第六回 · 南天門觀戰 Watching from the South Heaven Gate — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

南天門觀戰 Watching from the South Heaven Gate

話huà表biǎo大dà力lì鬼guǐ王wáng既jì調diào了le真zhēn君jūn與yǔ六liù兄xiōng弟dì提tí兵bīng擒qín魔mó去qù後hòu，卻què上shàng界jiè回huí奏zòu。玉yù帝dì與yǔ觀guān音yīn菩pú薩sà、王wáng母mǔ並bìng眾zhòng仙xiān卿qīng，正zhèng在zài靈líng霄xiāo殿diàn講jiǎng話huà，道dào：「既jì是shì二èr郎láng已yǐ去qù赴fù戰zhàn，這zhè一yí日rì還hái不bù見jiàn回huí報bào。」觀guān音yīn合hé掌zhǎng道dào：「貧pín僧sēng請qǐng陛bì下xià同tóng道dào祖zǔ出chū南nán天tiān門mén外wài，親qīn去qù看kàn看kàn虛xū實shí如rú何hé？」玉yù帝dì道dào：「言yán之zhī有yǒu理lǐ。」即jí擺bǎi駕jià，同tóng道dào祖zǔ、觀guān音yīn、王wáng母mǔ與yǔ眾zhòng仙xiān卿qīng至zhì南nán天tiān門mén。早zǎo有yǒu些xiē天tiān丁dīng、力lì士shì接jiē著zhe，開kāi門mén遙yáo觀guān。只zhǐ見jiàn眾zhòng天tiān丁dīng佈bù羅luó網wǎng，圍wéi住zhù四sì面miàn；李lǐ天tiān王wáng與yǔ哪né吒zhā擎qíng照zhào妖yāo鏡jìng，立lì在zài空kōng中zhōng；真zhēn君jūn把bǎ大dà聖shèng圍wéi繞rào中zhōng間jiān，紛fēn紛fēn賭dǔ鬥dòu哩li。话huà表biǎo大dà力lì鬼guǐ王wáng既jì调diào了le真zhēn君jūn与yǔ六liù兄xiōng弟dì提tí兵bīng擒qín魔mó去qù后hòu，却què上shàng界jiè回huí奏zòu。玉yù帝dì与yǔ观guān音yīn菩pú萨sà、王wáng母mǔ并bìng众zhòng仙xiān卿qīng，正zhèng在zài灵líng霄xiāo殿diàn讲jiǎng话huà，道dào：「既jì是shì二èr郎láng已yǐ去qù赴fù战zhàn，这zhè一yí日rì还hái不bù见jiàn回huí报bào。」观guān音yīn合hé掌zhǎng道dào：「贫pín僧sēng请qǐng陛bì下xià同tóng道dào祖zǔ出chū南nán天tiān门mén外wài，亲qīn去qù看kàn看kàn虚xū实shí如rú何hé？」玉yù帝dì道dào：「言yán之zhī有yǒu理lǐ。」即jí摆bǎi驾jià，同tóng道dào祖zǔ、观guān音yīn、王wáng母mǔ与yǔ众zhòng仙xiān卿qīng至zhì南nán天tiān门mén。早zǎo有yǒu些xiē天tiān丁dīng、力lì士shì接jiē著zhe，开kāi门mén遥yáo观guān。只zhǐ见jiàn众zhòng天tiān丁dīng布bù罗luó网wǎng，围wéi住zhù四sì面miàn；李lǐ天tiān王wáng与yǔ哪né吒zhā擎qíng照zhào妖yāo镜jìng，立lì在zài空kōng中zhōng；真zhēn君jūn把bǎ大dà圣shèng围wéi绕rào中zhōng间jiān，纷fēn纷fēn赌dǔ斗dòu哩li。

逐句解 Line by line

話huà表biǎo大dà力lì鬼guǐ王wáng既jì調diào了le真zhēn君jūn與yǔ六liù兄xiōng弟dì提tí兵bīng擒qín魔mó去qù後hòu，卻què上shàng界jiè回huí奏zòu。话huà表biǎo大dà力lì鬼guǐ王wáng既jì调diào了le真zhēn君jūn与yǔ六liù兄xiōng弟dì提tí兵bīng擒qín魔mó去qù后hòu，却què上shàng界jiè回huí奏zòu。

The tale now tells how the Mighty-Strength Ghost King, having summoned the True Lord and his six brothers to lead troops and seize the fiend, then returned to the upper realm to report.

大力鬼王 ("the Mighty-Strength Ghost King") was the envoy who, in an earlier passage, carried Heaven's commission to Erlang. The narrative now picks up his return to the Jade Emperor.

玉yù帝dì與yǔ觀guān音yīn菩pú薩sà、王wáng母mǔ並bìng眾zhòng仙xiān卿qīng，正zhèng在zài靈líng霄xiāo殿diàn講jiǎng話huà，道dào：「既jì是shì二èr郎láng已yǐ去qù赴fù戰zhàn，這zhè一yí日rì還hái不bù見jiàn回huí報bào。」玉yù帝dì与yǔ观guān音yīn菩pú萨sà、王wáng母mǔ并bìng众zhòng仙xiān卿qīng，正zhèng在zài灵líng霄xiāo殿diàn讲jiǎng话huà，道dào：「既jì是shì二èr郎láng已yǐ去qù赴fù战zhàn，这zhè一yí日rì还hái不bù见jiàn回huí报bào。」

The Jade Emperor, with the Bodhisattva Guanyin, the Queen Mother, and the assembled immortal ministers, were conversing in the Hall of Numinous Mists, and said, "Since Erlang has gone off to battle, a whole day has passed and still no report has come back."

