第七十七回 · 直至鷲峰 Down At The Vulture Peak — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

直至鷲峰 Down At The Vulture Peak

好hǎo大dà聖shèng，急jí翻fān身shēn，駕jià起qǐ觔jīn斗dǒu雲yún，徑jìng投tóu天tiān竺zhú，那nǎ裡lǐ消xiāo一yí個gè時shí辰chén，早zǎo望wàng見jiàn靈líng山shān不bù遠yuǎn。須xū臾yú間jiān，按àn落luò雲yún頭tóu，直zhí至zhì鷲jiù峰fēng之zhī下xià。忽hū擡tái頭tóu，見jiàn四sì大dà金jīn剛gāng擋dǎng住zhù道dào：「那nǎ裡lǐ走zǒu？」好hǎo大dà圣shèng，急jí翻fān身shēn，驾jià起qǐ觔jīn斗dǒu云yún，径jìng投tóu天tiān竺zhú，那nǎ里lǐ消xiāo一yí个gè时shí辰chén，早zǎo望wàng见jiàn灵líng山shān不bù远yuǎn。须xū臾yú间jiān，按àn落luò云yún头tóu，直zhí至zhì鹫jiù峰fēng之zhī下xià。忽hū抬tái头tóu，见jiàn四sì大dà金jīn刚gāng挡dǎng住zhù道dào：「那nǎ里lǐ走zǒu？」

逐句解 Line by line

好hǎo大dà聖shèng，急jí翻fān身shēn，駕jià起qǐ觔jīn斗dǒu雲yún，徑jìng投tóu天tiān竺zhú，那nǎ裡lǐ消xiāo一yí個gè時shí辰chén，早zǎo望wàng見jiàn靈líng山shān不bù遠yuǎn。好hǎo大dà圣shèng，急jí翻fān身shēn，驾jià起qǐ觔jīn斗dǒu云yún，径jìng投tóu天tiān竺zhú，那nǎ里lǐ消xiāo一yí个gè时shí辰chén，早zǎo望wàng见jiàn灵líng山shān不bù远yuǎn。

Excellent Great Sage! He turned about at once, mounted the somersault cloud and made straight for India; it hardly took him an hour before he had the Spirit Mountain in sight, not far off.

那裡 is nǎ here and it is not really a question: how could it take an hour is the Chinese way of saying it took no time at all. 天竺 is India, and 靈山, the Spirit Mountain, is the pilgrims' destination — the place they have been walking towards for seventy-odd chapters.

須xū臾yú間jiān，按àn落luò雲yún頭tóu，直zhí至zhì鷲jiù峰fēng之zhī下xià。须xū臾yú间jiān，按àn落luò云yún头tóu，直zhí至zhì鹫jiù峰fēng之zhī下xià。

In a moment he brought his cloud down and came straight to the foot of Vulture Peak.

鷲峰 is Gridhrakuta, the Vulture Peak outside Rajagriha where the Buddha is said to have preached the Lotus Sutra. It is a real hill in Bihar and you can still climb it.

忽hū擡tái頭tóu，見jiàn四sì大dà金jīn剛gāng擋dǎng住zhù道dào：「那nǎ裡lǐ走zǒu？」忽hū抬tái头tóu，见jiàn四sì大dà金jīn刚gāng挡dǎng住zhù道dào：「那nǎ里lǐ走zǒu？」

He looked up suddenly, and there were the Four Great Vajra Guardians blocking the way. "Where do you think you are going?"

那 is nǎ again, and it is the same challenge the old fiend shouted at the pilgrims on the wall — the identical three characters. The gatekeepers of paradise and the monsters of Lion Camel City use the same words.

總評 Commentary

The cruelty of the geography is the point. Wukong covers in under an hour a distance his master has been walking towards for fourteen years, and he does it to complain about the walk.

Vulture Peak is a real place and the novel treats it as one. Its Chinese name means the peak of the vultures, from a rock outcrop said to look like one, and Chinese Buddhists knew it as the address where the most important sermons were given.

And then he is stopped at the door with the same three characters the demons used. The book puts that echo there on purpose. Wukong has flown from one gate where he was not wanted to another, and the greeting has not changed.