第五回 · 賺哄真仙 Tricking the true immortal — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

賺哄真仙 Tricking the true immortal

那nà赤chì腳jiǎo大dà仙xiān覿dí面miàn撞zhuàng見jiàn大dà聖shèng，大dà聖shèng低dī頭tóu定dìng計jì，賺zhuàn哄hǒng真zhēn仙xiān，他tā要yào暗àn去qù赴fù會huì，卻què問wèn：「老lǎo道dào何hé往wǎng？」大dà仙xiān道dào：「蒙méng王wáng母mǔ見jiàn招zhāo，去qù赴fù蟠pán桃táo嘉jiā會huì。」大dà聖shèng道dào：「老lǎo道dào不bù知zhī。玉yù帝dì因yīn老lǎo孫sūn觔jīn斗dǒu雲yún疾jí，著zhuó老lǎo孫sūn五wǔ路lù邀yāo請qǐng列liè位wèi，先xiān至zhì通tōng明míng殿diàn下xià演yǎn禮lǐ，後hòu方fāng去qù赴fù宴yàn。」大dà仙xiān是shì個gè光guāng明míng正zhèng大dà之zhī人rén，就jiù以yǐ他tā的de誑kuáng語yǔ作zuò真zhēn，道dào：「常cháng年nián就jiù在zài瑤yáo池chí演yǎn禮lǐ謝xiè恩ēn，如rú何hé先xiān去qù通tōng明míng殿diàn演yǎn禮lǐ，方fāng去qù瑤yáo池chí赴fù會huì？」無wú奈nài，只zhǐ得dé撥bō轉zhuǎn祥xiáng雲yún，徑jìng往wǎng通tōng明míng殿diàn去qù了le。那nà赤chì脚jiǎo大dà仙xiān觌dí面miàn撞zhuàng见jiàn大dà圣shèng，大dà圣shèng低dī头tóu定dìng计jì，赚zhuàn哄hǒng真zhēn仙xiān，他tā要yào暗àn去qù赴fù会huì，却què问wèn：「老lǎo道dào何hé往wǎng？」大dà仙xiān道dào：「蒙méng王wáng母mǔ见jiàn招zhāo，去qù赴fù蟠pán桃táo嘉jiā会huì。」大dà圣shèng道dào：「老lǎo道dào不bù知zhī。玉yù帝dì因yīn老lǎo孙sūn觔jīn斗dǒu云yún疾jí，着zhuó老lǎo孙sūn五wǔ路lù邀yāo请qǐng列liè位wèi，先xiān至zhì通tōng明míng殿diàn下xià演yǎn礼lǐ，后hòu方fāng去qù赴fù宴yàn。」大dà仙xiān是shì个gè光guāng明míng正zhèng大dà之zhī人rén，就jiù以yǐ他tā的de诳kuáng语yǔ作zuò真zhēn，道dào：「常cháng年nián就jiù在zài瑶yáo池chí演yǎn礼lǐ谢xiè恩ēn，如rú何hé先xiān去qù通tōng明míng殿diàn演yǎn礼lǐ，方fāng去qù瑶yáo池chí赴fù会huì？」无wú奈nài，只zhǐ得dé拨bō转zhuǎn祥xiáng云yún，径jìng往wǎng通tōng明míng殿diàn去qù了le。

逐句解 Line by line

那nà赤chì腳jiǎo大dà仙xiān覿dí面miàn撞zhuàng見jiàn大dà聖shèng，大dà聖shèng低dī頭tóu定dìng計jì，賺zhuàn哄hǒng真zhēn仙xiān，他tā要yào暗àn去qù赴fù會huì，卻què問wèn：「老lǎo道dào何hé往wǎng？」那nà赤chì脚jiǎo大dà仙xiān觌dí面miàn撞zhuàng见jiàn大dà圣shèng，大dà圣shèng低dī头tóu定dìng计jì，赚zhuàn哄hǒng真zhēn仙xiān，他tā要yào暗àn去qù赴fù会huì，却què问wèn：「老lǎo道dào何hé往wǎng？」

The Barefoot Immortal came face to face with the Great Sage. The Great Sage, lowering his head, laid a scheme to gull the true immortal, for he meant to slip in to the feast unseen; and so he asked: 'Where is the venerable one bound?'

覿面 (dí miàn): face to face, with no warning on either side. 賺哄 (zhuàn hǒng) is to gull or take somebody in, and it gives the passage its name. Note the timing — the scheme is invented in the time it takes him to lower his head.

大dà仙xiān道dào：「蒙méng王wáng母mǔ見jiàn招zhāo，去qù赴fù蟠pán桃táo嘉jiā會huì。」大dà仙xiān道dào：「蒙méng王wáng母mǔ见jiàn招zhāo，去qù赴fù蟠pán桃táo嘉jiā会huì。」

The Immortal said: 'By the Queen Mother's gracious summons, I go to attend the fair Peach Feast.'