靈霄殿 (the Hall of Numinous Mists) is the Jade Emperor's throne-hall. 王母 (the Queen Mother of the West) and 仙卿 ("immortal ministers") attend. The court's impatience sets up Guanyin's proposal.

觀guān音yīn合hé掌zhǎng道dào：「貧pín僧sēng請qǐng陛bì下xià同tóng道dào祖zǔ出chū南nán天tiān門mén外wài，親qīn去qù看kàn看kàn虛xū實shí如rú何hé？」观guān音yīn合hé掌zhǎng道dào：「贫pín僧sēng请qǐng陛bì下xià同tóng道dào祖zǔ出chū南nán天tiān门mén外wài，亲qīn去qù看kàn看kàn虚xū实shí如rú何hé？」

Guanyin pressed her palms together and said, "I beg Your Majesty to come with the Patriarch of the Way beyond the South Heaven Gate, to go and see for ourselves how matters truly stand."

貧僧 ("this poor cleric," Guanyin's humble self-reference); 道祖 ("the Patriarch of the Way") is Laozi. 虛實 ("the true state of things, what is real and what is not").

玉yù帝dì道dào：「言yán之zhī有yǒu理lǐ。」玉yù帝dì道dào：「言yán之zhī有yǒu理lǐ。」

The Jade Emperor said, "What you say is reasonable."

A brief assent — the formula 言之有理 ("there is sense in what you say").

即jí擺bǎi駕jià，同tóng道dào祖zǔ、觀guān音yīn、王wáng母mǔ與yǔ眾zhòng仙xiān卿qīng至zhì南nán天tiān門mén。即jí摆bǎi驾jià，同tóng道dào祖zǔ、观guān音yīn、王wáng母mǔ与yǔ众zhòng仙xiān卿qīng至zhì南nán天tiān门mén。

At once the imperial procession set out, and together with the Patriarch, Guanyin, the Queen Mother, and the immortal ministers, came to the South Heaven Gate.

擺駕 ("to set the imperial cortège in motion"). The whole celestial court moves to the gate for a vantage on the battle below.

早zǎo有yǒu些xiē天tiān丁dīng、力lì士shì接jiē著zhe，開kāi門mén遙yáo觀guān。早zǎo有yǒu些xiē天tiān丁dīng、力lì士shì接jiē著zhe，开kāi门mén遥yáo观guān。

Heavenly soldiers and strongmen were already there to receive them, and opened the gate for a distant view.

天丁、力士 ("celestial troops and mighty guardians"). 遙觀 ("to watch from afar").

只zhǐ見jiàn眾zhòng天tiān丁dīng佈bù羅luó網wǎng，圍wéi住zhù四sì面miàn；李lǐ天tiān王wáng與yǔ哪né吒zhā擎qíng照zhào妖yāo鏡jìng，立lì在zài空kōng中zhōng；真zhēn君jūn把bǎ大dà聖shèng圍wéi繞rào中zhōng間jiān，紛fēn紛fēn賭dǔ鬥dòu哩li。只zhǐ见jiàn众zhòng天tiān丁dīng布bù罗luó网wǎng，围wéi住zhù四sì面miàn；李lǐ天tiān王wáng与yǔ哪né吒zhā擎qíng照zhào妖yāo镜jìng，立lì在zài空kōng中zhōng；真zhēn君jūn把bǎ大dà圣shèng围wéi绕rào中zhōng间jiān，纷fēn纷fēn赌dǔ斗dòu哩li。

They saw the heavenly troops spreading their nets and hemming in all four sides; Devarāja Li and Nezha holding the Demon-Revealing Mirror aloft, standing in the air; and the True Lord encircling the Great Sage in the middle, all locked in furious combat.

A tableau of the siege as seen from above: the net (羅網), the mirror, the encircled monkey. 紛紛賭鬥 ("contending in a confused melee"; 鬥 = dòu). The watching gods take in the whole scene at a glance.

總評 Commentary

The narrative now pulls back from the ground to the heights, and the chapter's frame widens to its largest scale. Where we have followed the duel and the chase at close quarters, we are now given the whole scene from above, as the celestial court — the Jade Emperor, the Queen Mother, Guanyin, Laozi, and the assembled ministers — comes out to the South Heaven Gate to watch. The shift in vantage is also a shift in register: the frantic, intimate comedy of the chase gives way to the stately calm of the watching gods, looking down on the siege as on a tableau. Wú Chéng'ēn composes that tableau with a painter's economy — the net spread on four sides, the mirror held aloft, the monkey encircled at the center — so that the reader, like the gods, takes in the entire battlefield at a glance.

This is the structural turn toward the chapter's resolution. The impatience of the court ("a whole day, and still no report") signals that the contest has gone on too long for Heaven's liking, and Guanyin's proposal to "see for ourselves" brings the two highest powers in the cosmos — the Bodhisattva of Compassion and the Patriarch of the Way — to the very edge of the action. Their arrival is not idle spectating: in the next passage they will debate which of them should intervene, and the question of who finally subdues the monkey is freighted with meaning. That it should come down to Guanyin and Laozi — and, in the end, to Laozi's ring — is the chapter's way of saying that the mind-monkey, ungovernable by the ordinary machinery of Heaven, can be checked only by the founders of the great Ways themselves. The gathering at the gate is the hush before that decisive stroke. (On the Hall of Numinous Mists, the Queen Mother, and the South Heaven Gate, see the cosmology notes; 道祖, the Patriarch of the Way, is Laozi, who appears in the next passage with his ring.)