第三十八回 · 太子陳情 The Prince Lays Out His Case — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

太子陳情 The Prince Lays Out His Case

太tài子zǐ聞wén言yán，撒sā手shǒu脫tuō身shēn，攀pān鞍ān上shàng馬mǎ。那nà娘niáng娘niáng一yì把bǎ扯chě住zhù道dào：「孩hái兒ér，你nǐ有yǒu甚shén事shì，話huà不bù終zhōng就jiù走zǒu？」太tài子zǐ跪guì在zài面miàn前qián道dào：「母mǔ親qīn，不bù敢gǎn說shuō。今jīn日rì早zǎo朝cháo，蒙méng欽qīn差chāi架jià鷹yīng逐zhú犬quǎn，出chū城chéng打dǎ獵liè。偶ǒu遇yù東dōng土tǔ駕jià下xià來lái的de個gè取qǔ經jīng聖shèng僧sēng，有yǒu大dà徒tú弟dì乃nǎi孫sūn行xíng者zhě，極jí善shàn降xiáng妖yāo。原yuán來lái我wǒ父fù王wáng死sǐ在zài御yù花huā園yuán八bā角jiǎo琉liú璃lí井jǐng內nèi，這zhè全quán真zhēn假jiǎ變biàn父fù王wáng，侵qīn了le龍lóng位wèi。今jīn夜yè三sān更gēng，父fù王wáng託tuō夢mèng，請qǐng他tā到dào城chéng捉zhuō怪guài。孩hái兒ér不bù敢gǎn盡jìn信xìn，特tè來lái問wèn母mǔ。母mǔ親qīn才cái說shuō出chū這zhè等děng言yán語yǔ，必bì然rán是shì個gè妖yāo精jīng。」太tài子zǐ闻wén言yán，撒sā手shǒu脱tuō身shēn，攀pān鞍ān上shàng马mǎ。那nà娘niáng娘niáng一yì把bǎ扯chě住zhù道dào：「孩hái儿ér，你nǐ有yǒu甚shén事shì，话huà不bù终zhōng就jiù走zǒu？」太tài子zǐ跪guì在zài面miàn前qián道dào：「母mǔ亲qīn，不bù敢gǎn说shuō。今jīn日rì早zǎo朝cháo，蒙méng钦qīn差chāi架jià鹰yīng逐zhú犬quǎn，出chū城chéng打dǎ猎liè。偶ǒu遇yù东dōng土tǔ驾jià下xià来lái的de个gè取qǔ经jīng圣shèng僧sēng，有yǒu大dà徒tú弟dì乃nǎi孙sūn行xíng者zhě，极jí善shàn降xiáng妖yāo。原yuán来lái我wǒ父fù王wáng死sǐ在zài御yù花huā园yuán八bā角jiǎo琉liú璃lí井jǐng内nèi，这zhè全quán真zhēn假jiǎ变biàn父fù王wáng，侵qīn了le龙lóng位wèi。今jīn夜yè三sān更gēng，父fù王wáng托tuō梦mèng，请qǐng他tā到dào城chéng捉zhuō怪guài。孩hái儿ér不bù敢gǎn尽jìn信xìn，特tè来lái问wèn母mǔ。母mǔ亲qīn才cái说shuō出chū这zhè等děng言yán语yǔ，必bì然rán是shì个gè妖yāo精jīng。」

逐句解 Line by line

太tài子zǐ聞wén言yán，撒sā手shǒu脫tuō身shēn，攀pān鞍ān上shàng馬mǎ。太tài子zǐ闻wén言yán，撒sā手shǒu脱tuō身shēn，攀pān鞍ān上shàng马mǎ。

At these words the prince let go his hold, freed himself, and swung up into the saddle.

撒手脫身: to let go and pull free. 太子: 子 = zǐ.

那nà娘niáng娘niáng一yì把bǎ扯chě住zhù道dào：「孩hái兒ér，你nǐ有yǒu甚shén事shì，話huà不bù終zhōng就jiù走zǒu？」那nà娘niáng娘niáng一yì把bǎ扯chě住zhù道dào：「孩hái儿ér，你nǐ有yǒu甚shén事shì，话huà不bù终zhōng就jiù走zǒu？」

The lady seized him with one hand and said: 'My child, what is the matter with you, that you would leave before your words are done?'

話不終: before his words were finished. 那 = nà; 孩兒 = ér; 甚事 = shén ('what matter').

太tài子zǐ跪guì在zài面miàn前qián道dào：「母mǔ親qīn，不bù敢gǎn說shuō。太tài子zǐ跪guì在zài面miàn前qián道dào：「母mǔ亲qīn，不bù敢gǎn说shuō。

The prince knelt before her and said: 'Mother, I dare not speak of it.'

The prince's ritual reluctance precedes a full disclosure. 太子: 子 = zǐ.

