第六十六回 · 威鎮北方 I Held The North In Awe — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

威鎮北方 I Held The North In Awe

祖zǔ師shī道dào：「我wǒ當dāng年nián威wēi鎮zhèn北běi方fāng，統tǒng攝shè真zhēn武wǔ之zhī位wèi，剪jiǎn伐fá天tiān下xià妖yāo邪xié，乃nǎi奉fèng玉yù帝dì敕chì旨zhǐ。後hòu又yòu披pī髮fà跣xiǎn足zú，踏tà騰téng蛇shé神shén龜guī，領lǐng五wǔ雷léi神shén將jiàng、巨jù虯qiú獅shī子zi、猛měng獸shòu毒dú龍lóng，收shōu降xiáng東dōng北běi方fāng黑hēi氣qì妖yāo氛fēn，乃nǎi奉fèng元yuán始shǐ天tiān尊zūn符fú召zhào。今jīn日rì靜jìng享xiǎng武wǔ當dāng山shān，安ān逸yì太tài和hé殿diàn，一yí向xiàng海hǎi岳yuè平píng寧níng，乾qián坤kūn清qīng泰tài。奈nài何hé我wǒ南nán贍shàn部bù洲zhōu並bìng北běi俱jù蘆lú洲zhōu之zhī地dì，妖yāo魔mó剪jiǎn伐fá，邪xié鬼guǐ潛qián蹤zōng，今jīn蒙méng大dà聖shèng下xià降jiàng，不bù得dé不bù行xíng。祖zǔ师shī道dào：「我wǒ当dāng年nián威wēi镇zhèn北běi方fāng，统tǒng摄shè真zhēn武wǔ之zhī位wèi，剪jiǎn伐fá天tiān下xià妖yāo邪xié，乃nǎi奉fèng玉yù帝dì敕chì旨zhǐ。后hòu又yòu披pī发fà跣xiǎn足zú，踏tà腾téng蛇shé神shén龟guī，领lǐng五wǔ雷léi神shén将jiàng、巨jù虬qiú狮shī子zi、猛měng兽shòu毒dú龙lóng，收shōu降xiáng东dōng北běi方fāng黑hēi气qì妖yāo氛fēn，乃nǎi奉fèng元yuán始shǐ天tiān尊zūn符fú召zhào。今jīn日rì静jìng享xiǎng武wǔ当dāng山shān，安ān逸yì太tài和hé殿diàn，一yí向xiàng海hǎi岳yuè平píng宁níng，干qián坤kūn清qīng泰tài。奈nài何hé我wǒ南nán赡shàn部bù洲zhōu并bìng北běi俱jù芦lú洲zhōu之zhī地dì，妖yāo魔mó剪jiǎn伐fá，邪xié鬼guǐ潜qián踪zōng，今jīn蒙méng大dà圣shèng下xià降jiàng，不bù得dé不bù行xíng。

逐句解 Line by line

祖zǔ師shī道dào：「我wǒ當dāng年nián威wēi鎮zhèn北běi方fāng，統tǒng攝shè真zhēn武wǔ之zhī位wèi，剪jiǎn伐fá天tiān下xià妖yāo邪xié，乃nǎi奉fèng玉yù帝dì敕chì旨zhǐ。祖zǔ师shī道dào：「我wǒ当dāng年nián威wēi镇zhèn北běi方fāng，统tǒng摄shè真zhēn武wǔ之zhī位wèi，剪jiǎn伐fá天tiān下xià妖yāo邪xié，乃nǎi奉fèng玉yù帝dì敕chì旨zhǐ。

The Patriarch said, "In my day I held the north in awe, governed in the office of the True Warrior, and cut down the demons and heterodoxies of the world — and that was by decree of the Jade Emperor.

當 is dāng in 當年, back in those years. Notice what the god's answer establishes first — not how strong he was, but who authorised him.