Two small marks of good manners, and both of them are about to cost him. 蒙 flags a favour received from a superior, and 見招 puts the summons into the passive: to have been called. He is punctilious about who outranks whom, which is exactly the handle Monkey needs.

大dà聖shèng道dào：「老lǎo道dào不bù知zhī。玉yù帝dì因yīn老lǎo孫sūn觔jīn斗dǒu雲yún疾jí，著zhuó老lǎo孫sūn五wǔ路lù邀yāo請qǐng列liè位wèi，先xiān至zhì通tōng明míng殿diàn下xià演yǎn禮lǐ，後hòu方fāng去qù赴fù宴yàn。」大dà圣shèng道dào：「老lǎo道dào不bù知zhī。玉yù帝dì因yīn老lǎo孙sūn觔jīn斗dǒu云yún疾jí，着zhuó老lǎo孙sūn五wǔ路lù邀yāo请qǐng列liè位wèi，先xiān至zhì通tōng明míng殿diàn下xià演yǎn礼lǐ，后hòu方fāng去qù赴fù宴yàn。」

The Great Sage said: 'The venerable one has not heard. Because old Sun's somersault-cloud is swift, the Jade Emperor has ordered old Sun to ride all five roads and invite the assembled lords first to the Hall of Penetrating Brightness to rehearse the ceremony, and only afterward go to the banquet.'

觔斗雲 (jīn dǒu yún) is the somersault-cloud, Monkey's own method of travel, with 斗 at dǒu. 著 here is zhuó, the causative: ordered him to. The lie is well built — it flatters Monkey's speed and gives the Jade Emperor a plausible reason to have chosen him as messenger.

大dà仙xiān是shì個gè光guāng明míng正zhèng大dà之zhī人rén，就jiù以yǐ他tā的de誑kuáng語yǔ作zuò真zhēn，道dào：「常cháng年nián就jiù在zài瑤yáo池chí演yǎn禮lǐ謝xiè恩ēn，如rú何hé先xiān去qù通tōng明míng殿diàn演yǎn禮lǐ，方fāng去qù瑤yáo池chí赴fù會huì？」大dà仙xiān是shì个gè光guāng明míng正zhèng大dà之zhī人rén，就jiù以yǐ他tā的de诳kuáng语yǔ作zuò真zhēn，道dào：「常cháng年nián就jiù在zài瑶yáo池chí演yǎn礼lǐ谢xiè恩ēn，如rú何hé先xiān去qù通tōng明míng殿diàn演yǎn礼lǐ，方fāng去qù瑶yáo池chí赴fù会huì？」

The Immortal, being an open and upright man, took his lying words for truth and said: 'In ordinary years we rehearse the rite and give thanks at the Jade Pool itself — how is it that now we first go to the Hall of Penetrating Brightness to rehearse, and only then to the Jade Pool for the feast?'

光明正大: open and above board. The narrator states it plainly, and it is the reason the trick works at all. 誑語 (kuáng yǔ) is lying words — so the reader is told these are lies in the same breath in which the Immortal accepts them as true.

無wú奈nài，只zhǐ得dé撥bō轉zhuǎn祥xiáng雲yún，徑jìng往wǎng通tōng明míng殿diàn去qù了le。无wú奈nài，只zhǐ得dé拨bō转zhuǎn祥xiáng云yún，径jìng往wǎng通tōng明míng殿diàn去qù了le。

Having no choice, he could only turn his auspicious cloud about and head straight for the Hall of Penetrating Brightness.

只得 is 得 working as a modal, having no choice but to, and it keeps the full dé. 撥轉 is to bring a cloud round onto a new heading. He goes, still puzzled, and heaven's traffic has been redirected by one sentence.

總評 Commentary

The mind that could not win a seat by right now takes the whole assembly by fraud. Its first weapon is not the cudgel but the lie — 賺哄真仙, to gull the true immortal — and it works precisely because of the Barefoot Immortal's virtue: 大仙是個光明正大之人，就以他的誑語作真, being an open and upright man, he took the lying words for truth. Integrity has no defence against a deceit it cannot imagine anyone committing.

The detail is a small parable of how disorder gets into an ordered world. The true immortal does notice that something is off — 常年就在瑤池…如何先去通明殿, in ordinary years we rehearse at the Jade Pool, so why the detour? He reasons correctly and then defers to the supposed decree instead of to his own good sense, because that is what a well-ordered subordinate does. With one invented order the mind-monkey reroutes the entire traffic of heaven and leaves the Jade Pool standing empty for him. In the inner-alchemical reading this is the unstilled mind's particular talent: it cannot create anything, but it can divert everything — sending the genuine powers off on a false errand while it helps itself to the elixir.