第五回 · 妖猴閑遊 A carefree spirit-monkey among the gods — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

妖猴閑遊 A carefree spirit-monkey among the gods

話huà表biǎo齊qí天tiān大dà聖shèng到dào底dǐ是shì個gè妖yāo猴hóu，更gèng不bù知zhī官guān銜xián品pǐn從cóng，也yě不bú較jiào俸fèng祿lù高gāo低dī，但dàn只zhǐ註zhù名míng便biàn了liǎo。那nà齊qí天tiān府fǔ下xià二èr司sī仙xiān吏lì，早zǎo晚wǎn伏fú侍shì，只zhǐ知zhī日rì食shí三sān餐cān，夜yè眠mián一yí榻tà，無wú事shì牽qiān縈yíng，自zì由yóu自zì在zài。閑xián時shí節jié會huì友yǒu遊yóu宮gōng，交jiāo朋péng結jié義yì。見jiàn三sān清qīng稱chēng個gè「老lǎo」字zì，逢féng四sì帝dì道dào個gè「陛bì下xià」。與yǔ那nà九jiǔ曜yào星xīng、五wǔ方fāng將jiàng、二èr十shí八bā宿xiù、四sì大dà天tiān王wáng、十shí二èr元yuán辰chén、五wǔ方fāng五wǔ老lǎo、普pǔ天tiān星xīng相xiàng、河hé漢hàn群qún神shén，俱jù只zhǐ以yǐ弟dì兄xiōng相xiāng待dài，彼bǐ此cǐ稱chēng呼hū。今jīn日rì東dōng遊yóu，明míng日rì西xī蕩dàng，雲yún去qù雲yún來lái，行xíng蹤zōng不bú定dìng。话huà表biǎo齐qí天tiān大dà圣shèng到dào底dǐ是shì个gè妖yāo猴hóu，更gèng不bù知zhī官guān衔xián品pǐn从cóng，也yě不bú较jiào俸fèng禄lù高gāo低dī，但dàn只zhǐ注zhù名míng便biàn了liǎo。那nà齐qí天tiān府fǔ下xià二èr司sī仙xiān吏lì，早zǎo晚wǎn伏fú侍shì，只zhǐ知zhī日rì食shí三sān餐cān，夜yè眠mián一yí榻tà，无wú事shì牵qiān萦yíng，自zì由yóu自zì在zài。闲xián时shí节jié会huì友yǒu游yóu宫gōng，交jiāo朋péng结jié义yì。见jiàn三sān清qīng称chēng个gè「老lǎo」字zì，逢féng四sì帝dì道dào个gè「陛bì下xià」。与yǔ那nà九jiǔ曜yào星xīng、五wǔ方fāng将jiàng、二èr十shí八bā宿xiù、四sì大dà天tiān王wáng、十shí二èr元yuán辰chén、五wǔ方fāng五wǔ老lǎo、普pǔ天tiān星xīng相xiàng、河hé汉hàn群qún神shén，俱jù只zhǐ以yǐ弟dì兄xiōng相xiāng待dài，彼bǐ此cǐ称chēng呼hū。今jīn日rì东dōng游yóu，明míng日rì西xī荡dàng，云yún去qù云yún来lái，行xíng踪zōng不bú定dìng。

逐句解 Line by line

話huà表biǎo齊qí天tiān大dà聖shèng到dào底dǐ是shì個gè妖yāo猴hóu，更gèng不bù知zhī官guān銜xián品pǐn從cóng，也yě不bú較jiào俸fèng祿lù高gāo低dī，但dàn只zhǐ註zhù名míng便biàn了liǎo。话huà表biǎo齐qí天tiān大dà圣shèng到dào底dǐ是shì个gè妖yāo猴hóu，更gèng不bù知zhī官guān衔xián品pǐn从cóng，也yě不bú较jiào俸fèng禄lù高gāo低dī，但dàn只zhǐ注zhù名míng便biàn了liǎo。

Now the Great Sage Equal to Heaven was, when all is said and done, a monster-monkey: he cared nothing for official rank or grade, nor weighed his stipend high or low — only that his name stood on the register, and that was enough.

那nà齊qí天tiān府fǔ下xià二èr司sī仙xiān吏lì，早zǎo晚wǎn伏fú侍shì，只zhǐ知zhī日rì食shí三sān餐cān，夜yè眠mián一yí榻tà，無wú事shì牽qiān縈yíng，自zì由yóu自zì在zài。那nà齐qí天tiān府fǔ下xià二èr司sī仙xiān吏lì，早zǎo晚wǎn伏fú侍shì，只zhǐ知zhī日rì食shí三sān餐cān，夜yè眠mián一yí榻tà，无wú事shì牵qiān萦yíng，自zì由yóu自zì在zài。

The two clerks of the Equal-to-Heaven residence attended him morning and evening; he knew only his three meals by day and a single couch by night, with no affairs to bind him — free and utterly at ease.

