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唐 Tang · 诗 Poem

玉阶怨

The Jade Staircase Grievance

李白

Li Bai

宫怨palace grievance 相思longing

玉阶生白露，夜久侵罗袜。
却下水晶帘，玲珑望秋月。

White dew grows on the jade stair;
Night deepens, it soaks the silken hose.
She lowers the crystal screen,
And through its fretwork gazes at the autumn moon.

Listen

Meaning

White dew gathers on the jade steps; as the night wears on it slowly soaks her silken stockings. She goes in and lowers the crystal curtain, then through its delicate patterns gazes longingly at the autumn moon.

玉石台阶上凝结起白色的露水，夜色深长，露水渐渐浸湿了丝罗袜。回到室内，放下水晶般的帘子，隔着玲珑剔透的帘隙，痴痴地望着那一弯秋月。

Appreciation

The wonder of this poem is that the word 'grief' never appears, yet grief runs deep. The first two lines, 'White dew grows on the jade stair; night deepens, it soaks the silken hose,' use the cooling dew and wet stockings to show how long she has stood. The next two, 'She lowers the crystal screen, and through its fretwork gazes at the autumn moon,' show with 'lowers' a reluctant return indoors and with 'gazes' a love that will not be sent away. The close sets the autumn moon against her loneliness, joyous scene for sorrowful heart. Every line depicts, yet every line feels; restrained and inexhaustible—the very art of writing grief without a word of grief.

【白话串讲】玉阶上生起白露，夜深了，露水打湿了罗袜。她放下水晶帘，隔着帘子望秋天的月亮。李白写宫女的不语，二十个字，句句都是寂寞。【意象与手法】此诗艺术之妙，首在「怨」字不着而怨自深。前二句「玉阶生白露，夜久侵罗袜」，以露凉袜湿写久立之久；后二句「却下水晶帘，玲珑望秋月」，「却下」见无奈入室，「望」见痴情难遣。全诗句句写景而句句含情，含蓄不尽。【情感与主旨】《玉阶怨》为乐府旧题，属《相和歌辞·楚调曲》，多写宫怨。李白此作约在供奉翰林时期（742—744）所作，借传统题材白描深宫女子秋夜不寐、望月伤怀，实借思妇孤寂寄寓才士不遇之幽愤。【名句点睛】中高考常聚焦三点：其一，「怨」字缺席而怨意满纸的含蓄之妙；其二，「侵」「玲珑」等炼字；其三，以乐景（秋月）写哀情的手法。

Background

The Jade Staircase Grievance is an old yuefu title under the Xianghe Songs, Chu-tune class, usually voicing palace grievance. Li Bai's piece was likely written during his service at the Hanlin Academy (742–744); using the traditional theme he sketches in plain strokes a palace woman's sleepless autumn night and her moonlit sorrow. No biography attaches to it; in truth it borrows the lone woman's solitude to hint the frustrated scholar's silent wrath. In only twenty characters it traces, with minimal brush, the move from outside to in, from standing to gazing—a startled thunder in the silence, a gem among his yuefu miniatures.

《玉阶怨》为乐府旧题，属《相和歌辞·楚调曲》，自南朝以来多写宫怨题材。李白此作约成于其供奉翰林时期（742—744），即应诏入京、待诏金銮的三年间。其时李白初入长安，以布衣之身供奉翰林，虽蒙玄宗礼遇，然仅以文学侍从见用，济世之志无从施展，内心实有才士不遇之幽愤。诗人借传统宫怨题材，白描一位深宫女子秋夜不寐、独立玉阶、望月伤怀的情态，通篇不见一个「怨」字，而孤寂幽怨之意满纸。全诗仅二十字，以极简笔墨勾勒由外而内、由立而望的完整过程，于无声处听惊雷，是拟乐府小诗中精警含蓄的典范，亦可见李白「清水出芙蓉，天然去雕饰」的绝句功力。此诗虽为拟古，而深宫女子秋夜望月的情境，实亦暗含诗人自身「怀才不遇」的投影：李白以布衣待诏翰林，虽蒙荣宠而终不见用，如深宫之女纵有绝代姿容亦困于金屋，故「望月」既是宫人之怨，亦是才士之愤，二十字中寄寓着诗人对自身处境的深沉感慨。

