从孙悟空西游看《西游记》对佛教四大部洲方位的改造

Reformation of the Four Big Islets in Buddhism Discussed in A Tale of Western Pilgrimage from Sun Wukong’s Western Pilgrimage

佛教谓须弥山四方咸海中有东胜神洲、西牛贺洲、南赡部洲、北俱卢洲四大部洲,各洲间有咸海相隔。通过对孙悟空两次西游历程的研究,发现《西游记》借用了四大部洲的名称并对其进行了改造,认为这是受明代郑和七次下西洋的海域观念的影响,并受玄奘取经史实以及取经之人必须历经磨难才能取得真经的主旨的约束。指出《西游记》虽是神魔小说,但它把佛教虚设的四大部洲与现实中的地理区域密切联系在一起,这其中反映了明人的地理观念。

Buddhism has it that there are four big islets, namely East Sheng Shen islet, West Niu He islet, South Zhan Bu islet and North Julu Bu islet in Xian Sea surrounding Xumi Mountain on all sides, with part of Wei Sea separating different islets. Through studies on Sun Wukong’s Western pilgrimage twice, the paper finds that A Tale of Western Pilgrimage has borrowed the names of the four big islets and has made some reformation of them. The paper thinks that it is influenced by the idea of the sea area formed by Zheng He’s sea voyage into the West in the Ming Dynasty,and it is restricted by the historical fact of Xuan Zhuang’s pilgrimage for Buddhist scriptures and the idea of his obtaining the real scriptures only through tribulation. The paper points out that A Tale of Western Pilgrimage, though a novel of gods and demons, closely connects the four nominal big islets in Buddhism with the geographical regions in the real life, which reflects the peoples’s idea of geography in the Ming Dynasty.