Listen to this articleyǒu wǒ zhī jìnɡ, wú wǒ zhī jìnɡ 有我之境，无我之境
Scene Involving the Self; Scene Not Involving the Self
近代学者王国维（1877—1927）从物我关系的角度所概括和总结的中国古典诗词的两种审美境界。王国维在其著名的文学理论著作《人间词话》中提出了“境界”概念，认为只有营造出境界的诗词才是上乘之作。王国维不仅把它视为诗词的创作原则，也把它当作批评标准，用“境界”论述诗词的演变，评价作者的得失、作品的优劣、词品的高低。围绕“境界”，他又提出了若干命题，“有我之境，无我之境”就是其中最为重要的一对术语。“有我之境”，就是词作者将自己的主观感情融入文学形象之中，使得文学形象带有强烈的感情色彩；“无我之境”并不是没有感情的融入，只是这种感情冲淡平和，也可以说是作者的情感表达与文学形象形成了契合。在王氏看来，“无我之境”无需刻意雕琢，巧然天成，是艺术追求的最高境界。“境界”说既是王国维文艺批评的出发点，又是其文艺思想的总归宿。
This term refers to the dual character of aesthetic appreciation of classic Chinese poetry highlighted by the early modern scholar Wang Guowei (1877-1927), from the perspective of the relationship between the self and the external world. In his renowned literary theoretic work Poetic Remarks in the Human World, Wang put forward the notion of “the scene (jingjie),” i.e., the creative state of being, arguing that only poetry written to invoke such a state can be deemed excellent work. He regarded this ambience not only as a creative principle of poetry but also a criterion for poetry criticism. Besides, he used the notion to recount the evolution of poetry and to evaluate the taste or merit of a poem and its author. He also raised many propositions concerning the creative state of being. Of these, the most important is the binary term “scene involving the self / scene not involving the self.” “Scene involving the self” means that the author incorporates personal feelings into the literary image he creates, thus imbuing it with a tremendous emotional force. “Scene not involving the self,” on the other hand, does not mean a lack of emotion; rather, the author tempers this emotional force by exercising restraint and achieving a perfect harmony between personal feelings with literary imagery. To him, “without the self in it” is a perfectly natural state of creation, without any need for fabrication or alteration; therefore, it represents the highest level of artistic excellence. Overall, this term marks the starting point of Wang’s literary criticism and the final destination of his literary thought.
引例 Citations：
◎境非独谓景物也。喜怒哀乐，亦人心中之一境界。故能写真景物、真感情者，谓之有境界，否则谓之无境界。（王国维《人间词话》）
（境界并不是仅指景物，喜怒哀乐等情感也是人心中的一种境界。所以能够描写真切的景物、真实的情感的作品，就被称为有境界，否则就称为没有境界。）
What constitutes “the creative state of being” is not only scene but also feelings of joy, anger and sorrow lying deep in one’s heart. Therefore, a literary work which contains true feeling as well as authentic scenery is truly creative, otherwise it is not. (Wang Guowei: Poetic Remarks in the Human World)
◎有有我之境，有无我之境。……有我之境，以我观物，故物皆著我之色彩。无我之境，以物观物，故不知何者为我，何者为物。古人为词，写有我之境者为多，然未始不能写无我之境，此在豪杰之士能自树立耳。（王国维《人间词话》）
（有有我之境，也有无我之境。……有我之境，用我的眼光来观察自然景物，所以景物都笼罩上了我的情感色彩。无我之境，用自然的眼光和心态来观察景物，所以就分不清哪里是我、哪里是景物了。古人写词，能够写出有我之境的人比较多，但并不意味着无我之境就无法达到，这在才华杰出的词人那里正是使自己能独树一帜的地方。）
Poetry can be created with or without an “author” in it… In the former case, the poet beholds natural scene from a personal perspective, coating everything he sees with a subjective color. In the latter case, however, the poet observes external objects and scenery as if he were part of nature, thus eliminating the division between him and his surroundings. Many old-time poets were able to write good poetry with the self in it, but that does not mean that poetry without the self in it is unachievable. Truly talented poets distinguish themselves from the common run exactly in this aspect. (Wang Guowei: Poetic Remarks in the Human World)
