第九十四回 · 留春亭 The Spring-Keeping Pavilion — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

留春亭 The Spring-Keeping Pavilion

那nà國guó王wáng見jiàn他tā醜chǒu陋lòu，說shuō話huà粗cū俗sú，又yòu見jiàn他tā扭niǔ頭tóu捏niē頸jǐng，掬jū嘴zuǐ巴bā，搖yáo耳ěr朵duo，即jí像xiàng有yǒu些xiē風fēng氣qì，猶yóu恐kǒng攪jiǎo破pò親qīn事shì，只zhǐ得dé依yī從cóng。便biàn教jiào：「在zài永yǒng鎮zhèn華huá夷yí閣gé裡lǐ安ān排pái二èr席xí，我wǒ與yǔ駙fù馬mǎ同tóng坐zuò。留liú春chūn亭tíng上shàng安ān排pái三sān席xí，請qǐng三sān位wèi別bié坐zuò，恐kǒng他tā師shī徒tú們men坐zuò次cì不bú便biàn。」那nà獃dāi子zi才cái朝cháo上shàng唱chàng個gè喏rě，叫jiào聲shēng：「多duō謝xiè。」各gè各gè而ér退tuì。又yòu傳chuán旨zhǐ教jiào內nèi宮gōng官guān排pái宴yàn，著zhuó三sān宮gōng六liù院yuàn后hòu妃fēi與yǔ公gōng主zhǔ上shàng頭tóu，就jiù為wèi添tiān妝zhuāng餪nuǎn子zi，以yǐ待dài十shí二èr日rì佳jiā配pèi。將jiāng有yǒu巳sì時shí前qián後hòu，那nà國guó王wáng排pái駕jià，請qǐng唐táng僧sēng都dōu到dào御yù花huā園yuán內nèi觀guān看kàn。那nà国guó王wáng见jiàn他tā丑chǒu陋lòu，说shuō话huà粗cū俗sú，又yòu见jiàn他tā扭niǔ头tóu捏niē颈jǐng，掬jū嘴zuǐ巴bā，摇yáo耳ěr朵duo，即jí像xiàng有yǒu些xiē风fēng气qì，犹yóu恐kǒng搅jiǎo破pò亲qīn事shì，只zhǐ得dé依yī从cóng。便biàn教jiào：「在zài永yǒng镇zhèn华huá夷yí阁gé里lǐ安ān排pái二èr席xí，我wǒ与yǔ驸fù马mǎ同tóng坐zuò。留liú春chūn亭tíng上shàng安ān排pái三sān席xí，请qǐng三sān位wèi别bié坐zuò，恐kǒng他tā师shī徒tú们men坐zuò次cì不bú便biàn。」那nà呆dāi子zi才cái朝cháo上shàng唱chàng个gè喏rě，叫jiào声shēng：「多duō谢xiè。」各gè各gè而ér退tuì。又yòu传chuán旨zhǐ教jiào内nèi宫gōng官guān排pái宴yàn，着zhuó三sān宫gōng六liù院yuàn后hòu妃fēi与yǔ公gōng主zhǔ上shàng头tóu，就jiù为wèi添tiān妆zhuāng餪nuǎn子zi，以yǐ待dài十shí二èr日rì佳jiā配pèi。将jiāng有yǒu巳sì时shí前qián后hòu，那nà国guó王wáng排pái驾jià，请qǐng唐táng僧sēng都dōu到dào御yù花huā园yuán内nèi观guān看kàn。

逐句解 Line by line

那nà國guó王wáng見jiàn他tā醜chǒu陋lòu，說shuō話huà粗cū俗sú，又yòu見jiàn他tā扭niǔ頭tóu捏niē頸jǐng，掬jū嘴zuǐ巴bā，搖yáo耳ěr朵duo，即jí像xiàng有yǒu些xiē風fēng氣qì，猶yóu恐kǒng攪jiǎo破pò親qīn事shì，只zhǐ得dé依yī從cóng。那nà国guó王wáng见jiàn他tā丑chǒu陋lòu，说shuō话huà粗cū俗sú，又yòu见jiàn他tā扭niǔ头tóu捏niē颈jǐng，掬jū嘴zuǐ巴bā，摇yáo耳ěr朵duo，即jí像xiàng有yǒu些xiē风fēng气qì，犹yóu恐kǒng搅jiǎo破pò亲qīn事shì，只zhǐ得dé依yī从cóng。

The king, seeing how ugly he was and how coarse his speech, and seeing him twisting his head and pinching up his neck, pursing his snout and waggling his ears, thought he seemed to have something of a derangement about him; and being afraid of upsetting the marriage, he had no choice but to agree.

The king gives in for the worst possible reason: he thinks Eight Rules may be mad and does not want a scene before the wedding. The three actions are the same three body parts as in the audience hall yesterday, with the verbs reshuffled — the shaking has moved off the head and onto the ears. 風氣 here is not weather but a disorder of the humours, the old way of describing what we would call a nervous condition. He is being read as unwell rather than rude, which is generous of the king and entirely wrong.

