English Rendering
How beautiful she looks, opening the pearly casement,
And how quiet she leans, and how troubled her brow is!
You may see the tears now, bright on her cheek,
But not the man she so bitterly loves.
A Bitter Love
- Poetry of Li Bai (Li Po)
《怨情》
Original Text (中文原文)
美人卷珠帘，深坐颦蛾眉。
但见泪痕湿，不知心恨谁。
Analysis & Context
Five-character-quatrain
This boudoir-plaint poem by Li Bai explores a lovelorn woman's melancholy within inner chambers—a conventional Tang genre depicting feminine devotion and sorrow. Though renowned for his heroic abandon, Li Bai here adopts delicate brushwork to portray subtle emotional nuances, revealing an uncharacteristically restrained facet of his genius.
Reader's Companion
The Essence of the Verse
Classical Chinese poetry thrives on Concision and Ambiguity. Without tense or number, the words create a timeless space where the reader becomes the co-creator of the poem's meaning.
Reading Between the Lines
Look for Contrasts: light and shadow, movement and stillness. Don't just translate the words; feel the Yijing (artistic conception) that lingers long after the last character.
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