Yuàn QíngResentment 怨情
Li Bai sketches a woman's silent grief in four lines.
Original Chinese text with pinyin
美人卷珠帘
měi rén juǎn zhū lián
深坐颦蛾眉
shēn zuò pín é méi
但见泪痕湿
dàn jiàn lèi hén shī
不知心恨谁
bù zhī xīn hèn shuí
Simplified characters; traditional title: 怨情.
English translation
A beauty rolls up the pearl blind,
And sits deep within, knitting her brows.
All one sees are traces of tears—
No one knows whom her heart resents.
Original translation by Poetune — literal but poetic, written for this site.
Line by line
Meaning and imagery
Li Bai shows only gestures: the blind rolled up (she is waiting, looking out), the deep seat, the frown, the tear stains. The last line refuses to explain. Is she abandoned by a lover, a husband away at war, an emperor's fading favor? Leaving the cause unknown makes the feeling larger and invites the reader to supply the story.
Background
A "boudoir lament," a traditional genre in which male poets wrote in the voice of, or about, neglected women.
Key words
- 珠帘 zhū lián
- a blind of pearls or beads
- 蛾眉 é méi
- "moth-feeler" eyebrows, a sign of beauty
- 泪痕 lèi hén
- tear stains
About the poet: Li Bai
Li Bai (also romanized Li Po; courtesy name Taibai) is celebrated as the "Immortal of Poetry." Raised in Sichuan, he spent much of his life wandering, briefly served at the court of Emperor Xuanzong in Chang'an, and is remembered for his love of wine, the moon and untamed nature. He and Du Fu are regarded as the two greatest poets of the Tang dynasty.
Lifetime: 701–762. Other famous works: Farewell to a Friend (送友人); Song of Qiupu (White Hair) (秋浦歌); Midnight Song of Wu (Autumn) (子夜吴歌); Question and Answer in the Mountains (山中问答); For Wang Lun (赠汪伦); The Road Is Hard (行路难); Sitting Alone Facing Jingting Mountain (独坐敬亭山); Written as a Traveler (客中作); Song of the Moon over Mount Emei (峨眉山月歌); Resentment (怨情); Farewell to Meng Haoran at Yellow Crane Tower (黄鹤楼送孟浩然之广陵); Quiet Night Thoughts (静夜思); Bring In the Wine (将进酒); Drinking Alone Under the Moon (月下独酌); Viewing the Waterfall at Mount Lu (望庐山瀑布); Leaving Baidi City at Dawn (早发白帝城); The Hard Road to Shu (蜀道难).
More by Li Bai
- Quiet Night Thoughts静夜思
- Farewell to Meng Haoran at Yellow Crane Tower黄鹤楼送孟浩然之广陵
- Leaving Baidi City at Dawn早发白帝城
- Viewing the Waterfall at Mount Lu望庐山瀑布
- Drinking Alone Under the Moon月下独酌
- Midnight Song of Wu (Autumn)子夜吴歌
- Song of the Moon over Mount Emei峨眉山月歌
- Song of Qiupu (White Hair)秋浦歌