追蹤汗血馬

你見過汗血馬嗎？它神話般的傳說，在我國流傳了1000多年：原來這馬在劇烈奔跑時從前脖部位流出的汗鮮紅似血，被司馬遷所著《史記》冠以一個響徹華夏大地的美名——“汗血馬”。漢武帝把它喻為“天馬”，并作“天馬之歌”予以贊美，唐代的官員也特別喜歡這種名駒，杜甫《洗兵馬》詩中云：“京師皆騎汗血馬。”由此可見，汗血馬從漢朝時被引入中國直至元朝，曾被人們喜愛了上千年，它是中外物種交流的一個重要方面。但元朝以后，中國人很少見到這種寶馬了。

2002年6月間，我在翻閱報紙中，無意間被一行《這就是汗血寶馬》的標題所吸引。這則發自新華社的消息稱：6月17日，從中國百姓視野中消失已久的神秘的“汗血寶馬”由空中穿越古絲綢之路抵達天津機場，給馬年的中國人帶來了驚喜。這匹名為“阿赫達什”的5歲黑色公馬，是土庫曼斯坦領導人送給中國領導人的禮物。

這則消息，讓我欣喜異常：因為我當時正在搜集整理的《物種》郵票中，一直將“汗血馬”這一物種空著，在茫茫郵海中，一直尋覓不到“汗血馬”這樣的物種郵票。看了眼下這則消息，無疑增添了我尋覓寶馬郵票的信心。同時也讓我把追蹤的目標鎖定在中亞國家。一天，門鈴聲驟然響起，我急速跑下樓去，一綠衣人遞給我一封沉甸甸的大型掛號信件，打開一看它真給了我一個意外的驚喜：原來我向國內外藏友發出的十幾封尋覓“汗血馬”郵票信函，今天終于有了回應，黑龍江一位專集俄羅斯和“獨聯體”國家郵票的朋友，給我寄來了土庫曼斯坦于2001年發行的全套“汗血馬”郵票！

汗血馬是張騫出使西域時從“大宛國”引進的，“大宛國”即今土庫曼斯坦。所以我今日收到的這套郵票，是原汁原味的土庫曼斯坦首次發行的汗血馬郵票，心情不禁為之激動！

“汗血馬”是中國人對此種馬的稱呼。它在土庫曼斯坦叫“阿哈爾捷金馬”，郵票的圖案，用的均是攝影，它真實地展現了阿哈爾捷金馬不同的品種，實在是一組“汗血馬”的微型展覽。這組由6枚郵票組成的小版張，展現了深受土庫曼斯坦已故總統尼亞佐夫寵愛的馬匹，這些馬匹可謂是土庫曼斯坦的“六駿”：其中由兩枚馬的頭部組成的小全張，一枚叫“火山”，一枚為“土庫曼珍珠”，是汗血馬中的佼佼者；兩枚無齒小型張，展現了體形優美、四肢修長、步履輕盈的汗血馬的英姿。特別引人注目的是，郵票還印了土庫曼斯坦國徽，仔細一瞧，國徽圖案中央繪有一匹白色的“汗血馬”。這就是說，汗血馬乃土庫曼斯的“國寶”，民族的象征。遙想當年，大宛國王愛汗血馬勝過一切，甚至不愿以汗血馬換取漢朝用黃金鑄成的金馬，這說明在國王眼里，汗血馬是何等的珍貴啊！

我在撰寫此文時，又收到一套剛從俄羅斯購到的、土庫曼斯坦續發的“汗血馬”郵票，打開一看，墨香猶存，內容恰好與上一套汗血馬郵票相銜接，是珠聯璧合的姐妹篇，這4枚小全張，再現了汗血馬在放牧場、訓練場和競賽場的各種精彩畫面：畫面上既有吮吸母乳的幼崽，也有昂首嘶鳴、戎裝出征的賽馬，最出彩的一枚小全張，竟以寬銀幕式的特寫鏡頭，凸現一匹一身長著金黃柔軟細毛的汗血馬，它雙目清澈明亮，兩耳垂直豎起，氣宇軒昂，顯示出高貴神韻。

