第八十五回 · 再不敢殺戮 Never Again To Kill Monks — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

再不敢殺戮 Never Again To Kill Monks

君jūn臣chén們men都dōu各gè汪wāng汪wāng滴dī淚lèi道dào：「從cóng此cǐ後hòu，再zài不bù敢gǎn殺shā戮lù和hé尚shàng也yě。」王wáng復fù上shàng龍lóng位wèi，眾zhòng官guān各gè立lì本běn班bān。王wáng又yòu道dào：「有yǒu事shì出chū班bān來lái奏zòu，無wú事shì捲juǎn簾lián散sàn朝cháo。」君jūn臣chén们men都dōu各gè汪wāng汪wāng滴dī泪lèi道dào：「从cóng此cǐ后hòu，再zài不bù敢gǎn杀shā戮lù和hé尚shàng也yě。」王wáng复fù上shàng龙lóng位wèi，众zhòng官guān各gè立lì本běn班bān。王wáng又yòu道dào：「有yǒu事shì出chū班bān来lái奏zòu，无wú事shì卷juǎn帘lián散sàn朝cháo。」

逐句解 Line by line

君jūn臣chén們men都dōu各gè汪wāng汪wāng滴dī淚lèi道dào：「從cóng此cǐ後hòu，再zài不bù敢gǎn殺shā戮lù和hé尚shàng也yě。」君jūn臣chén们men都dōu各gè汪wāng汪wāng滴dī泪lèi道dào：「从cóng此cǐ后hòu，再zài不bù敢gǎn杀shā戮lù和hé尚shàng也yě。」

Ruler and ministers alike, their eyes brimming, let the tears fall and said, "From this day forward we dare not slaughter monks again."

Here is the whole point of the arc, delivered in one line and through tears. 汪汪 is eyes swimming — the same doubling English reaches for in "brimming". The kingdom does not convert by argument; it converts by waking up and finding the argument already lost.

王wáng復fù上shàng龍lóng位wèi，眾zhòng官guān各gè立lì本běn班bān。王wáng复fù上shàng龙lóng位wèi，众zhòng官guān各gè立lì本běn班bān。

The king returned to the dragon seat, and the officers each took their proper places in the ranks.

本班 is one's own file in the court formation, fixed by rank. The machinery of state snaps back into position the moment the crying stops.

王wáng又yòu道dào：「有yǒu事shì出chū班bān來lái奏zòu，無wú事shì捲juǎn簾lián散sàn朝cháo。」王wáng又yòu道dào：「有yǒu事shì出chū班bān来lái奏zòu，无wú事shì卷juǎn帘lián散sàn朝cháo。」

The king said again, "Let any man with business step from the ranks and report it; if there is none, roll up the curtain and dismiss the court."

出班 — to step out of your file to speak — is what the next passage's officers will do. 捲簾散朝 is the set formula for closing an audience: the curtain screening the throne is rolled up and everyone goes home.

總評 Commentary

A kingdom that had sworn to butcher ten thousand monks abandons the policy in fourteen words, and the novel spends no time at all on the theology. What changed was not anybody's mind but everybody's scalp.

Then the routine resumes, and the resumption is the joke. Any business? No business? Roll up the curtain. The mass conversion of a realm is slotted in between agenda items, and the day proceeds.