“The Unspoken Grievance: Li Bai’s ‘Complaints'”

Original Text and Translation

“Complaints” (Grievance)

Tang Dynasty

By Li Bai

Translation:

The beautiful woman rolls up her beaded curtain, sitting deeply in her inner chamber with her brows tightly furrowed. All I can see are the tear stains on her cheeks, but I don’t know who she harbors resentment against.

Expanded Explanation for American Readers

Li Bai, a renowned poet of the Tang Dynasty, is celebrated for his evocative and emotionally charged poetry. “Grievance,” or “Complaints,” is a brief yet poignant poem that captures a moment of intense personal sorrow and unspoken emotion. The poem’s simplicity is its strength, using minimalistic imagery to convey deep feelings of melancholy and unresolved resentment.

The poem opens with the image of a beautiful woman who rolls up her beaded curtain. This action of rolling up the curtain signifies a gesture of waiting or longing. The beaded curtain, often used in ancient Chinese homes, separates the inner sanctum from the outside world and is symbolic of the woman’s seclusion and emotional distance.

The next line, “sitting deeply in her inner chamber with her brows tightly furrowed,” adds to the sense of isolation and introspection. The phrase “sitting deeply” suggests a prolonged and contemplative state, while “brows tightly furrowed” conveys the woman’s emotional distress. Her furrowed brows are likened to the delicate and slender moth’s antennae, reflecting the traditional Chinese metaphor for a woman’s beauty and emotional depth.

The final line reveals the core of the poem’s emotional impact: “All I can see are the tear stains on her cheeks, but I don’t know who she harbors resentment against.” The tears on her cheeks signify her sadness and internal conflict, yet the object of her grievance remains unknown. This ambiguity enhances the poem’s emotional depth, leaving the reader to ponder the nature of her sorrow and the reasons behind it.

Li Bai’s use of sparse but evocative imagery invites readers to fill in the emotional gaps with their own interpretations. The focus on the woman’s appearance and her silent tears underscores the theme of unspoken anguish and the difficulty of communicating deep emotional pain.