第八十回 · 祥雲縹緲 Cloud of Good Omen — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

祥雲縹緲 Cloud of Good Omen

卻què說shuō大dà聖shèng縱zòng觔jīn斗dǒu，到dào了le半bàn空kōng，佇zhù定dìng雲yún光guāng，回huí頭tóu觀guān看kàn，只zhǐ見jiàn松sōng林lín中zhōng祥xiáng雲yún縹piǎo緲miǎo，瑞ruì靄ǎi氤yīn氳yūn。他tā忽hū失shī聲shēng叫jiào道dào：「好hǎo啊a！好hǎo啊a！」却què说shuō大dà圣shèng纵zòng觔jīn斗dǒu，到dào了le半bàn空kōng，伫zhù定dìng云yún光guāng，回huí头tóu观guān看kàn，只zhǐ见jiàn松sōng林lín中zhōng祥xiáng云yún缥piǎo缈miǎo，瑞ruì霭ǎi氤yīn氲yūn。他tā忽hū失shī声shēng叫jiào道dào：「好hǎo啊a！好hǎo啊a！」

逐句解 Line by line

卻què說shuō大dà聖shèng縱zòng觔jīn斗dǒu，到dào了le半bàn空kōng，佇zhù定dìng雲yún光guāng，回huí頭tóu觀guān看kàn，只zhǐ見jiàn松sōng林lín中zhōng祥xiáng雲yún縹piǎo緲miǎo，瑞ruì靄ǎi氤yīn氳yūn。却què说shuō大dà圣shèng纵zòng觔jīn斗dǒu，到dào了le半bàn空kōng，伫zhù定dìng云yún光guāng，回huí头tóu观guān看kàn，只zhǐ见jiàn松sōng林lín中zhōng祥xiáng云yún缥piǎo缈miǎo，瑞ruì霭ǎi氤yīn氲yūn。

Now the Great Sage rode his somersault up into mid-air, steadied himself on the light of his cloud, and looked back. All he could see was auspicious cloud drifting over the pine wood, and lucky vapours thick upon it.

The 斗 of 觔斗, the somersault that carries Pilgrim a hundred and eight thousand lǐ, is dǒu — a dipper or ladle, the shape the body makes turning over, not the dòu of fighting.

他tā忽hū失shī聲shēng叫jiào道dào：「好hǎo啊a！他tā忽hū失shī声shēng叫jiào道dào：「好hǎo啊a！

All at once he cried out, "Fine!

失聲 is to let a sound escape before you have decided to make it — the cry gets out on its own.

好hǎo啊a！」好hǎo啊a！」

Fine!"

Doubled, like the reassurances earlier in the chapter. Pilgrim is talking to himself in mid-air, which is when he is at his most honest.

總評 Commentary

The chapter changes viewpoint here and the change matters enormously. For nine passages we have watched the wood from inside it, at ground level, where Tripitaka is. Now we go up with Pilgrim and look down, and from above the wood has a colour.

What he sees is not a threat but a blessing — good cloud sitting over his master like weather. The whole tension of the rest of the chapter comes from this: Pilgrim can see the spiritual condition of a place from the air, and the people on the ground cannot, and they will not believe him when he tells them.