《人间词话》英译（八十四）

《衍波词》之佳者，颇似贺方回。虽不及容若，要在锡、其年之上。近人词如《复堂词》之深婉，《疆村词》之隐秀，皆在半塘老人上。疆村学梦窗而情味较梦窗反胜。盖有临川、庐陵之高华，而济以白石之疏越者。学人之词，斯为极则。然古人自然神妙处，尚未见及。

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The best poems in Yen-po tz’u are somewhat similar to those of Ho chu. Though they cannot compare with those of Na-lan Hsing-te, they should be placed above those of the Chekiang poets. The tz’u of more recent poets, such as T’an Hsien, which are so deep and at the same time charming, and Chu Tsu-mou, which are subtle and at the same time so artistic, all stand above those of Wang P’eng-yun. Chu Tsu-mou imitated Wu Wen-ying but far surpassed him in [expression of] emotions and [beauty of] flavor (ch’ing-wei). That is to say, his tz’u have the loftiness and elegance of Yen Shu and Ouyang Hsiu yet at the same time are relieved by the penetrating clearness [of structure] which characterizes Chiang K’uei’s poetry. Among the tz’u of imitators his are of the highest standard; yet they were never able to achieve the naturalness and spiritual excellence of the ancients.