Canonical Classics ← 第六十八回
第六十八回
zhūguótángsēnglùnqiánshì
sūnxíngzhěshīwéisānzhégōng

At Purpuria the Tang Monk Discourses on a Former Life · Pilgrim Sun Practises as a Thrice-Broken Arm

宣上金殿
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拼音 Pinyin Off
字體 Script
原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

宣上金殿 Summoned Up To The Golden Hall

sānzàngbàiguówángyòuxuānshàngjīn殿diànzuòmìngguāng祿bànzhāisānzàngxièleēnjiāngguānwénxiànshàngsānzàngbàiguówángyòuxuānshàngjīn殿diànzuòmìngguāngbànzhāisānzàngxièleēnjiāngguānwénxiànshàng


逐句解 Line by line

sānzàngbài sānzàngbài

Tripitaka at once made his obeisance and prostrated himself.

俯伏 is to lie face down — the fullest form of the prostration, more than the bow that 禮拜 on its own would name.

guówángyòuxuānshàngjīn殿diànzuòmìngguāng祿bànzhāi guówángyòuxuānshàngjīn殿diànzuòmìngguāngbànzhāi

The king summoned him further up onto the golden hall, bestowed a seat on him, and ordered the Court of Banqueting to prepare a vegetarian meal.

光祿寺 was the office in charge of imperial provisioning and feasts. Purpuria is being given the machinery of a Chinese court rather than a foreign one.

sānzàngxièleēnjiāngguānwénxiànshàng sānzàngxièleēnjiāngguānwénxiànshàng

Tripitaka gave thanks for the favour and presented the rescript.

is jiāng, the little word that pushes the object in front of its verb — the first of this chapter's nine occurrences, and not the jiàng of a general.


總評 Commentary

The reception escalates in three moves: summoned to the steps, summoned onto the hall, given a seat. A seat in front of a king is a considerable thing, and it is granted to a travelling monk who has produced no credentials yet.

Only then does Tripitaka hand over the document he came for. The order is polite and also disadvantageous — he has accepted hospitality before stating his business, which is exactly the position that makes it hard to leave.