第八十七回 · 地名鳳仙 The Place Is Called Fengxian — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

地名鳳仙 The Place Is Called Fengxian

路lù過guò寶bǎo方fāng，一yì則zé不bù知zhī地dì名míng，二èr則zé未wèi落luò人rén家jiā，才cái進jìn城chéng甚shèn失shī迴huí避bì，望wàng列liè公gōng恕shù罪zuì。」那nà官guān人rén卻què才cái施shī禮lǐ道dào：「此cǐ處chù乃nǎi天tiān竺zhú外wài郡jùn，地dì名míng鳳fèng仙xiān郡jùn。路lù过guò宝bǎo方fāng，一yì则zé不bù知zhī地dì名míng，二èr则zé未wèi落luò人rén家jiā，才cái进jìn城chéng甚shèn失shī回huí避bì，望wàng列liè公gōng恕shù罪zuì。」那nà官guān人rén却què才cái施shī礼lǐ道dào：「此cǐ处chù乃nǎi天tiān竺zhú外wài郡jùn，地dì名míng凤fèng仙xiān郡jùn。

逐句解 Line by line

路lù過guò寶bǎo方fāng，一yì則zé不bù知zhī地dì名míng，二èr則zé未wèi落luò人rén家jiā，才cái進jìn城chéng甚shèn失shī迴huí避bì，望wàng列liè公gōng恕shù罪zuì。」路lù过guò宝bǎo方fāng，一yì则zé不bù知zhī地dì名míng，二èr则zé未wèi落luò人rén家jiā，才cái进jìn城chéng甚shèn失shī回huí避bì，望wàng列liè公gōng恕shù罪zuì。」

"Passing through your esteemed district, we did not know the name of the place, and we had found no lodging; we have only just entered the city and have badly failed to keep out of your way. We beg you gentlemen to forgive the offence."

寶方, precious district, is flattery of the standard courteous kind — your fine town. 甚 is shèn here, the intensifier meaning very, as against the shén that turns the same character into the question word what. The two-part construction that pairs 一則 with 二則, first this and second that, is the shape of a careful formal apology.

那nà官guān人rén卻què才cái施shī禮lǐ道dào：「此cǐ處chù乃nǎi天tiān竺zhú外wài郡jùn，地dì名míng鳳fèng仙xiān郡jùn。那nà官guān人rén却què才cái施shī礼lǐ道dào：「此cǐ处chù乃nǎi天tiān竺zhú外wài郡jùn，地dì名míng凤fèng仙xiān郡jùn。

Only then did the official return the courtesy. "This is an outer prefecture of India," he said. "The place is called Fengxian Prefecture.

卻才 means only then — the man bows back only after being reassured. 鳳仙 is Phoenix Immortal, and the prefecture is about to be named thirty-nine times in this chapter, which makes it the second most common noun in the whole episode. That is a fair measure of how thoroughly this story belongs to a place rather than to a monster.

總評 Commentary

Tripitaka apologises for failing to get out of the way of people who were themselves blocking the street. It is absurd and it is exactly right: the fastest way to defuse frightened officials is to hand them back their dignity.

The chapter's title names Fengxian Prefecture, and here it finally arrives. Worth noticing what the novel has chosen as its antagonist for this stretch — not a fiend with a magic weapon, but a place-name, a jurisdiction, somewhere with an office, a registry and a problem.