一
I
或春の日暮です。
It was the close of a spring day.
唐の都洛陽の西の門の下に、ぼんやり空を仰いでいる、一人の若者がありました。
Beneath the western gate of Luoyang, the capital of Tang, there stood a young man, gazing vacantly up at the sky.
若者は名を杜子春といって、元は金持の息子でしたが、今は財産を費い尽して、その日の暮しにも困る位、憐な身分になっているのです。
The young man's name was Toshishun, and he had once been the son of a wealthy man, but now he had run through his whole fortune, and had fallen into such wretched circumstances that he was hard pressed even for that day's living.
何しろその頃洛陽といえば、天下に並ぶもののない、繁昌を極めた都ですから、往来にはまだしっきりなく、人や車が通っていました。門一ぱいに当っている、油のような夕日の光の中に、老人のかぶった紗の帽子や、土耳古の女の金の耳環や、白馬に飾った色糸の手綱が、絶えず流れて行く容子は、まるで画のような美しさです。
For in those days Luoyang was a city of a prosperity unmatched under heaven, and even now the road was thick with a ceaseless stream of people and carriages. In the oily light of the setting sun, which fell full upon the gate, there flowed on and on—an old man's gauze cap, the gold earrings of a Turkish woman, the bright-threaded reins adorning a white horse—a sight as beautiful as a painting.
しかし杜子春は相変らず、門の壁に身を凭せて、ぼんやり空ばかり眺めていました。空には、もう細い月が、うらうらと靡いた霞の中に、まるで爪の痕かと思う程、かすかに白く浮んでいるのです。
But Toshishun, leaning as before against the wall of the gate, went on gazing vacantly up at the sky alone. In the sky a thin moon already floated, faint and white amid the softly trailing haze, so slight it might have been the mark of a fingernail.
「日は暮れるし、腹は減るし、その上もうどこへ行っても、泊めてくれる所はなさそうだし――こんな思いをして生きている位なら、一そ川へでも身を投げて、死んでしまった方がましかも知れない」
"The sun is setting, and I am hungry, and besides, there seems to be nowhere left that will put me up for the night—if I must go on living in wretchedness like this, I might as well throw myself into the river and be done with it."
杜子春はひとりさっきから、こんな取りとめもないことを思いめぐらしていたのです。
Toshishun had been turning over such aimless thoughts to himself for some while now.
するとどこからやって来たか、突然彼の前へ足を止めた、片目眇の老人があります。それが夕日の光を浴びて、大きな影を門へ落すと、じっと杜子春の顔を見ながら、
Just then, from no one knew where, an old man with one eye blind came up and suddenly stopped before him. Bathed in the light of the setting sun, he cast a great shadow upon the gate, and, staring fixedly at Toshishun's face,
「お前は何を考えているのだ」と、横柄に声をかけました。
"What are you thinking about?" he asked, in an imperious voice.
「私ですか。私は今夜寝る所もないので、どうしたものかと考えているのです」
"Me? I have no place to sleep tonight, and I was thinking what I ought to do."
老人の尋ね方が急でしたから、杜子春はさすがに眼を伏せて、思わず正直な答をしました。
The old man's manner of asking had been so abrupt that Toshishun, dropping his eyes, gave an honest answer before he knew it.
「そうか。それは可哀そうだな」
"Is that so. That is a pitiable thing."
老人は暫く何事か考えているようでしたが、やがて、往来にさしている夕日の光を指さしながら、
The old man seemed to be thinking something over for a while, but presently, pointing to the light of the setting sun that fell upon the road,
「ではおれが好いことを一つ教えてやろう。今この夕日の中に立って、お前の影が地に映ったら、その頭に当る所を夜中に掘って見るが好い。きっと車に一ぱいの黄金が埋まっている筈だから」
"Then let me tell you something to your advantage. Stand now in this evening sun, and where your shadow falls upon the ground, at the place answering to its head, dig at midnight. You will surely find a cartload of gold buried there."
「ほんとうですか」
"Is that true?"
