第八十七回 · 人人歸善 Every Soul Turned to Goodness — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

人人歸善 Every Soul Turned to Goodness

且qiě不bù說shuō孫sūn大dà聖shèng指zhǐ揮huī雷léi將jiāng，掣chè電diàn轟hōng雷léi於yú鳳fèng仙xiān郡jùn，人rén人rén歸guī善shàn。卻què說shuō那nà上shàng界jiè直zhí符fú使shǐ者zhě將jiāng僧sēng、道dào兩liǎng家jiā的de文wén牒dié送sòng至zhì通tōng明míng殿diàn，四sì天tiān師shī傳chuán奏zòu靈líng霄xiāo殿diàn。且qiě不bù说shuō孙sūn大dà圣shèng指zhǐ挥huī雷léi将jiāng，掣chè电diàn轰hōng雷léi于yú凤fèng仙xiān郡jùn，人rén人rén归guī善shàn。却què说shuō那nà上shàng界jiè直zhí符fú使shǐ者zhě将jiāng僧sēng、道dào两liǎng家jiā的de文wén牒dié送sòng至zhì通tōng明míng殿diàn，四sì天tiān师shī传chuán奏zòu灵líng霄xiāo殿diàn。

逐句解 Line by line

且qiě不bù說shuō孫sūn大dà聖shèng指zhǐ揮huī雷léi將jiāng，掣chè電diàn轟hōng雷léi於yú鳳fèng仙xiān郡jùn，人rén人rén歸guī善shàn。且qiě不bù说shuō孙sūn大dà圣shèng指zhǐ挥huī雷léi将jiāng，掣chè电diàn轰hōng雷léi于yú凤fèng仙xiān郡jùn，人rén人rén归guī善shàn。

But leave aside the Great Sage Sun directing his thunder marshals, loosing lightning and crashing thunder over Fengxian Prefecture, and every soul turning to goodness.

且不說 is the storyteller's hand on the wheel — leave that aside for a moment. It is how the novel switches between two things happening at once, and it is about to cut from earth to heaven at the exact moment both are moving.

卻què說shuō那nà上shàng界jiè直zhí符fú使shǐ者zhě將jiāng僧sēng、道dào兩liǎng家jiā的de文wén牒dié送sòng至zhì通tōng明míng殿diàn，四sì天tiān師shī傳chuán奏zòu靈líng霄xiāo殿diàn。却què说shuō那nà上shàng界jiè直zhí符fú使shǐ者zhě将jiāng僧sēng、道dào两liǎng家jiā的de文wén牒dié送sòng至zhì通tōng明míng殿diàn，四sì天tiān师shī传chuán奏zòu灵líng霄xiāo殿diàn。

Now then: up in the world above, the Duty Talisman Officer delivered the documents from both the Buddhist and the Daoist side to the Hall of Perfect Light, and the Four Preceptors forwarded them to the Hall of Divine Mists.

兩家, both houses — Buddhist and Daoist. The prefect covered himself with both and both filings are moving up the chain together. 傳奏 is to pass a memorial upward, one office to the next.

總評 Commentary

The novel cuts between two scenes for the first time in the chapter, and the timing is precise: thunder is rolling over Fengxian at the same moment the paperwork reaches the throne.

Which is the chapter's whole method in miniature. Pilgrim went around the edict by borrowing thunder from a friendly department; the documents went up the proper channel. Both arrive at once, and the novel is not going to tell you which one worked.