Her jade-white staircase is cold with dew;
Her silk soles are wet, she lingered there so long
Behind her closed casement, why is she still waiting,
Watching through its crystal pane the glow of the autumn moon?
Original Poem:
「玉阶怨」
李白
玉阶生白露，夜久侵罗袜。
却下水晶帘，玲珑望秋月。
Interpretation:
This is a poem based on the original meaning of the tune’s name, i.e., it is about a woman’s grievances on the jade steps.
The autumn night is already cool, when the air is cool, the court lady standing on the stone steps may have countless heartfelt thoughts to talk about. From the jade steps, her status is not too low, should be a woman who was once favoured by the king. The night is deep and the dew is heavy, soaking wet stockings, a continuation of the beauty of her dress, and further illuminate her identity. Because the night is deep but still not away from the jade steps, and even the stockings are drenched in white dew, there must be something to look forward to. By her status as a courtesan, it can be assumed that she is waiting for the king’s arrival, see the long wait does not come, let a person feel that the courtesan that look forward to see how much she hoped to see the figure of the king, but all the expectations are in vain.
The courtesan long looked at the king did not see, so turned to look up at the moon, hoping to get a hint of comfort from the moon. Because the moon shines on the earth, maybe she can still know about the king. But the result of looking up made her very disappointed, the moon still radiates its light without any sound or words. Disappointed, she dropped the curtains and did not want to look at the moon again, but she still could not help but cast a deep gaze at the moon through the crystal curtains – still full of expectations for the king, hoping that the king could enter his space like this exquisite moonlight.
It is the artistic feature and uniqueness of this poem to reveal the heroine’s heart and secret feelings with a single scene. On the surface, the white dew on the jade steps is a common scene in the autumn night; the dew staining the socks is also an ordinary scene in daily life; the courtesan lowering the curtains is an ordinary scene in the depth of the night; and looking up at the bright moon is even a common action of people in the autumn night. However, the author connects these four seemingly ordinary scenes into a chapter, and runs through them with a rhythm of love, together with a “grievance” in the title of the poem, which immediately produces a new mood beyond the literal connotation, and shows the misfortune and grief of the palace maiden.
Poem translator:
Kiang Kanghu
About the poet:
Li Bai (李白), 701 ~ 762 A.D., whose ancestral home was in Gansu, was preceded by Li Guang, a general of the Han Dynasty. Tang poetry is one of the brightest constellations in the history of Chinese literature, and one of the brightest stars is Li Bai.
