第六十九回 · 分坐左右 Seated To Left And Right — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

分坐左右 Seated To Left And Right

今jīn聞wén老lǎo爺yé大dà展zhǎn三sān折zhé之zhī肱gōng，治zhì我wǒ一yì國guó之zhī主zhǔ，若ruò主zhǔ上shàng病bìng愈yù，老lǎo爺yé江jiāng山shān有yǒu分fèn，我wǒ輩bèi皆jiē臣chén子zǐ也yě，禮lǐ當dāng拜bài請qǐng。」行xíng者zhě見jiàn說shuō，欣xīn然rán登dēng堂táng上shàng坐zuò；八bā戒jiè、沙shā僧sēng分fēn坐zuò左zuǒ右yòu。今jīn闻wén老lǎo爷yé大dà展zhǎn三sān折zhé之zhī肱gōng，治zhì我wǒ一yì国guó之zhī主zhǔ，若ruò主zhǔ上shàng病bìng愈yù，老lǎo爷yé江jiāng山shān有yǒu分fèn，我wǒ辈bèi皆jiē臣chén子zǐ也yě，礼lǐ当dāng拜bài请qǐng。」行xíng者zhě见jiàn说shuō，欣xīn然rán登dēng堂táng上shàng坐zuò；八bā戒jiè、沙shā僧sēng分fēn坐zuò左zuǒ右yòu。

逐句解 Line by line

今jīn聞wén老lǎo爺yé大dà展zhǎn三sān折zhé之zhī肱gōng，治zhì我wǒ一yì國guó之zhī主zhǔ，若ruò主zhǔ上shàng病bìng愈yù，老lǎo爺yé江jiāng山shān有yǒu分fèn，我wǒ輩bèi皆jiē臣chén子zǐ也yě，禮lǐ當dāng拜bài請qǐng。」今jīn闻wén老lǎo爷yé大dà展zhǎn三sān折zhé之zhī肱gōng，治zhì我wǒ一yì国guó之zhī主zhǔ，若ruò主zhǔ上shàng病bìng愈yù，老lǎo爷yé江jiāng山shān有yǒu分fèn，我wǒ辈bèi皆jiē臣chén子zǐ也yě，礼lǐ当dāng拜bài请qǐng。」

"Now I hear that your worship has displayed in full the arm broken three times, and is treating the lord of our whole kingdom. If His Majesty recovers, your worship will have a share in these rivers and hills, and we are all of us subjects — propriety requires that we kneel to invite you."

三折之肱 is a proverb: a man whose arm has been broken three times ends up a physician himself, because he has learned the trade the hard way. It is a compliment, and a slightly backhanded one. 分 is fèn here, an allotted share — the sense 康熙 files separately and glosses 名分也 — and not the fēn of dividing, which turns up in this very passage two lines down. 子 in 臣子 is the full zǐ of a compound noun, like 太子 or 弟子, not the light suffix zi of 銀子.

行xíng者zhě見jiàn說shuō，欣xīn然rán登dēng堂táng上shàng坐zuò；行xíng者zhě见jiàn说shuō，欣xīn然rán登dēng堂táng上shàng坐zuò；

Hearing this, Pilgrim was pleased. He went up into the hall and took the seat of honour;

欣然 — pleased, and not troubling to hide it.

八bā戒jiè、沙shā僧sēng分fēn坐zuò左zuǒ右yòu。八bā戒jiè、沙shā僧sēng分fēn坐zuò左zuǒ右yòu。

and Eight Rules and Sha the monk took their places to left and right of him.

分 is fēn now, to divide or take separately — the other reading of the character the steward just used for a share of a kingdom.

總評 Commentary

The steward states his calculation out loud: if the king recovers, this monk will end up with a share in the kingdom, and stewards are subjects. Deference is being paid forward against an expected result, and nobody in the room finds that remarkable.

Pilgrim's reaction settles how he takes it. He is pleased, goes straight up to the seat of honour, and has his brothers arranged on either side of him. The party turned away at this door in the morning is now sitting in state at it.