The Journey to the West, Revised Edition, Volume 2 (108 page)
Read The Journey to the West, Revised Edition, Volume 2 Online
Authors: Unknown
15
. Sink To-the-Bottom: a pun on the homophones Chen
, the surname of Xuanzang, and
chen
, meaning “to sink.”
CHAPTER FIFTY
1
. Caoxi: a stream in Guangdong province where, in the Tang, the sixth patriarch of Chan Buddhism, Huineng, taught. The geographical allusion to one of the most celebrated sites of Chan Buddhism makes clear also its continuous appropriation as a key trope by Quanzhen discourse on internal or meditative alchemy here. As noted in the introduction, part II, JW 1, this poem is a near verbatim reproduction of one collected in the Daoist canon.
2
. Devising: the technical religious term used here in the XYJ text is
dianhua
that contemporary scholarship has rendered as “projection.” Literally, it means “point or touch that it may transform.” The signficance of the nomenclature is twofold: the “projection” is not merely a magical transformation as such, but this device will also transform to enlighten the person who experiences it. It is a term first used in the novel in chapter 21 for describing the illusory houses created by the various deities to test the pilgrims. See also the entry on “
Dianhua
” in ET 1: 357–58. It is apparent, however, that the XYJ author here is not just emphasizing the positive meaning of the “projection” but the perilous implications of illusion as well.
3
. Giant clam: the legendary
shen
, whose breath would create a watery mirage of buildings in the sea or ocean. See
Han Shu
,
j
26, in
Ershiwushi
1: 0402b.
4
. Xuandi:
, an abbreviated form of Xuantian shangdi
, another name for Zhenwu, the Perfected Warrior deified in the early Tang. See the entry on “Zhenwu” in ET 2: 1266–67.
5
. Peng-Ying: that is, the mythical islands inhabited by immortals; Penglai and Ying-zhou. See JW, chapter 26.
6
. “Rhino-like . . . stream”: an allusion to the story of Wen Jiao
of the Jin, who in one of his military campaigns came to a river, the depth of which was too deep to be measured. He was told, moreover, that there was an abundance of weird creatures in it. Whereupon Wen Jiao burned some rhinoceros horns to illumine the water and, soon after, he did catch sight of many stranger water creatures attempting to put out the fire. See
Jin Shu
,
j
67, in
Ershiwushi
2: 1259c.
Index
Boldface type denotes volume number. This index is principally one of proper names and places along with titles of some scriptural texts referenced in the novel. The names, nicknames, and allegorical nomenclatures of the Five Pilgrims are too numerous to be included.
Abbey of Five Villages.
See
Five Villages Abbey
Abbey of Immortal Assembly.
See
Immortal Assembly Abbey
Abhijit,
3:
3
Abortion Stream,
3:
35, 37, 39, 48
Āditya,
1:
169
Aged Star of the South Pole,
4:
56–60
Aiai,
1:
440 (532 n.2), 445, 447
All Saints, Princess,
3:
172, 182, 190, 192
All Saints Dragon King of the Green Wave Lagoon,
3:
172, 176, 180
Amitābha,
2:
24–25
,
136
,
305;
4:
19–20, 184
Amitāyus Sūtra
,
1:
304
Ānanda,
1:
193, 195–96, 199, 203;
4:
29–30, 349, 351, 353–54, 372
Anāthapi
ṇ
ḍ
ika,
4:
266–67
Anurādhā,
3:
3
Ao,
2:
260
Aoguang, Dragon King of the Eastern Ocean,
1:
133–38, 141–42, 157, 201, 220–21, 228, 238–48, 317–18;
2:
187–89
,
223
,
227
,
293
,
294
,
298;
3:
277;
4:
178
Aolai Country,
1:
100, 102, 114, 124, 131–32;
3:
59, 351;
4:
373
Aoqin, Dragon King of the Southern Ocean,
1:
136, 137, 142;
2:
228
,
293
,
294
Aorun, Dragon King of the Western Ocean,
1:
136, 137, 142, 326, 436;
2:
228
,
293
,
294
Aoshun, Dragon King of the Northern Ocean,
1:
136, 137, 142;
2:
228
,
260–62
,
267
,
293
,
294
,
313;
4:
20
Apricot Garden,
3:
232
Apricot Immortal,
3:
208–10
Arhats, Eighteen,
3:
25, 27, 113, 116;
4:
27–28, 348
Arhats, Five Hundred,
1:
409;
3:
113, 116, 215, 351;
4:
348, 385
Aśoka,
1:
2
Auspicious Cliff, Temple of,
3:
232
Avenging Ministers, King of,
1:
140;
3:
110
Avīci Hell,
1
: 258;
2:
27
(
375 n.7
),
38;
4:
349
Axeltree the Water Earthworm,
3:
223