第七十九回 · 真仙真佛 True Immortals Come Down — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

真仙真佛 True Immortals Come Down

國guó王wáng即jí傳chuán旨zhǐ，教jiào光guāng祿lù寺sì快kuài辦bàn齋zhāi供gòng。不bú一yì時shí齋zhāi到dào。八bā戒jiè盡jìn飽bǎo一yì餐cān，抖dǒu擻sǒu精jīng神shén，隨suí行xíng者zhě駕jià雲yún而ér起qǐ。諕xià得de那nà國guó王wáng、妃fēi后hòu並bìng文wén武wǔ多duō官guān，一yí個gè個gè朝cháo空kōng禮lǐ拜bài，都dōu道dào：「是shì真zhēn仙xiān真zhēn佛fó降jiàng臨lín凡fán也yě。」国guó王wáng即jí传chuán旨zhǐ，教jiào光guāng禄lù寺sì快kuài办bàn斋zhāi供gòng。不bú一yì时shí斋zhāi到dào。八bā戒jiè尽jìn饱bǎo一yì餐cān，抖dǒu擞sǒu精jīng神shén，随suí行xíng者zhě驾jià云yún而ér起qǐ。諕xià得de那nà国guó王wáng、妃fēi后hòu并bìng文wén武wǔ多duō官guān，一yí个gè个gè朝cháo空kōng礼lǐ拜bài，都dōu道dào：「是shì真zhēn仙xiān真zhēn佛fó降jiàng临lín凡fán也yě。」

逐句解 Line by line

國guó王wáng即jí傳chuán旨zhǐ，教jiào光guāng祿lù寺sì快kuài辦bàn齋zhāi供gòng。国guó王wáng即jí传chuán旨zhǐ，教jiào光guāng禄lù寺sì快kuài办bàn斋zhāi供gòng。

The king at once gave the order, telling the Court of Imperial Entertainments to prepare a vegetarian meal with all speed.

The 光祿寺, Court of Imperial Entertainments, was a real Ming institution responsible for court banquets and sacrificial food, so the novel is again furnishing its foreign kingdom out of the reader's own government. 齋供 is vegetarian fare prepared as an offering — 供 is gòng, the noun, a thing set out.

不bú一yì時shí齋zhāi到dào。不bú一yì时shí斋zhāi到dào。

In no time the meal arrived.

Five characters. The novel spends fifty on Bajie's hunger and five on the kitchen, which is the correct proportion. 不 is bú here: it stands before 一, which has itself already shifted to yì, and the change runs on down the chain.

八bā戒jiè盡jìn飽bǎo一yì餐cān，抖dǒu擻sǒu精jīng神shén，隨suí行xíng者zhě駕jià雲yún而ér起qǐ。八bā戒jiè尽jìn饱bǎo一yì餐cān，抖dǒu擞sǒu精jīng神shén，随suí行xíng者zhě驾jià云yún而ér起qǐ。

Bajie ate his fill, shook out his spirits, and rose on a cloud behind Pilgrim.

抖擻精神 — shaking out the spirits, like snapping a cloth straight — is a fixed phrase for pulling yourself together, and it is still current. The novel gives it to Bajie almost every time he has just eaten.

諕xià得de那nà國guó王wáng、妃fēi后hòu並bìng文wén武wǔ多duō官guān，一yí個gè個gè朝cháo空kōng禮lǐ拜bài，都dōu道dào：「是shì真zhēn仙xiān真zhēn佛fó降jiàng臨lín凡fán也yě。」諕xià得de那nà国guó王wáng、妃fēi后hòu并bìng文wén武wǔ多duō官guān，一yí个gè个gè朝cháo空kōng礼lǐ拜bài，都dōu道dào：「是shì真zhēn仙xiān真zhēn佛fó降jiàng临lín凡fán也yě。」

The king, the consorts and the civil and military officers were so struck that every one of them bowed towards the sky, and they all said, "These are true immortals and true buddhas come down among mortals."

諕得 again, with xià and de — the fifth and last of the chapter's five. Earlier it was fright; here it is closer to awe, and the same word covers both. The court has settled on a theology at last, and it is wrong in the friendliest possible direction.

總評 Commentary

The scene ends on a whole kingdom bowing at an empty sky, which is a fair picture of how this court has behaved throughout: it worships whatever was most recently impressive. Three years ago that was a man with a staff.

There is a joke in the exit as well. The two figures ascending in glory are a pig who has just eaten everything on the table and a monkey who is impatient to get on. The novel gets its holiness and its comedy out of exactly the same sentence, and never chooses between them.