Art

The poem's art lies first in grief unspoken yet deep. The opening lines write the long standing through cooling dew and wet hose; the later lines show reluctant entry and ungovernable gazing. The close uses the autumn moon to set off her loneliness, joyous scene for sorrow. Line by line it paints, line by line it feels; restrained and endless, gaining the wonder of joyous scene for grief doubles the grief—a palace-grievance masterpiece.

此诗艺术之妙，首在「怨」字不着而怨自深，通篇纯以动作与景物写情。前二句「玉阶生白露，夜久侵罗袜」，以露凉袜湿写久立之久：白露「生」于玉阶，是时间在悄然流逝，「侵」罗袜则写露水浸透丝袜、寒意逼人，而女子仍兀自立着，其等待之痴、孤独之深俱在不言中。后二句「却下水晶帘，玲珑望秋月」，「却下」二字写无奈入室——夜太深、露太凉，不得不回到屋中，一个「却」字含着多少不甘；而放下水晶帘后仍隔帘「望」月，以景结情，痴情难遣。全诗句句写景而句句含情，无一字言怨而怨意无穷，深得「不著一字，尽得风流」之妙；结句以秋月之晶莹反衬心之孤寂，以乐景写哀，一倍增其哀，堪称宫怨绝唱。此外，全诗以「生、侵、下、望」四个动词串起完整的情态链条，无一字写思而思态毕现；句与句之间不着一虚字，纯以物象与动作的连缀推进，正是乐府古辞「语短情长」的本色，也是李白拟乐府「以古调写今情」的典范。

Allusions

The poem uses an old yuefu title and no obscure allusion, winning purely by plain description and image. 'Jade stair' and 'silken hose' adapt Cao Zhi's Luo Shen Fu: 'she steps on mist, her silken hose raising dust,' quietly comparing the palace lady to a goddess; 'autumn moon' inherits the Nineteen Old Poems' 'how bright the bright moon' tradition of moonlit longing. Li Bai piles no old facts but lifts earlier images into a new scene, making the familiar his own—plain yet refined, exactly his natural, unadorned manner.

本诗用乐府旧题，通篇无生僻典故，纯以白描与意象取胜，这正是李白「天然去雕饰」诗风的体现。「玉阶」「罗袜」化用曹植《洛神赋》「凌波微步，罗袜生尘」之丽辞，暗以洛水神女喻宫人之姿容高洁，虽不言用典而渊源有自；「水晶帘」取南朝乐府及齐梁宫体诗中闺阁帘幕意象，晶莹剔透之景恰与孤独之人形成对照；「秋月」则承《古诗十九首》「明月何皎皎，照我罗床帏」以来望月怀远之传统，兼《玉阶怨》旧题固有的秋夜意象。李白不堆砌故实，善撷前人意象融入新境，使熟典化为己用，于平淡中见雅致，正其「清水出芙蓉」之谓，亦可见其拟乐府而能自出机杼、古题新唱的高明。「水晶帘」之晶莹、「秋月」之清冷，又暗合「玉阶」之白玉，全诗意象一色纯澈，如一幅冷色调的工笔，人处于其间，愈显孤清；这种以物之精洁写人之幽独的手法，上承谢朓「玉阶怨」的清丽，下开王昌龄「玉颜不及寒鸦色」的宫怨传统，意象的系统性正是此诗用典之外的深致。

Commentary

The Song critic Yan Yu, in Canglang Shihua, said Li Bai's quatrains are 'lotus from clear water, natural, unadorned.' The Ming critic Hu Yinglin, in Shi Sou, praised them as 'inexhaustibly restrained, unfathomable.' The Qing critic Shen Deqian, in Tang Shi Biecai, judged them 'grieving yet not angry, the poet's teaching.' The modern Yu Bixia, in Shi Jing Qian Shuo, said 'twenty characters paint the boudoir and the grief runs deep.' All fix 'grief unspoken yet deep' as the settled verdict, proving the poem's preeminence in its kind.

