《人间词话》英译（六十三）

“枯藤老树昏鸦。小桥流水平沙。古道西风瘦马。夕阳西下。断肠人在天涯。”此元人马东篱《天净沙》小令也。寥寥数语，深得唐人绝句妙境。有元一代词家，皆不能办此也。

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Dry reeds, aged trees, dusky crows

A little bridge spanning a flowing stream, a level stretch of sand.

On the old path the west wind chills the bony horse.

Sun setting in the west

A man full of heartache there on the horizon.

This is a little song to the pattern of ‘T’ien ching sha’ by the Yuan poet, Ma Chih-yuan. A slight few words, yet their depth attains the wxquisite state (miao-ching) of a T’ang quatrain. There was not a single Yuan dynasty tz’u writer who could achieve this.