《人间词话》英译（一百二十三）

山谷云：“天下清景，不择贤愚而与之，然吾特疑端为我辈设。”诚哉是言！抑岂独清景而已，一切境界，无不为诗人设。世无诗人，即无此种境界。夫境界之呈于吾心而见于物外者，皆须臾之物。惟诗人能以此须臾之物，镌诸不朽之文字，使读者自得之。遂觉诗人之言，字字为我心中所欲言，而又非我之所能自言，此大诗人之秘妙也。境界有二：有诗人之境界，有常人之境界。诗人之境界，惟诗人能感之而能写之，故读其诗者，亦高举远慕，有遗世之意。而亦有得有不得，且得之者亦各有深浅焉。若夫悲欢离合、羁旅行役之感，常人皆能感之，而惟诗人能写之。故其入于人者至深，而行于世也尤广。（清真）先生之词，属于第二种为多。故宋时别本之多，他无与匹。又和者三家，注者二家。自士大夫以运载妇人女子，莫不知有清真，而种种无稽之言，亦由此以起。然入人之深，乌能如是耶？<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

Huang T’ing-chien said: ‘Though the world’s fine scenery has not been assigned with any special regard for either the worthy or the stupid, I rather suspect that it has been laid out for the sake fo me and my kind.’ What truth lies in these words! Yet is it simply a question of fine scenery alone?

All ching-chieh lies spread out for poets, and without poets there would be no such ching-chieh. Now the ching-chieh which manifests itself in one’s heart and that which is seen in external things is in every case a momentary thing. Only the poet can take this momentary thing and shape it into imperishable language so that the reader may grasp it and thus feel that what the poet has said is word for word what his heart would like to say but is incapable of saying. This is the secret of a great poet. There are two kinds of ching-chieh, that of the poet and that of the ordinary person. The ching-chieh of the poet can only be felt by and described by a poet. Therefore the reader of his poetry is also raised to lofty [heights], longs for that which lies far distant, and is possessed of the idea to go beyond the ordinary world. Yet there are some who can grasp it and some who cannot. Furthermore, among those who grasp it, each has his won level in depth of understanding. When we come to the emotions of sorrow and joy, parting and meeting, constant traveling, or going off to war, ordinary men can all feel them but only the poet can describe them. Therefore, his penetration in human life is extremely profound and his circulation through the world even broader. Chou Pang-yen’s tz’u for the most part fit into the second type. Therefore in Sung times for no other poet were there as many different editions. Furthermore, three poets wrote volumes of tz’u to match his, and there were two commentators of his works. Everyone form high officials to women and girls knew there was a Chou Pang-yen, and because of this all sorts of unfounded stories began to circulate about him. But if he had not penetrated deeply into men’s hearts, could it have been like this?