宋人严羽《沧浪诗话》谓李白绝句「清水出芙蓉，天然去雕饰」，此诗即其典型。明人胡应麟《诗薮》赞其「含蓄无尽，使人测之无端」，清人沈德潜《唐诗别裁》评「怨而不怒，诗教也」，皆以「不著怨字而怨意自深」为定评。近人俞陛云《诗境浅说》称「二十字使闺情如绘而怨意自深」，认为此诗以极少的笔墨写出了极深的怨情。历代评家无不着眼于其含蓄之美：不作议论、不加说明，只以玉阶、白露、罗袜、水晶帘、秋月五个意象与两个动作，就完整勾勒出一幅深宫秋夜望月图，女子的容貌、心事、命运皆隐于其后。这种以象写意、以少胜多的艺术，正是李白对乐府传统的创造性继承，也是中国古典诗歌含蓄美学的极致体现。近世论者更指出，此诗之妙在「无人」与「无我」：通篇不见他人，唯孤影对月；通篇不着一「我」字，而望月者之痴绝自在其中，这种「以物观物」的写法，正是李白「清水出芙蓉」诗境在宫怨题材中的极致，亦为中国古典诗歌含蓄美学的最高标格之一。

Prosody

Form Yuefu poem · The Jade Staircase Grievance (five-character quatrain)乐府诗·《玉阶怨》（五言绝句）

Rhyme Ping-shui rhyme, entering-tone yue group (hose, moon rhyme; white dew does not rhyme); in truth an ancient quatrain, free of strict regulated rules平水韵·入声月韵（袜、月相押，白露不押），首句不入韵，实为古绝，不拘近体严律。

Tone pattern Ancient-form miniature, free level-oblique古体小诗，平仄自由，两句一转，由室外之景转入室内之人，声情由凉入静，结句以「月」字收音，余韵悠长。

Reading note Li Bai's yuefu imitation; though four lines, near an ancient quatrain, not bound by the lü.此诗为李白拟乐府之作，题属《玉阶怨》，源出南朝乐府旧题，体制上为五言四句，虽形近五绝而实为古绝，不拘近体平仄对仗之严律。用韵上，押入声月韵，「袜」「月」二字皆入声短促之音，收束急促，正合夜深人静、怨情欲断还连的声情；首句「玉阶生白露」不入韵，以平声「露」字起调，平缓入题，至「侵罗袜」陡转入声，凉意骤生，声情与辞情相合。全诗二十字，句法上两句一境：前二句写室外久立，后二句写室内望月，由外而内、由立而望，镜头推移自然无痕。李白以古绝之体写乐府旧题，不拘格律而自有天籁之音，正见其绝句「天然去雕饰」的本色，亦为后人拟乐府提供了「以古题写新意」的范本。

Line by line

玉阶生白露

White dew grows on the jade stair;

玉石台阶上凝结起白色的露水。

On the jade steps, white dew forms.

