第六十八回 · 不亞大唐 No Less Than The Tang World — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

不亞大唐 No Less Than The Tang World

師shī徒tú們men在zài那nà大dà街jiē市shì上shàng行xíng時shí，但dàn見jiàn人rén物wù軒xuān昂áng，衣yī冠guān齊qí整zhěng，言yán語yǔ清qīng朗lǎng，真zhēn不bú亞yà大dà唐táng世shì界jiè。那nà兩liǎng邊biān做zuò買mǎi做zuò賣mài的de，忽hū見jiàn豬zhū八bā戒jiè相xiàng貌mào醜chǒu陋lòu，沙shā和hé尚shàng面miàn黑hēi身shēn長cháng，孫sūn行xíng者zhě臉liǎn毛máo額é廓kuò，丟diū了le買mǎi賣mài，都dōu來lái爭zhēng看kàn。师shī徒tú们men在zài那nà大dà街jiē市shì上shàng行xíng时shí，但dàn见jiàn人rén物wù轩xuān昂áng，衣yī冠guān齐qí整zhěng，言yán语yǔ清qīng朗lǎng，真zhēn不bú亚yà大dà唐táng世shì界jiè。那nà两liǎng边biān做zuò买mǎi做zuò卖mài的de，忽hū见jiàn猪zhū八bā戒jiè相xiàng貌mào丑chǒu陋lòu，沙shā和hé尚shàng面miàn黑hēi身shēn长cháng，孙sūn行xíng者zhě脸liǎn毛máo额é廓kuò，丢diū了le买mǎi卖mài，都dōu来lái争zhēng看kàn。

逐句解 Line by line

師shī徒tú們men在zài那nà大dà街jiē市shì上shàng行xíng時shí，但dàn見jiàn人rén物wù軒xuān昂áng，衣yī冠guān齊qí整zhěng，言yán語yǔ清qīng朗lǎng，真zhēn不bú亞yà大dà唐táng世shì界jiè。师shī徒tú们men在zài那nà大dà街jiē市shì上shàng行xíng时shí，但dàn见jiàn人rén物wù轩xuān昂áng，衣yī冠guān齐qí整zhěng，言yán语yǔ清qīng朗lǎng，真zhēn不bú亚yà大dà唐táng世shì界jiè。

As master and disciples went along the great market street, they saw that the people carried themselves with spirit, that caps and gowns were neat and orderly, and that speech was clear and pleasant — truly no whit behind the world of the Great Tang.

行 is xíng, to walk. The machine reaches for háng, pulled by 市上行 into reading the character as a row of stalls — but the subject is the pilgrims and the verb is their walking.

那nà兩liǎng邊biān做zuò買mǎi做zuò賣mài的de，忽hū見jiàn豬zhū八bā戒jiè相xiàng貌mào醜chǒu陋lòu，沙shā和hé尚shàng面miàn黑hēi身shēn長cháng，孫sūn行xíng者zhě臉liǎn毛máo額é廓kuò，丟diū了le買mǎi賣mài，都dōu來lái爭zhēng看kàn。那nà两liǎng边biān做zuò买mǎi做zuò卖mài的de，忽hū见jiàn猪zhū八bā戒jiè相xiàng貌mào丑chǒu陋lòu，沙shā和hé尚shàng面miàn黑hēi身shēn长cháng，孙sūn行xíng者zhě脸liǎn毛máo额é廓kuò，丢diū了le买mǎi卖mài，都dōu来lái争zhēng看kàn。

The traders buying and selling on either hand, catching sight of Zhu Eight Rules so hideous of feature, of Sha the Monk black-faced and long of body, and of Sun the Pilgrim hairy-cheeked and jutting of brow, dropped their business and came crowding to stare.

相 is xiàng in 相貌, the look of a face, rather than the xiāng of mutuality it carries elsewhere in the chapter. And 長 is cháng, long — it is describing the length of Sha Monk's frame. The other reading zhǎng, to grow or to be senior, is what comes up by default and is wrong.

總評 Commentary

The city has been shown from outside and above; now it is entered, and the writing drops at once from grand description to street level. What the pilgrims notice is bearing, dress and speech — the three things a traveller can judge a place by in the first minute.

The comparison to the Tang is the compliment this book keeps for kingdoms it means to take seriously, and it is paid before anything has gone wrong. Purpuria is no den and no ruin. It is a working capital, and whatever is the matter with it will have to be something the street does not show.

Then the sentence turns round. Having looked at the citizens, the pilgrims are looked at, and the inventory of their faces is as brisk as the inventory of the market. Each gets a clause of his own, though the sharing is uneven: Eight Rules is dismissed with a single word for his whole face, while Sha Monk and Pilgrim are each given two features to be stared at.