第五十二回 · 老君下界 Lord Lao Comes Down — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

老君下界 Lord Lao Comes Down

大dà聖shèng才cái歡huān歡huān喜xǐ喜xǐ，隨suí著zhe老lǎo君jūn。老lǎo君jūn執zhí了le芭bā蕉jiāo扇shàn，駕jià著zhe祥xiáng雲yún同tóng行xíng，出chū了le仙xiān宮gōng。南nán天tiān門mén外wài，低dī下xià雲yún頭tóu，徑jìng至zhì金jīn兜dōu山shān界jiè。見jiàn了le十shí八bā尊zūn羅luó漢hàn、雷léi公gōng、水shuǐ伯bó、火huǒ德dé、李lǐ天tiān王wáng父fù子zǐ，備bèi言yán前qián事shì一yí遍biàn。老lǎo君jūn道dào：「孫sūn悟wù空kōng還hái去qù誘yòu他tā出chū來lái，我wǒ好hǎo收shōu他tā。」大dà圣shèng才cái欢huān欢huān喜xǐ喜xǐ，随suí着zhe老lǎo君jūn。老lǎo君jūn执zhí了le芭bā蕉jiāo扇shàn，驾jià着zhe祥xiáng云yún同tóng行xíng，出chū了le仙xiān宫gōng。南nán天tiān门mén外wài，低dī下xià云yún头tóu，径jìng至zhì金jīn兜dōu山shān界jiè。见jiàn了le十shí八bā尊zūn罗luó汉hàn、雷léi公gōng、水shuǐ伯bó、火huǒ德dé、李lǐ天tiān王wáng父fù子zǐ，备bèi言yán前qián事shì一yí遍biàn。老lǎo君jūn道dào：「孙sūn悟wù空kōng还hái去qù诱yòu他tā出chū来lái，我wǒ好hǎo收shōu他tā。」

逐句解 Line by line

大dà聖shèng才cái歡huān歡huān喜xǐ喜xǐ，隨suí著zhe老lǎo君jūn。大dà圣shèng才cái欢huān欢huān喜xǐ喜xǐ，随suí着zhe老lǎo君jūn。

Only then was the Great Sage thoroughly delighted, and he went along with Lord Lao.

隨著: 著 is zhe, marking an action that continues. The 才 in 才歡歡喜喜 measures how long it has taken — this is the first satisfaction Wukong has had in three chapters.

老lǎo君jūn執zhí了le芭bā蕉jiāo扇shàn，駕jià著zhe祥xiáng雲yún同tóng行xíng，出chū了le仙xiān宮gōng。老lǎo君jūn执zhí了le芭bā蕉jiāo扇shàn，驾jià着zhe祥xiáng云yún同tóng行xíng，出chū了le仙xiān宫gōng。

Lord Lao took his plantain-leaf fan in hand, mounted an auspicious cloud and went along with him out of the immortal palace.

執了 and 出了: both 了 are le; 芭蕉扇: 扇 is shàn; 駕著: 著 is zhe. 同行: 行 is xíng — the automatic tool reads the pair as a noun and returns háng, and nothing in this chapter licenses that. Note what he brings: a fan.

南nán天tiān門mén外wài，低dī下xià雲yún頭tóu，徑jìng至zhì金jīn兜dōu山shān界jiè。南nán天tiān门mén外wài，低dī下xià云yún头tóu，径jìng至zhì金jīn兜dōu山shān界jiè。

Outside the Southern Gate of Heaven they brought their cloud-heads low and came straight to the borders of the Golden Helm Mountain.

低下雲頭 is the standard formula for coming down out of cloud travel. Fourteen characters cover a journey the narrative has already made three times over.

見jiàn了le十shí八bā尊zūn羅luó漢hàn、雷léi公gōng、水shuǐ伯bó、火huǒ德dé、李lǐ天tiān王wáng父fù子zǐ，備bèi言yán前qián事shì一yí遍biàn。见jiàn了le十shí八bā尊zūn罗luó汉hàn、雷léi公gōng、水shuǐ伯bó、火huǒ德dé、李lǐ天tiān王wáng父fù子zǐ，备bèi言yán前qián事shì一yí遍biàn。

They saw the eighteen Venerable Arhats, the Thunder Squire, the Earl of Waters, the Fire Virtue and Devarāja Li with his son, and set out the whole business to them once over.

見了: 了 is le; 父子: 子 is zǐ; 一遍: 一 is yí before a fourth tone. The whole assembled cast of the arc is on stage together for the last time.

老lǎo君jūn道dào：「孫sūn悟wù空kōng還hái去qù誘yòu他tā出chū來lái，我wǒ好hǎo收shōu他tā。」老lǎo君jūn道dào：「孙sūn悟wù空kōng还hái去qù诱yòu他tā出chū来lái，我wǒ好hǎo收shōu他tā。」

Lord Lao said: "Sun Wukong, go once more and lure him out, and I will take him in."

The verb is the tell. 還去: 還 is hái, "again", not huán. 收他 — 收 is what you do with livestock and with subordinate spirits alike: to take in, to gather up, to bring home. Not to fight, not to defeat.

總評 Commentary

Eighty-two characters, and the machinery of the resolution is assembled. It is worth measuring against everything that has gone before: three chapters of celestial armies, elemental departments and Buddhist relics, and the thing that will actually work walks down from Heaven carrying a palm-leaf fan and asking Pilgrim to go and fetch the animal out.

The verb in Lord Lao's instruction gives the game away. He does not say subdue, or bind, or destroy. He says 收 — take in, gather up, recover — which is what one says of livestock and of junior spirits. Nothing in his manner suggests he thinks of this as a battle at all. The chapter has spent close to six thousand characters establishing that no weapon can touch the ring, and the answer turns out not to be a weapon but a property claim.