這部十六世紀的經典小說可能是遠東史上最受歡迎的書籍，它融合了流浪漢小說和民間史詩的風格，將諷刺、寓言和歷史融入一場歡鬧的冒險之中。它講述了淘氣的孫悟空與大小精靈、神靈、半神、魔鬼、食人魔、怪物和仙女的遭遇。這部由傑出學者Arthur Waley翻譯的譯本是第一個準確的英文版本；它為西方讀者提供了忠實地再現原文精神和意義的機會。
紐約時報書介
"Monkey": A Chinese Folk Novel; "
MONKEY. By Wu Ch'eng-en. Translated from the Chinese by Arthur Waley. With an introduction by Hu Shih. 305 pp. New York: John Day Company. $2.75.
HERE are very few non- Chinese writers who have the art of conveying colorful Chinese thought in the Eng- lish language. Arthur Waley is one of these. He is, in fact, unique, because he not only cap- tures the delicate form made pos- sible only by the use of our ideo- graphic language but he success- fully weaves it into the tapestry- like pattern of his own writing. China and the Chinese are indeed lucky to have been so well served by Mr. Waley, whose numerous translations are known wherever the English language is read and enjoyed.
To read "Monkey," the transla- tion of our prodigious work “Hsi Yu Ki" has given me infinite pleasure. As a child I could never refrain from chuckling with laughter and thrilling with pleas- ure when I read the original. I used to wish that I could have some of the cleverness and impishness of the monkey. I felt the same way reading this book. "Monkey" is the type of story that will enchant many people, even those who have no conception of Chinese literature. It is the kind of book that you can pick up at any time and dip into for a quiet chuckle. It is not the must kind of book that is ordered for the earnest student of litera- ture. It was just that way with us in China; there if you wanted to read it, and never forced on you if you did not want to read it. It remains today, both in the original Chinese and in English, a good story. Yet I will admit to having read "Monkey" with an increasing sense of regret as I passed from chapter to chapter, because Mr. Waley has only been able to use some, thirty of the original one hundred chapters. The original story deals with the pilgrimage of a Buddhist priest, Hsuan Tsang, who with his three disciples, Monkey, Pigsy and Sandy, journeyed to India in search of the scriptures.
Hsuan Tsang, whose other name was Tripitaka, was mortal ac- cording to the Chinese legend, but his disciples had already achieved "illumination to an extraordinary degree." The Monkey was a kind of superman able to travel ten thousand and eighty leagues in the clouds in one hop. He could also pluck his hair from his body and turn each hair into his own image to protect himself. He had a legion of other tricks, and, while mischievous, was never wicked. In Chinese legend he was the king of his own tribe of monkeys, both big and small, who live on the Mountain of Flower and Fruit. It was related that he had spent many years acquiring his magic powers and that his only failing was that he became proud, giving himself the title of "The Great Sage equal of Heaven." When he did arrive in heaven and asked for recognition he was given a position as the groom in the stables. Because he objected strenuously to this indignity he was imprisoned for five hundred years in the Mountain of the Five Elements. From here he was re- leased when Tripitaka was chosen for the arduous task of making the journey from Chang-An, the capital of China, to India in order to bring back the holy writings of Buddha. Although he was mortal, Tripitaka, with the assistance of his disciples, en- dured eighty-one calamities before he arrived at his destination and achieved his mission. Monkey, Pigsy and Sandy would all fly, swim under water and extri- cate their lord and master by be- wildering feats of magic. Both Pigsy and Sandy had previously blotted their copy- books and were assigned with Monkey to undertake this journey to expiate their sins. Pigsy had once been Marshal of the Watery Hosts of Heaven, but one night at a banquet he is reported to have drunk too much peach liquor and to have seduced a heavenly maiden. His punishment was to be born into the common world as a pig, or rather, as the Chinese author so delicately puts it, with a shape near to that of an animal. Sandy had been the Chief Captain of the Spirits, but he too had joined Pigsy in the carouse. His fault was that he had broken the sacred crystal dish and his punishment that he should be banished into the common world. Despite their banishment, all three of the sinners seemed to have had a very amusing time. You will agree, too, when you have read of their adventures that humanity would have missed a great deal if they had been exemplary characters. Mr. Waley has included the lighter side of the story in his thirty chapters and has omitted the calamities and trials of this Chinese "Pilgrim's Progress.” Those who have read the orig- inal version of the book will probably agree that the stories of the calamities which are indi- vidual episodes are equally interesting. Some will recall the story of the mischievous monkey posing as a doctor in the Vermilion-Purple Kingdom, or the story of the Red Boy. Even before my teens, and being on the distaff side of life, I was enchanted by the adventures of Tripitaka and his party. One of them unfortunately is not included in this translation.
They arrived on an island inhabited only by women. These ladies had an engaging way of keeping up the population without the presence or inconvenience of male company. There was on the island a well that had certain life- giving properties. The women made a great fete of the arival of Tripitaka, and all his efforts to get away were fruitless. Finally when he was exhausted they revived him by giving him a glass of the water that served the lonely ladies so well-with exceedingly distressing results. Again it was Monkey who got him out of the difficulty. There are many other such incidents. The whole of this great book is rather like a collection of Tchaikovsky's symphonies and concertos, from which popular songs and melodies can be ex- tracted. It also resembles ancient Greek drama. Although the story of Monkey is fantastic and luminous nonsense, it is sparkling en- tertainment, and there is a profound teaching in every single incident, the teaching of sanctity and purity and simplicity of heart and soul. Mr. Waley has done a remark- able job with his translation. He has even brought the fantastic proper names of persons and places to Western readers with the same musical cadence that we find in the Chinese text.
It is delightful to come across names like “Thousand-League-Eye" for the character who can see a thou- sand leagues away. Then we have such picturesque localities as the Hall of Magic, and the Hall of Mists. The character Monkey is called by his religious name in the Chinese text, which gave him a profound significance even though he was perpetually impish. We considered Aware of - His - One- Emptiness always as a human being working out his salvation. - The underlying motive of the book is the Buddhist belief in reincarnation, your punishment for sin in a previous life being that you shall take the form of an animal in your next.
Although "Monkey," as you will read it, is free from the allegorical oriental interpretation, which might be difficult for the West- ern world to understand without lengthy explanation, as Mr. Waley presents it the story is fascinatingly alive. I see in this book another hon- est and worth while contribution to the exchange of literature be- tween China and the West. The more America reads about China and China's part the better for the two worlds now brought so close together by the urgency of war and the shriveling of space. With its rich beauty and lilting gayety "Monkey” is one of those books that should be read for pleasure as well as for instruction. Those who read it once will probably find themselves dipping into it at odd moments-for it is a very desirable bedside com- panion.
"The Arm and the Darkness" and Other Novels of the Week
《西遊記》：一部中國民間小說。 《西遊記》。吳承恩著。 Arthur Waley譯自中文。胡適作序。 305頁。紐約：約翰戴公司。 2.75美元。
Helena Kuo著
1943年3月14日
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