Canonical Classics ← 第二十六回
第二十六回
sūnkōngsāndǎoqiúfāng
guānshìyīngānquánhuóshù

Sun Wukong Seeks a Cure Among the Three Isles · Guanyin's Sweet Spring Revives the Tree

甘泉活樹
模式 Mode Read Study
拼音 Pinyin Off
字體 Script
原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

甘泉活樹 The Sweet Spring Revives the Tree

xiānmìngshèxiāngànsǎohòuyuánqǐngxiānxíngsānlǎosuíhòusānzàngshīběnguànzhòngxiāndōudàoyuánnèiguānkànshíshùdǎozàixiàkāigēnxiànluòzhījiào:「kōngshēnshǒulái。」xíngzhějiāngzuǒshǒushēnkāijiāngyángliǔzhīzhànchūpíngzhōnggānxíngzhěshǒuxīnhuàledàohuíshēngdejiàofàngzàishùgēnzhīxiàdànkànshuǐchūwéixíngzhěniēzhequántóuwǎngshùgēnxiàchuāizheyǒuqīngquánwāngdào:「shuǐfànxíngzhīyòngpiáoyǎochūshùláicóngtóujiāoxiàrángēnxiāngzhǎngshēngzhīqīngguǒchū。」xíngzhědào:「xiǎodàoshìmenkuàipiáolái。」zhènyuándào:「píndàohuāngshānméiyǒupiáozhǐyǒucházhǎnjiǔbēiyòngdeme?」dào:「dànshìyǎodeshuǐde便biànjiāngláikàn。」xiānmìngxiǎotóngchūyǒuèrsānshícházhǎnshíjiǔzhǎnquèjiānggēnxiàqīngquányǎochūxíngzhějièshāsēngkángshùláidezhōuzhèngyōngshàngjiāngnèigānquánōuōupěngjiāngyángliǔzhīshàngkǒuzhōngyòuniànzhejīngzhòuduōshíjìngyǎochūzhīshuǐjiànshùguǒránjiùqīngyīnsēnshàngyǒuèrshísānrénshēnguǒqīngfēngmíngyuèèrtóngdào:「qiánjiànleguǒzishídiāndǎozhǐshǔdeèrshíèrjīnhuíshēngzěnmeyòuduōle?」xíngzhědào:「『jiǔjiànrénxīn。』qiánlǎosūnzhǐtōulesānluòxiàláishuōzhèbǎoérjièzhǐrǎnglepiānshǒuzǒulefēngxìnzhǐchándàojīncáijiànmíngbái。」dào:「fāngcáiyòngxíngzhīzhězhīdàoxíngxiāngwèiěr。」xiānmìngshèxiāngànsǎohòuyuánqǐngxiānxíngsānlǎosuíhòusānzàngshīběnguànzhòngxiāndōudàoyuánnèiguānkànshíshùdǎozàixiàkāigēnxiànluòzhījiào:「kōngshēnshǒulái。」xíngzhějiāngzuǒshǒushēnkāijiāngyángliǔzhīzhànchūpíngzhōnggānxíngzhěshǒuxīnhuàledàohuíshēngdejiàofàngzàishùgēnzhīxiàdànkànshuǐchūwéixíngzhěniēzhequántóuwǎngshùgēnxiàchuāizheyǒuqīngquánwāngdào:「shuǐfànxíngzhīyòngpiáoyǎochūshùláicóngtóujiāoxiàrángēnxiāngzhǎngshēngzhīqīngguǒchū。」xíngzhědào:「xiǎodàoshìmenkuàipiáolái。」zhènyuándào:「píndàohuāngshānméiyǒupiáozhǐyǒucházhǎnjiǔbēiyòngdeme?」dào:「dànshìyǎodeshuǐde便biànjiāngláikàn。」xiānmìngxiǎotóngchūyǒuèrsānshícházhǎnshíjiǔzhǎnquèjiānggēnxiàqīngquányǎochūxíngzhějièshāsēngkángshùláidezhōuzhèngyōngshàngjiāngnèigānquánōuōupěngjiāngyángliǔzhīshàngkǒuzhōngyòuniànzhejīngzhòuduōshíjìngyǎochūzhīshuǐjiànshùguǒránjiùqīng绿yīnsēnshàngyǒuèrshísānrénshēnguǒqīngfēngmíngyuèèrtóngdào:「qiánjiànleguǒzishídiāndǎozhǐshǔdeèrshíèrjīnhuíshēngzěnmeyòuduōle?」xíngzhědào:「『jiǔjiànrénxīn。』qiánlǎosūnzhǐtōulesānluòxiàláishuōzhèbǎoérjièzhǐrǎnglepiānshǒuzǒulefēngxìnzhǐchándàojīncáijiànmíngbái。」dào:「fāngcáiyòngxíngzhīzhězhīdàoxíngxiāngwèiěr。」