首句起笔写景，一个「生」字极见功力。白露不是「降」在玉阶上，而是「生」在玉阶上，仿佛露水是有生命的，正从玉石台阶上一点一点凝结、滋生，写出露气渐浓、夜色渐深的过程感。玉阶之「玉」，点明这是深宫贵人的居所，华贵之物与清冷之露相映，暗示居住者的身份与境遇的落差。露生于阶，而人立于阶，露渐浓而人未去，时间在悄然流逝，等待之久、孤独之深已从此一字透出。此句以景起，不明写人而人自在景中，为全诗「怨而不言」的含蓄风格定下基调，是李白炼字于无痕的典范。

The opening line opens with scenery; one forms shows consummate craft. White dew does not fall on the jade steps, but forms on them, as if the dew were alive, condensing, breeding little by little upon the jade, writing the process of the dew's thickening and the night's deepening. The jade in jade steps marks this as the deep palace's noble dwelling; the noble object mirrors the cold dew, hinting the gap between the dweller's rank and her lot. Dew forms on the steps, and the woman stands on the steps; the dew thickens, yet she does not leave; time quietly passes, and the long waiting and deep loneliness already show through this one character. This line opens with scenery, not writing the woman yet she is in the scene; setting the poem's resentful-without-speaking reserved style - the model of Li Bai's refining words without trace.

夜久侵罗袜

Night deepens, it soaks the silken hose.

夜色深长，露水渐渐浸湿了丝罗袜。

The night wears on; it soaks into her silk stockings.

次句紧承「生白露」，「夜久」点明时间已深，「侵」字写露水不知不觉间浸透丝罗袜，寒意透骨。一个「侵」字最妙：露是慢慢侵进来的，夜是慢慢深下去的，人的等待也是慢慢绝望的——不是骤然而至的寒冷，而是悄然渗入的凉意，恰如深宫怨情之渐积渐深。罗袜是精美之物，被露水浸湿而不自知，可见女子伫立之久、出神之深；而露湿罗袜竟无人怜惜，也暗示其处境的孤寂。此句不写人立了多久，而久立之态自见；不写怨有多深，而怨意暗含，与上句合观，一幅秋夜独立图已跃然纸上。

The next line closely follows white dew forms; the night wears on fixes the late hour; soaks writes the dew unknowingly penetrating the silk stockings, the cold entering to the bone. Soak is most subtle: the dew seeps in slowly, the night deepens slowly, the woman's waiting also slowly despairs - not sudden cold, but the coolness quietly infiltrating, precisely like the deep palace grievance's gradual accumulation. Silk stockings are a fine thing, soaked by dew without her knowing; showing how long she stands, how deep her trance; and the dew-wet stockings pitied by no one, hinting her solitude. This line does not write how long she stands, yet the long standing self-shows; not writing how deep the grievance, yet the resentment hidden; read with the above, a picture of standing alone in the autumn night already leaps onto the page.

却下水晶帘

She lowers the crystal screen,

回到室内，放下水晶般的帘子。

Then she lowers the crystal curtain.

第三句写女子终于回到屋中、放下水晶帘，「却下」二字含无限无奈。「却」有退却、返回之意，写出她并非自愿入室，而是夜露太凉、不得不退；「下」写放下帘子，帘幕垂下，仿佛要与外界的秋夜隔绝，实则是想隔断那催人的寒意与无望的等待。水晶帘之晶莹剔透，反衬帘内人心之黯淡孤寂；帘子可以放下，而相思怨情却放不下。此句由室外转入室内，动作简净而心理丰富，为结句「望秋月」作过渡——帘虽下而人未眠，目光仍要追寻那轮秋月，无奈入室而痴情难遣，正是宫怨题材中写「欲断还连」的妙笔。

The third line writes the woman at last returning indoors and lowering the crystal curtain; then lowers holds infinite helplessness. Then has the sense of retreating, returning; writing she is not voluntarily entering, but the night dew too cold, compelled to withdraw. Lowers writes letting the curtain fall; the curtain dropping, as if to shut out the autumn night outside, in truth wishing to cut off the urging chill and the hopeless waiting. The crystal curtain's translucence sets off the dim, lonely heart within; the curtain can be lowered, yet the lovesick grievance cannot. This line turns from outdoors to indoors, the action spare yet the psychology rich, preparing the closing gaze at the autumn moon - the curtain lowered yet the woman not asleep, her gaze still seeking that autumn moon; helpless to enter, yet the obsession unappeased - precisely the exquisite stroke of writing want-to-break-yet-bound in palace grievance.

