第三十一回 · 前緣註定 A Bond Foreordained — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

前緣註定 A Bond Foreordained

是shì臣chén不bú負fù前qián期qī，變biàn作zuò妖yāo魔mó，占zhàn了le名míng山shān，攝shè他tā到dào洞dòng府fǔ，與yǔ他tā配pèi了le一yì十shí三sān年nián夫fū妻qī。『一yì飲yǐn一yì啄zhuó，莫mò非fēi前qián定dìng。』今jīn被bèi孫sūn大dà聖shèng到dào此cǐ成chéng功gōng。」玉yù帝dì聞wén言yán，收shōu了le金jīn牌pái，貶biǎn他tā去qù兜dōu率shuài宮gōng與yǔ太tài上shàng老lǎo君jūn燒shāo火huǒ，帶dài俸fèng差chāi操cāo，有yǒu功gōng復fù職zhí，無wú功gōng重zhòng加jiā其qí罪zuì。是shì臣chén不bú负fù前qián期qī，变biàn作zuò妖yāo魔mó，占zhàn了le名míng山shān，摄shè他tā到dào洞dòng府fǔ，与yǔ他tā配pèi了le一yì十shí三sān年nián夫fū妻qī。『一yì饮yǐn一yì啄zhuó，莫mò非fēi前qián定dìng。』今jīn被bèi孙sūn大dà圣shèng到dào此cǐ成chéng功gōng。」玉yù帝dì闻wén言yán，收shōu了le金jīn牌pái，贬biǎn他tā去qù兜dōu率shuài宫gōng与yǔ太tài上shàng老lǎo君jūn烧shāo火huǒ，带dài俸fèng差chāi操cāo，有yǒu功gōng复fù职zhí，无wú功gōng重zhòng加jiā其qí罪zuì。

逐句解 Line by line

是shì臣chén不bú負fù前qián期qī，變biàn作zuò妖yāo魔mó，占zhàn了le名míng山shān，攝shè他tā到dào洞dòng府fǔ，與yǔ他tā配pèi了le一yì十shí三sān年nián夫fū妻qī。是shì臣chén不bú负fù前qián期qī，变biàn作zuò妖yāo魔mó，占zhàn了le名míng山shān，摄shè他tā到dào洞dòng府fǔ，与yǔ他tā配pèi了le一yì十shí三sān年nián夫fū妻qī。

It was that your servant, not to fail the appointed tryst, took the form of a fiend, seized a famous mountain, spirited her to a cave-dwelling, and was matched with her as husband and wife for thirteen years.

不負前期 (bù fù qián qī), not to fail a prior appointment or tryst. 攝 (shè), to spirit away by supernatural force. 配夫妻 (pèi fūqī), to be joined as husband and wife.

『一yì飲yǐn一yì啄zhuó，莫mò非fēi前qián定dìng。』『一yì饮yǐn一yì啄zhuó，莫mò非fēi前qián定dìng。』

‘Not a sip nor a peck but is foreordained.’

一飲一啄，莫非前定 (yì yǐn yì zhuó, mòfēi qián dìng), a proverb of predestination: every draught and every morsel is fixed beforehand — nothing befalls by chance.

今jīn被bèi孫sūn大dà聖shèng到dào此cǐ成chéng功gōng。」今jīn被bèi孙sūn大dà圣shèng到dào此cǐ成chéng功gōng。」

Now the Great Sage Sun has come and accomplished the matter.”

成功 (chéng gōng), to bring the affair to its conclusion, to succeed.

玉yù帝dì聞wén言yán，收shōu了le金jīn牌pái，貶biǎn他tā去qù兜dōu率shuài宮gōng與yǔ太tài上shàng老lǎo君jūn燒shāo火huǒ，帶dài俸fèng差chāi操cāo，有yǒu功gōng復fù職zhí，無wú功gōng重zhòng加jiā其qí罪zuì。玉yù帝dì闻wén言yán，收shōu了le金jīn牌pái，贬biǎn他tā去qù兜dōu率shuài宫gōng与yǔ太tài上shàng老lǎo君jūn烧shāo火huǒ，带dài俸fèng差chāi操cāo，有yǒu功gōng复fù职zhí，无wú功gōng重zhòng加jiā其qí罪zuì。

The Jade Emperor, hearing this, took back the golden tablet and demoted him to the Tushita Palace to tend the fire for Lord Lao the Supreme — kept on his stipend but under assignment: with merit, to be restored to office; without, to have his punishment made the heavier.

兜率宮 (Dōulǜ Gōng), the Tushita Palace, abode of Lord Lao (Laozi deified). 帶俸差操 (dài fèng chāi cāo), kept on the payroll under duty-assignment; 差 read chāi. 重加其罪 (zhòng jiā qí zuì), to increase his punishment; 重 read zhòng.

總評 Commentary

The star-lord seals his defence with the proverb of predestination — not a sip nor a peck but is foreordained — folding his thirteen-year truancy into the impersonal workings of fate, and crediting the Great Sage with merely bringing to term what destiny had appointed. The maxim, a commonplace of the novel’s fatalism, absolves all parties at a stroke: the demon of malice, the princess of shame, Wukong of cruelty, since all were but agents of a prior decree.

The Jade Emperor’s sentence is administered in the dry idiom of celestial personnel management — demotion to furnace-duty in the Tushita Palace, retained on stipend, with reinstatement or heavier penalty to follow on his conduct. The punishment is corrective rather than destructive, in keeping with the bureaucratic register that governs the whole recall: the erring star is not annihilated but reassigned, his crime a lapse to be worked off in service.