding its meaning. Then they stand before it with a whip and say, “There are no fine horses in the world!” Alas, is it truly that there are no horses? It is truly that they do not know horses.
Analysis
“On Horses” is an allegory about talent and recognition. The thousand-li horse represents exceptional ability, while Bo Le represents the person capable of recognizing and properly using that ability. Han Yu’s point is not that talent is rare, but that people who can recognize talent are rare. The essay turns feeding and handling horses into a metaphor for social conditions. A fine horse cannot reveal its strength if it is treated like an ordinary one. Likewise, a talented person cannot flourish without the right position, trust, and support. The final question gives the essay its sharp edge: is it truly that there are no fine horses, or that people do not know horses? Han Yu’s answer is unmistakable. The essay remains one of the clearest classical Chinese statements on neglected talent.
About the Author
Han Yu was a major Tang dynasty writer and thinker, and a leading advocate of the Classical Prose Movement. He called for prose that was clear, forceful, morally serious, and free from excessive ornament. Later ranked first among the Eight Great Prose Masters of the Tang and Song, Han Yu deeply influenced classical Chinese prose. “On Horses” shows his gift for using allegory to criticize social reality.