第三十八回 · 太子潛歸 The Prince Steals Home — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

太子潛歸 The Prince Steals Home

卻què說shuō那nà烏wū雞jī國guó王wáng太tài子zǐ自zì別bié大dà聖shèng，不bù多duō時shí，回huí至zhì城chéng中zhōng。果guǒ然rán不bù奔bēn朝cháo門mén，不bù敢gǎn報bào傳chuán宣xuān詔zhào，徑jìng至zhì後hòu宰zǎi門mén首shǒu，見jiàn幾jǐ個gè太tài監jiān在zài那nà裡lǐ把bǎ守shǒu。見jiàn太tài子zǐ來lái，不bù敢gǎn阻zǔ滯zhì，讓ràng他tā進jìn去qù了le。好hǎo太tài子zǐ，夾jiā一yì夾jiā馬mǎ，撞zhuàng入rù裡lǐ面miàn，忽hū至zhì錦jǐn香xiāng亭tíng下xià。只zhǐ見jiàn那nà正zhèng宮gōng娘niáng娘niang坐zuò在zài錦jǐn香xiāng亭tíng上shàng，兩liǎng邊biān有yǒu數shù十shí個gè嬪pín妃fēi掌zhǎng扇shàn，那nà娘niáng娘niang倚yǐ雕diāo欄lán兒er流liú淚lèi哩li。你nǐ道dào他tā流liú淚lèi怎zěn的de？原yuán來lái他tā四sì更gēng時shí也yě做zuò了le一yí夢mèng，記jì得dé一yí半bàn，含hán糊hú了le一yí半bàn，沉chén沉chén思sī想xiǎng。却què说shuō那nà乌wū鸡jī国guó王wáng太tài子zǐ自zì别bié大dà圣shèng，不bù多duō时shí，回huí至zhì城chéng中zhōng。果guǒ然rán不bù奔bēn朝cháo门mén，不bù敢gǎn报bào传chuán宣xuān诏zhào，径jìng至zhì后hòu宰zǎi门mén首shǒu，见jiàn几jǐ个gè太tài监jiān在zài那nà里lǐ把bǎ守shǒu。见jiàn太tài子zǐ来lái，不bù敢gǎn阻zǔ滞zhì，让ràng他tā进jìn去qù了le。好hǎo太tài子zǐ，夹jiā一yì夹jiā马mǎ，撞zhuàng入rù里lǐ面miàn，忽hū至zhì锦jǐn香xiāng亭tíng下xià。只zhǐ见jiàn那nà正zhèng宫gōng娘niáng娘niang坐zuò在zài锦jǐn香xiāng亭tíng上shàng，两liǎng边biān有yǒu数shù十shí个gè嫔pín妃fēi掌zhǎng扇shàn，那nà娘niáng娘niang倚yǐ雕diāo栏lán儿er流liú泪lèi哩li。你nǐ道dào他tā流liú泪lèi怎zěn的de？原yuán来lái他tā四sì更gēng时shí也yě做zuò了le一yí梦mèng，记jì得dé一yí半bàn，含hán糊hú了le一yí半bàn，沉chén沉chén思sī想xiǎng。

逐句解 Line by line

卻què說shuō那nà烏wū雞jī國guó王wáng太tài子zǐ自zì別bié大dà聖shèng，不bù多duō時shí，回huí至zhì城chéng中zhōng。却què说shuō那nà乌wū鸡jī国guó王wáng太tài子zǐ自zì别bié大dà圣shèng，不bù多duō时shí，回huí至zhì城chéng中zhōng。

Now the crown prince of the Wuji kingdom, having taken his leave of the Great Sage, in no long while came back into the city.

卻說 is the storyteller clearing his throat. It means roughly 'now, to take up the tale,' and it marks a change of scene the way a cut does in film. 烏雞國, Wuji, means something close to 'Black-Cock Kingdom'; its rightful king was drowned three years ago, and the prince has only just parted from Wukong — the 大聖, the Great Sage — out at the hunt. In 太子 the 子 keeps its full tone, zǐ, because it means 'son and heir' and is not the light noun-ending.

果guǒ然rán不bù奔bēn朝cháo門mén，不bù敢gǎn報bào傳chuán宣xuān詔zhào，徑jìng至zhì後hòu宰zǎi門mén首shǒu，見jiàn幾jǐ個gè太tài監jiān在zài那nà裡lǐ把bǎ守shǒu。果guǒ然rán不bù奔bēn朝cháo门mén，不bù敢gǎn报bào传chuán宣xuān诏zhào，径jìng至zhì后hòu宰zǎi门mén首shǒu，见jiàn几jǐ个gè太tài监jiān在zài那nà里lǐ把bǎ守shǒu。

True to his word he did not make for the court gate, nor dare have his coming announced, but went straight to the Rear Steward's Gate, where several eunuchs stood on watch.

