七聖稱號 The Seven Great Sages
你看那猴王得勝歸山，那七十二洞妖王與那六弟兄，俱來賀喜，在洞天福地，飲樂無比。他卻對六弟兄說：「小弟既稱齊天大聖，你們亦可以大聖稱之。」內有牛魔王忽然高叫道：「賢弟言之有理，我即稱做平天大聖。」蛟魔王道：「我稱做覆海大聖。」鵬魔王道：「我稱混天大聖。」獅狔王道：「我稱移山大聖。」獼猴王道：「我稱通風大聖。」𤟹狨王道：「我稱驅神大聖。」此時七大聖自作自為，自稱自號，耍樂一日，各散訖。你看那猴王得胜归山，那七十二洞妖王与那六弟兄，俱来贺喜，在洞天福地，饮乐无比。他却对六弟兄说：「小弟既称齐天大圣，你们亦可以大圣称之。」内有牛魔王忽然高叫道：「贤弟言之有理，我即称做平天大圣。」蛟魔王道：「我称做覆海大圣。」鹏魔王道：「我称混天大圣。」狮狔王道：「我称移山大圣。」猕猴王道：「我称通风大圣。」𤟹狨王道：「我称驱神大圣。」此时七大圣自作自为，自称自号，耍乐一日，各散讫。
逐句解 Line by line
See now the Monkey King, victorious, return to his mountain, where the demon-kings of the seventy-two caves and his six sworn brothers all came to offer congratulations, and in the grotto-heaven of blessings they drank and made merry beyond compare.
你看 takes 看 as kàn; the 六弟兄 are Wukong's six sworn brothers, allies from before his trip to Heaven; 飲樂 takes 樂 as lè, "pleasure," not yuè, "music."
He then said to his six brothers, "Since your little brother styles himself Great Sage Equal to Heaven, you too may each take the title of Great Sage."
稱 throughout this passage is chēng, "to style oneself, to call." And with one sentence the self-titling stops being personal and becomes a franchise.
Among them the Bull Demon King suddenly cried out, "Worthy brother, what you say is right — I shall style myself Great Sage Pacifying Heaven."
牛魔王, the Bull Demon King, takes the lead with 平天大聖, "Great Sage Pacifying Heaven." Remember him: many chapters from now he returns as one of the pilgrimage's most formidable enemies, and this cheerful drinking session is where the novel first plants him.
The Flood-Dragon Demon King said, "I shall style myself Great Sage Overturning the Sea."
蛟魔王, the Flood-Dragon Demon King, takes 覆海大聖, Great Sage Overturning the Sea.
The Roc Demon King said, "I shall style myself Great Sage Confounding Heaven."
鵬魔王, the Roc Demon King, takes 混天大聖, Great Sage Confounding Heaven.
The Lion-Lynx King said, "I shall style myself Great Sage Moving Mountains."
A textual oddity worth flagging. The 世德堂本 writes 獅狔王, with 狔 read nǐ, where this brother is generally known as 獅駝王, the Lion-Camel King. The character most likely stands in for 猊 (ní), the lion element in 狻猊. His title is 移山大聖, Great Sage Moving Mountains. We keep what the edition prints.
The Macaque King said, "I shall style myself Great Sage Penetrating the Winds."
獼猴王, the Macaque King, takes 通風大聖, Great Sage Penetrating the Winds.
The Snub-Nosed-Monkey King said, "I shall style myself Great Sage Driving the Spirits."
The last brother is written 𤟹狨王. The rare character 𤟹, read yú, sits in front of 狨 (róng), a snub-nosed monkey; his title is 驅神大聖, Great Sage Driving the Spirits.
At this the Seven Great Sages did just as they pleased, named and titled themselves at will, made merry for a day, and then each dispersed.
The narrator's dry summary, and the sharpest line in the passage: 自作自為，自稱自號 — they did as they pleased and named themselves as they pleased. Four 自s in eight characters, in case the reader missed the point, and the 七大聖, the Seven Great Sages, are complete. 為 is wéi; 耍樂 takes 樂 as lè; 一日 takes yí; 散 is sàn.
The short celebration scene turns the chapter's theme of the self-conferred title into a whole fellowship. Flush with victory, Wukong invites his six sworn brothers to do as he has done, and each in turn claims a 大聖 title of cosmic reach: Pacifying Heaven, Overturning the Sea, Confounding Heaven, Moving Mountains, Penetrating the Winds, Driving the Spirits. The narrator's deadpan summary — 自作自為，自稱自號, they did as they pleased and named themselves at will — says exactly what the titles are worth. Nothing has been conferred. Everything has been announced.
Two things here repay a second look. The 牛魔王 who takes the lead will come back, many chapters on, as one of the pilgrimage's hardest enemies — a seed planted in passing at a drinking party. And the list itself is the chapter's logic in miniature: where Heaven assigns rank downward from the throne, this brotherhood mints it from below, a parody court of seven self-made Great Sages. For the inner-alchemical reader the multiplication is the point — an inflated 心猿 does not stay single; it breeds likenesses of itself, one ego ratifying the next. This day of revelry is the high-water mark of Wukong's self-assertion, and from here the chapter turns to how Heaven will absorb, rather than break, the whole riot of names.