第三十七回 · 烏雞荒歉 Famine in the Black-Rooster Land — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

烏雞荒歉 Famine in the Black-Rooster Land

三sān藏zàng道dào：「叫jiào做zuò甚shén麼me地dì名míng？」那nà人rén道dào：「不bù瞞mán師shī父fù說shuō，便biàn是shì朕zhèn當dāng時shí創chuàng立lì家jiā邦bāng，改gǎi號hào烏wū雞jī國guó。」三sān藏zàng道dào：「陛bì下xià這zhè等děng驚jīng慌huāng，卻què因yīn甚shén事shì至zhì此cǐ？」那nà人rén道dào：「師shī父fù啊a，我wǒ這zhè裡lǐ五wǔ年nián前qián，天tiān年nián乾gān旱hàn，草cǎo子zi不bù生shēng，民mín皆jiē饑jī死sǐ，甚shèn是shì傷shāng情qíng。」三sān藏zàng聞wén言yán，點diǎn頭tóu笑xiào道dào：「陛bì下xià啊a，古gǔ人rén云yún：『國guó正zhèng天tiān心xīn順shùn。』想xiǎng必bì是shì你nǐ不bù慈cí恤xù萬wàn民mín，既jì遭zāo荒huāng歉qiàn，怎zěn麼me就jiù躲duǒ離lí城chéng郭guō？且qiě去qù開kāi了le倉cāng庫kù，賑zhèn濟jì黎lí民mín，悔huǐ過guò前qián非fēi，重chóng興xīng今jīn善shàn，放fàng赦shè了le那nà枉wǎng法fǎ冤yuān人rén，自zì然rán天tiān心xīn和hé合hé，雨yǔ順shùn風fēng調tiáo。」三sān藏zàng道dào：「叫jiào做zuò甚shén么me地dì名míng？」那nà人rén道dào：「不bù瞒mán师shī父fù说shuō，便biàn是shì朕zhèn当dāng时shí创chuàng立lì家jiā邦bāng，改gǎi号hào乌wū鸡jī国guó。」三sān藏zàng道dào：「陛bì下xià这zhè等děng惊jīng慌huāng，却què因yīn甚shén事shì至zhì此cǐ？」那nà人rén道dào：「师shī父fù啊a，我wǒ这zhè里lǐ五wǔ年nián前qián，天tiān年nián干gān旱hàn，草cǎo子zi不bù生shēng，民mín皆jiē饥jī死sǐ，甚shèn是shì伤shāng情qíng。」三sān藏zàng闻wén言yán，点diǎn头tóu笑xiào道dào：「陛bì下xià啊a，古gǔ人rén云yún：『国guó正zhèng天tiān心xīn顺shùn。』想xiǎng必bì是shì你nǐ不bù慈cí恤xù万wàn民mín，既jì遭zāo荒huāng歉qiàn，怎zěn么me就jiù躲duǒ离lí城chéng郭guō？且qiě去qù开kāi了le仓cāng库kù，赈zhèn济jì黎lí民mín，悔huǐ过guò前qián非fēi，重chóng兴xīng今jīn善shàn，放fàng赦shè了le那nà枉wǎng法fǎ冤yuān人rén，自zì然rán天tiān心xīn和hé合hé，雨yǔ顺shùn风fēng调tiáo。」

逐句解 Line by line

三sān藏zàng道dào：「叫jiào做zuò甚shén麼me地dì名míng？」三sān藏zàng道dào：「叫jiào做zuò甚shén么me地dì名míng？」

Tripitaka said, “And what is the place called?”

甚麼 (shén me) "what."

那nà人rén道dào：「不bù瞞mán師shī父fù說shuō，便biàn是shì朕zhèn當dāng時shí創chuàng立lì家jiā邦bāng，改gǎi號hào烏wū雞jī國guó。」那nà人rén道dào：「不bù瞒mán师shī父fù说shuō，便biàn是shì朕zhèn当dāng时shí创chuàng立lì家jiā邦bāng，改gǎi号hào乌wū鸡jī国guó。」

The man said, “I will not deceive you, Master: it is the very realm I once founded and established, which I renamed the Kingdom of the Black Rooster.”

那 (nà); 當時 (dāng shí) "at that time," 當 = dāng; 改號 (gǎi hào) "changed the title."