便biàn教jiào：「在zài永yǒng鎮zhèn華huá夷yí閣gé裡lǐ安ān排pái二èr席xí，我wǒ與yǔ駙fù馬mǎ同tóng坐zuò。留liú春chūn亭tíng上shàng安ān排pái三sān席xí，請qǐng三sān位wèi別bié坐zuò，恐kǒng他tā師shī徒tú們men坐zuò次cì不bú便biàn。」便biàn教jiào：「在zài永yǒng镇zhèn华huá夷yí阁gé里lǐ安ān排pái二èr席xí，我wǒ与yǔ驸fù马mǎ同tóng坐zuò。留liú春chūn亭tíng上shàng安ān排pái三sān席xí，请qǐng三sān位wèi别bié坐zuò，恐kǒng他tā师shī徒tú们men坐zuò次cì不bú便biàn。」

So he gave the order: "Set two places in the Pavilion of Eternal Peace over Chinese and Barbarian, and I shall sit with the Prince Consort. Set three places up at the Spring-Keeping Pavilion, and let the three of them sit separately — I am afraid the order of seating would be awkward for master and disciples."

He agrees and does not agree: everyone is in the garden, and the monks are still at the far table. The stated reason is beautifully diplomatic — it would be awkward to seat a master below his own disciples — and it is even true. The two buildings are named, and the names are the point. 永鎮華夷閣 announces an empire permanently at peace with the outsiders beyond it. 留春亭 means the pavilion where spring is made to stay. Four men who must reach India are about to spend four days in a building named for not letting the season move on.

那nà獃dāi子zi才cái朝cháo上shàng唱chàng個gè喏rě，叫jiào聲shēng：「多duō謝xiè。」各gè各gè而ér退tuì。又yòu傳chuán旨zhǐ教jiào內nèi宮gōng官guān排pái宴yàn，著zhuó三sān宮gōng六liù院yuàn后hòu妃fēi與yǔ公gōng主zhǔ上shàng頭tóu，就jiù為wèi添tiān妝zhuāng餪nuǎn子zi，以yǐ待dài十shí二èr日rì佳jiā配pèi。那nà呆dāi子zi才cái朝cháo上shàng唱chàng个gè喏rě，叫jiào声shēng：「多duō谢xiè。」各gè各gè而ér退tuì。又yòu传chuán旨zhǐ教jiào内nèi宫gōng官guān排pái宴yàn，着zhuó三sān宫gōng六liù院yuàn后hòu妃fēi与yǔ公gōng主zhǔ上shàng头tóu，就jiù为wèi添tiān妆zhuāng餪nuǎn子zi，以yǐ待dài十shí二èr日rì佳jiā配pèi。

Only then did the idiot make his bow up towards the throne and call out, "Much obliged!" And they all withdrew. The king further sent down orders that the officers of the inner palace should lay on a feast, and that the consorts of the three palaces and six courts, together with the princess, should perform the pinning of the hair and add gifts to the trousseau and the third-day dishes, against the fine match on the twelfth.

唱個喏 is a Song and Ming salutation: a bow made while calling out a word of greeting, so the greeting is literally sung out. The character 喏 is rě in this use. The inner-palace orders are all wedding preparation and all specific. 上頭 is the pinning up of a girl's hair, the ceremony that marks her as grown and marriageable. 添妝 is the adding of gifts to the trousseau by the women of the household, and 餪子 — a rare word — is the food sent in to a bride after the wedding. 三宮六院, the three palaces and six courts, is still the ordinary Chinese shorthand for an emperor's whole establishment of wives.

將jiāng有yǒu巳sì時shí前qián後hòu，那nà國guó王wáng排pái駕jià，請qǐng唐táng僧sēng都dōu到dào御yù花huā園yuán內nèi觀guān看kàn。将jiāng有yǒu巳sì时shí前qián后hòu，那nà国guó王wáng排pái驾jià，请qǐng唐táng僧sēng都dōu到dào御yù花huā园yuán内nèi观guān看kàn。

Towards the hour of the Snake the king had his carriage made ready and asked the Tang Monk and the rest to come into the royal garden and look.

The hour of the Snake is roughly nine to eleven in the morning: the Chinese day ran in twelve two-hour watches named for the same twelve animals that name the years. The edition opens a new paragraph at this line and the passage follows it: everything before it was yesterday's business.

總評 Commentary

The chapter's trap finishes closing here, and it closes with a seating plan and a list of dresses. Nothing threatening is said by anybody. A king arranges a wedding, which is what kings do.

The two pavilion names are the sort of detail this novel plants and never mentions again. One promises that the empire's peace with the barbarians will last for ever; the other promises that spring will be kept from leaving. Both are the kind of thing you carve over a door, and both are, in this chapter, exactly what the pilgrims cannot afford — they are the barbarians, and they must move on before the season does.

And in the inner palace, out of sight, the false princess is having her hair pinned up. The novel gives that to us in a subordinate clause in a list of catering arrangements, which is the coldest place it could have put it.