第三十一回 · 奎星招罪 The Star-Lord’s Confession — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

奎星招罪 The Star-Lord’s Confession

玉yù帝dì道dào：「奎kuí木mù狼láng，上shàng界jiè有yǒu無wú邊biān的de勝shèng景jǐng，你nǐ不bú受shòu用yòng，卻què私sī走zǒu一yì方fāng，何hé也yě？」奎kuí宿xiù叩kòu頭tóu奏zòu道dào：「萬wàn歲suì，赦shè臣chén死sǐ罪zuì。那nà寶bǎo象xiàng國guó王wáng公gōng主zhǔ，非fēi凡fán人rén也yě。他tā本běn是shì披pī香xiāng殿diàn侍shì香xiāng的de玉yù女nǚ，因yīn欲yù與yǔ臣chén私sī通tōng，臣chén恐kǒng點diǎn污wū了le天tiān宮gōng勝shèng境jìng。他tā思sī凡fán先xiān下xià界jiè去qù，托tuō生shēng於yú皇huáng宮gōng內nèi院yuàn。玉yù帝dì道dào：「奎kuí木mù狼láng，上shàng界jiè有yǒu无wú边biān的de胜shèng景jǐng，你nǐ不bú受shòu用yòng，却què私sī走zǒu一yì方fāng，何hé也yě？」奎kuí宿xiù叩kòu头tóu奏zòu道dào：「万wàn岁suì，赦shè臣chén死sǐ罪zuì。那nà宝bǎo象xiàng国guó王wáng公gōng主zhǔ，非fēi凡fán人rén也yě。他tā本běn是shì披pī香xiāng殿diàn侍shì香xiāng的de玉yù女nǚ，因yīn欲yù与yǔ臣chén私sī通tōng，臣chén恐kǒng点diǎn污wū了le天tiān宫gōng胜shèng境jìng。他tā思sī凡fán先xiān下xià界jiè去qù，托tuō生shēng于yú皇huáng宫gōng内nèi院yuàn。

逐句解 Line by line

玉yù帝dì道dào：「奎kuí木mù狼láng，上shàng界jiè有yǒu無wú邊biān的de勝shèng景jǐng，你nǐ不bú受shòu用yòng，卻què私sī走zǒu一yì方fāng，何hé也yě？」玉yù帝dì道dào：「奎kuí木mù狼láng，上shàng界jiè有yǒu无wú边biān的de胜shèng景jǐng，你nǐ不bú受shòu用yòng，却què私sī走zǒu一yì方fāng，何hé也yě？」

The Jade Emperor said, “Kui the Wood-Wolf, the upper realm has scenes of boundless beauty; these you would not enjoy, but stole away privately to a quarter of the earth — why so?”

無邊勝景 (wú biān shèngjǐng), boundless fair scenery. 私走一方 (sī zǒu yì fāng), to slip away in secret to some region below.

奎kuí宿xiù叩kòu頭tóu奏zòu道dào：「萬wàn歲suì，赦shè臣chén死sǐ罪zuì。奎kuí宿xiù叩kòu头tóu奏zòu道dào：「万wàn岁suì，赦shè臣chén死sǐ罪zuì。

The Kui lodge bowed his head and submitted, “Your Majesty, pardon your servant’s capital crime.

奎宿 (Kuí xiù), the Kui lunar lodge; 宿 read xiù. 赦臣死罪 (shè chén sǐ zuì), to pardon the servant’s deadly offence — a formula of address to the throne.

那nà寶bǎo象xiàng國guó王wáng公gōng主zhǔ，非fēi凡fán人rén也yě。那nà宝bǎo象xiàng国guó王wáng公gōng主zhǔ，非fēi凡fán人rén也yě。

The princess, daughter of the King of Baoxiang, is no mortal woman.

非凡人也 (fēi fánrén yě), is no ordinary mortal. 那 read nà.

他tā本běn是shì披pī香xiāng殿diàn侍shì香xiāng的de玉yù女nǚ，因yīn欲yù與yǔ臣chén私sī通tōng，臣chén恐kǒng點diǎn污wū了le天tiān宮gōng勝shèng境jìng。他tā本běn是shì披pī香xiāng殿diàn侍shì香xiāng的de玉yù女nǚ，因yīn欲yù与yǔ臣chén私sī通tōng，臣chén恐kǒng点diǎn污wū了le天tiān宫gōng胜shèng境jìng。

She was in origin the jade-maiden who tends the incense in the Hall of Spreading Fragrance; because she wished to have secret union with your servant, and I feared to defile the fair precincts of the heavenly palace—

披香殿 (Pīxiāng Diàn), the Hall of Spreading Fragrance, a celestial hall. 侍香玉女 (shì xiāng yùnǚ), the jade-maiden who attends the incense. 點污 (diǎn wū), to sully, to defile.

他tā思sī凡fán先xiān下xià界jiè去qù，托tuō生shēng於yú皇huáng宮gōng內nèi院yuàn。他tā思sī凡fán先xiān下xià界jiè去qù，托tuō生shēng于yú皇huáng宫gōng内nèi院yuàn。

she, yearning for the mortal world, went down first and was reborn within the palace of the king.

思凡 (sī fán), to yearn for the world of mortals — a stock motive for a celestial’s descent. 托生 (tuō shēng), to be reborn, to take mortal birth.

總評 Commentary

The confession recasts the whole preceding drama in a new light. What had seemed a demon’s abduction of an innocent princess proves to be the earthly working-out of a celestial romance: the star-lord and the incense-maiden, forbidden union above, are drawn together below. The revelation retroactively softens the demon’s guilt and complicates the princess’s victimhood, disclosing a prior bond of desire beneath the appearance of captivity.

The device is thoroughly characteristic of the novel’s cosmology, in which earthly entanglements so often turn out to be the sublunary shadow of heavenly affairs, and mortal lives the vehicle of debts and desires contracted among the stars. The star-lord’s careful apportioning of initiative — the maiden wished the union, he feared to defile Heaven, she descended first — both excuses himself and prepares the doctrine of foreordination that the confession will invoke to close the account.