第九十一回 · 今晚正節 Tonight Is the Real Festival — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

今晚正節 Tonight Is the Real Festival

此cǐ夜yè正zhèng是shì十shí五wǔ元yuán宵xiāo。眾zhòng僧sēng道dào：「老lǎo師shī父fù，我wǒ們men前qián晚wǎn只zhǐ在zài荒huāng山shān與yǔ關guān廂xiāng看kàn燈dēng，今jīn晚wǎn正zhèng節jié，進jìn城chéng看kàn看kàn金jīn燈dēng如rú何hé？」唐táng僧sēng欣xīn然rán從cóng之zhī，同tóng行xíng者zhě三sān人rén及jí本běn寺sì多duō僧sēng進jìn城chéng看kàn燈dēng。正zhèng是shì：此cǐ夜yè正zhèng是shì十shí五wǔ元yuán宵xiāo。众zhòng僧sēng道dào：「老lǎo师shī父fù，我wǒ们men前qián晚wǎn只zhǐ在zài荒huāng山shān与yǔ关guān厢xiāng看kàn灯dēng，今jīn晚wǎn正zhèng节jié，进jìn城chéng看kàn看kàn金jīn灯dēng如rú何hé？」唐táng僧sēng欣xīn然rán从cóng之zhī，同tóng行xíng者zhě三sān人rén及jí本běn寺sì多duō僧sēng进jìn城chéng看kàn灯dēng。正zhèng是shì：

逐句解 Line by line

此cǐ夜yè正zhèng是shì十shí五wǔ元yuán宵xiāo。此cǐ夜yè正zhèng是shì十shí五wǔ元yuán宵xiāo。

That night was in truth the fifteenth, the Lantern Night.

Eight graphs, and they are the chapter's clock striking. 元宵 is the fifteenth of the first month — the first full moon of the year, and the night the chapter title names. Everything before this has been rehearsal.

眾zhòng僧sēng道dào：「老lǎo師shī父fù，我wǒ們men前qián晚wǎn只zhǐ在zài荒huāng山shān與yǔ關guān廂xiāng看kàn燈dēng，今jīn晚wǎn正zhèng節jié，進jìn城chéng看kàn看kàn金jīn燈dēng如rú何hé？」众zhòng僧sēng道dào：「老lǎo师shī父fù，我wǒ们men前qián晚wǎn只zhǐ在zài荒huāng山shān与yǔ关guān厢xiāng看kàn灯dēng，今jīn晚wǎn正zhèng节jié，进jìn城chéng看kàn看kàn金jīn灯dēng如rú何hé？」

The monks said, "Venerable master, the other evening we only looked at the lamps here at our poor mountain and in the suburb. Tonight is the real festival — how would it be to go into the city and see the golden lamps?"

The invitation that costs Tripitaka his freedom, and it is phrased as an apology for having under-entertained him. 正節 — the festival proper, as against the run-up. Note the escalation the chapter has been building one night at a time: monastery grounds, then the suburb, and now inside the walls. Nobody has proposed anything reckless at any stage.

唐táng僧sēng欣xīn然rán從cóng之zhī，同tóng行xíng者zhě三sān人rén及jí本běn寺sì多duō僧sēng進jìn城chéng看kàn燈dēng。唐táng僧sēng欣xīn然rán从cóng之zhī，同tóng行xíng者zhě三sān人rén及jí本běn寺sì多duō僧sēng进jìn城chéng看kàn灯dēng。

The Tang Monk gladly agreed, and went into the city with the three disciples and many monks of the monastery to see the lamps.

欣然 — gladly, with pleasure. He does not hesitate, and after two harmless outings there is no reason he should. A reading: 同行者三人 is tóng xíng zhě — Pilgrim and the other two, with 行 as xíng because 行者 is Pilgrim's title. The automatic reading takes it as háng, a row or line, which would make nonsense of it.

正zhèng是shì：正zhèng是shì：

It was just as the lines say:

正是 again, and this time it introduces the longest run of verse in the chapter. Twenty-five lines of lanterns are coming.

總評 Commentary

Four short units, and they are the hinge of the whole chapter. The monks explain that the two previous nights were only the warm-up and tonight is the festival proper, and they suggest — kindly, hospitably, with a note of apology for not having shown him the best of it — that the party come inside the city walls.

The escalation has been perfectly gradual. The first night they looked at lamps in the monastery. The second they walked out to the suburb. Tonight they go through the gate. Not one of those steps is larger than the one before it, which is exactly why nobody sees a decision being made. Tripitaka's 欣然, gladly, is the word the chapter has been working toward for fifteen hundred graphs.