第六十九回 · 三條金線 The Three Golden Threads — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

三條金線 The Three Golden Threads

話huà表biǎo孫sūn大dà聖shèng同tóng近jìn侍shì宦huàn官guān到dào於yú皇huáng宮gōng內nèi院yuàn，直zhí至zhì寢qǐn宮gōng門mén外wài立lì定dìng。將jiāng三sān條tiáo金jīn線xiàn與yǔ宦huàn官guān拿ná入rù裡lǐ面miàn，吩fēn咐fù：「教jiào內nèi宮gōng妃fēi后hòu，或huò近jìn侍shì太tài監jiān，先xiān繫jì在zài聖shèng躬gōng左zuǒ手shǒu腕wàn下xià，按àn寸cùn、關guān、尺chǐ三sān部bù上shàng，卻què將jiāng線xiàn頭tóu從cóng窗chuāng櫺líng兒er穿chuān出chū與yǔ我wǒ。」真zhēn個gè那nà宦huàn官guān依yī此cǐ言yán，請qǐng國guó王wáng坐zuò在zài龍lóng床chuáng，按àn寸cùn、關guān、尺chǐ，以yǐ金jīn線xiàn一yì頭tóu繫jì了le，一yì頭tóu理lǐ出chū窗chuāng外wài。话huà表biǎo孙sūn大dà圣shèng同tóng近jìn侍shì宦huàn官guān到dào于yú皇huáng宫gōng内nèi院yuàn，直zhí至zhì寝qǐn宫gōng门mén外wài立lì定dìng。将jiāng三sān条tiáo金jīn线xiàn与yǔ宦huàn官guān拿ná入rù里lǐ面miàn，吩fēn咐fù：「教jiào内nèi宫gōng妃fēi后hòu，或huò近jìn侍shì太tài监jiān，先xiān系jì在zài圣shèng躬gōng左zuǒ手shǒu腕wàn下xià，按àn寸cùn、关guān、尺chǐ三sān部bù上shàng，却què将jiāng线xiàn头tóu从cóng窗chuāng櫺líng儿er穿chuān出chū与yǔ我wǒ。」真zhēn个gè那nà宦huàn官guān依yī此cǐ言yán，请qǐng国guó王wáng坐zuò在zài龙lóng床chuáng，按àn寸cùn、关guān、尺chǐ，以yǐ金jīn线xiàn一yì头tóu系jì了le，一yì头tóu理lǐ出chū窗chuāng外wài。

逐句解 Line by line

話huà表biǎo孫sūn大dà聖shèng同tóng近jìn侍shì宦huàn官guān到dào於yú皇huáng宮gōng內nèi院yuàn，直zhí至zhì寢qǐn宮gōng門mén外wài立lì定dìng。话huà表biǎo孙sūn大dà圣shèng同tóng近jìn侍shì宦huàn官guān到dào于yú皇huáng宫gōng内nèi院yuàn，直zhí至zhì寝qǐn宫gōng门mén外wài立lì定dìng。

The story relates that the Great Sage Sun went in with the attendant eunuch to the inner court of the palace, and came to a halt directly outside the door of the royal bedchamber.

The storyteller clears his throat. 話表 is the formula for picking a thread back up — roughly "so then" — and it tells a listening audience that the previous chapter is over and this one starts here.

將jiāng三sān條tiáo金jīn線xiàn與yǔ宦huàn官guān拿ná入rù裡lǐ面miàn，吩fēn咐fù：「教jiào內nèi宮gōng妃fēi后hòu，或huò近jìn侍shì太tài監jiān，先xiān繫jì在zài聖shèng躬gōng左zuǒ手shǒu腕wàn下xià，按àn寸cùn、關guān、尺chǐ三sān部bù上shàng，卻què將jiāng線xiàn頭tóu從cóng窗chuāng櫺líng兒er穿chuān出chū與yǔ我wǒ。」将jiāng三sān条tiáo金jīn线xiàn与yǔ宦huàn官guān拿ná入rù里lǐ面miàn，吩fēn咐fù：「教jiào内nèi宫gōng妃fēi后hòu，或huò近jìn侍shì太tài监jiān，先xiān系jì在zài圣shèng躬gōng左zuǒ手shǒu腕wàn下xià，按àn寸cùn、关guān、尺chǐ三sān部bù上shàng，却què将jiāng线xiàn头tóu从cóng窗chuāng櫺líng儿er穿chuān出chū与yǔ我wǒ。」

He handed the three golden threads to the eunuch to carry inside, with these instructions: "Have one of the consorts of the inner palace, or an attendant eunuch, tie them first below His Majesty's left wrist, at the three stations of cùn, guān and chǐ, and then pass the ends of the threads out to me through the window lattice."

Everything in this sentence is arrangement, and the arrangement is the trick. Three gold threads go in; the king is tied at the wrist; the ends come back out through a window. Pilgrim will never be in the room. 寸, 關 and 尺 are the three pulse stations of Chinese medicine, and their names are measurements — the inch and the foot. They sit in a row along the artery at the wrist, and each wrist carries all three, which is why the threads will shortly have to be untied and moved across. 繫 is jì here, to tie something fast, not the xì of connection or lineage. The 兒 on the end of 窗櫺兒 is the light toneless er that Chinese tacks onto a homely noun — a lattice, not the window lattice — and not the full ér of 兒子, a son.

真zhēn個gè那nà宦huàn官guān依yī此cǐ言yán，請qǐng國guó王wáng坐zuò在zài龍lóng床chuáng，按àn寸cùn、關guān、尺chǐ，以yǐ金jīn線xiàn一yì頭tóu繫jì了le，一yì頭tóu理lǐ出chū窗chuāng外wài。真zhēn个gè那nà宦huàn官guān依yī此cǐ言yán，请qǐng国guó王wáng坐zuò在zài龙lóng床chuáng，按àn寸cùn、关guān、尺chǐ，以yǐ金jīn线xiàn一yì头tóu系jì了le，一yì头tóu理lǐ出chū窗chuāng外wài。

The eunuch did exactly as he was told. He asked the king to be seated on the dragon couch, and at the cùn, guān and chǐ stations he made one end of each golden thread fast, drawing the other end out through the window.

The eunuch does exactly as told, and the narrator walks through it a second time in almost the same words. That is deliberate: an audience that has watched the setup twice cannot later be told it happened behind a curtain. 繫 is jì again.

總評 Commentary

The examination by golden thread is one of the set pieces everybody remembers, and the narrator opens it with the plumbing rather than the marvel. Three threads, a eunuch to carry them, a named place on each wrist, a window lattice to pass the ends back through.

The arrangement is described twice — once as Pilgrim's instruction, once as the eunuch carrying it out — and the repetition is doing real work. Anyone who has watched a conjuror knows the trick lives in the part you did not see. Here there is no part you did not see.