《人间词话》英译（一百零三）

读《会真记》者，恶张生之薄幸，而恕其奸非。读《水浒传》者，恕宋江之横暴，而责其深险。此人人之所同也。故艳词可作，唯万不可作儇薄语。龚定庵诗云：“偶赋凌云偶倦飞，偶然闲慕遂初衣。偶逢锦瑟佳人问，便说寻春为汝归。”其人之凉薄无行，跃然纸墨间。余辈读耆卿、伯可词，亦有此感。视永叔、希文小词何如耶？

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In reading Hui chen chi (Encounter with a pure one) we may hate student Chang’s heartlessness while at the same time excusing his illicit love affair [with Ying-ying]. In reading Shui hu chuan we may excuse Sung Chiang’s impetuous act of violence [against his mistress] while at the same time blaming him for acting treacherously [against Li K’uei]. In this we are all agreed. Therefore it is permissible to write love poems (yen-tz’u) but definitely not permissible to express fickleness in one’s affections. Kung Tzu-chen wrote a poem:

I casually announced that I would climb the clouds high in officialdom,

But just as casually grew tired of flying.

Thus casually for idleness fond, I resumed my old life.

And when by chance I met a beauty with elegant zither who asked me, ‘Why?’

I lightly replied, ‘In search of spring I returned for you’.

His callousness and bad taste fairly leap out from the page. We, in our generation, get the same feeling when reading the tz’u of Liu Yung and K’ang Yu-chih. How can they compare with the little tz’u of Ouyang Hisu and Fan Chuang-yen?