杜子春は驚いて、伏せていた眼を挙げました。ところが更に不思議なことには、あの老人はどこへ行ったか、もうあたりにはそれらしい、影も形も見当りません。その代り空の月の色は前よりも猶白くなって、休みない往来の人通りの上には、もう気の早い蝙蝠が二三匹ひらひら舞っていました。
Toshishun, startled, raised the eyes he had dropped. But stranger still, the old man was nowhere to be seen—not so much as a shadow or a shape of him remained anywhere about. Instead, the moon in the sky had grown whiter than before, and above the ceaseless stream of people on the road, two or three early bats were already flitting to and fro.
二
II
杜子春は一日の内に、洛陽の都でも唯一人という大金持になりました。あの老人の言葉通り、夕日に影を映して見て、その頭に当る所を、夜中にそっと掘って見たら、大きな車にも余る位、黄金が一山出て来たのです。
In the space of a single day, Toshishun became the wealthiest man in all Luoyang, without a rival. Just as the old man had said, he had cast his shadow in the light of the setting sun, and when he dug in secret at midnight at the place answering to its head, a mountain of gold came out, more than enough to overflow a great cart.
大金持になった杜子春は、すぐに立派な家を買って、玄宗皇帝にも負けない位、贅沢な暮しをし始めました。蘭陵の酒を買わせるやら、桂州の竜眼肉をとりよせるやら、日に四度色の変る牡丹を庭に植えさせるやら、白孔雀を何羽も放し飼いにするやら、玉を集めるやら、錦を縫わせるやら、香木の車を造らせるやら、象牙の椅子を誂えるやら、その贅沢を一々書いていては、いつになってもこの話がおしまいにならない位です。
Now that he was a great rich man, Toshishun bought at once a splendid house, and began to live in a luxury that yielded nothing even to the Emperor Xuanzong. He had wine bought from Lanling, and longan fruit sent for from Guizhou; he had peonies planted in his garden that changed color four times a day, and kept any number of white peacocks running loose; he collected jewels, had brocade sewn for him, had a carriage built of fragrant wood, and ordered a chair of ivory made to his measure—were I to set down every item of his extravagance one by one, this tale would never come to an end.
するとこういう噂を聞いて、今までは路で行き合っても、挨拶さえしなかった友だちなどが、朝夕遊びにやって来ました。それも一日毎に数が増して、半年ばかり経つ内には、洛陽の都に名を知られた才子や美人が多い中で、杜子春の家へ来ないものは、一人もない位になってしまったのです。杜子春はこの御客たちを相手に、毎日酒盛りを開きました。その酒盛りの又盛なことは、中々口には尽されません。極かいつまんだだけをお話しても、杜子春が金の杯に西洋から来た葡萄酒を汲んで、天竺生れの魔法使が刀を呑んで見せる芸に見とれていると、そのまわりには二十人の女たちが、十人は翡翠の蓮の花を、十人は瑪瑙の牡丹の花を、いずれも髪に飾りながら、笛や琴を節面白く奏しているという景色なのです。
When word of this got about, friends who until now had not so much as greeted him when they met him on the road came calling morning and evening. Their number grew day by day, until within half a year there was scarcely a man of talent or a famous beauty in all Luoyang who did not come to Toshishun's house. Toshishun held a drinking party for these guests every day, and how splendid those parties were is more than words can well convey. To tell only the barest part of it: while Toshishun, pouring wine brought from the West into a golden cup, sat entranced by the art of a magician born in India who swallowed a sword before his eyes, about him twenty women—ten with lotus blossoms of jade in their hair, ten with peony blossoms of agate—played on flute and lute in merry measure.
しかしいくら大金持でも、御金には際限がありますから、さすがに贅沢家の杜子春も、一年二年と経つ内には、だんだん貧乏になり出しました。そうすると人間は薄情なもので、昨日までは毎日来た友だちも、今日は門の前を通ってさえ、挨拶一つして行きません。ましてとうとう三年目の春、又杜子春が以前の通り、一文無しになって見ると、広い洛陽の都の中にも、彼に宿を貸そうという家は、一軒もなくなってしまいました。いや、宿を貸すどころか、今では椀に一杯の水も、恵んでくれるものはないのです。
But however great his riches, money has its limits, and even so lavish a spender as Toshishun found himself growing gradually poorer as one year passed into two. And human beings being the heartless creatures they are, the friends who had come every day until yesterday would not even give him a greeting today, though they passed before his very gate. And when at last, in the spring of the third year, Toshishun found himself as penniless as before, there was not, in the whole wide city of Luoyang, a single house that would lend him lodging. No—far from lending him lodging, there was no longer anyone who would give him so much as a bowl of water.
