第四十五回 · 四海龍王 The Dragon Kings of the Four Seas — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

四海龍王 The Dragon Kings of the Four Seas

那nà道dào士shì愈yù加jiā著zháo忙máng，又yòu添tiān香xiāng、燒shāo符fú、念niàn咒zhòu、打dǎ下xià令lìng牌pái。半bàn空kōng中zhōng，又yòu有yǒu四sì海hǎi龍lóng王wáng一yì齊qí擁yōng至zhì。行xíng者zhě當dāng頭tóu喝hè道dào：「敖áo廣guǎng，那nǎ裡lǐ去qù？」那nà敖áo廣guǎng、敖áo順shùn、敖áo欽qīn、敖áo閏rùn上shàng前qián施shī禮lǐ。那nà道dào士shì愈yù加jiā着zháo忙máng，又yòu添tiān香xiāng、烧shāo符fú、念niàn咒zhòu、打dǎ下xià令lìng牌pái。半bàn空kōng中zhōng，又yòu有yǒu四sì海hǎi龙lóng王wáng一yì齐qí拥yōng至zhì。行xíng者zhě当dāng头tóu喝hè道dào：「敖áo广guǎng，那nǎ里lǐ去qù？」那nà敖áo广guǎng、敖áo顺shùn、敖áo钦qīn、敖áo闰rùn上shàng前qián施shī礼lǐ。

逐句解 Line by line

那nà道dào士shì愈yù加jiā著zháo忙máng，又yòu添tiān香xiāng、燒shāo符fú、念niàn咒zhòu、打dǎ下xià令lìng牌pái。那nà道dào士shì愈yù加jiā着zháo忙máng，又yòu添tiān香xiāng、烧shāo符fú、念niàn咒zhòu、打dǎ下xià令lìng牌pái。

The Daoist grew more flustered still, adding incense, burning talismans, chanting spells, and striking down the command-tablet.

那道士: 那 = nà. 著忙: 著 = zháo here, the reading for a state you fall into -- getting flustered, as against holding a thing steady (zhe) or ordering someone about (zhuó). 愈加 "all the more."

半bàn空kōng中zhōng，又yòu有yǒu四sì海hǎi龍lóng王wáng一yì齊qí擁yōng至zhì。半bàn空kōng中zhōng，又yòu有yǒu四sì海hǎi龙lóng王wáng一yì齐qí拥yōng至zhì。

In the mid-air, the Dragon Kings of the Four Seas too came thronging up all together.

半空中: 中 = zhōng. 四海龍王 the Dragon Kings of the Four Seas, who between them hold the world's water. 一齊擁至 "came crowding up as one."

行xíng者zhě當dāng頭tóu喝hè道dào：「敖áo廣guǎng，那nǎ裡lǐ去qù？」行xíng者zhě当dāng头tóu喝hè道dào：「敖áo广guǎng，那nǎ里lǐ去qù？」

Pilgrim called down at them overhead, “Ao Guang, where are you off to?”

當頭: 當 = dāng, overhead. 喝道: 喝 = hè here, to shout -- not hē, to drink, which is the reading it took back at the tasting scene. 那裡去: 那 = nǎ, "where are you off to?" 敖廣 is Ao Guang, Dragon King of the Eastern Sea -- and Wukong greets him by name, in the tone you would use on a colleague you have caught sneaking out early.

那nà敖áo廣guǎng、敖áo順shùn、敖áo欽qīn、敖áo閏rùn上shàng前qián施shī禮lǐ。那nà敖áo广guǎng、敖áo顺shùn、敖áo钦qīn、敖áo闰rùn上shàng前qián施shī礼lǐ。

Ao Guang, Ao Shun, Ao Qin, and Ao Run came forward to make their bows.

那敖廣: 那 = nà. All four brothers: 敖廣 of the East, 敖順 of the North, 敖欽 of the South, 敖閏 of the West.

總評 Commentary

The last of the elemental offices arrives, and it too stops to bow. With the Dragon Kings in hand, Wukong now holds the entire machinery of weather -- and it has been transferred from the immortal's tablet to a monkey's word without one person on the ground noticing.

The detail that carries it is the greeting. 敖廣, where are you off to? He knows the Dragon King of the Eastern Sea by name, on sight, and speaks to him with the easy rudeness of long acquaintance. Readers of the early chapters will remember why: this is the sea he once robbed of its iron cudgel.

Note also the two lives of 喝. Here it is hè, to shout down at somebody. Back at the tasting it was hē, to drink -- which is what the immortals did with the holy water.