後hòu又yòu披pī髮fà跣xiǎn足zú，踏tà騰téng蛇shé神shén龜guī，領lǐng五wǔ雷léi神shén將jiàng、巨jù虯qiú獅shī子zi、猛měng獸shòu毒dú龍lóng，收shōu降xiáng東dōng北běi方fāng黑hēi氣qì妖yāo氛fēn，乃nǎi奉fèng元yuán始shǐ天tiān尊zūn符fú召zhào。后hòu又yòu披pī发fà跣xiǎn足zú，踏tà腾téng蛇shé神shén龟guī，领lǐng五wǔ雷léi神shén将jiàng、巨jù虬qiú狮shī子zi、猛měng兽shòu毒dú龙lóng，收shōu降xiáng东dōng北běi方fāng黑hēi气qì妖yāo氛fēn，乃nǎi奉fèng元yuán始shǐ天tiān尊zūn符fú召zhào。

Afterwards, with hair unbound and feet unshod, treading the coiling serpent and the divine tortoise, leading the Five Thunder divine generals, the great hornless dragons and the lions, the fierce beasts and venomous dragons, I subdued the black-vapour miasma of the northeast — and that was at the talisman-summons of the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning.

Two readings part company here. 將 in 五雷神將 is jiàng, a general — a noun, where the same character was doing grammatical work in the passages before. 降 in 收降 is xiáng, to subdue and take a surrender; 康熙字典 puts that sense in the level-tone band with the gloss 伏也, to submit. The jiàng meaning to descend is the other band, and it turns up two segments further on, so the two sit close enough to compare.

今jīn日rì靜jìng享xiǎng武wǔ當dāng山shān，安ān逸yì太tài和hé殿diàn，一yí向xiàng海hǎi岳yuè平píng寧níng，乾qián坤kūn清qīng泰tài。今jīn日rì静jìng享xiǎng武wǔ当dāng山shān，安ān逸yì太tài和hé殿diàn，一yí向xiàng海hǎi岳yuè平píng宁níng，干qián坤kūn清qīng泰tài。

These days I take my quiet ease on Mount Wudang and rest at leisure in the Hall of Great Harmony; sea and mountain have long been at peace, and heaven and earth clear and settled.

乾 is qián, the first of the eight trigrams, paired with 坤 to mean heaven and earth together. Sea and mountain at peace answering heaven and earth clear and settled gives the god's retirement the cadence of an official proclamation.

奈nài何hé我wǒ南nán贍shàn部bù洲zhōu並bìng北běi俱jù蘆lú洲zhōu之zhī地dì，妖yāo魔mó剪jiǎn伐fá，邪xié鬼guǐ潛qián蹤zōng，今jīn蒙méng大dà聖shèng下xià降jiàng，不bù得dé不bù行xíng。奈nài何hé我wǒ南nán赡shàn部bù洲zhōu并bìng北běi俱jù芦lú洲zhōu之zhī地dì，妖yāo魔mó剪jiǎn伐fá，邪xié鬼guǐ潜qián踪zōng，今jīn蒙méng大dà圣shèng下xià降jiàng，不bù得dé不bù行xíng。

Yet in my Jambudvīpa and the Northern Continent of Kuru the fiends are cut down and the evil ghosts keep their tracks hidden; and now that the Great Sage has condescended to come down, I cannot but act.

下降 takes jiàng, the descending reading, two segments after 收降 took xiáng. 不得不 is a set phrase — bù dé bù, cannot but — and its 得 keeps the full dé. When 不得 follows a verb instead of preceding one it becomes unstressed de and means something quite different: could not manage to. Word order does all the work.

總評 Commentary

The god answers a request for help with a curriculum vitae, and it is the same one the hymn gave in verse a few passages back. Hearing it twice, once from the narrator and once from the man, is not repetition for its own sake: the hymn established what he is, this establishes on whose authority he ever acted.

Both campaigns are attributed. The first was by decree of the Jade Emperor; the second at the summons of a celestial worthy ranked above the Jade Emperor himself. He is building toward a point, and the point is that he has never once moved on his own initiative.

不得不行 is where the answer turns. Having said he is retired, at peace and unauthorised, he concedes that Monkey's arrival obliges him. The obligation is social rather than official — a Great Sage has come in person — and it is exactly the sort of warrant he has just spent two sentences saying he needs from above.