第九十二回 · 假充諸佛 The False Buddhas Named — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

假充諸佛 The False Buddhas Named

眾zhòng等děng遵zūn言yán，辭cí龍lóng王wáng父fù子zǐ，都dōu出chū西xī海hǎi。牽qiān著zhe犀xī牛niú，會huì著zháo奎kuí、斗dǒu二èr星xīng，駕jià雲yún霧wù，徑jìng轉zhuǎn金jīn平píng府fǔ。行xíng者zhě足zú踏tà祥xiáng光guāng，半bàn空kōng中zhōng叫jiào道dào：「金jīn平píng府fǔ刺cì史shǐ、各gè佐zuǒ貳èr郎láng官guān並bìng府fǔ城chéng內nèi外wài軍jūn民mín人rén等děng聽tīng著zhe：吾wú乃nǎi東dōng土tǔ大dà唐táng差chāi往wǎng西xī天tiān取qǔ經jīng的de聖shèng僧sēng。你nǐ這zhè府fǔ縣xiàn，每měi年nián家jiā供gòng獻xiàn金jīn燈dēng，假jiǎ充chōng諸zhū佛fó降jiàng祥xiáng者zhě，即jí此cǐ犀xī牛niú之zhī怪guài。我wǒ等děng過guò此cǐ，因yīn元yuán夜yè觀guān燈dēng，見jiàn這zhè怪guài將jiāng燈dēng油yóu並bìng我wǒ師shī父fù攝shè去qù，是shì我wǒ請qǐng天tiān神shén收shōu伏fú。今jīn已yǐ掃sǎo清qīng山shān洞dòng，剿jiǎo盡jìn妖yāo魔mó，不bù得dé為wéi害hài。众zhòng等děng遵zūn言yán，辞cí龙lóng王wáng父fù子zǐ，都dōu出chū西xī海hǎi。牵qiān着zhe犀xī牛niú，会huì着zháo奎kuí、斗dǒu二èr星xīng，驾jià云yún雾wù，径jìng转zhuǎn金jīn平píng府fǔ。行xíng者zhě足zú踏tà祥xiáng光guāng，半bàn空kōng中zhōng叫jiào道dào：「金jīn平píng府fǔ刺cì史shǐ、各gè佐zuǒ贰èr郎láng官guān并bìng府fǔ城chéng内nèi外wài军jūn民mín人rén等děng听tīng着zhe：吾wú乃nǎi东dōng土tǔ大dà唐táng差chāi往wǎng西xī天tiān取qǔ经jīng的de圣shèng僧sēng。你nǐ这zhè府fǔ县xiàn，每měi年nián家jiā供gòng献xiàn金jīn灯dēng，假jiǎ充chōng诸zhū佛fó降jiàng祥xiáng者zhě，即jí此cǐ犀xī牛niú之zhī怪guài。我wǒ等děng过guò此cǐ，因yīn元yuán夜yè观guān灯dēng，见jiàn这zhè怪guài将jiāng灯dēng油yóu并bìng我wǒ师shī父fù摄shè去qù，是shì我wǒ请qǐng天tiān神shén收shōu伏fú。今jīn已yǐ扫sǎo清qīng山shān洞dòng，剿jiǎo尽jìn妖yāo魔mó，不bù得dé为wéi害hài。

逐句解 Line by line

眾zhòng等děng遵zūn言yán，辭cí龍lóng王wáng父fù子zǐ，都dōu出chū西xī海hǎi。众zhòng等děng遵zūn言yán，辞cí龙lóng王wáng父fù子zǐ，都dōu出chū西xī海hǎi。

The company all followed his word, took their leave of the Dragon King and his son, and came out of the Western Ocean together.

Thirteen characters to close the underwater episode. The Dragon King gets his rhinoceros meat and no further mention.

牽qiān著zhe犀xī牛niú，會huì著zháo奎kuí、斗dǒu二èr星xīng，駕jià雲yún霧wù，徑jìng轉zhuǎn金jīn平píng府fǔ。牵qiān着zhe犀xī牛niú，会huì着zháo奎kuí、斗dǒu二èr星xīng，驾jià云yún雾wù，径jìng转zhuǎn金jīn平píng府fǔ。

Leading the rhinoceroses, they met the Straddler and Dipper stars, mounted cloud and mist, and went straight back to Jinping Prefecture.

Both uses of 著 in this line take different readings, and it is a neat demonstration of the difference. 牽著 is the sustained zhe — leading, and still leading, all the way there. 會著 is the achieved zháo — met, contact made, done. One written form, two jobs, and they sit five characters apart.