玲珑望秋月

And through its fretwork gazes at the autumn moon.

隔着玲珑剔透的帘隙，痴痴地望着那一弯秋月。

Through its lattice she gazes at the autumn moon.

结句以景结情，是全诗的点睛之笔。「玲珑」形容水晶帘之空明剔透，以物之玲珑反衬心之孤寂，景愈美而情愈哀；「望秋月」写女子隔着帘隙痴望秋月，不写她望什么、想什么，而望月怀远之意自明。秋月是圆满清冷之物，望月者却孤独无依，月愈明而人愈孤，以乐景写哀情，一倍增其哀。全诗至此戛然而止，不着一怨字，而怨情弥漫于帘外月华之间，含蓄蕴藉，余味无穷。此句「望」字收束全篇的动作链：立阶、入室、下帘、望月，一个痴情女子彻夜不眠的形象由此完成，其命运与心事皆留白于月下，正是「不著一字，尽得风流」的绝唱。

The closing line resolves feeling in scenery, the poem's finishing stroke. Limpid describes the crystal curtain's clear lattice; using the object's limpidity to set off the heart's solitude, the fairer the scenery the sadder the feeling. Gazing at the autumn moon writes the woman gazing through the curtain's lattice at the autumn moon; not writing what she gazes at, what she thinks, yet the longing through gazing is self-evident. The autumn moon is round and cold; the gazer is alone and unpropped; the brighter the moon, the lonelier the woman; using fair scenery to write grief doubles the grief. The poem here stops short, not one word of grievance, yet resentment pervades the moonlight beyond the curtain, reserved and pregnant, the aftertaste endless. This line's gaze gathers the whole action chain: standing on the steps, entering the room, lowering the curtain, gazing at the moon; the image of one obsessed woman sleepless all night is here completed, her fate and heart left in blankness under the moon - precisely the unmatched song of not one word disclosed, yet all the charm attained.

Study

Word focus

侵 Means 'seep, invade'; it writes how the dew unknowingly wets the silken hose, at once the physical cool and the long, deep standing—a keen, alert stroke. 「夜久侵罗袜」之「侵」字，是全诗炼字的精警处。侵本指侵入、渐进，此处写露水不知不觉间浸透罗袜，兼有物理与心理两层意涵：物理上，写夜露渐浓、寒意渐重，露水一点一点渗入丝罗，凉意透骨；心理上，「侵」是缓慢的、不知不觉的，恰如深宫怨情之渐积渐深，无从抵挡。此字与「夜久」呼应，写出时间之久——若非久立，露水何能浸透罗袜；与「生白露」相应，写出过程之细——露自「生」而「侵」，夜自深而凉，环环相扣。一个「侵」字，不写人立了多久而久立自见，不写怨有多深而怨意自含，正是李白炼字「一字千钧」的体现，后世评家无不叹赏。

玲珑 Means 'clear and fine, pierced'; it describes the crystal curtain's delicate pattern, through which the moon is framed, concentrating the lonely gaze and giving the close its luminous, lingering clarity. 「玲珑望秋月」之「玲珑」二字，形容水晶帘之空明剔透、光影流动，是全诗以物衬情的关键词。帘之玲珑，本应带来明丽之感，此处却反衬帘内人之孤寂：帘愈晶莹，人愈黯淡；物愈美好，心愈凄凉。同时，「玲珑」暗写月光透过帘隙的细碎光影，为「望秋月」铺设视觉前提——隔着玲珑的帘子望月，月光被帘隙切成碎影，正如相思被现实阻隔而不得圆满。此二字还兼写望月人之情态：痴望出神，目光澄澈如帘，人月相对，物我两忘。以景之玲珑写情之幽独，以物之明净写人之痴绝，是李白善用形容词营造意境、于不经意处见功力的典型。

玉阶怨