第三十八回 · 凱歌還城 A Song of Triumph Back to the City — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

凱歌還城 A Song of Triumph Back to the City

行xíng者zhě才cái按àn雲yún頭tóu，對duì太tài子zǐ道dào：「殿diàn下xià請qǐng回huí，路lù上shàng已yǐ有yǒu物wù了le，你nǐ自zì收shōu去qù。」太tài子zǐ見jiàn他tā在zài半bàn空kōng中zhōng弄nòng此cǐ神shén通tōng，如rú何hé不bú信xìn，只zhǐ得dé叩kòu頭tóu拜bài別bié。出chū山shān門mén傳chuán了le令lìng，教jiào軍jūn士shì們men回huí城chéng。只zhǐ見jiàn那nà路lù傍páng果guǒ有yǒu無wú限xiàn的de野yě物wù，軍jūn士shì們men不bú放fàng鷹yīng犬quǎn，一yí個gè個gè俱jù著zhuó手shǒu擒qín捉zhuō喝hè采cǎi，俱jù道dào是shì千qiān歲suì殿diàn下xià的de洪hóng福fú，怎zěn知zhī是shì老lǎo孫sūn的de神shén功gōng。你nǐ聽tīng凱kǎi歌gē聲shēng唱chàng，一yì擁yōng回huí城chéng。行xíng者zhě才cái按àn云yún头tóu，对duì太tài子zǐ道dào：「殿diàn下xià请qǐng回huí，路lù上shàng已yǐ有yǒu物wù了le，你nǐ自zì收shōu去qù。」太tài子zǐ见jiàn他tā在zài半bàn空kōng中zhōng弄nòng此cǐ神shén通tōng，如rú何hé不bú信xìn，只zhǐ得dé叩kòu头tóu拜bài别bié。出chū山shān门mén传chuán了le令lìng，教jiào军jūn士shì们men回huí城chéng。只zhǐ见jiàn那nà路lù傍páng果guǒ有yǒu无wú限xiàn的de野yě物wù，军jūn士shì们men不bú放fàng鹰yīng犬quǎn，一yí个gè个gè俱jù着zhuó手shǒu擒qín捉zhuō喝hè采cǎi，俱jù道dào是shì千qiān岁suì殿diàn下xià的de洪hóng福fú，怎zěn知zhī是shì老lǎo孙sūn的de神shén功gōng。你nǐ听tīng凯kǎi歌gē声shēng唱chàng，一yì拥yōng回huí城chéng。

逐句解 Line by line

行xíng者zhě才cái按àn雲yún頭tóu，對duì太tài子zǐ道dào：「殿diàn下xià請qǐng回huí，路lù上shàng已yǐ有yǒu物wù了le，你nǐ自zì收shōu去qù。」行xíng者zhě才cái按àn云yún头tóu，对duì太tài子zǐ道dào：「殿diàn下xià请qǐng回huí，路lù上shàng已yǐ有yǒu物wù了le，你nǐ自zì收shōu去qù。」

The Pilgrim then brought down his cloud and said to the prince: 'Your Highness may return now — there is already game on the road; go gather it yourself.'

按雲頭 is to press the cloud-head down, the standard way of saying a flier has landed. 太子: 子 = zǐ; 了 = le.

太tài子zǐ見jiàn他tā在zài半bàn空kōng中zhōng弄nòng此cǐ神shén通tōng，如rú何hé不bú信xìn，只zhǐ得dé叩kòu頭tóu拜bài別bié。太tài子zǐ见jiàn他tā在zài半bàn空kōng中zhōng弄nòng此cǐ神shén通tōng，如rú何hé不bú信xìn，只zhǐ得dé叩kòu头tóu拜bài别bié。

The prince, seeing him work such magic in mid-air, could hardly disbelieve, and could only kowtow and take his leave.

After watching a man do that in mid-air, disbelief is not really an option. 弄此神通: to work such spirit-power. 只得, could only (得 = dé). 太子: 子 = zǐ; 半空中: 中 = zhōng.

出chū山shān門mén傳chuán了le令lìng，教jiào軍jūn士shì們men回huí城chéng。出chū山shān门mén传chuán了le令lìng，教jiào军jūn士shì们men回huí城chéng。

He went out the mountain gate, passed the order, and had the soldiers return to the city.

傳令, to pass an order down the line. 教軍士們 has 教 as jiào in its 'have someone do something' sense.

只zhǐ見jiàn那nà路lù傍páng果guǒ有yǒu無wú限xiàn的de野yě物wù，軍jūn士shì們men不bú放fàng鷹yīng犬quǎn，一yí個gè個gè俱jù著zhuó手shǒu擒qín捉zhuō喝hè采cǎi，俱jù道dào是shì千qiān歲suì殿diàn下xià的de洪hóng福fú，怎zěn知zhī是shì老lǎo孫sūn的de神shén功gōng。只zhǐ见jiàn那nà路lù傍páng果guǒ有yǒu无wú限xiàn的de野yě物wù，军jūn士shì们men不bú放fàng鹰yīng犬quǎn，一yí个gè个gè俱jù着zhuó手shǒu擒qín捉zhuō喝hè采cǎi，俱jù道dào是shì千qiān岁suì殿diàn下xià的de洪hóng福fú，怎zěn知zhī是shì老lǎo孙sūn的de神shén功gōng。

And indeed, along the roadside there was game without end; the soldiers, without loosing a single hawk or hound, one and all set their hands to seizing it and raised a cheer, all declaring it the great good fortune of His Highness the Prince — little knowing it was the magic art of old Sun.

The trick lands perfectly. 無限的野物, game without end; 俱著手擒捉, everyone setting hands to it, where 著手 (著 = zhuó) means to get down to a job. 千歲殿下, 'His Highness of a Thousand Years,' is the standard form of address for a crown prince — the emperor got ten thousand, the heir a thousand. The soldiers put the windfall down to their prince's luck, and the narrator leans in to tell us whose luck it really was. 那 = nà.

你nǐ聽tīng凱kǎi歌gē聲shēng唱chàng，一yì擁yōng回huí城chéng。你nǐ听tīng凯kǎi歌gē声shēng唱chàng，一yì拥yōng回huí城chéng。

You should hear the song of triumph they sang as they thronged back into the city.

凱歌 is a song of triumph, sung coming home from a victory. 一擁回城: they crowd back into the city in a mass.

總評 Commentary

Wukong's stagecraft comes off exactly as designed. The soldiers find the road strewn with game, gather it up bare-handed, and — in a nice comic irony — put the whole windfall down to their prince's 'great good fortune,' while the narrator leans over their shoulder to tell us it was the magic art of old Sun. The prince re-enters his city not in disgrace but in triumph, alibi intact.

The passage is a study in managing appearances. The demon rules by a false show; the pilgrims answer with a benign false show of their own, and the novel enjoys the symmetry without any hand-wringing. The soldiers' ignorant cheer — crediting human luck for what unseen powers arranged — also lands a gentle joke about how the mighty come by their reputations.

With the prince safely home, the chapter closes its palace-and-hunt movement and turns to the pilgrims' own lodgings, where Wukong's restless conscience about the legality of demon-catching opens a very different and characteristically argumentative scene.