第八十七回 · 風雲際會 Wind and Cloud Come Together — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

風雲際會 Wind and Cloud Come Together

時shí有yǒu四sì大dà天tiān師shī奉fèng旨zhǐ，傳chuán與yǔ各gè部bù隨suí時shí下xià界jiè，各gè逞chěng神shén威wēi，一yì齊qí振zhèn作zuò。行xíng者zhě正zhèng與yǔ鄧dèng、辛xīn、張zhāng、陶táo令lìng閃shǎn電diàn娘niáng子zi在zài空kōng中zhōng調tiáo弄nòng，只zhǐ見jiàn眾zhòng神shén都dōu到dào，合hé會huì一yì天tiān。那nà其qí間jiān風fēng雲yún際jì會huì，甘gān雨yǔ滂pāng沱tuó。时shí有yǒu四sì大dà天tiān师shī奉fèng旨zhǐ，传chuán与yǔ各gè部bù随suí时shí下xià界jiè，各gè逞chěng神shén威wēi，一yì齐qí振zhèn作zuò。行xíng者zhě正zhèng与yǔ邓dèng、辛xīn、张zhāng、陶táo令lìng闪shǎn电diàn娘niáng子zi在zài空kōng中zhōng调tiáo弄nòng，只zhǐ见jiàn众zhòng神shén都dōu到dào，合hé会huì一yì天tiān。那nà其qí间jiān风fēng云yún际jì会huì，甘gān雨yǔ滂pāng沱tuó。

逐句解 Line by line

時shí有yǒu四sì大dà天tiān師shī奉fèng旨zhǐ，傳chuán與yǔ各gè部bù隨suí時shí下xià界jiè，各gè逞chěng神shén威wēi，一yì齊qí振zhèn作zuò。时shí有yǒu四sì大dà天tiān师shī奉fèng旨zhǐ，传chuán与yǔ各gè部bù随suí时shí下xià界jiè，各gè逞chěng神shén威wēi，一yì齐qí振zhèn作zuò。

The Four Great Preceptors received the edict and passed it to each department to go down at that same hour, and each put out its divine power and all set to work together.

各逞神威, each displaying divine power, and 一齊振作, all rousing together. The novel describes three celestial departments starting a rainstorm in the language of a work detail getting going.

行xíng者zhě正zhèng與yǔ鄧dèng、辛xīn、張zhāng、陶táo令lìng閃shǎn電diàn娘niáng子zi在zài空kōng中zhōng調tiáo弄nòng，只zhǐ見jiàn眾zhòng神shén都dōu到dào，合hé會huì一yì天tiān。行xíng者zhě正zhèng与yǔ邓dèng、辛xīn、张zhāng、陶táo令lìng闪shǎn电diàn娘niáng子zi在zài空kōng中zhōng调tiáo弄nòng，只zhǐ见jiàn众zhòng神shén都dōu到dào，合hé会huì一yì天tiān。

Pilgrim was up in the air with Deng, Xin, Zhang and Tao, working the Lightning Lady, when he saw all the gods arriving and the whole sky gathering into one.

調 is tiáo here, in 調弄, to work or play something — not the diào that means to transfer. 合會一天, converging into one sky, is a fine phrase for the moment several weather systems become one storm.

那nà其qí間jiān風fēng雲yún際jì會huì，甘gān雨yǔ滂pāng沱tuó。那nà其qí间jiān风fēng云yún际jì会huì，甘gān雨yǔ滂pāng沱tuó。

In that moment wind and cloud met together, and the sweet rain came down in torrents.

風雲際會 is a set phrase — wind and cloud meeting — used for the moment when circumstances converge and something long prepared finally happens. 滂沱 is a downpour, and both characters exist almost solely for it.

總評 Commentary

Pilgrim has been up there with borrowed thunder gods making noise, and now the real weather arrives around him.

There is a small comedy in the staging. He went round the system, got a friend in another department to lend him lightning, and set about doing it himself. And then the edict came through anyway, and three full departments turned up to do the job properly, and his improvised storm was absorbed into the official one.

The phrase the novel reaches for at the end of it — wind and cloud meeting — is the standard Chinese expression for a long-prepared moment finally arriving. It has been three years.