第八十五回 · 兩淚交流 A Voice From the Opposite Tree — Journey to the West

兩淚交流 A Voice From the Opposite Tree

正zhèng自zì兩liǎng淚lèi交jiāo流liú，只zhǐ見jiàn對duì面miàn樹shù上shàng有yǒu人rén叫jiào道dào：「長zhǎng老lǎo，你nǐ也yě進jìn來lái了le？」長zhǎng老lǎo正zhèng了le性xìng道dào：「你nǐ是shì何hé人rén？」正zhèng自zì两liǎng泪lèi交jiāo流liú，只zhǐ见jiàn对duì面miàn树shù上shàng有yǒu人rén叫jiào道dào：「长zhǎng老lǎo，你nǐ也yě进jìn来lái了le？」长zhǎng老lǎo正zhèng了le性xìng道dào：「你nǐ是shì何hé人rén？」

逐句解 Line by line

正zhèng自zì兩liǎng淚lèi交jiāo流liú，只zhǐ見jiàn對duì面miàn樹shù上shàng有yǒu人rén叫jiào道dào：「長zhǎng老lǎo，你nǐ也yě進jìn來lái了le？」正zhèng自zì两liǎng泪lèi交jiāo流liú，只zhǐ见jiàn对duì面miàn树shù上shàng有yǒu人rén叫jiào道dào：「长zhǎng老lǎo，你nǐ也yě进jìn来lái了le？」

Just as the tears were running from both eyes, someone called from the tree opposite, "Elder — have you been brought in here too?"

你也進來了 — you have come in as well — is a wonderfully ordinary thing to say. Not who are you, not help, but the greeting of one prisoner recognising the arrival of another.

長zhǎng老lǎo正zhèng了le性xìng道dào：「你nǐ是shì何hé人rén？」长zhǎng老lǎo正zhèng了le性xìng道dào：「你nǐ是shì何hé人rén？」

The elder collected himself and said, "Who are you?"

正了性 is to steady the nature, to pull yourself together — the same 性 the battle poem used of the master when it called him the lord of the nature. He stops weeping the moment somebody else is in the room.

總評 Commentary

The novel has emptied the cave and put a second man in the garden, and the whole of the next scene is two people tied to trees talking about their mothers and their emperors.

Tripitaka steadies himself as soon as he is addressed. He has spent the chapter being frightened by weather and is entirely composed when the situation is real.