古砚说/An Old Ink-stone
许獬(Xu Xie)
余家有古砚，往年得之友人所遗者，受而置之，当一砚之用，不知其为古也。已而有识者旦：“此五代，宋时物业，古矣，宜谨宝藏之，勿令损毁。”予闻诸言，亦从而宝之，不暇辨其为真五代宋与否。
我家有方古砚，是过去因友人的赠送所得到的，接受了后就一直放在那里，当作一方（普通）的砚台使用着，不知道它是一方（珍贵）的古砚。不久有能辨识古物的人告诉我：“这是五代、宋时的古董，年代很久了，应该小心的把它当作珍宝一样收藏着，不要让它受损和毁坏了。”我听到了这样的劝告后，也就依从了他的话把（这方砚）当作了宝贝。但没时间来辨识它是否真的是五代、宋代是的物件。
I have an old ink-stone, given me some years ago by a friend, which I kept out for ordinary use, unaware how old it was. Then a connoisseur told me, “This dates from the Five Dynasties or Song Dynasty (1). You should treasure it as an antique and not let it get damaged.” After hearing that I did treasure it, but never had the time to verify whether it was a Five-dynasties or Song-dynasty stone.
虽然，斯物而真五代、宋也，当时人亦仅以当一砚之用耳。岂知其必不毁必至于今而为古耶？盖至于今，而后知其为五代宋也，不知其在五代宋时，所宝为周秦汉魏以上物者，视此又奚如乎？而又不知其以周秦汉魏以上物，视周秦汉魏以上人，其人自视又奚如？
虽然这样，这器物如果真的是五代、宋时的东西，当初的人也只仅仅把它当作一个砚台来使用罢了，哪里知道一定不能毁坏、还一定要把它传到现在而成为一件古物呢？传到现在，然后才知道它是五代、宋时（的宝物），不知道它在五代、宋时，那些把周、秦、汉、魏以上时期的器物当作珍宝的人，对这块（五代、宋时的）砚台又如何（看待）呢？但又不知道那些把周、秦、汉、魏以上时期的器物，拿来给周、秦、汉、魏以上时期的人看，那时期的人看这些器物有怎样呢？
However, even if this really was a Five-dynasties or Song stone, the men of those days would have used it as an ordinary ink-stone. How could they know that it would escape destruction and come down to the present time as an antique? Now that it has come down to us we know that it dates from the Five Dynasties or Song, but not how it would have been regarded by the men of those times, who treasured relics of the Zhou, Qin, Han and Wei dynasties (2). Nor do we know how the men of Zhou, Qin, Han and Wei would have regarded objects which belonged to their own times.
人见世之熙熙者：沉酣于纷华绮丽之乐，奔走于权贵要津之门，搴裳濡足，被谬辱而不知羞。于是有一人焉，出而矫之：卓然以道自重，以澹泊自守，以古先琴书图画器物玩好自娱，命之日好古。故凡名能好古者，必非庸俗人也。以其非庸俗人之所好，则庸俗人亦从而效之。于是士之射利求进者，必穷极其所无，以谄事权贵要津；权贵要津亦时出其所有必夸士；而士之慕为古而不知务者，亦每与世竞逐，必尽效其所有而后快。
人们看到世上那些和和乐乐的人，沉醉于奢华艳丽的享乐中，在权贵和地位显赫的人的门前来回奔跑，卑躬屈膝的样子，遭受羞辱却不知道羞耻。这时，有一个人站出来改变这种风气，高高直立守道自重，凭淡泊的心态守住自己的操守，拿古代先人琴书图画、器物爱好来娱乐自己，并且美其名叫“好古”。所以大凡能名之曰 “好古”的人，一定不是平庸世俗的人。因为那不是平庸世俗的人所喜欢的，那么那些平庸世俗的人也就追随并模仿着他们。于是读书人中那些追求财利求得上进的人，一定想竭尽办法拿出权贵们没有的东西，来巴结侍奉那些权贵要人；权贵要人也时时拿出自己的器物的在读书人中夸耀。可是那些羡慕“好古”却不知追求什么的读书人，也每每与世人竞争角逐，一定要仿效他们所拥有的器物而后快。
This world, as we can see, is full of people hustling about and indulging in luxury and licence, who tuck up their robes and wet their feet in their hurry to call on the great, and suffer slights without any sense of shame. If a man disapproves of this and hold aloof, finding all his delight in old lyres, books, paintings and other objects, he is dubbed an antiquary. An antiquary cannot be vulgar; and since his tastes differ from those of the vulgar, the vulgar imitate them. Thereupon the men out for profit and advancement do their best to collect curiosities to curry favour with great nobles; great nobles display those they possess to impress men; and the scholars with nothing to do but admire antiques join in the contest too, not resting content till they have equaled the other men’s collection.
噫嘻！是非真能好古也，特与庸俗人同好而已。夫既与庸俗人同好矣，而犹哓哓然窃好吾之名，以求自异于庸俗，不知其名则是，而其意则非。
唉！这不是真能爱好古物，只不过与平庸世俗的人趣味相同罢了。既然与平庸世俗的人爱好相同，可是还要吵嚷着要拥有好古的名声，来显示与那些平庸世俗的人不一样。不知道他们的名声是这样，而他们真实想法却不是这样的。
But these are not true antiquaries, they merely share the tastes of the vulgar. So if they still brag and pose as antiquaries to mark themselves different from the vulgar, they may be so in name but not in fact.
吾之所谓好古者：学其道，为其文，思其人而不得见，徘徊上下，庶几得其手泽之所存而以玩焉，则恍然如见其人也，是以好之而不厌。故夫古之为好者，非以其物，以其人也。如以其物而已矣，今亦何以异古哉！夫苟不惟其物惟其人，则吾亦可以为古人矣。安知千百世之下，不以好古者好吾，而惟古之好，亦已惑矣。
我所说的好古的人，想学习（先人或前辈）的道义，写他们那样的文章，思念他们的人却不能相见，上下徘徊，期望只能得到他们的遗墨、遗物来保存把玩，就好像恍然见到他们真人一样，因此喜好而从不满足。所以古代的那些“好古”的人，不是因为他们留下的器物，而是他们的为人。
To my mind, an antiquary is one who studies the teachings of the ancients, writes in their style and wishes he could have known them. Since this is impossible, he searches high and low for things that have passed through their hands and takes pleasure in these because they conjure up the men of old—this is why his enjoyment of them never palls. For it is the men of old whom antiquaries love, not the things they used. If it were only the latter, what difference is there between things ancient and modern? Now since I admire not the objects but the men, I can become a man of the old type myself; and for all I know, hundreds of generations to come, antiquaries may admire me too. What folly it would be, then, to spurn what is ours and admire nothing but what is ancient.
予观今世之所好，大率类是。盖所谓名是而意则非者也。不能尽述，述其近似者，作古砚说。
我看当今诗人所爱好的，大都像这样。不能详尽阐述，只能表述相近似的，就写了一篇《古砚说》。
Most of today’s fashions appear to me of this sort—one thing in name, but quite another in fact. As such cases are too numerous to mention, I have written about an old ink-stone to convey something of my meaning.
(1)Five Dynasties: 907-960, Song Dynasty: 960-1279
(2)Zhou, Qin, Han and Wei dynasties: from twelfth century BC to third century AD.
来源：中国文学出版社