逐句解 Line by line

xiānmìngshèxiāngànsǎohòuyuánqǐngxiānxíngsānlǎosuíhòu xiānmìngshèxiāngànsǎohòuyuánqǐngxiānxíngsānlǎosuíhòu

The Great Immortal at once ordered the incense table set out and the back garden swept, and invited the Bodhisattva to go before, the three elders following after.

設具香案 is to set out an incense table -- the standard preparation before anything sacred happens, and a sign that this is to be a rite rather than a repair job. 先行 is to go ahead, = xíng.

sānzàngshīběnguànzhòngxiāndōudàoyuánnèiguānkànshíshùdǎozàixiàkāigēnxiànluòzhī sānzàngshīběnguànzhòngxiāndōudàoyuánnèiguānkànshíshùdǎozàixiàkāigēnxiànluòzhī

When the Tang Monk's party and the immortals of the abbey had all come into the garden to look, there lay the tree, toppled on the ground — the soil split and the roots laid bare, the leaves fallen and the branches withered.

Two different jobs for land in a single line: 本觀, this abbey, is guàn, while 觀看, to look on, is the verb guān. 倒在地下 is toppled on the ground, = dǎo. The ruin, seen plainly at last, after a whole chapter of being described.

jiào:「kōngshēnshǒulái。」 jiào:「kōngshēnshǒulái。」

The Bodhisattva called, "Wukong, put out your hand."

A small, deliberate touch. She could work the cure herself, and instead she asks for the hand that did the damage.

xíngzhějiāngzuǒshǒushēnkāi xíngzhějiāngzuǒshǒushēnkāi

The pilgrim opened out his left hand.

將左手伸開 is stretched open his left hand, the jiāng that puts the object first. No question, no joke, no argument -- which from Wukong is remarkable in itself.

jiāngyángliǔzhīzhànchūpíngzhōnggānxíngzhěshǒuxīnhuàledàohuíshēngdejiàofàngzàishùgēnzhīxiàdànkànshuǐchūwéi jiāngyángliǔzhīzhànchūpíngzhōnggānxíngzhěshǒuxīnhuàledàohuíshēngdejiàofàngzàishùgēnzhīxiàdànkànshuǐchūwéi

The Bodhisattva dipped her willow-branch in the sweet dew from the vase and traced on the pilgrim's palm a talisman-sign for raising the dead to life; then she bade him lay his hand beneath the tree's roots, watching until water came forth, and take that for the measure.

is to dip. 起死回生的符字 is a talisman-character for raising the dead -- writing as a working technology, the character drawn on the skin doing the actual work. 但看水出為度 is watch until the water comes out and take that as your measure, 為度 being to serve as the mark, = wéi.

xíngzhěniēzhequántóuwǎngshùgēnxiàchuāizheyǒuqīngquánwāng xíngzhěniēzhequántóuwǎngshùgēnxiàchuāizheyǒuqīngquánwāng

The pilgrim closed his fist and pressed it down beneath the roots of the tree, and in a moment a pool of clear spring-water welled up.

捏著拳頭 is clenching his fist, the durative zhe; 揣著 is pressing it in, again zhe. 清泉一汪 is a pool of clear spring-water. The charmed hand calls up the spring -- the sweet spring that gives this passage its name.

dào:「shuǐfànxíngzhīyòngpiáoyǎochūshùláicóngtóujiāoxiàrángēnxiāngzhǎngshēngzhīqīngguǒchū。」 dào:「shuǐfànxíngzhīyòngpiáoyǎochūshùláicóngtóujiāoxiàrángēnxiāngzhǎngshēngzhīqīngguǒchū。」

The Bodhisattva said, "That water must touch no vessel of the Five Phases; scoop it with a jade dipper, raise the tree upright, and pour it down from the top — then of itself the root and bark will knit, leaves grow and sprouts appear, the boughs green and the fruit come forth."

