第六十回 · 碧波潭 The Green Wave Pool — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

碧波潭 The Green Wave Pool

那nà山shān中zhōng有yǒu一yí面miàn清qīng水shuǐ深shēn潭tán，潭tán邊biān有yǒu一yí座zuò石shí碣jié，碣jié上shàng有yǒu六liù個gè大dà字zì，乃nǎi「亂luàn石shí山shān碧bì波bō潭tán」。大dà聖shèng暗àn想xiǎng道dào：「老lǎo牛niú斷duàn然rán下xià水shuǐ去qù了le。水shuǐ底dǐ之zhī精jīng，若ruò不bú是shì蛟jiāo精jīng，必bì是shì龍lóng精jīng、魚yú精jīng，或huò是shì龜guī鱉biē黿yuán鼉tuó之zhī精jīng。等děng老lǎo孫sūn也yě下xià去qù水shuǐ看kàn看kàn。」那nà山shān中zhōng有yǒu一yí面miàn清qīng水shuǐ深shēn潭tán，潭tán边biān有yǒu一yí座zuò石shí碣jié，碣jié上shàng有yǒu六liù个gè大dà字zì，乃nǎi「乱luàn石shí山shān碧bì波bō潭tán」。大dà圣shèng暗àn想xiǎng道dào：「老lǎo牛niú断duàn然rán下xià水shuǐ去qù了le。水shuǐ底dǐ之zhī精jīng，若ruò不bú是shì蛟jiāo精jīng，必bì是shì龙lóng精jīng、鱼yú精jīng，或huò是shì龟guī鳖biē鼋yuán鼍tuó之zhī精jīng。等děng老lǎo孙sūn也yě下xià去qù水shuǐ看kàn看kàn。」

逐句解 Line by line

那nà山shān中zhōng有yǒu一yí面miàn清qīng水shuǐ深shēn潭tán，潭tán邊biān有yǒu一yí座zuò石shí碣jié，碣jié上shàng有yǒu六liù個gè大dà字zì，乃nǎi「亂luàn石shí山shān碧bì波bō潭tán」。那nà山shān中zhōng有yǒu一yí面miàn清qīng水shuǐ深shēn潭tán，潭tán边biān有yǒu一yí座zuò石shí碣jié，碣jié上shàng有yǒu六liù个gè大dà字zì，乃nǎi「乱luàn石shí山shān碧bì波bō潭tán」。

In that mountain was a deep pool of clear water, and beside the pool stood a stone tablet, and on the tablet were six large characters: Green Wave Pool of Tumbled Rock Mountain.

The source sets the six characters of the place-name in quotation marks, treating them as an inscription to be read off the stone rather than as narration. 一面 takes yí before the falling tone of 面, and 一座 likewise before 座.

大dà聖shèng暗àn想xiǎng道dào：「老lǎo牛niú斷duàn然rán下xià水shuǐ去qù了le。大dà圣shèng暗àn想xiǎng道dào：「老lǎo牛niú断duàn然rán下xià水shuǐ去qù了le。

The Great Sage thought to himself: "The old bull has certainly gone down into the water."

斷然 is an adverb of certainty, not of severance. The deduction is made from a tablet and a pool and nothing else.

水shuǐ底dǐ之zhī精jīng，若ruò不bú是shì蛟jiāo精jīng，必bì是shì龍lóng精jīng、魚yú精jīng，或huò是shì龜guī鱉biē黿yuán鼉tuó之zhī精jīng。水shuǐ底dǐ之zhī精jīng，若ruò不bú是shì蛟jiāo精jīng，必bì是shì龙lóng精jīng、鱼yú精jīng，或huò是shì龟guī鳖biē鼋yuán鼍tuó之zhī精jīng。

"A spirit at the bottom of the water — if it is not a flood-dragon spirit, it must be a dragon spirit or a fish spirit, or else the spirit of a tortoise, a turtle, a soft-shell or an alligator."

The line runs through six aquatic creatures and hangs 精, spirit, on each class in turn. 不 takes bú before the falling tone of 是.

等děng老lǎo孫sūn也yě下xià去qù水shuǐ看kàn看kàn。」等děng老lǎo孙sūn也yě下xià去qù水shuǐ看kàn看kàn。」

"Let old Sun go down into the water too and take a look."

He talks himself into the water. The formula 等老孫 — let old Sun — is how he closes both of these thinking-aloud passages, and it always introduces the thing he has decided to do next.

總評 Commentary

The two thinking-aloud speeches of this passage and the last are built to one pattern: the Great Sage states what he does not know, reasons from what he can see, and closes with 等老孫 and a proposal. He talks himself through the problem out loud, and the novel lets us watch him do it instead of just reporting the conclusion.

The inventory of possible water-spirits is a small piece of comic pedantry. He has no idea what lives in the pool and runs through the whole bestiary — flood-dragon, dragon, fish, tortoise, turtle, soft-shell, alligator — as though being thorough were the same thing as knowing. The poem two passages later will show that the answer was the second on his list.