第七十七回 · 金光影裡 Inside The Golden Light — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

金光影裡 Inside The Golden Light

行xíng者zhě將jiāng身shēn一yì閃shǎn，藏cáng在zài佛fó爺yé爺ye金jīn光guāng影yǐng裡lǐ，全quán然rán不bú見jiàn。只zhǐ見jiàn那nà過guò去qù、未wèi來lái、見xiàn在zài的de三sān尊zūn佛fó像xiàng與yǔ五wǔ百bǎi阿ā羅luó漢hàn、三sān千qiān揭jiē諦dì神shén，佈bù散sàn左zuǒ右yòu，把bǎ那nà三sān個gè妖yāo王wáng圍wéi住zhù，水shuǐ泄xiè不bù通tōng。行xíng者zhě将jiāng身shēn一yì闪shǎn，藏cáng在zài佛fó爷yé爷ye金jīn光guāng影yǐng里lǐ，全quán然rán不bú见jiàn。只zhǐ见jiàn那nà过guò去qù、未wèi来lái、见xiàn在zài的de三sān尊zūn佛fó像xiàng与yǔ五wǔ百bǎi阿ā罗luó汉hàn、三sān千qiān揭jiē谛dì神shén，布bù散sàn左zuǒ右yòu，把bǎ那nà三sān个gè妖yāo王wáng围wéi住zhù，水shuǐ泄xiè不bù通tōng。

逐句解 Line by line

行xíng者zhě將jiāng身shēn一yì閃shǎn，藏cáng在zài佛fó爺yé爺ye金jīn光guāng影yǐng裡lǐ，全quán然rán不bú見jiàn。行xíng者zhě将jiāng身shēn一yì闪shǎn，藏cáng在zài佛fó爷yé爷ye金jīn光guāng影yǐng里lǐ，全quán然rán不bú见jiàn。

Pilgrim gave his body a twist and hid in the shadow of the Buddha-father's golden light, so that he was not to be seen at all.

藏 is cáng, to hide — the same character that reads zàng in Tripitaka's name. 金光影裡, inside the shadow of the golden light, is a lovely paradox: the light is so strong it casts a place to hide.

只zhǐ見jiàn那nà過guò去qù、未wèi來lái、見xiàn在zài的de三sān尊zūn佛fó像xiàng與yǔ五wǔ百bǎi阿ā羅luó漢hàn、三sān千qiān揭jiē諦dì神shén，佈bù散sàn左zuǒ右yòu，把bǎ那nà三sān個gè妖yāo王wáng圍wéi住zhù，水shuǐ泄xiè不bù通tōng。只zhǐ见jiàn那nà过guò去qù、未wèi来lái、见xiàn在zài的de三sān尊zūn佛fó像xiàng与yǔ五wǔ百bǎi阿ā罗luó汉hàn、三sān千qiān揭jiē谛dì神shén，布bù散sàn左zuǒ右yòu，把bǎ那nà三sān个gè妖yāo王wáng围wéi住zhù，水shuǐ泄xiè不bù通tōng。

And there were the three Buddha images of past, future and present, with five hundred Arhats and three thousand Jieti gods, spread out to left and right, hemming the three monster kings in so that not a drop could leak through.

見 is xiàn here — 見在 is the older spelling of 現在, the present, so the three are past, future and present. 水泄不通, not even water gets through, is still the ordinary phrase for a place packed solid or a cordon with no gaps. The three Buddhas of past, present and future are a standard group you will see across the main altar of almost any Chinese temple.

總評 Commentary

The reveal is staged like theatre and the staging is the pleasure. Wukong vanishes into the light, and what the demons see when they look up is not a monkey.

The image of hiding inside the shadow of a light is doing more than sounding well. Wukong spends this chapter concealed — as a fly, as a palace demon, as a hair — and his last concealment is inside the brightness of the person he spent a page accusing of idleness.

And the arrangement in the sky is a temple. Three Buddhas across the middle, Arhats ranged to left and right: anyone who has walked into a Chinese temple hall has stood in front of this exact configuration. The demons have flown straight up into one.