今jīn日rì早zǎo朝cháo，蒙méng欽qīn差chāi架jià鷹yīng逐zhú犬quǎn，出chū城chéng打dǎ獵liè。今jīn日rì早zǎo朝cháo，蒙méng钦qīn差chāi架jià鹰yīng逐zhú犬quǎn，出chū城chéng打dǎ猎liè。

'This morning at the early court I was charged with the imperial commission to fly the hawks and course the hounds, and went out of the city to hunt.'

早朝: the dawn court audience (朝 = cháo). 蒙欽差: to be favored with an imperial commission — 差 = chāi ('to dispatch, commission'). 架鷹逐犬: to fly hawks and course hounds.

偶ǒu遇yù東dōng土tǔ駕jià下xià來lái的de個gè取qǔ經jīng聖shèng僧sēng，有yǒu大dà徒tú弟dì乃nǎi孫sūn行xíng者zhě，極jí善shàn降xiáng妖yāo。偶ǒu遇yù东dōng土tǔ驾jià下xià来lái的de个gè取qǔ经jīng圣shèng僧sēng，有yǒu大dà徒tú弟dì乃nǎi孙sūn行xíng者zhě，极jí善shàn降xiáng妖yāo。

'By chance I met a holy monk sent from the court of the Land of the East to fetch the scriptures, whose senior disciple, one Sun the Pilgrim, is exceedingly skilled at subduing demons.'

取經聖僧: the scripture-seeking holy monk (Tripitaka). 孫行者: Sun the Pilgrim (行 = xíng). 極善降妖: highly skilled at subduing demons — 降 = xiáng ('to subdue'), not jiàng ('to descend').

原yuán來lái我wǒ父fù王wáng死sǐ在zài御yù花huā園yuán八bā角jiǎo琉liú璃lí井jǐng內nèi，這zhè全quán真zhēn假jiǎ變biàn父fù王wáng，侵qīn了le龍lóng位wèi。原yuán来lái我wǒ父fù王wáng死sǐ在zài御yù花huā园yuán八bā角jiǎo琉liú璃lí井jǐng内nèi，这zhè全quán真zhēn假jiǎ变biàn父fù王wáng，侵qīn了le龙lóng位wèi。

'It emerges that my royal father died within the eight-cornered glazed-tile well of the imperial garden, and that this Quanzhen adept, falsely transformed into my father-king, has usurped the dragon-throne.'

八角琉璃井: the octagonal glazed-tile well where the true king was drowned (Ch.37). 全真: the Quanzhen ('Complete Perfection') Daoist order, the guise the demon wears. 侵了龍位: usurped the dragon(-throne).

今jīn夜yè三sān更gēng，父fù王wáng託tuō夢mèng，請qǐng他tā到dào城chéng捉zhuō怪guài。今jīn夜yè三sān更gēng，父fù王wáng托tuō梦mèng，请qǐng他tā到dào城chéng捉zhuō怪guài。

'Tonight at the third watch my father-king came to him in a dream and begged him to come to the city and seize the fiend.'

三更: the third night-watch (roughly 11 p.m.–1 a.m.). 託夢: to entrust a message in a dream — the king's plea to Tripitaka in Ch.37.

孩hái兒ér不bù敢gǎn盡jìn信xìn，特tè來lái問wèn母mǔ。孩hái儿ér不bù敢gǎn尽jìn信xìn，特tè来lái问wèn母mǔ。

'Your child dared not wholly believe it, and so came expressly to ask my mother.'

不敢盡信: dared not fully credit it — 盡 = jìn (wholly, GLOBAL reading). 孩兒 = ér.

母mǔ親qīn才cái說shuō出chū這zhè等děng言yán語yǔ，必bì然rán是shì個gè妖yāo精jīng。」母mǔ亲qīn才cái说shuō出chū这zhè等děng言yán语yǔ，必bì然rán是shì个gè妖yāo精jīng。」

'And now that my mother has spoken words such as these, it must surely be a demon.'

The prince closes his case: the queen's testimony of the cooled marriage confirms the demon. 妖精: a demon/goblin.

總評 Commentary

The prince lays out the whole plot as he now understands it — the hunt, the meeting with the pilgrim, the drowned king, the Quanzhen impostor, the dream-summons — in a single compact deposition. The novel lets the reader hear the case assembled from the character's side, mirroring the dream-revelation already witnessed in Ch.37.

The queen's testimony is the last piece. Where the monks had the king's word and the prince had his father's token, the mother supplies the one proof from within the marriage; her account of the cooled love is what lets the prince declare, with certainty, 必然是個妖精 — 'it must surely be a demon.'

Naming the impostor a 全真 (Quanzhen) adept is pointed: the novel repeatedly stages Daoist alchemists as false claimants to power and sanctity, foils to the Buddhist pilgrimage. The usurper is not merely a monster but a religious counterfeit, which sharpens the chapter's concern with telling the crooked from the upright.