そこで彼は或日の夕方、もう一度あの洛陽の西の門の下へ行って、ぼんやり空を眺めながら、途方に暮れて立っていました。するとやはり昔のように、片目眇の老人が、どこからか姿を現して、
So it was that one evening he went once more to that same western gate of Luoyang, and stood there gazing vacantly up at the sky, at the end of his wits. And there, just as before, the one-eyed old man appeared from somewhere,
「お前は何を考えているのだ」と、声をかけるではありませんか。
"What are you thinking about?"—why, he was calling out to him again!
杜子春は老人の顔を見ると、恥しそうに下を向いたまま、暫くは返事もしませんでした。が、老人はその日も親切そうに、同じ言葉を繰返しますから、こちらも前と同じように、
When Toshishun saw the old man's face, he hung his head in shame and for a while made no answer. But the old man that day too repeated the same words kindly, so that Toshishun, just as before,
「私は今夜寝る所もないので、どうしたものかと考えているのです」と、恐る恐る返事をしました。
"I have no place to sleep tonight, and I was thinking what I ought to do," he answered timidly.
「そうか。それは可哀そうだな。ではおれが好いことを一つ教えてやろう。今この夕日の中へ立って、お前の影が地に映ったら、その胸に当る所を、夜中に掘って見るが好い。きっと車に一ぱいの黄金が埋まっている筈だから」
"Is that so. That is a pitiable thing. Then let me tell you something to your advantage. Stand now in this evening sun, and where your shadow falls upon the ground, at the place answering to its breast, dig at midnight. You will surely find a cartload of gold buried there."
老人はこう言ったと思うと、今度もまた人ごみの中へ、掻き消すように隠れてしまいました。
No sooner had the old man said this than he vanished again into the crowd, as if wiped away.
杜子春はその翌日から、忽ち天下第一の大金持に返りました。と同時に相変らず、仕放題な贅沢をし始めました。庭に咲いている牡丹の花、その中に眠っている白孔雀、それから刀を呑んで見せる、天竺から来た魔法使――すべてが昔の通りなのです。
From the very next day, Toshishun became once more, in an instant, the richest man under heaven. And at the same time he took up, as before, his unrestrained extravagance. The peonies blooming in his garden, the white peacocks sleeping among them, the magician from India who swallowed swords—everything was exactly as it had been.
ですから車に一ぱいにあった、あの夥しい黄金も、又三年ばかり経つ内には、すっかりなくなってしまいました。
And so that vast quantity of gold, which had filled a whole cart, was, within some three years, entirely gone again.
三
III
「お前は何を考えているのだ」
"What are you thinking about?"
片目眇の老人は、三度杜子春の前へ来て、同じことを問いかけました。勿論彼はその時も、洛陽の西の門の下に、ほそぼそと霞を破っている三日月の光を眺めながら、ぼんやり佇んでいたのです。
For the third time the one-eyed old man came before Toshishun and asked him the same thing. Of course, at that time too he was standing vacantly beneath the western gate of Luoyang, gazing at the faint light of a crescent moon that thinly broke through the haze.
「私ですか。私は今夜寝る所もないので、どうしようかと思っているのです」
"Me? I have no place to sleep tonight, and I was wondering what to do."
「そうか。それは可哀そうだな。ではおれが好いことを教えてやろう。今この夕日の中へ立って、お前の影が地に映ったら、その腹に当る所を、夜中に掘って見るが好い。きっと車に一ぱいの――」
"Is that so. That is a pitiable thing. Then let me tell you something to your advantage. Stand now in this evening sun, and where your shadow falls upon the ground, at the place answering to its belly, dig at midnight. You will surely find a cartload of—"
老人がここまで言いかけると、杜子春は急に手を挙げて、その言葉を遮りました。
When the old man had gotten this far, Toshishun suddenly raised his hand and cut off his words.
