241. Lament on the Jade Steps | Li Bai
Text
English translation
Original Chinese text
玉阶生白露，夜久侵罗袜。
English translation
White dew gathers on the jade steps; the long night has soaked through her silk stockings.
She has stood outside for a long time, though the poem never directly names waiting. Soaks carries the dew onto the body, making duration visible through the damp fabric.
Original Chinese text
却下水晶帘，玲珑望秋月。
English translation
She withdraws and lowers the crystal blind, yet through its clear pattern continues to gaze at the autumn moon.
She leaves the steps and lets the blind fall. It shuts out the night's chill but does not end the waiting; her gaze remains fixed beyond it.
赏析 · Commentary
全诗没有一个“等”字 · The Poem Never Uses the Word Wait
夜久、露生、袜湿，三个迹象已经说明她在台阶上停留很久。李白不交代她等谁，也不让人物开口。题目中的“怨”同样没有化成责问，只存在于站立、退回、再望月这一连串动作里。
Long night, gathering dew, soaked stockings: the three signs already show how long she has remained on the steps. Li Bai does not say whom she awaits or allow her to speak. Even the grievance named in the title never becomes an accusation; it exists in standing, withdrawing, and looking out again.
放下帘子并没有结束场景 · Lowering the Blind Does Not End the Scene
一般动作到“下帘”便可结束，结句却让视线继续穿过帘子。室外有白露和秋月，室内有沉默的人，中间只隔一层水晶帘。她已经从寒冷中退开，却没有从牵挂中退开，这才是末句留下的余意。
The action could have ended when the blind was lowered, but the final line sends the gaze through it. Dew and autumn moon remain outside, the silent figure inside, with only a crystal screen between them. She has withdrawn from the cold, not from what holds her attention, and that distinction gives the close its aftereffect.