汗血馬不僅在中國古代稱其為“日行千里”的神馬，就是在當代它也是功勛卓著的馬匹：在蘇聯衛國戰爭期間，300名蘇軍戰士從阿什哈巴德騎上汗血馬穿山越嶺幾千公里，趕到莫斯科參戰，這種長距離急劇奔馳，竟一匹馬未死；在國際大賽中汗血馬更是獨領風騷，1968年在墨西哥奧運會上它被評為世界最好的體育用馬。1986年在“巴黎凱旋門杯”賽馬比賽中，獲得冠軍的一匹汗血馬竟以5000萬美元賣出，創歷史最高紀錄。

有意思的是，土庫曼斯坦送給中國的“阿赫達什”，也是“出身名門”，其“父”于1995年的世界馬匹速度賽中獲得冠軍。“阿赫達什”通體遍黑，四蹄雪白，唯鼻子呈粉色，是汗血馬中最為漂亮的“踏雪馬”。據報道，阿赫達什已經在中國生子育女，當了爸爸，膝下已有5個孩子，它為中土友誼留下了一段佳話。

Heavenly Horses That Sweat Blood

By Tu Xuefan

The horses that legendarily sweated blood were around in China for more than 1，000 years. The great historian Sima Qian mentioned the purebreds in his immortal “Records of the Historian?about two thousand years ago， describing them as the ’horses that sweat blood? The Wu Emperor of the Han Dynasty (206 B.C.-220 A.D.) called them the heavenly stallions and had a musical composition made to praise the marvelous creatures. The Tang poet Du Fu mentioned in a poem that the officials in the capital rode the horses that sweated blood. These historical records testify to one particular example of species exchanges between China and the rest of the world in ancient times. Historians confirm that the horses were first introduced into China in the Han Dynasty and that after the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) they were no longer seen in China.

In June， 2002， I incidentally read a piece of news by Xinhua that a horse traditionally known to the Chinese as the horse that sweated blood was introduced again to China through the Silk Road. The five-year-old black steed was a gift from the state leader of Turkmenistan to the Chinese president in the Year of Horse.

I was excited.I had been collecting stamps on various species and a blank space in one of my albums was saved for stamps of the equine marvels， but unfortunately I did not have any. The news rekindled my enthusiasm. Targeting the countries in central Asia as possible sources of such stamps， I wrote to a dozen of my friends both at home and abroad for help.

Then miracle happened. One day， to my great joy， I received a set of six stamps issued in Turkmenistan from a friend in Heilongjiang Province， who specializes in collecting stamps issued in Russia and other states in CIS. The set has six photographs of the Akhal-Teke， presumably world’s best stallions native to the central-Asia country stallions. The set is like a miniature exhibition for the Akhal-Teke， Turkmenistan’s national symbol over centuries. According to history， the Han Dynasty of China offered horses made of gold to exchange for the Akhal-Teke stallions， but in vain.

While I was in the process of penning this story， another set of stamps highlighting Akhal-Teke stallions arrived at my desk from Russia. A sequence to the first set， the four miniature sheets show Akhal-Teke horses at a home pasture， a training ground and a sporting ground. One sheet features a typical Akhal-Teke stallion in gold color， its eyes expressive and crystal clear， ears upright in a noble and magnificent mood.

In ancient China， Akhal-Teke stallions were known as horses that traveled 500 kilometers a day. In modern times， they are also known for their unique accomplishments. In World War II， three hundred cavilers rode the stallions and traveled thousands of miles in a rapid march to reach Moscow. All the horses survived the grueling journey. In international sporting contests， Akhal-Teke stallions have been famed for their peerless speed and supreme performance. An Akhal-Teke horse was applauded as the best sporting horse at the Mexico Olympic Games in 1968. In 1986， a champion Akhal-Teke changed hands for a record of 50 million US dollars after winning a racing championship in Paris.

Intriguingly， the Akhal-Teke stallion China received from Turkmenistan is a descendent of a championship winner. Its father won the world speed championship in 1995. Except for the white hoofs and the pinkish nose， the stallion is pure black. It has fathered five descendents in China.

(Translated by David)