Now the arcane engineering. 五行之器 is a vessel of the Five Phases -- metal, wood, water, fire and earth, the five elemental categories classical Chinese thought sorts the whole world into. Metal is the one that matters here. 根皮相合 is root and bark knitting together, = xiāng; 葉長芽生 is leaves growing and sprouts springing, = zhǎng, to grow. The instructions are precise the way a recipe is precise, and for the same reason.

xíngzhědào:「xiǎodàoshìmenkuàipiáolái。」 xíngzhědào:「xiǎodàoshìmenkuàipiáolái。」

The pilgrim said, "You little Daoist priests — fetch a jade dipper, quick."

小道士們 -- Wukong is back in command of the room the moment the spring appears, ordering the abbey's acolytes about as though he owned the place.

zhènyuándào:「píndàohuāngshānméiyǒupiáozhǐyǒucházhǎnjiǔbēiyòngdeme?」 zhènyuándào:「píndàohuāngshānméiyǒupiáozhǐyǒucházhǎnjiǔbēiyòngdeme?」

Master Zhenyuan said, "This poor priest's humble mountain has no jade dipper — only jade tea-cups and jade wine-cups. Will they do?"

貧道, this poor priest, is a Daoist's standard humble self-reference, the counterpart of a monk's this poor cleric. 可用得麼 is will they do, the toneless de.

dào:「dànshìyǎodeshuǐde便biànjiāngláikàn。」 dào:「dànshìyǎodeshuǐde便biànjiāngláikàn。」

The Bodhisattva said, "So long as they are jade and can scoop the water, they will serve — bring them here and let me see."

舀得水 is able to scoop the water, = de; 取將來 is fetch them here, a directional particle, jiāng. Any jade will serve. It is only metal that is forbidden.

xiānmìngxiǎotóngchūyǒuèrsānshícházhǎnshíjiǔzhǎnquèjiānggēnxiàqīngquányǎochū xiānmìngxiǎotóngchūyǒuèrsānshícházhǎnshíjiǔzhǎnquèjiānggēnxiàqīngquányǎochū

The Great Immortal at once bade the young boys bring out some twenty or thirty tea-cups and forty or fifty wine-cups, and with them scooped up the clear spring from beneath the roots.

And so the sacred water is bailed out with the tea service. 小童子, the young boys, the noun ; 將那根下清泉舀出 is scooped out the clear spring from beneath the roots. Twenty or thirty tea-cups and forty or fifty wine-cups is a wonderfully domestic detail to find in the middle of a miracle.

xíngzhějièshāsēngkángshùláidezhōuzhèngyōngshàngjiāngnèigānquánōuōupěng xíngzhějièshāsēngkángshùláidezhōuzhèngyōngshàngjiāngnèigānquánōuōupěng

The pilgrim, Bajie, and Sha Monk hoisted the tree upright, propped it straight and heaped the soil about it, then bowl by bowl brought the Bodhisattva the sweet spring from the jade vessels.

扛起 is to hoist; 扶得周正 is propped it properly upright, = de; 一甌甌 is bowl after bowl, = ōu. The three disciples do the manual labour, which is the first useful thing they have all done together in this chapter.

jiāngyángliǔzhīshàngkǒuzhōngyòuniànzhejīngzhòu jiāngyángliǔzhīshàngkǒuzhōngyòuniànzhejīngzhòu

The Bodhisattva sprinkled it over, fine and slow, with her willow-branch, chanting the while a scripture-spell.

細細灑上 is sprinkled over fine and slow; 念著經咒 is chanting a scripture-spell, the durative zhe. Water, branch and murmured words together: the whole apparatus of the cure is three things a temple visitor could recognise.

duōshíjìngyǎochūzhīshuǐjiànshùguǒránjiùqīngyīnsēnshàngyǒuèrshísānrénshēnguǒ duōshíjìngyǎochūzhīshuǐjiànshùguǒránjiùqīng绿yīnsēnshàngyǒuèrshísānrénshēnguǒ

In a little while, when all the scooped water had been sprinkled out, the tree was indeed as before — green and lush, its foliage dense and shadowy, and upon it twenty-three ginseng fruits.

