第二十九回 · 翰林讀書 The Letter Presented and Read — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

翰林讀書 The Letter Presented and Read

三sān藏zàng袖xiù中zhōng取qǔ出chū書shū來lái獻xiàn上shàng。國guó王wáng接jiē了le，見jiàn有yǒu「平píng安ān」二èr字zì，一yì發fā手shǒu軟ruǎn，拆chāi不bù開kāi書shū。傳chuán旨zhǐ宣xuān翰hàn林lín院yuàn大dà學xué士shì上shàng殿diàn讀dú書shū。學xué士shì隨suí即jí上shàng殿diàn。殿diàn前qián有yǒu文wén武wǔ多duō官guān，殿diàn後hòu有yǒu后hòu妃fēi宮gōng女nǚ，俱jù側cè耳ěr聽tīng書shū。學xué士shì拆chāi開kāi朗lǎng誦sòng。上shàng寫xiě著zhe：三sān藏zàng袖xiù中zhōng取qǔ出chū书shū来lái献xiàn上shàng。国guó王wáng接jiē了le，见jiàn有yǒu「平píng安ān」二èr字zì，一yì发fā手shǒu软ruǎn，拆chāi不bù开kāi书shū。传chuán旨zhǐ宣xuān翰hàn林lín院yuàn大dà学xué士shì上shàng殿diàn读dú书shū。学xué士shì随suí即jí上shàng殿diàn。殿diàn前qián有yǒu文wén武wǔ多duō官guān，殿diàn后hòu有yǒu后hòu妃fēi宫gōng女nǚ，俱jù侧cè耳ěr听tīng书shū。学xué士shì拆chāi开kāi朗lǎng诵sòng。上shàng写xiě着zhe：

逐句解 Line by line

三sān藏zàng袖xiù中zhōng取qǔ出chū書shū來lái獻xiàn上shàng。國guó王wáng接jiē了le，見jiàn有yǒu「平píng安ān」二èr字zì，一yì發fā手shǒu軟ruǎn，拆chāi不bù開kāi書shū。三sān藏zàng袖xiù中zhōng取qǔ出chū书shū来lái献xiàn上shàng。国guó王wáng接jiē了le，见jiàn有yǒu「平píng安ān」二èr字zì，一yì发fā手shǒu软ruǎn，拆chāi不bù开kāi书shū。

Tripitaka drew the letter from his sleeve and presented it up. The king received it, and when he saw the two characters 'All is well,' his hands went the weaker for it, and he could not bring himself to open the letter.

Two characters on the outside of the letter break him before he has read a word of the inside. 平安, "safe and well," was written by custom on the outer fold of a family letter, so the recipient would know the worst had not happened before opening it — the Ming equivalent of putting "I'm OK" where it can be seen first. Seeing his daughter's handwriting say it is what finishes him: 一發手軟, "his hands went limper still," and he cannot break the seal. 袖中 takes 中 as zhōng.

傳chuán旨zhǐ宣xuān翰hàn林lín院yuàn大dà學xué士shì上shàng殿diàn讀dú書shū。學xué士shì隨suí即jí上shàng殿diàn。殿diàn前qián有yǒu文wén武wǔ多duō官guān，殿diàn後hòu有yǒu后hòu妃fēi宮gōng女nǚ，俱jù側cè耳ěr聽tīng書shū。學xué士shì拆chāi開kāi朗lǎng誦sòng。上shàng寫xiě著zhe：传chuán旨zhǐ宣xuān翰hàn林lín院yuàn大dà学xué士shì上shàng殿diàn读dú书shū。学xué士shì随suí即jí上shàng殿diàn。殿diàn前qián有yǒu文wén武wǔ多duō官guān，殿diàn后hòu有yǒu后hòu妃fēi宫gōng女nǚ，俱jù侧cè耳ěr听tīng书shū。学xué士shì拆chāi开kāi朗lǎng诵sòng。上shàng写xiě着zhe：

He sent down an order summoning a Grand Academician of the Hanlin Academy to the hall to read the letter. The academician came up at once. Before the hall stood the many officials, civil and military; behind it stood the consorts and palace ladies, all with ears inclined to hear the letter. The academician broke the seal and read aloud. What was written was this:

So the letter is read to him instead, and read properly. A 翰林院大學士, a Grand Academician of the Hanlin Academy, was the most learned literary official at court, and summoning one to read aloud a private note from a daughter turns a family matter into a state occasion. 側耳聽書 is to incline the ear and listen; 上寫著 (著 = zhe) hands over to the text.

總評 Commentary

The passage is built almost entirely out of small physical gestures. The reassurance 平安, "all is well," written by custom on the fold of a family letter, is exactly what disarms the king; the sight of his lost daughter's hand leaves him unable to break his own seal. The novel lingers on that weakness of the hands, a bodily sign of grief become unbearable at the very moment it is being answered.

The reading is then given the full apparatus of a court occasion: a Grand Academician summoned to read aloud, the officials ranged before the hall and the consorts and palace-women behind it, every ear turned. The staging lifts a private letter into a public event, so that when the princess's own words are finally unfolded they fall not on the king alone but on the assembled court — and the grief of the next scene is collective from its first line.