《人间词话》英译（四十）

问“隔”与“不隔”之别，曰：陶、谢之诗不隔，延年则稍隔矣。东坡之诗不隔，山谷则稍隔矣。“池塘生春草”、“空梁落燕泥”等二句，妙处唯在不隔。词亦如是。即以一人一词论，如欧阳公《少年游》咏春草上半阙云：“阑干十二独凭春，晴碧远连云。千里万里，二月三月，行色苦愁人。””语语都在目前，便是不隔。至云“谢家池上，江淹浦畔。”则隔矣。白石《翠楼吟》：“此地。宜有词仙，拥素云黄鹤，与君游戏。玉梯凝望久，叹芳草、萋萋千里。”便是不隔。至“酒祓清愁，花消英气”，则隔矣。然南宋词虽不隔处，比之前人，自有浅深厚薄之别。

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If I were asked to explain the difference between poetry which is seen through a veil and that which is unobstructed by a veil, I would say the poetry of T’ao Ch’ien and Hsieh Ling-yun is unobstructed by a veil while that of Yen Yen-chih is more as if seen through a veil. The poetry of Su Shih is unobstructed by a veil while that of Huang T’ing-chien is more as if seen though a veil. The excellence of the two lines, ‘Spring grasses come to life beside the pond’, and ‘Swallows drop bits of mud grom the desolate beams’, lies in thir not being obstructed by a veil. In tz’u it is just the same. Let us consider one tz’u by one poet as an example. The first stanza of Ouyang Hsiu’ tz’u to the tune of ‘Shao nien yu’, with subtitle ‘A song of spring grasses’, contains the lines:

Against the twelve zig-zagged railing I lean along in spring,

The clear azure stretches far as the clouds

A thousand li, ten thousand li,

The second month, the third month.

As he prepared for travel what pain saddened my heart.

Each word is right there directly in front of the eyes and thus not obstructed by a veil. But when we come to the lines [in the same poem]:

Beside the pond of Mr. Hsieh

On Chiang Yen’s banks and shores,

we find we are looking through a veil. In Chiang K’uei tz’u to the tune of ‘Ts’ui lou yin’ the lines:

This place was just made for a poet-immortal abounding in white clouds, yellow cranes,

Where we wandered together.

Long and far we gazed from the jade steps

Sighed over the lush, green grass, a thousand li of it,

are not obstructed by a veil. But the lines:

Rely on wine to wash away the sadness

Blossoms to melt the valiant spirit,

are as if seen through a veil. However, among of the tz’u of the Southern Sung,