第七十一回 · 煙火既息 The Smoke Has Died Down — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

煙火既息 The Smoke Has Died Down

卻què說shuō那nà金jīn聖shèng宮gōng娘niáng娘niang往wǎng前qián正zhèng走zǒu，有yǒu小xiǎo妖yāo看kàn見jiàn，即jí報bào賽sài太tài歲suì道dào：「大dà王wáng，娘niáng娘niang來lái了le。」那nà妖yāo王wáng急jí出chū剝bō皮pí亭tíng外wài迎yíng迓yà。娘niáng娘niang道dào：「大dà王wáng啊a，煙yān火huǒ既jì息xī，賊zéi已yǐ無wú蹤zōng，深shēn夜yè之zhī際jì，特tè請qǐng大dà王wáng安ān置zhì。」却què说shuō那nà金jīn圣shèng宫gōng娘niáng娘niang往wǎng前qián正zhèng走zǒu，有yǒu小xiǎo妖yāo看kàn见jiàn，即jí报bào赛sài太tài岁suì道dào：「大dà王wáng，娘niáng娘niang来lái了le。」那nà妖yāo王wáng急jí出chū剥bō皮pí亭tíng外wài迎yíng迓yà。娘niáng娘niang道dào：「大dà王wáng啊a，烟yān火huǒ既jì息xī，贼zéi已yǐ无wú踪zōng，深shēn夜yè之zhī际jì，特tè请qǐng大dà王wáng安ān置zhì。」

逐句解 Line by line

卻què說shuō那nà金jīn聖shèng宮gōng娘niáng娘niang往wǎng前qián正zhèng走zǒu，有yǒu小xiǎo妖yāo看kàn見jiàn，却què说shuō那nà金jīn圣shèng宫gōng娘niáng娘niang往wǎng前qián正zhèng走zǒu，有yǒu小xiǎo妖yāo看kàn见jiàn，

Now as the Golden Sage Queen was making her way forward, some small fiends caught sight of her,

卻說 is the storyteller picking a thread back up — the twin of the 不題 that closed the last scene. One says we leave this here, the other says now, over on this side. 那 is nà.

即jí報bào賽sài太tài歲suì道dào：「大dà王wáng，娘niáng娘niang來lái了le。」即jí报bào赛sài太tài岁suì道dào：「大dà王wáng，娘niáng娘niang来lái了le。」

and reported at once to the Rival of the Grand Year, "Great King, the Queen is coming."

The fiend gets his full title from his own guards. 了 is the neutral le, marking her arrival as a thing that has happened.

那nà妖yāo王wáng急jí出chū剝bō皮pí亭tíng外wài迎yíng迓yà。那nà妖yāo王wáng急jí出chū剥bō皮pí亭tíng外wài迎yíng迓yà。

The fiend king hurried out beyond the Flaying Pavilion to meet her.

迎迓 doubles up: both characters mean going out to meet someone, and putting them together makes the greeting formal. He is being courtly, on the steps of a building named after skinning.

娘niáng娘niang道dào：「大dà王wáng啊a，煙yān火huǒ既jì息xī，賊zéi已yǐ無wú蹤zōng，娘niáng娘niang道dào：「大dà王wáng啊a，烟yān火huǒ既jì息xī，贼zéi已yǐ无wú踪zōng，

The Queen said, "Great King, the smoke and fire have died down and the thief has left no trace.

She opens with his own bad news, told back to him as reassurance. 既 is the classical already, and it pairs with the 已 in the next clause to make the two facts sound settled.

深shēn夜yè之zhī際jì，特tè請qǐng大dà王wáng安ān置zhì。」深shēn夜yè之zhī际jì，特tè请qǐng大dà王wáng安ān置zhì。」

"It is deep in the night. I have come on purpose to ask the Great King to retire."

安置 is the polite word for going to bed, of the sort you use to a superior. It is the third time the errand has been put into words: Wukong proposed it with 安寢, the queen used 安寢 again when she sent for the lanterns, and she will use it once more to the fiend 77 characters from here.

總評 Commentary

She does the whole thing perfectly. She walks out, she is announced, she is met at the door, and her opening line reassures the fiend about the very crisis he has spent all day failing to solve. Not one word of it is untrue and every word of it is a lie.

煙火既息，賊已無蹤 is the queen telling the fiend that the emergency is over. She knows exactly where the thief is, because she has just spent an hour arranging for him to be at her elbow. The irony works because she is not performing — the sentences are short, correct and unemphatic, the ordinary speech of a consort asking her lord to come to bed.

Watch the word for bed travel. Wukong proposed the plan with 安寢, the queen used 安寢 again when she ordered the lanterns lit, she says 安置 to the fiend here, and 77 characters further on she says 安寢 to him too. Four askings, two words, and the polite one saved for the moment she is looking him in the face.