第五十八回 · 四猴混世 The Four Monkeys — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

四猴混世 The Four Monkeys

菩pú薩sà道dào：「敢gǎn問wèn是shì那nǎ四sì猴hóu？」如rú來lái道dào：「第dì一yī是shì靈líng明míng石shí猴hóu，通tōng變biàn化huà，識shí天tiān時shí，知zhī地dì利lì，移yí星xīng換huàn斗dǒu；第dì二èr是shì赤chì尻kāo馬mǎ猴hóu，曉xiǎo陰yīn陽yáng，會huì人rén事shì，善shàn出chū入rù，避bì死sǐ延yán生shēng；第dì三sān是shì通tōng臂bì猿yuán猴hóu，拿ná日rì月yuè，縮suō千qiān山shān，辨biàn休xiū咎jiù，乾qián坤kūn摩mó弄nòng；第dì四sì是shì六liù耳ěr獼mí猴hóu，善shàn聆líng音yīn，能néng察chá理lǐ，知zhī前qián後hòu，萬wàn物wù皆jiē明míng。菩pú萨sà道dào：「敢gǎn问wèn是shì那nǎ四sì猴hóu？」如rú来lái道dào：「第dì一yī是shì灵líng明míng石shí猴hóu，通tōng变biàn化huà，识shí天tiān时shí，知zhī地dì利lì，移yí星xīng换huàn斗dǒu；第dì二èr是shì赤chì尻kāo马mǎ猴hóu，晓xiǎo阴yīn阳yáng，会huì人rén事shì，善shàn出chū入rù，避bì死sǐ延yán生shēng；第dì三sān是shì通tōng臂bì猿yuán猴hóu，拿ná日rì月yuè，缩suō千qiān山shān，辨biàn休xiū咎jiù，干qián坤kūn摩mó弄nòng；第dì四sì是shì六liù耳ěr猕mí猴hóu，善shàn聆líng音yīn，能néng察chá理lǐ，知zhī前qián后hòu，万wàn物wù皆jiē明míng。

逐句解 Line by line

菩pú薩sà道dào：「敢gǎn問wèn是shì那nǎ四sì猴hóu？」菩pú萨sà道dào：「敢gǎn问wèn是shì那nǎ四sì猴hóu？」

The Bodhisattva said: "May I ask which four monkeys?"

那四猴: 那 here asks which, nǎ, not the pointing nà of 那八大金剛.

如rú來lái道dào：「第dì一yī是shì靈líng明míng石shí猴hóu，通tōng變biàn化huà，識shí天tiān時shí，知zhī地dì利lì，移yí星xīng換huàn斗dǒu；第dì二èr是shì赤chì尻kāo馬mǎ猴hóu，曉xiǎo陰yīn陽yáng，會huì人rén事shì，善shàn出chū入rù，避bì死sǐ延yán生shēng；第dì三sān是shì通tōng臂bì猿yuán猴hóu，拿ná日rì月yuè，縮suō千qiān山shān，辨biàn休xiū咎jiù，乾qián坤kūn摩mó弄nòng；第dì四sì是shì六liù耳ěr獼mí猴hóu，善shàn聆líng音yīn，能néng察chá理lǐ，知zhī前qián後hòu，萬wàn物wù皆jiē明míng。如rú来lái道dào：「第dì一yī是shì灵líng明míng石shí猴hóu，通tōng变biàn化huà，识shí天tiān时shí，知zhī地dì利lì，移yí星xīng换huàn斗dǒu；第dì二èr是shì赤chì尻kāo马mǎ猴hóu，晓xiǎo阴yīn阳yáng，会huì人rén事shì，善shàn出chū入rù，避bì死sǐ延yán生shēng；第dì三sān是shì通tōng臂bì猿yuán猴hóu，拿ná日rì月yuè，缩suō千qiān山shān，辨biàn休xiū咎jiù，干qián坤kūn摩mó弄nòng；第dì四sì是shì六liù耳ěr猕mí猴hóu，善shàn聆líng音yīn，能néng察chá理lǐ，知zhī前qián后hòu，万wàn物wù皆jiē明míng。

The Tathāgata said: "The first is the Numinous Bright Stone Monkey, who penetrates transformations, knows the seasons of heaven, understands the advantages of earth, and shifts the stars and moves the Dipper. The second is the Red-Buttocked Horse Monkey, who understands the yin and yang, is versed in human affairs, is skilled at going in and coming out, and evades death to prolong life. The third is the Long-Armed Gibbon Monkey, who takes hold of sun and moon, shrinks a thousand mountains, discerns the auspicious from the ill, and handles heaven and earth at will. The fourth is the Six-Eared Macaque, who is skilled at listening to sounds, can examine principles, knows what came before and what comes after, and to whom all the ten thousand things are plain.

The most quoted passage in the chapter. 第一 is an ordinal, so 一 keeps its full yī and the tone does not shift. 移星換斗 takes 斗 as dǒu, the Dipper. 乾坤摩弄 takes 乾 as qián — one of the eight three-line figures of the 易經, the one that stands for heaven, here paired with earth — and not the gān of 乾淨, clean. 靈明石猴 takes shí.

總評 Commentary

The four monkeys are the most quoted passage in the chapter and one of the most quoted in the novel. The catalogue is kept as a single unit because it is a single sentence — four members divided by semicolons, each built identically, a number and a name followed by three three-character abilities and a four-character one.

Wukong himself is the first of the four, the 靈明石猴, the Stone Monkey of bright spirit, and the Buddha says so without comment in a list ostensibly given to identify somebody else. Every reader knows the Stone Monkey was born out of a rock on the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit. The taxonomy that exposes the impostor also, quietly, files the hero.

The fourth entry is the answer and the Buddha does not flag it. 六耳獼猴 — the Six-Eared Macaque — is described in exactly the same register as the other three, with the same four abilities, and all four of them are abilities of hearing and knowing: 善聆音，能察理，知前後. Six ears rather than two, and everything within earshot. He is the mirror of Diting, who also knew by listening and also could not act.

乾坤摩弄, attributed to the third monkey, is worth a note of its own. 乾 here is qián, one of the eight three-line figures of the 易經 — the one that stands for heaven — in the pairing 乾坤, heaven and earth, and not the gān of 乾淨, clean. It is the only time the character appears in the body of the chapter, and it takes the reading the chapter's own title demands.