青綠葉陰森 is green, its leaves thick and shadowy. And then the count: twenty-three fruits, one more than anybody expected, which is the loose end the next few lines exist to tie off. = shēn.

qīngfēngmíngyuèèrtóngdào:「qiánjiànleguǒzishídiāndǎozhǐshǔdeèrshíèrjīnhuíshēngzěnmeyòuduōle?」 qīngfēngmíngyuèèrtóngdào:「qiánjiànleguǒzishídiāndǎozhǐshǔdeèrshíèrjīnhuíshēngzěnmeyòuduōle?」

The two boys, Clear Wind and Bright Moon, said, "The other day, when the fruit went missing, count as we might we found only twenty-two — now that it's come back to life, how is there one more?"

顛倒 is over and over, = dǎo; 只數得 is could only count, = shǔ, to count. Two different again in one line: 二童子, the two lads, takes the noun , and 果子, fruit, the toneless zi. Clear Wind and Bright Moon are still doing the inventory that started all this.

xíngzhědào:「『jiǔjiànrénxīn。』 xíngzhědào:「『jiǔjiànrénxīn。』

The pilgrim said, "'Time reveals a man's heart.'"

日久見人心, length of days shows a man's heart, is a proverb about waiting for the truth to surface -- usually about character. Wukong applies it to a fruit count, which is either a joke or a very large claim about himself.

qiánlǎosūnzhǐtōulesānluòxiàláishuōzhèbǎoérjièzhǐrǎnglepiānshǒuzǒulefēngxìnzhǐchándàojīncáijiànmíngbái。」 qiánlǎosūnzhǐtōulesānluòxiàláishuōzhèbǎoérjièzhǐrǎnglepiānshǒuzǒulefēngxìnzhǐchándàojīncáijiànmíngbái。」

"The other day old Monkey stole only three; one of them fell to the ground, and the local earth-god said this treasure sinks into the soil it touches. Bajie kept insisting I'd held one back for myself, so the truth got muddled — and only now, at last, is it made plain."

The old bookkeeping error is finally cleared. 土地 is the local earth-god, the humblest rank of deity, who had told them at the time that 遇土而入 -- meeting earth, the fruit goes into it. And here is the accusation that muddied everything: 打了偏手. A 偏手 is a partial hand, and in Ming street language taking one means skimming your own cut off a shared haul. Bajie was not charging Wukong with a clumsy stroke of the mallet; he was charging him with palming a fruit in the divvying-up. 走了風信 is the report going astray. The count came out short, and the missing fruit had simply sunk into the ground.

dào:「fāngcáiyòngxíngzhīzhězhīdàoxíngxiāngwèiěr。」 dào:「fāngcáiyòngxíngzhīzhězhīdàoxíngxiāngwèiěr。」

The Bodhisattva said, "The reason I would not use a vessel of the Five Phases just now is that I knew this thing stands in mutual dread of the Five Phases."

And the reason for the jade cups. 五行之器 is a vessel of the Five Phases, meaning metal, = xíng; 五行相畏 is standing in mutual dread of the Five Phases, = xiāng. This retroactively explains the fruit's two odd habits -- vanishing at the touch of the golden mallet, sinking into the soil where it fell.


總評 Commentary

This is the miracle the whole chapter has moved toward, and the novel stages it with satisfying, almost ritual precision. Guanyin enlists Wukong's own hand, tracing a life-giving talisman on his palm with sweet dew and the willow-branch; his charmed fist calls a spring up from beneath the roots; the tree is heaved upright and the sweet water poured down over it while she sprinkles and chants -- and it stands again, green and whole, with its fruit restored.

The episode is threaded with the pseudo-technical lore the novel loves. The spring must touch no vessel of the Five Phases -- no metal -- because the ginseng fruit stands in mutual dread of the elements, and only jade may hold its water. That bit of five-phases reasoning is of a piece with the alchemical vocabulary running through the chapter, and it retroactively explains the tree's odd behaviour: the fruit that sank into the earth, the growth no ordinary elixir could mend. It also produces the chapter's most enjoyable image, a company of gods bailing out a sacred spring with the abbey's tea-cups and wine-cups because nobody owns a jade dipper.

A last touch resolves an old loose thread. When the revived tree bears twenty-three fruits where only twenty-two had been counted, the discrepancy that has been running since the theft is finally cleared: one fruit had fallen and sunk into the ground, exactly as the local earth-god said at the time, and Bajie's grumbling had muddled the tally. It is small comic bookkeeping, but it is typical of the novel's care to tie off what it has opened, and it lets Wukong close the affair with a proverb.