三sān藏zàng道dào：「陛bì下xià這zhè等děng驚jīng慌huāng，卻què因yīn甚shén事shì至zhì此cǐ？」三sān藏zàng道dào：「陛bì下xià这zhè等děng惊jīng慌huāng，却què因yīn甚shén事shì至zhì此cǐ？」

Tripitaka said, “Your Majesty being so alarmed and distraught — for what matter have you come to this pass?”

因甚事 (yīn shén shì) "on account of what matter," 甚 = shén (interrogative).

那nà人rén道dào：「師shī父fù啊a，我wǒ這zhè裡lǐ五wǔ年nián前qián，天tiān年nián乾gān旱hàn，草cǎo子zi不bù生shēng，民mín皆jiē饑jī死sǐ，甚shèn是shì傷shāng情qíng。」那nà人rén道dào：「师shī父fù啊a，我wǒ这zhè里lǐ五wǔ年nián前qián，天tiān年nián干gān旱hàn，草cǎo子zi不bù生shēng，民mín皆jiē饥jī死sǐ，甚shèn是shì伤shāng情qíng。」

The man said, “Master, five years ago here the seasons brought a drought; the grass and its seed would not grow, the people all starved to death — a most grievous thing.”

乾旱 (gān hàn) "drought," 乾 = gān (not qián); 草子 (cǎo zi) "grass-seed," suffix zi; 甚是 (shèn shì) "exceedingly," 甚 = shèn (intensifier).

三sān藏zàng聞wén言yán，點diǎn頭tóu笑xiào道dào：「陛bì下xià啊a，古gǔ人rén云yún：『國guó正zhèng天tiān心xīn順shùn。』三sān藏zàng闻wén言yán，点diǎn头tóu笑xiào道dào：「陛bì下xià啊a，古gǔ人rén云yún：『国guó正zhèng天tiān心xīn顺shùn。』

Hearing this, Tripitaka nodded and said with a smile, “Your Majesty, the ancients said: ‘When the realm is upright, the mind of Heaven is compliant.’

國正天心順 a proverbial line: a just realm draws the favour of Heaven.

想xiǎng必bì是shì你nǐ不bù慈cí恤xù萬wàn民mín，既jì遭zāo荒huāng歉qiàn，怎zěn麼me就jiù躲duǒ離lí城chéng郭guō？想xiǎng必bì是shì你nǐ不bù慈cí恤xù万wàn民mín，既jì遭zāo荒huāng歉qiàn，怎zěn么me就jiù躲duǒ离lí城chéng郭guō？

It must be that you failed to cherish and relieve your myriad people; and having met with dearth and famine, how could you then slink away and abandon your city walls?

慈恤 (cí xù) "cherish and relieve"; 荒歉 (huāng qiàn) "dearth, crop-failure"; 城郭 (chéng guō) "the city and its outer wall."

且qiě去qù開kāi了le倉cāng庫kù，賑zhèn濟jì黎lí民mín，悔huǐ過guò前qián非fēi，重chóng興xīng今jīn善shàn，放fàng赦shè了le那nà枉wǎng法fǎ冤yuān人rén，自zì然rán天tiān心xīn和hé合hé，雨yǔ順shùn風fēng調tiáo。」且qiě去qù开kāi了le仓cāng库kù，赈zhèn济jì黎lí民mín，悔huǐ过guò前qián非fēi，重chóng兴xīng今jīn善shàn，放fàng赦shè了le那nà枉wǎng法fǎ冤yuān人rén，自zì然rán天tiān心xīn和hé合hé，雨yǔ顺shùn风fēng调tiáo。」

Rather go and open your granaries, relieve the black-haired folk, repent your former wrongs and revive present good; pardon those wronged by the perversion of law, and of itself the mind of Heaven will be brought into accord, with rains timely and winds temperate.”

重興 (chóng xīng) "revive anew," 重 = chóng; 那 (nà) deictic; 雨順風調 — 風調 (fēng tiáo) "winds temperate," 調 = tiáo. 黎民 (lí mín) "the common people."

總評 Commentary

Tripitaka reads the king’s flight as a moral failure and answers it as a Confucian moralist would: invoking the maxim that a just realm secures Heaven’s compliance, he prescribes the textbook remedy of virtuous rule — open the granaries, relieve the people, pardon the wronged. The advice is sincere and entirely beside the point, for the king’s ruin is supernatural murder, not misgovernment; the dramatic irony is sharpened by the monk’s confident smile.

The drought that opens the tale is the hinge of the whole deception: it is precisely the realm’s desperation for rain that will make the rain-summoning Daoist adept irresistible, and the renaming of the land to the Kingdom of the Black Rooster fixes the arc’s setting.