原文 Original text
繁體 Traditional
Reader's edition
白虎殿舉哀
Mourning in the White-Tiger Hall
卻說那唐朝駕下有徐茂公、秦叔寶、胡敬德、段志玄、馬三寶、程咬金、高士廉、李世勣、房玄齡、杜如晦、蕭瑀、傅奕、張道源、張士衡、王珪等兩班文武，俱保著那東宮太子與皇后、嬪妃、宮娥、侍長，都在那白虎殿上舉哀。一壁廂議傳哀詔，要曉諭天下，欲扶太子登基。時有魏徵在傍道：「列位且住，不可，不可。假若驚動州縣，恐生不測。且再按候一日，我主必還魂也。」下邊閃上許敬宗道：「魏丞相言之甚謬。自古云：『潑水難收，人逝不返。』你怎麼還說這等虛言，惑亂人心，是何道理？」魏徵道：「不瞞許先生說，下官自幼得授仙術，推算最明，管取陛下不死。」却说那唐朝驾下有徐茂公、秦叔宝、胡敬德、段志玄、马三宝、程咬金、高士廉、李世𪟝、房玄龄、杜如晦、萧瑀、傅奕、张道源、张士衡、王珪等两班文武，俱保著那东宫太子与皇后、嫔妃、宫娥、侍长，都在那白虎殿上举哀。一壁厢议传哀诏，要晓谕天下，欲扶太子登基。时有魏征在傍道：「列位且住，不可，不可。假若惊动州县，恐生不测。且再按候一日，我主必还魂也。」下边闪上许敬宗道：「魏丞相言之甚谬。自古云：『泼水难收，人逝不返。』你怎么还说这等虚言，惑乱人心，是何道理？」魏征道：「不瞒许先生说，下官自幼得授仙术，推算最明，管取陛下不死。」
逐句解 Line by line
卻說那唐朝駕下有徐茂公、秦叔寶、胡敬德、段志玄、馬三寶、程咬金、高士廉、李世勣、房玄齡、杜如晦、蕭瑀、傅奕、張道源、張士衡、王珪等兩班文武，俱保著那東宮太子與皇后、嬪妃、宮娥、侍長，都在那白虎殿上舉哀。
却说那唐朝驾下有徐茂公、秦叔宝、胡敬德、段志玄、马三宝、程咬金、高士廉、李世𪟝、房玄龄、杜如晦、萧瑀、傅奕、张道源、张士衡、王珪等两班文武，俱保著那东宫太子与皇后、嫔妃、宫娥、侍长，都在那白虎殿上举哀。
Now under the Tang court there were the two ranks of civil and military officers — Xu Maogong, Qin Shubao, Hu Jingde, Duan Zhixuan, Ma Sanbao, Cheng Yaojin, Gao Shilian, Li Shiji, Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui, Xiao Yu, Fu Yi, Zhang Daoyuan, Zhang Shiheng, Wang Gui, and the rest — all of whom, together with the crown prince of the Eastern Palace, the empress, the consorts, the palace maids, and the senior attendants, were keeping mourning in the White-Tiger Hall.
The roll of Taizong's historical ministers and generals. 徐茂公 (Xu Maogong) and 李世勣 (Li Shiji) are, in history, one and the same man (Li Ji), here listed separately. 東宮太子 the heir apparent; 子 zǐ. 白虎殿 the White-Tiger Hall, where the bier lay. On the simplified side, 勣 renders as 𪟝 (U+2A7DD), an Ext-B graph.
一壁廂議傳哀詔，要曉諭天下，欲扶太子登基。
一壁厢议传哀诏，要晓谕天下，欲扶太子登基。
On one hand they deliberated issuing a proclamation of mourning, to make it known throughout the realm, and meant to set the crown prince upon the throne.
哀詔 an edict announcing a sovereign's death. 曉諭 to notify, to proclaim to. 子 zǐ.
時有魏徵在傍道：「列位且住，不可，不可。假若驚動州縣，恐生不測。且再按候一日，我主必還魂也。」
时有魏征在傍道：「列位且住，不可，不可。假若惊动州县，恐生不测。且再按候一日，我主必还魂也。」
Then Wei Zheng, standing by, said, 'My lords, hold — it may not be, it may not be. Should we alarm the prefectures and districts, some mishap might arise. Let us wait one day more: my sovereign will surely return to life.'
按候 to hold off and wait. 還魂 huán hún, to return to life.
下邊閃上許敬宗道：「魏丞相言之甚謬。自古云：『潑水難收，人逝不返。』你怎麼還說這等虛言，惑亂人心，是何道理？」
下边闪上许敬宗道：「魏丞相言之甚谬。自古云：『泼水难收，人逝不返。』你怎么还说这等虚言，惑乱人心，是何道理？」
From below, Xu Jingzong stepped forth and said, 'Prime Minister Wei speaks great nonsense. As the old saying goes, “Spilled water cannot be gathered up; the departed do not return.” How can you still utter such empty words, throwing men's hearts into confusion? What sense is there in it?'
丞相 xiàng, prime minister. 潑水難收，人逝不返 a proverb on the irreversibility of death. 甚謬 shèn, 'greatly absurd.'
魏徵道：「不瞞許先生說，下官自幼得授仙術，推算最明，管取陛下不死。」
魏征道：「不瞒许先生说，下官自幼得授仙术，推算最明，管取陛下不死。」
Wei Zheng said, 'I will not deceive you, Master Xu: since my youth I have been taught the immortals' arts, and my reckonings are most clear. I warrant Your Majesty will not die.'
得授仙術 'received instruction in the arts of the immortals'; 得 dé. 管取 'to guarantee.' Wei Zheng's occult foreknowledge marks him, in the novel, as more than a mere minister.
總評 Commentary
The narrative cuts back to the world above, where the court, believing the emperor dead, prepares to enthrone the heir. The scene turns on the opposition between Xu Jingzong's worldly common sense — 'spilled water cannot be gathered up' — and Wei Zheng's occult certainty that Taizong will revive. Wei's claim to 仙術, the arts of the immortals, retroactively explains his agency throughout the crisis, from the dream-execution of the dragon to his confident stay of the succession.