第九十三回 · 他卻變做一個假公主 The False Princess — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

他卻變做一個假公主 The False Princess

話huà表biǎo那nà個gè天tiān竺zhú國guó王wáng，因yīn愛ài山shān水shuǐ花huā卉huì，前qián年nián帶dài后hòu妃fēi公gōng主zhǔ在zài御yù花huā園yuán，月yuè夜yè賞shǎng玩wán，惹rě動dòng一yí個gè妖yāo邪xié，把bǎ真zhēn公gōng主zhǔ攝shè去qù，他tā卻què變biàn做zuò一yí個gè假jiǎ公gōng主zhǔ。知zhī得dé唐táng僧sēng今jīn年nián今jīn月yuè今jīn日rì今jīn時shí到dào此cǐ，他tā假jiǎ借jiè國guó家jiā之zhī富fù，搭dā起qǐ彩cǎi樓lóu，欲yù招zhāo唐táng僧sēng為wéi偶ǒu，採cǎi取qǔ元yuán陽yáng真zhēn氣qì，以yǐ成chéng太tài乙yǐ上shàng仙xiān。正zhèng當dāng午wǔ時shí三sān刻kè，三sān藏zàng與yǔ行xíng者zhě雜zá入rù人rén叢cóng，行xíng近jìn樓lóu下xià，那nà公gōng主zhǔ才cái拈niān香xiāng焚fén起qǐ，祝zhù告gào天tiān地dì。左zuǒ右yòu有yǒu五wǔ七qī十shí胭yān嬌jiāo繡xiù女nǚ，近jìn侍shì的de捧pěng著zhe繡xiù毬qiú。话huà表biǎo那nà个gè天tiān竺zhú国guó王wáng，因yīn爱ài山shān水shuǐ花huā卉huì，前qián年nián带dài后hòu妃fēi公gōng主zhǔ在zài御yù花huā园yuán，月yuè夜yè赏shǎng玩wán，惹rě动dòng一yí个gè妖yāo邪xié，把bǎ真zhēn公gōng主zhǔ摄shè去qù，他tā却què变biàn做zuò一yí个gè假jiǎ公gōng主zhǔ。知zhī得dé唐táng僧sēng今jīn年nián今jīn月yuè今jīn日rì今jīn时shí到dào此cǐ，他tā假jiǎ借jiè国guó家jiā之zhī富fù，搭dā起qǐ彩cǎi楼lóu，欲yù招zhāo唐táng僧sēng为wéi偶ǒu，采cǎi取qǔ元yuán阳yáng真zhēn气qì，以yǐ成chéng太tài乙yǐ上shàng仙xiān。正zhèng当dāng午wǔ时shí三sān刻kè，三sān藏zàng与yǔ行xíng者zhě杂zá入rù人rén丛cóng，行xíng近jìn楼lóu下xià，那nà公gōng主zhǔ才cái拈niān香xiāng焚fén起qǐ，祝zhù告gào天tiān地dì。左zuǒ右yòu有yǒu五wǔ七qī十shí胭yān娇jiāo绣xiù女nǚ，近jìn侍shì的de捧pěng着zhe绣xiù毬qiú。

逐句解 Line by line

話huà表biǎo那nà個gè天tiān竺zhú國guó王wáng，因yīn愛ài山shān水shuǐ花huā卉huì，前qián年nián帶dài后hòu妃fēi公gōng主zhǔ在zài御yù花huā園yuán，月yuè夜yè賞shǎng玩wán，惹rě動dòng一yí個gè妖yāo邪xié，把bǎ真zhēn公gōng主zhǔ攝shè去qù，他tā卻què變biàn做zuò一yí個gè假jiǎ公gōng主zhǔ。话huà表biǎo那nà个gè天tiān竺zhú国guó王wáng，因yīn爱ài山shān水shuǐ花huā卉huì，前qián年nián带dài后hòu妃fēi公gōng主zhǔ在zài御yù花huā园yuán，月yuè夜yè赏shǎng玩wán，惹rě动dòng一yí个gè妖yāo邪xié，把bǎ真zhēn公gōng主zhǔ摄shè去qù，他tā却què变biàn做zuò一yí个gè假jiǎ公gōng主zhǔ。

The story tells how that king of India, out of his love of hills and streams and flowering plants, took his consorts and his daughter into the imperial garden the year before last to enjoy the moonlight; and this stirred up a fiend, which carried the true princess away and turned itself into a false princess in her place.

The narrator steps out from behind the characters and simply tells us. Nobody in the story knows this. Tripitaka does not, the king does not, and the old abbot has only the half of it he could see.

