---
title: "馬走日，象走田: the Horse and Elephant Mnemonic · Xiangqi Master"
description: "The horse moves across a 日-shaped block and the elephant across a 田-shaped block. The rhyme also shows where each one gets blocked."
url: https://xiangqimaster.com/blog/what-does-ma-zou-ri-xiang-zou-tian-mean
updated: 2026-09-29
source: Xiangqi Master (https://xiangqimaster.com)
license: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
---

# What does 馬走日，象走田 mean?

These answers restate the rules implemented by our open-source engine, which follows the WXF laws for movement, checkmate and both repetition rulings: a side that forces a repetition by perpetual check or perpetual chase loses rather than drawing. The chase half has not been validated against the official casebook. Where an answer refers to a specific position, that position lives on the linked reference page, where the build verifies it before publishing.

> Direct answer
>
> It means **"the horse walks the 日, the elephant walks the 田"**, the rhyme Chinese players learn first. Picture the character **日** as a block two squares tall and one wide: the horse goes to its **opposite corner**. Picture **田** as a 2×2 block: the elephant goes to its **opposite corner**.

## Why the shapes work

日 is a rectangle split into two squares, so its opposite corners are one point apart one way and two points apart the other: exactly the horse's move. 田 is a square split into four, so its opposite corners are two points apart diagonally: exactly the elephant's move. On the board, trace the shape with your finger and you land on a legal destination.

## It also shows the blocking point

The rhyme hides the rule beginners miss. For the elephant, the blocking point is the **centre of the 田**, where the four small squares meet; a piece there stops the move. That is [the elephant's eye](https://xiangqimaster.com/blog/what-is-the-elephant-eye). For the horse, the blocking point is the point **beside it along the long side of the 日**, the first step of its move; a piece there hobbles the horse's leg. See [how the horse moves](https://xiangqimaster.com/rules/how-the-horse-moves).

## Longer versions

Many longer rhymes add lines for the other pieces, for example that the chariot goes straight and the cannon needs something to jump over. Wordings vary from region to region, so treat them as memory aids rather than rules. The rules themselves are on [the rules page](https://xiangqimaster.com/rules).

## Related questions

Does the rhyme mention the river?

The short version does not. The elephant's 田 must stay on its own side of the river, which you have to remember separately.

Is there a similar rhyme for the advisor?

Players often say the advisor moves slantwise, one point diagonally inside the palace. It needs no shape to remember.

## Related xiangqi resources

How the horse moves

An L-shape that can be blocked — it never jumps

How the elephant moves

Two points diagonally, never crosses the river

Chess in Chinese

The words for the game and every piece

## Try it on a real board

Reading an answer is one thing; playing it is another. Free, instant, and nothing to install.