《人间词话》英译（六十七）

诗之唐中叶以后，殆为羔雁之具矣。故五代、北宋之诗，佳者绝少，而词则为其极盛时代。即诗词兼擅如永叔、少游者，亦词胜于诗远甚。以其写之于诗者，不若写之于词者之真也。至南宋以后，词亦为羔雁之具，而词亦替矣。此亦文学升降之一关键也。<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

By the time of the mid-T’ang and after [i.e., about 755] shih had virtually become little more than ceremonial objects. Therefore there were very few really superb shih in the Five Dynasties and Norhtern Sung. For tz’u this was the most glorious period of all. As for poets who excelled in both shih and tz’u, like Ouyang Hsiu and Ch’in Kuan, their tz’u far outstripped their shih in excellence. This was because what they wrote in the tz’u form. From the Southern Sung on, tz’u also became little more than ceremonial objects and consequently decayed as a form. This is another key to the rise and fall of literary form.