愛山水花卉 — that same love of hills and streams and flowering plants, offered as small talk by the superintendent a few pages ago, is here the first link in the chain. A king fond of gardens took his family into one by moonlight.

⚠ 前年 — the year before last. But the old abbot said the girl appeared at his temple 舊年今日, this day last year. The two do not quite line up, and the text does not reconcile them.

知zhī得dé唐táng僧sēng今jīn年nián今jīn月yuè今jīn日rì今jīn時shí到dào此cǐ，他tā假jiǎ借jiè國guó家jiā之zhī富fù，搭dā起qǐ彩cǎi樓lóu，欲yù招zhāo唐táng僧sēng為wéi偶ǒu，採cǎi取qǔ元yuán陽yáng真zhēn氣qì，以yǐ成chéng太tài乙yǐ上shàng仙xiān。知zhī得dé唐táng僧sēng今jīn年nián今jīn月yuè今jīn日rì今jīn时shí到dào此cǐ，他tā假jiǎ借jiè国guó家jiā之zhī富fù，搭dā起qǐ彩cǎi楼lóu，欲yù招zhāo唐táng僧sēng为wéi偶ǒu，采cǎi取qǔ元yuán阳yáng真zhēn气qì，以yǐ成chéng太tài乙yǐ上shàng仙xiān。

Knowing that the Tang Monk would arrive at this place in this year, this month, this day and this hour, it borrowed the wealth of the state to raise a coloured tower, meaning to take the Tang Monk for a mate, and so gather his primal male essence and become a Great Monad immortal.

今年今月今日今時 — this year, this month, this day, this hour. Four beats narrowing to a point, and it tells you the tower was not built for a husband. It was built for an appointment.

元陽真氣 — primal male essence. This is the standard motive of the female demons in the later chapters: Tripitaka has kept himself intact for ten incarnations, and taking that from him is a shortcut to immortality that would otherwise cost centuries of work.

太乙上仙 — a Great Monad immortal, one of the higher ranks. The fiend is not after love, or revenge, or even power. It is after promotion.

正zhèng當dāng午wǔ時shí三sān刻kè，三sān藏zàng與yǔ行xíng者zhě雜zá入rù人rén叢cóng，行xíng近jìn樓lóu下xià，那nà公gōng主zhǔ才cái拈niān香xiāng焚fén起qǐ，祝zhù告gào天tiān地dì。左zuǒ右yòu有yǒu五wǔ七qī十shí胭yān嬌jiāo繡xiù女nǚ，近jìn侍shì的de捧pěng著zhe繡xiù毬qiú。正zhèng当dāng午wǔ时shí三sān刻kè，三sān藏zàng与yǔ行xíng者zhě杂zá入rù人rén丛cóng，行xíng近jìn楼lóu下xià，那nà公gōng主zhǔ才cái拈niān香xiāng焚fén起qǐ，祝zhù告gào天tiān地dì。左zuǒ右yòu有yǒu五wǔ七qī十shí胭yān娇jiāo绣xiù女nǚ，近jìn侍shì的de捧pěng着zhe绣xiù毬qiú。

Exactly at the third quarter of the noon hour, Tripitaka and Pilgrim mingled into the crowd and drew near below the tower, just as the princess had lit her incense and was making her prayer to heaven and earth. To left and right were fifty or seventy powdered beauties and embroidery maids, and the attendants close by held the embroidered ball.

午時三刻 — the third quarter of the noon hour. The chapter has been keeping time all the way through, and this is the hour traditionally set for executions, when the sun is highest and the shadow shortest. A Ming reader would have felt the chill of it.

雜入人叢 — mingled into the crowd. They are trying not to be noticed, which is the one thing that cannot be arranged.

捧著 — held. Here the busy character marks a holding that goes on: the ball is in somebody's hands and stays there, for now.

總評 Commentary

The novel does something here it has done perhaps a dozen times in ninety-three chapters: it stops the story and tells the reader the answer. There is no suspense about who the princess is. We know before the ball is thrown, and we know it while Tripitaka is still standing in the crowd admiring the local customs.

That choice changes what the rest of the chapter is about. It cannot be about discovering the truth, because we have it. It is about watching a series of decent people — a fond king, a helpful official, a careful monk — behave perfectly reasonably and walk straight into a trap that was built to their measure a year in advance.

One detail does not fit, and the text leaves it unreconciled. The narrator says the abduction happened the year before last; the old abbot said the girl turned up at his temple exactly a year ago. Either she was somewhere else for a year, or one of the two is loose with dates. The novel does not say, and it is worth noticing rather than smoothing over.