《<金石录>后序》这篇散文自问世后受到国内外诸多学者的关注与解读。英语世界中，除宇文所安的译本外，林语堂先生也曾翻译过该文。而与林语堂以及国内学者不同的是，宇文所安敏锐地捕捉并体验到了李清照在回忆往事层层的复杂心绪，通过细致的文本解读，独辟蹊径地辨析文本的语词，体验其在叙述事件中当事人的内心情绪和情感内涵，进而在英译中将主人公的这种情绪得以重现复原。在宇文所安的《<金石录>后序》译序言中，宇文所安特别提到翻译中时人称代词的问题,“Literally Chinese generally omits pronouns, which are usually clear from context. In Li Qing-zhao’s ‘Epilogue’ , however, this omission creates a significant problem: we cannot tell the first-person plural (‘our collection ’) from the third-person singular (‘his collection’). We can see how the couple’s antiquarian interests gradually passed from a shared pleasure to the husband’s personal obsession, an obsession from which Li Qing-zhao felt increasingly excluded; at a certain point in the translation, it thus seems appropriate to shift from ‘we’ to ‘he’ (Owen,1996: 591).”在这里，译者通过分析认为古汉语一般只有在全文上下分辨不出所指是谁时，文中才会用到人称代词，这种省略人称代词的用法在原文本随处可见，且这种省略也不违背汉语语法规则，对于国内读者来说，也可以大致依据上下文的语境来加以辨别，然而这种省略在英语读者看来，在解读时一方面是结构的不完整，另一方面，在《<金石录>后序》一文中，人称代词的省略必须在英译时将它补足，深入定位人称代词所指向，才有助于向西方读者揭露文本的真实语义。在英译《<金石录>后序》的过程过中，宇文所安通过辨析语义，将原文本中的人称代词重新明晰定位，从而挖掘出作者内心的种种隐秘。在赵德父和李清照初婚的那段时光里，文中满是这对文人伉俪幸福生活的描述，英译文中，宇文所安为传递出夫妇俩相敬如宾的恩爱情深，在人称代词的转换时用到“we”,如在英译这句话时，“相对展玩咀嚼，自谓葛天氏之民也”，原文并无人称主语，但他英译为“we would sit facing one another, rolling them out before us, examining and munching. And we thought ourselves persons of the age of Ge-tian(同上：592).”而后与之形成鲜明对比的是，随着赵德父对金石文物收藏的兴趣大大增加，这种单纯的欢乐渐渐失去了原本他们搜集欣赏把玩这些古物的怡然情致，李清照的心态也日益出现了变化。“后二年，出仕官，便有饭蔬衣练，穷遐方绝域，尽天下古文奇字之志。”“When two years later, he went to take up a post, we lived on rice and vegetables and dressed in common cloth; but he would search out the most remote spots and out-of-the-way places to fulfill his interest in the world’s most ancient writings and unusual script.”这里宇文所安非常明确地把显示赵德父陷入对文物搜集的那种迷恋和热情通过人称代词“he”与“his”表达出来。读到此，普通的读者都能感受到夫妇间对于此的微妙变化。随着书库的建成，这种矛盾变得日益突出，李清照也觉得自己与赵德父之间的感情渐渐疏远，慢慢被他排除在文物收藏的沉溺之中。这种家庭矛盾的反映也通过宇文所安对人称所指的明晰化进而重新定位，从而表露出李清照内心的埋怨情绪。

原文：“如要讲读，即请钥上簿，关出卷帙。或少损污，必惩责揩完涂改，不复向时之坦夷也。是欲求适意，而反取憀憟。余性不耐，始谋食去重肉，衣去重采，首无明珠、翠羽之饰，室无涂金、刺绣之具。遇书史百家，字不刓缺，本不讹谬者，辄市之，储作副本。自来家传周易、左氏传，故两家者流，文字最备。于是几案罗列，枕席枕藉，意会心谋，目往神授，乐在声色狗马之上。

Version: Whenever I wanted to read, I would ask for the key, make a note in the ledger, then take out the books. If one of them was a bit damaged or soiled, it would be my responsibility to repair the spot and copy it out in a neat hand. There was no longer the same ease and casualness as before. This attempt to make things convenient led instead to nervousness and anxiety. I couldn’t bear it. ……Whenever he came upon a history or the work of a major writer, if there was nothing wrong with the printing and no errors in the edition, he would buy it on the spot to have as a second copy.……This was what took his fancy and what occupied his mind, what drew his eyes and what his spirit inclined to; and his joy was greater than the pleasures others had in dancing girls, dogs, or horses.(同上：593)

宇文所安认为，书库建成之后，《<金石录>后序》中人称的问题变得日益敏感，在对往事的追忆记载里，人称代词的省略一方面是掩饰，同时也是用来记载家庭日益凸显的矛盾（宇文所安，2004：101）。这段文字似乎在宣告那种纯真美好场景的结束，宇文所安的译文规避了人称代词的模糊化，明晰了上下文的人称指向，“如要讲读，即请钥上簿”译成“Whenever I wanted to read, I wouldask for the key”, “或少损污，必惩责揩完涂改”对应为“If one of them was a bit damaged or soiled, it would be my responsibility to repair the spot ……”，“余性不耐”则被译成带有强烈语气的“I couldn’t bear it”（我根本无法忍受）,后面的排比句式“took his fancy and what occupied his mind, what drew his eyes and what his spirit inclined to; and his joy was greater than ……”充分给读者传递了“意会心谋，目往神授，乐在声色狗马之上”的那种心境和状态，也深深体现了李清照心理变化的波折以及强化的不舒适感。与宇文所安译文形成鲜明对比的是林语堂的英译，他对这句话的阐释为“we enjoyed them with our eyes and with our minds and planned and discussed the collection……（林语堂，2009：115）”。宇氏译文中人称代词“I”与“his”的引用与之前的“我们”（we）区分开来，且将李清照与赵德父两人和睦恩爱的形象完成了瓦解。