伏侍 is the 世德堂 reading (modern editions 服侍): to wait upon, to attend.

閑xián時shí節jié會huì友yǒu遊yóu宮gōng，交jiāo朋péng結jié義yì。闲xián时shí节jié会huì友yǒu游yóu宫gōng，交jiāo朋péng结jié义yì。

In his idle hours he called on friends and roamed the palaces, making companions and sworn brothers.

見jiàn三sān清qīng稱chēng個gè「老lǎo」字zì，逢féng四sì帝dì道dào個gè「陛bì下xià」。见jiàn三sān清qīng称chēng个gè「老lǎo」字zì，逢féng四sì帝dì道dào个gè「陛bì下xià」。

Meeting the Three Pure Ones, he would call them merely 'Venerable'; coming upon the Four Emperors, he would say only 'Your Majesty.'

與yǔ那nà九jiǔ曜yào星xīng、五wǔ方fāng將jiàng、二èr十shí八bā宿xiù、四sì大dà天tiān王wáng、十shí二èr元yuán辰chén、五wǔ方fāng五wǔ老lǎo、普pǔ天tiān星xīng相xiàng、河hé漢hàn群qún神shén，俱jù只zhǐ以yǐ弟dì兄xiōng相xiāng待dài，彼bǐ此cǐ稱chēng呼hū。与yǔ那nà九jiǔ曜yào星xīng、五wǔ方fāng将jiàng、二èr十shí八bā宿xiù、四sì大dà天tiān王wáng、十shí二èr元yuán辰chén、五wǔ方fāng五wǔ老lǎo、普pǔ天tiān星xīng相xiàng、河hé汉hàn群qún神shén，俱jù只zhǐ以yǐ弟dì兄xiōng相xiāng待dài，彼bǐ此cǐ称chēng呼hū。

With the Nine Bright Stars, the Generals of the Five Quarters, the Twenty-Eight Lunar Mansions, the Four Great Heavenly Kings, the Twelve Horary Branches, the Five Elders of the Five Regions, the star-lords of all heaven and the gods of the Starry River — with every one he dealt as brother to brother, trading familiar greetings.

宿 here is xiù, a lunar mansion. The 五方五老 (Five Elders of the Five Regions) are named in full later in the chapter.

今jīn日rì東dōng遊yóu，明míng日rì西xī蕩dàng，雲yún去qù雲yún來lái，行xíng蹤zōng不bú定dìng。今jīn日rì东dōng游yóu，明míng日rì西xī荡dàng，云yún去qù云yún来lái，行xíng踪zōng不bú定dìng。

Today he roamed east, tomorrow he drifted west; cloud-going, cloud-coming, his comings and goings never fixed.

總評 Commentary

The chapter’s title-couplet — 亂蟠桃大聖偷丹，反天宮諸神捉怪 ("At the Peach Feast thrown into disorder the Great Sage steals the elixir; rebelling against the Heavenly Palace, the assembled gods give chase to the fiend") — names the whole arc to come. Yet the body opens not on theft but on idleness, and on a verdict: 到底是個妖猴, "when all is said and done, a monster-monkey." That judgement frames everything that follows. This is the 心猿, the mind-monkey — titled, salaried, seated among the lords of heaven, and wholly unrefined.

In the inner-alchemical reading (Liu Yiming and the 丹經 commentators), the 心猿 must first be stilled and bound before the 金丹, the golden elixir, can be gathered and held. Here the mind is granted honours and a sinecure but no cultivation, and its much-praised "freedom" — 自由自在 — is precisely the peril: the unanchored heart that "roams east and drifts west, its comings and goings never fixed" (今日東遊，明日西蕩…行蹤不定). Read through the 易經 and Shao Yong’s 皇極經世, the fault is one of 序, of order: a mind that treats the very sovereigns of the cosmos as casual brothers has dissolved all hierarchy, and a self without measure cannot contain the measureless.

This ease is the seedbed of the disaster the couplet promises. As Plaks reads the Havoc-in-Heaven episodes, the comedy is allegorical: the cosmic order itself cannot socialize a mind that has not yet done the inner work. The institutions of heaven are about to try — and the very next move, to hand the restless mind a post, mistakes containment for cultivation.