第七十八回 · 揖讓差池 His Hands Fumbled At The Courtesies — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

揖讓差池 His Hands Fumbled At The Courtesies

教jiào請qǐng進jìn來lái。黃huáng門mén官guān復fù奉fèng旨zhǐ，將jiāng長zhǎng老lǎo請qǐng入rù。長zhǎng老lǎo階jiē下xià朝cháo見jiàn畢bì，復fù請qǐng上shàng殿diàn賜cì坐zuò。長zhǎng老lǎo又yòu謝xiè恩ēn坐zuò了le。只zhǐ見jiàn那nà國guó王wáng相xiàng貌mào尪wāng羸léi，精jīng神shén倦juàn怠dài：舉jǔ手shǒu處chù，揖yī讓ràng差chā池chí；教jiào请qǐng进jìn来lái。黄huáng门mén官guān复fù奉fèng旨zhǐ，将jiāng长zhǎng老lǎo请qǐng入rù。长zhǎng老lǎo阶jiē下xià朝cháo见jiàn毕bì，复fù请qǐng上shàng殿diàn赐cì坐zuò。长zhǎng老lǎo又yòu谢xiè恩ēn坐zuò了le。只zhǐ见jiàn那nà国guó王wáng相xiàng貌mào尪wāng羸léi，精jīng神shén倦juàn怠dài：举jǔ手shǒu处chù，揖yī让ràng差chā池chí；

逐句解 Line by line

教jiào請qǐng進jìn來lái。教jiào请qǐng进jìn来lái。

He ordered him brought in.

Four characters. 教 is jiào in its causative use — to have somebody do something — which is how all eighteen in this chapter read.

黃huáng門mén官guān復fù奉fèng旨zhǐ，將jiāng長zhǎng老lǎo請qǐng入rù。黄huáng门mén官guān复fù奉fèng旨zhǐ，将jiāng长zhǎng老lǎo请qǐng入rù。

The officer of the Yellow Gate, receiving the order again, showed the elder in.

The machinery running in the other direction. 將 is jiāng, here the little word that puts an object before its verb.

長zhǎng老lǎo階jiē下xià朝cháo見jiàn畢bì，復fù請qǐng上shàng殿diàn賜cì坐zuò。长zhǎng老lǎo阶jiē下xià朝cháo见jiàn毕bì，复fù请qǐng上shàng殿diàn赐cì坐zuò。

The elder made his audience bow at the foot of the steps, and was then invited up into the hall and given a seat.

階下, at the foot of the steps, is where a commoner or a foreigner stands. Being asked up into the hall and given a seat is a real courtesy, and this king extends it at once.

長zhǎng老lǎo又yòu謝xiè恩ēn坐zuò了le。长zhǎng老lǎo又yòu谢xiè恩ēn坐zuò了le。

The elder gave thanks for the favour and sat down.

謝恩 — to thank for a kindness from a superior — is the required formula and Tripitaka produces it without prompting. Whatever else he is, he is a well-trained ambassador.

只zhǐ見jiàn那nà國guó王wáng相xiàng貌mào尪wāng羸léi，精jīng神shén倦juàn怠dài：舉jǔ手shǒu處chù，揖yī讓ràng差chā池chí；只zhǐ见jiàn那nà国guó王wáng相xiàng貌mào尪wāng羸léi，精jīng神shén倦juàn怠dài：举jǔ手shǒu处chù，揖yī让ràng差chā池chí；

He saw that the king was wasted in his looks and weary in spirit: when he raised his hands, his bows and yieldings went awry;

相 is xiàng in 相貌, appearance. 差池 keeps 差 at chā, the second reading that character takes in this chapter — it means uneven, out of true. 揖讓 is the whole choreography of court salutation, and the king cannot manage it.

總評 Commentary

Tripitaka is finally in the room, and what he sees is not a monster. It is a sick man who cannot get his hands through a bow.

The novel has been careful to arrange this. The reader has heard the king described as lawless by an official, cursed as a muddled king by Tripitaka and condemned in a poem, all before laying eyes on him. And when he does appear, he is too weak to perform a greeting.

The character for the fumbled courtesies is worth a note of its own. It has already appeared in this chapter meaning dispatched on an errand, and will again; here it means out of true. One character, three jobs, and the third one describes a man whose hands will not do what he tells them.