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金銀奈河
The Golden, Silver, and Nai Bridges
太宗聽說，心中驚慘。進前又走不多時，見一夥鬼卒各執幢幡，路傍跪下道：「橋梁使者來接。」判官喝令起去，上前引著太宗，從金橋而過。太宗又見那一邊有一座銀橋，橋上行幾個忠孝賢良之輩，公平正大之人，亦有幢幡接引；那壁廂又有一橋，寒風滾滾，血浪滔滔，號泣之聲不絕。太宗問道：「那座橋是何名色？」判官道：「陛下，那叫做奈河橋。若到陽間，切須傳記。那橋下都是些：太宗听说，心中惊惨。进前又走不多时，见一伙鬼卒各执幢幡，路傍跪下道：「桥梁使者来接。」判官喝令起去，上前引著太宗，从金桥而过。太宗又见那一边有一座银桥，桥上行几个忠孝贤良之辈，公平正大之人，亦有幢幡接引；那壁厢又有一桥，寒风滚滚，血浪滔滔，号泣之声不绝。太宗问道：「那座桥是何名色？」判官道：「陛下，那叫做奈河桥。若到阳间，切须传记。那桥下都是些：
逐句解 Line by line
太宗聽說，心中驚慘。
太宗听说，心中惊惨。
When Taizong heard this, his heart was struck with dread and grief.
驚慘 stricken and appalled. 中 zhōng.
進前又走不多時，見一夥鬼卒各執幢幡，路傍跪下道：「橋梁使者來接。」
进前又走不多时，见一伙鬼卒各执幢幡，路傍跪下道：「桥梁使者来接。」
Going forward a little while, they saw a band of ghost-soldiers, each holding pennants, who knelt by the road and said, 'The Bridge-Wardens have come to receive you.'
鬼卒 the rank-and-file demons. 橋梁使者 the 'bridge envoys,' wardens who conduct souls across.
判官喝令起去，上前引著太宗，從金橋而過。
判官喝令起去，上前引著太宗，从金桥而过。
The magistrate shouted at them to rise and be gone, then came forward and led Taizong across by the golden bridge.
引著 durative zhe. 金橋 the Golden Bridge, reserved for the sovereign and the virtuous.
太宗又見那一邊有一座銀橋，橋上行幾個忠孝賢良之輩，公平正大之人，亦有幢幡接引；
太宗又见那一边有一座银桥，桥上行几个忠孝贤良之辈，公平正大之人，亦有幢幡接引；
Taizong then saw, off to one side, a silver bridge, upon which walked several of the loyal and filial, the worthy and good, the fair and upright, with pennants likewise conducting them across;
銀橋 the Silver Bridge, for the righteous dead. 忠孝賢良 / 公平正大, the moral categories that determine which bridge a soul may cross. 行 xíng.
那壁廂又有一橋，寒風滾滾，血浪滔滔，號泣之聲不絕。
那壁厢又有一桥，寒风滚滚，血浪滔滔，号泣之声不绝。
and on the other side was yet another bridge, where cold winds rolled and waves of blood surged, and the sound of wailing never ceased.
血浪滔滔 'billows of blood surging' — the dreadful third bridge, the Nai.
太宗問道：「那座橋是何名色？」
太宗问道：「那座桥是何名色？」
Taizong asked, 'What is that bridge called?'
名色 'name and kind.' 那 here demonstrative, nà.
判官道：「陛下，那叫做奈河橋。若到陽間，切須傳記。那橋下都是些：
判官道：「陛下，那叫做奈河桥。若到阳间，切须传记。那桥下都是些：
The magistrate said, 'Your Majesty, that is called the Nai River Bridge. When you reach the world of light, be sure to record it. Beneath that bridge are none but these:'
奈河橋 (Nàihé qiáo), the Bridge over the River Nai, a fixture of Chinese underworld belief. 切須傳記 'be sure to record it,' framing the tour as testimony to be carried back. 都 dōu, 'all.'
總評 Commentary
The three bridges literalize moral desert as topography: a golden bridge for the sovereign, a silver for the righteous, and the blood-choked Nai for all the rest. The magistrate's charge to Taizong — 「若到陽間，切須傳記」 — is telling: the emperor is being made a witness, sent back not only to live but to testify, and the tour of hell thereby acquires its didactic purpose within the novel's larger design.