Canonical Classics ← 第七十九回
第七十九回
xúndòngqínyāofénglǎoshòu
dāngcháozhèngzhǔjiùyīngér

Seeking the Cave to Seize the Fiend He Meets the Old Man of Longevity · At Court the True Sovereign Rescues the Infants

美人未獲
模式 Mode Read Study
拼音 Pinyin Off
字體 Script
原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

美人未獲 The Beauty Is Still Loose

xíngzhědào:「háiyǒuměirénwèihuòzhīshìshénmeguàiháiyòuyàotóngdàoqiūchéngjiànhūnjūnxiànxiànghuízhǐ。」xíngzhědào:「háiyǒuměirénwèihuòzhīshìshénmeguàiháiyòuyàotóngdàoqiūchéngjiànhūnjūnxiànxiànghuízhǐ。」


逐句解 Line by line

xíngzhědào:「háiyǒuměirénwèihuòzhīshìshénmeguài xíngzhědào:「háiyǒuměirénwèihuòzhīshìshénmeguài

Pilgrim said, "There is still the beauty, not caught yet, and no knowing what sort of creature she is;

The one thing nobody has established. Everyone has assumed she is a monster and nobody has seen her true shape — she has been a beautiful woman for three years and a frightened one for the last hour.

háiyòuyàotóngdàoqiūchéngjiànhūnjūnxiànxiànghuízhǐ。」 háiyòuyàotóngdàoqiūchéngjiànhūnjūnxiànxiànghuízhǐ。」

and we must go together to the city of Bhikṣu to see that muddled king, show the true forms and report back on the order."

現相 takes xiàng, showing the form. 回旨, reporting back on an imperial order, is bureaucratic language and Wukong uses it deliberately: he is telling a god that there is paperwork. The king was deceived in public and has to be undeceived in public, with the deer standing there.


總評 Commentary

The second item is the important one and it is not about capture at all. Wukong wants the deer walked back to the capital and shown to the court, because a kingdom that watched its ruler be fooled needs to watch the fooling be undone.

It is the same instinct that produced the display of hearts. Wukong's method with human institutions is never private correction; it is public demonstration. He could have let the god take the deer away and simply told the king what happened, and he refuses to.