第六十六回 · 神通廣大 His Powers Are Vast — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

神通廣大 His Powers Are Vast

功gōng曹cáo笑xiào道dào：「大dà聖shèng寬kuān懷huái，小xiǎo神shén想xiǎng起qǐ一yí處chù精jīng兵bīng，請qǐng來lái斷duàn然rán可kě降xiáng。適shì才cái大dà聖shèng至zhì武wǔ當dāng，是shì南nán贍shàn部bù洲zhōu之zhī地dì。這zhè枝zhī兵bīng也yě在zài南nán贍shàn部bù洲zhōu盱xū眙yí山shān蠙pín城chéng，即jí今jīn泗sì洲zhōu是shì也yě。那nà裡lǐ有yǒu個gè大dà聖shèng國guó師shī王wáng菩pú薩sà，神shén通tōng廣guǎng大dà；他tā手shǒu下xià有yǒu一yí個gè徒tú弟dì，喚huàn名míng小xiǎo張zhāng太tài子zǐ，還hái有yǒu四sì大dà神shén將jiàng：昔xī年nián曾céng降xiáng伏fú水shuǐ母mǔ娘niáng娘niang。功gōng曹cáo笑xiào道dào：「大dà圣shèng宽kuān怀huái，小xiǎo神shén想xiǎng起qǐ一yí处chù精jīng兵bīng，请qǐng来lái断duàn然rán可kě降xiáng。适shì才cái大dà圣shèng至zhì武wǔ当dāng，是shì南nán赡shàn部bù洲zhōu之zhī地dì。这zhè枝zhī兵bīng也yě在zài南nán赡shàn部bù洲zhōu盱xū眙yí山shān蠙pín城chéng，即jí今jīn泗sì洲zhōu是shì也yě。那nà里lǐ有yǒu个gè大dà圣shèng国guó师shī王wáng菩pú萨sà，神shén通tōng广guǎng大dà；他tā手shǒu下xià有yǒu一yí个gè徒tú弟dì，唤huàn名míng小xiǎo张zhāng太tài子zǐ，还hái有yǒu四sì大dà神shén将jiàng：昔xī年nián曾céng降xiáng伏fú水shuǐ母mǔ娘niáng娘niang。

逐句解 Line by line

功gōng曹cáo笑xiào道dào：「大dà聖shèng寬kuān懷huái，小xiǎo神shén想xiǎng起qǐ一yí處chù精jīng兵bīng，請qǐng來lái斷duàn然rán可kě降xiáng。功gōng曹cáo笑xiào道dào：「大dà圣shèng宽kuān怀huái，小xiǎo神shén想xiǎng起qǐ一yí处chù精jīng兵bīng，请qǐng来lái断duàn然rán可kě降xiáng。

The Merit Star smiled and said, "Let the Great Sage set his mind at ease. Your humble god calls to mind one place with crack troops; fetch them and the thing can certainly be subdued.

降 is xiáng, to subdue and take a surrender — the same reading the god of Wudang's own campaigns took, not the jiàng of coming down.

適shì才cái大dà聖shèng至zhì武wǔ當dāng，是shì南nán贍shàn部bù洲zhōu之zhī地dì。适shì才cái大dà圣shèng至zhì武wǔ当dāng，是shì南nán赡shàn部bù洲zhōu之zhī地dì。

Just now the Great Sage went to Wudang, which is in the land of Jambudvīpa.

The Merit Star starts by placing the last errand on the map, so that the next one can be set beside it. Both, as he is about to point out, are in the same continent.

這zhè枝zhī兵bīng也yě在zài南nán贍shàn部bù洲zhōu盱xū眙yí山shān蠙pín城chéng，即jí今jīn泗sì洲zhōu是shì也yě。这zhè枝zhī兵bīng也yě在zài南nán赡shàn部bù洲zhōu盱xū眙yí山shān蠙pín城chéng，即jí今jīn泗sì洲zhōu是shì也yě。

This force too is in Jambudvīpa, at Pin City on Mount Xuyi — which is the Sizhou of today.

枝 is the counting word for a body of troops. 盱眙 is read xū yí and 蠙城 pín chéng — 蠙 is the pearl-mussel, so the place is Mussel City. 即今泗洲是也, which is the Sizhou of today, glosses an old name with a current one. The narrator is locating a real place, and the chapter will shortly put the Huai beside it.

那nà裡lǐ有yǒu個gè大dà聖shèng國guó師shī王wáng菩pú薩sà，神shén通tōng廣guǎng大dà；那nà里lǐ有yǒu个gè大dà圣shèng国guó师shī王wáng菩pú萨sà，神shén通tōng广guǎng大dà；

There is there a Great Sage Bodhisattva King and Preceptor of the Realm, whose divine powers are vast;

那 is nà, pointing. 大聖國師王菩薩 is one long title, and its first two characters are the same two Monkey wears himself — there is more than one Great Sage in this chapter.

他tā手shǒu下xià有yǒu一yí個gè徒tú弟dì，喚huàn名míng小xiǎo張zhāng太tài子zǐ，還hái有yǒu四sì大dà神shén將jiàng：昔xī年nián曾céng降xiáng伏fú水shuǐ母mǔ娘niáng娘niang。他tā手shǒu下xià有yǒu一yí个gè徒tú弟dì，唤huàn名míng小xiǎo张zhāng太tài子zǐ，还hái有yǒu四sì大dà神shén将jiàng：昔xī年nián曾céng降xiáng伏fú水shuǐ母mǔ娘niáng娘niang。

And under him is a disciple called the Little Prince Zhang, and four great divine generals besides: in years past they subdued the Water Mother.

太子 is tài zǐ with a full second syllable, the literary compound — not the unstressed ending that turns up on ordinary nouns like 獃子. 將 is jiàng, generals, and 降 is xiáng again. 娘娘 takes an unstressed second syllable.

總評 Commentary

The Merit Star's proposal is a piece of local geography. Wudang was in the Southern Continent; so is this. The argument is that Monkey need not go higher at all, only sideways — and that answers the despair of the previous passage exactly, since what he said he could not face was the climb.

The place is real and the narrator says so. Mount Xuyi and Pin City stand on the Huai, and glossing the old name with the current one is the voice of a storyteller anchoring a fabulous rescue to a town his audience could find.

The credential offered is a single past exploit: these four generals once subdued the Water Mother, the flood-demon of the Huai. It is a smaller warrant than the god of Wudang's two imperial commissions, and the chapter is quietly stepping down the scale of authority at the same time as it steps up the number of attempts.