《人间词话》英译（十七）

客观之诗人不可不多阅世，阅世愈深则材料愈丰富、愈变化，《水浒传》、《红楼梦》之作者是也。主观之诗人不必多阅世，阅世愈浅则性情愈真，李后主是也。<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

Objective poets must observe the world as much as possible. The more profound their observation, the richer and more varied will be their material. The authors of Shui hu chuan and Hung lou meng are just such examples. Subjective poets, on the other hand, do not need to observe the world to any great extent. The more superficial their observation the more genuine will be the expression of their own natural feelings. Li Yu was such a poet.