行xíng者zhě足zú踏tà祥xiáng光guāng，半bàn空kōng中zhōng叫jiào道dào：「金jīn平píng府fǔ刺cì史shǐ、各gè佐zuǒ貳èr郎láng官guān並bìng府fǔ城chéng內nèi外wài軍jūn民mín人rén等děng聽tīng著zhe：吾wú乃nǎi東dōng土tǔ大dà唐táng差chāi往wǎng西xī天tiān取qǔ經jīng的de聖shèng僧sēng。行xíng者zhě足zú踏tà祥xiáng光guāng，半bàn空kōng中zhōng叫jiào道dào：「金jīn平píng府fǔ刺cì史shǐ、各gè佐zuǒ贰èr郎láng官guān并bìng府fǔ城chéng内nèi外wài军jūn民mín人rén等děng听tīng着zhe：吾wú乃nǎi东dōng土tǔ大dà唐táng差chāi往wǎng西xī天tiān取qǔ经jīng的de圣shèng僧sēng。

Pilgrim, his feet on auspicious light, called out from mid-air: "Prefect of Jinping, assistant officials and secretaries, and all the soldiers and people within the city walls and without — listen! I am the holy monk sent from the Land of the East, the Great Tang, to the Western Heaven to fetch the scriptures.

A public proclamation delivered from the sky, and it is phrased exactly like one — the officials named by rank in descending order, then the soldiers, then the people. 聽著 has the sustained zhe: be listening. And 差往 puts 差 as chāi, dispatched on a commission. Even here, announcing himself to a whole prefecture, the framing is bureaucratic: he is somebody's posted officer.

你nǐ這zhè府fǔ縣xiàn，每měi年nián家jiā供gòng獻xiàn金jīn燈dēng，假jiǎ充chōng諸zhū佛fó降jiàng祥xiáng者zhě，即jí此cǐ犀xī牛niú之zhī怪guài。你nǐ这zhè府fǔ县xiàn，每měi年nián家jiā供gòng献xiàn金jīn灯dēng，假jiǎ充chōng诸zhū佛fó降jiàng祥xiáng者zhě，即jí此cǐ犀xī牛niú之zhī怪guài。

Your prefecture and county have offered up golden lamps year after year, and those who came falsely dressed as Buddhas sending down blessings were these very rhinoceros fiends.

The whole racket, stated to the victims at last. 供獻 here is a religious offering set out on an altar, and 供 takes gòng rather than the sound it has when it means to supply — the same word that ran through the last chapter as both a lamp-offering and a deposition. And 降祥 is jiàng, coming down: the blessings the town thought it was buying.

我wǒ等děng過guò此cǐ，因yīn元yuán夜yè觀guān燈dēng，見jiàn這zhè怪guài將jiāng燈dēng油yóu並bìng我wǒ師shī父fù攝shè去qù，是shì我wǒ請qǐng天tiān神shén收shōu伏fú。我wǒ等děng过guò此cǐ，因yīn元yuán夜yè观guān灯dēng，见jiàn这zhè怪guài将jiāng灯dēng油yóu并bìng我wǒ师shī父fù摄shè去qù，是shì我wǒ请qǐng天tiān神shén收shōu伏fú。

We passed this way, and because we went to see the lanterns on the night of the full moon, we saw these fiends carry off the lamp-oil and my master along with it; and it was I who requested heavenly gods to subdue them.

The full account, and he does not spare his own party: we stopped to look at the lights, and this is what came of it. 將燈油並我師父攝去 — the oil and my master together, one verb, one gust of wind. The novel has now said this three times and the grammar has put the master with the goods every time.

今jīn已yǐ掃sǎo清qīng山shān洞dòng，剿jiǎo盡jìn妖yāo魔mó，不bù得dé為wéi害hài。今jīn已yǐ扫sǎo清qīng山shān洞dòng，剿jiǎo尽jìn妖yāo魔mó，不bù得dé为wéi害hài。

The mountain cave is now swept clean and the fiends wiped out to the last, and they can do harm no longer.

不得為害 — may not do harm. Here 不得 comes BEFORE its verb, which makes it the modal "may not" and gives the full dé; the same two characters after a verb would mean "cannot manage to" and take the light sound instead. And 為 is wéi, to do or be, not the wèi meaning "for".

總評 Commentary

The chapter's turn from adventure to public record, and Pilgrim makes it himself, from the sky, in the form of a proclamation. Officials by rank, then soldiers, then people; the offence named, the offenders identified, the remedy reported. He is not boasting. He is discharging a duty of notification.

What the announcement actually does is expensive. Jinping has been paying more than fifty thousand taels of silver a year for oil to burn in three golden lamps, in the belief that Buddhas came down to receive it. Pilgrim is telling a whole prefecture, out loud, that its central annual observance was a robbery and its gods were cattle.

And he includes his own party's part in it without being asked. We passed this way, we stopped to see the lanterns, and they took the oil and my master with it. The novel has now put the Tang Monk grammatically alongside the stolen goods three separate times — carried off along with the oil — and it never once comments on the arrangement.