第八十回 · 魂飛魄散 The Tomb Sweeping Ambush — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

魂飛魄散 The Tomb Sweeping Ambush

時shí遇yù清qīng明míng，邀yāo請qǐng諸zhū親qīn及jí本běn家jiā老lǎo小xiǎo拜bài掃sǎo先xiān塋yíng，一yì行xíng轎jiào馬mǎ，都dōu到dào了le荒huāng郊jiāo野yě外wài。至zhì塋yíng前qián，擺bǎi開kāi祭jì祀sì，剛gāng燒shāo化huà紙zhǐ馬mǎ，只zhǐ聞wén得dé鑼luó鳴míng鼓gǔ響xiǎng，跑pǎo出chū一yì夥huǒ強qiáng人rén，持chí刀dāo弄nòng杖zhàng，喊hǎn殺shā前qián來lái，慌huāng得de我wǒ們men魂hún飛fēi魄pò散sàn。时shí遇yù清qīng明míng，邀yāo请qǐng诸zhū亲qīn及jí本běn家jiā老lǎo小xiǎo拜bài扫sǎo先xiān茔yíng，一yì行xíng轿jiào马mǎ，都dōu到dào了le荒huāng郊jiāo野yě外wài。至zhì茔yíng前qián，摆bǎi开kāi祭jì祀sì，刚gāng烧shāo化huà纸zhǐ马mǎ，只zhǐ闻wén得dé锣luó鸣míng鼓gǔ响xiǎng，跑pǎo出chū一yì伙huǒ强qiáng人rén，持chí刀dāo弄nòng杖zhàng，喊hǎn杀shā前qián来lái，慌huāng得de我wǒ们men魂hún飞fēi魄pò散sàn。

逐句解 Line by line

時shí遇yù清qīng明míng，邀yāo請qǐng諸zhū親qīn及jí本běn家jiā老lǎo小xiǎo拜bài掃sǎo先xiān塋yíng，一yì行xíng轎jiào馬mǎ，都dōu到dào了le荒huāng郊jiāo野yě外wài。时shí遇yù清qīng明míng，邀yāo请qǐng诸zhū亲qīn及jí本běn家jiā老lǎo小xiǎo拜bài扫sǎo先xiān茔yíng，一yì行xíng轿jiào马mǎ，都dōu到dào了le荒huāng郊jiāo野yě外wài。

At the season of Clear and Bright, they invited all our relatives and the whole household, old and young, to sweep the ancestral graves; and the whole party of chairs and horses came out to the empty country beyond the town.

清明, Clear and Bright, falls in early April and is the day Chinese families still go out to tend the graves. Setting her story on it is a good stroke: it is the one occasion that plausibly takes a sheltered young woman out of the house and into open country.

至zhì塋yíng前qián，擺bǎi開kāi祭jì祀sì，剛gāng燒shāo化huà紙zhǐ馬mǎ，只zhǐ聞wén得dé鑼luó鳴míng鼓gǔ響xiǎng，跑pǎo出chū一yì夥huǒ強qiáng人rén，持chí刀dāo弄nòng杖zhàng，喊hǎn殺shā前qián來lái，慌huāng得de我wǒ們men魂hún飛fēi魄pò散sàn。至zhì茔yíng前qián，摆bǎi开kāi祭jì祀sì，刚gāng烧shāo化huà纸zhǐ马mǎ，只zhǐ闻wén得dé锣luó鸣míng鼓gǔ响xiǎng，跑pǎo出chū一yì伙huǒ强qiáng人rén，持chí刀dāo弄nòng杖zhàng，喊hǎn杀shā前qián来lái，慌huāng得de我wǒ们men魂hún飞fēi魄pò散sàn。

Before the graves they laid out the offerings, and had only just burned the paper horses when we heard gongs and drums sounding, and a band of brigands came running out brandishing swords and clubs, shouting murder as they came, and we were so terrified that our souls flew and our spirits scattered.

In 慌得 the 得 is the unstressed de hanging the result on the verb — frightened to the point that. 魂飛魄散, souls flying and spirits scattering, is still the ordinary Chinese way of saying somebody was scared out of their wits. The paper horses are burned so the dead can ride them.

總評 Commentary

Sixty-nine characters of well-observed detail, and every one of them false. The offerings laid out, the paper horses only just alight, the gongs before the men appear — this is the work of somebody who knows exactly how much specificity a lie needs.

The choice of Clear and Bright is the cleverest part. It is a festival about obligation to your ancestors, which is precisely the sort of piety that will move the monk listening. She has not simply invented a disaster; she has invented one that happened while she was being a good daughter.