A palace has a front door and a tradesmen's entrance, and the prince chooses the tradesmen's entrance. 後宰門 — 宰 read zǎi — is the rear gate used for household traffic, and he takes it to avoid the 朝門 (cháo), the formal court gate, where his arrival would have to be announced. Wukong had told him to come home unnoticed. 那裡 here just means 'there,' with 那 as the pointing nà.

見jiàn太tài子zǐ來lái，不bù敢gǎn阻zǔ滯zhì，讓ràng他tā進jìn去qù了le。见jiàn太tài子zǐ来lái，不bù敢gǎn阻zǔ滞zhì，让ràng他tā进jìn去qù了le。

Seeing the prince arrive, they dared not hold him back, and let him pass inside.

太子 again keeps 子 at zǐ. The little 了 at the end is le, which does no more than round the action off: they let him through, and that was that.

好hǎo太tài子zǐ，夾jiā一yì夾jiā馬mǎ，撞zhuàng入rù裡lǐ面miàn，忽hū至zhì錦jǐn香xiāng亭tíng下xià。好hǎo太tài子zǐ，夹jiā一yì夹jiā马mǎ，撞zhuàng入rù里lǐ面miàn，忽hū至zhì锦jǐn香xiāng亭tíng下xià。

The fine prince gave his horse a squeeze of the knees, dashed on in, and came of a sudden below the Brocade-Fragrance Pavilion.

夾一夾馬 is a rider's gesture caught exactly — a squeeze of the knees against the horse's flanks, the vernacular equivalent of putting your foot down. 錦香亭, the 'Brocade-Fragrance Pavilion,' is the queen's own garden retreat, which is why he heads there and nowhere else.

只zhǐ見jiàn那nà正zhèng宮gōng娘niáng娘niang坐zuò在zài錦jǐn香xiāng亭tíng上shàng，兩liǎng邊biān有yǒu數shù十shí個gè嬪pín妃fēi掌zhǎng扇shàn，那nà娘niáng娘niang倚yǐ雕diāo欄lán兒er流liú淚lèi哩li。只zhǐ见jiàn那nà正zhèng宫gōng娘niáng娘niang坐zuò在zài锦jǐn香xiāng亭tíng上shàng，两liǎng边biān有yǒu数shù十shí个gè嫔pín妃fēi掌zhǎng扇shàn，那nà娘niáng娘niang倚yǐ雕diāo栏lán儿er流liú泪lèi哩li。

There he saw the principal consort, the queen herself, seated upon the Brocade-Fragrance Pavilion, some dozens of palace ladies holding fans to either side, while the lady leaned against the carved railing and wept.

The camera pans up and finds her crying. 正宮娘娘 is the principal palace consort, the reigning queen — the same 嫡母 the opening poem told us to question. 數 is shù, 'several.' 扇 is shàn, the fan being held, not shān, the verb 'to fan' (which in other contexts means to whip up a crowd). And the 兒 of 雕欄兒 is the light northern ending er, not the standalone noun 兒 (ér), 'child.'

你nǐ道dào他tā流liú淚lèi怎zěn的de？你nǐ道dào他tā流liú泪lèi怎zěn的de？

And why, you ask, was she weeping?

你道…怎的 — 'and why, do you suppose?' The narrator turns and speaks straight to the audience, a habit left over from the days when this was told aloud in a teahouse and the teller wanted you leaning forward.

原yuán來lái他tā四sì更gēng時shí也yě做zuò了le一yí夢mèng，記jì得dé一yí半bàn，含hán糊hú了le一yí半bàn，沉chén沉chén思sī想xiǎng。原yuán来lái他tā四sì更gēng时shí也yě做zuò了le一yí梦mèng，记jì得dé一yí半bàn，含hán糊hú了le一yí半bàn，沉chén沉chén思sī想xiǎng。

It turned out that she too, at the fourth watch, had dreamed a dream — half of it she remembered, half had gone blurred — and she sat sunk in brooding thought.

Both of them dreamed, at the same hour, and each remembers only half. 四更 (更 read gēng) is the fourth night-watch, roughly one to three in the morning — the very hour the drowned king appeared to Tripitaka in the chapter before. The matching dreams tie mother and son together before either knows it. 記得 takes 得 as dé, 'to retain, to hold in mind.'

總評 Commentary

The story resumes by following the prince home, and the narrator's craft is on display: the throat-clearing 卻說, the secret entry by the back gate, the eye travelling from the guarded threshold up to the weeping queen on the pavilion. We are shown her grief before we are told its cause, and the cause turns out to be a dream — which pulls her inner life straight into the machinery of the plot.

That she 'too' (也) has dreamed, and at the fourth watch exactly, rhymes with the drowned king's appeal to Tripitaka in the previous chapter. Mother and son are each holding half a dream. The chapter's work will be to fit the halves together, and to let one wife's knowledge of one husband become the thing that unmasks a demon.

Wuji's 'Black-Cock' name and its stolen throne have long invited a second reading: a false king in the true king's seat is the mind under the rule of delusion. On that reading the prince's furtive return is the first movement of repair — knowledge slipping back into the palace by a side door.