「いや、お金はもういらないのです」
"No—I have no more need of money."
「金はもういらない？ ははあ、では贅沢をするにはとうとう飽きてしまったと見えるな」
"No more need of money? Ha—then it seems you have at last grown tired of living in luxury."
老人は審しそうな眼つきをしながら、じっと杜子春の顔を見つめました。
The old man looked steadily at Toshishun's face, with an air of suspicion.
「何、贅沢に飽きたのじゃありません。人間というものに愛想がつきたのです」
"No, it is not that I have grown tired of luxury. It is that I am sick to death of human beings."
杜子春は不平そうな顔をしながら、突慳貪にこう言いました。
Toshishun said this curtly, with a face full of resentment.
「それは面白いな。どうして又人間に愛想が尽きたのだ？」
"That is interesting. And how did you come to be so sick of human beings?"
「人間は皆薄情です。私が大金持になった時には、世辞も追従もしますけれど、一旦貧乏になって御覧なさい。柔しい顔さえもして見せはしません。そんなことを考えると、たといもう一度大金持になったところが、何にもならないような気がするのです」
"Human beings are all heartless. When I was a great rich man, they flattered me and fawned on me; but let a man once become poor, and see—they will not so much as put on a gentle face for him. When I think of such things, it seems to me that even if I were made a great rich man once again, it would come to nothing."
老人は杜子春の言葉を聞くと、急ににやにや笑い出しました。
Hearing this, the old man suddenly began to grin.
「そうか。いや、お前は若い者に似合わず、感心に物のわかる男だ。ではこれからは貧乏をしても、安らかに暮して行くつもりか」
"Is that so. Well, for one so young, you understand things admirably. Then do you mean, from now on, to live out your life in poverty, but at peace?"
杜子春はちょいとためらいました。が、すぐに思い切った眼を挙げると、訴えるように老人の顔を見ながら、
Toshishun hesitated a moment. But at once he raised his eyes with sudden resolve, and, looking at the old man's face as though pleading with him,
「それも今の私には出来ません。ですから私はあなたの弟子になって、仙術の修業をしたいと思うのです。いいえ、隠してはいけません。あなたは道徳の高い仙人でしょう。仙人でなければ、一夜の内に私を天下第一の大金持にすることは出来ない筈です。どうか私の先生になって、不思議な仙術を教えて下さい」
"That too is beyond me now. And so I wish to become your disciple, and train myself in the arts of the immortals. No—you must not hide it from me. You are surely an immortal of high virtue. No one but an immortal could have made me the richest man under heaven in the space of a single night. I beg you, become my teacher, and teach me your wondrous arts."
老人は眉をひそめたまま、暫くは黙って、何事か考えているようでしたが、やがて又にっこり笑いながら、
The old man, his brow still knit, was silent for a while, seeming to think something over, but presently, smiling again,
「いかにもおれは峨眉山に棲んでいる、鉄冠子という仙人だ。始めお前の顔を見た時、どこか物わかりが好さそうだったから、二度まで大金持にしてやったのだが、それ程仙人になりたければ、おれの弟子にとり立ててやろう」と、快く願を容れてくれました。
"Indeed I am an immortal dwelling on Mount Emei, called Tekkanshi. When first I saw your face, I thought you seemed a man of some understanding, and so I made you a great rich man twice over; but if you wish so much to become an immortal, I will take you on as my disciple"—and thus he readily granted his wish.
杜子春は喜んだの、喜ばないのではありません。老人の言葉がまだ終らない内に、彼は大地に額をつけて、何度も鉄冠子に御時宜をしました。
Toshishun's joy was beyond all measure. Before the old man's words were even finished, he pressed his forehead to the ground and bowed again and again to Tekkanshi.
「いや、そう御礼などは言って貰うまい。いくらおれの弟子にしたところが、立派な仙人になれるかなれないかは、お前次第で決まることだからな。――が、ともかくもまずおれと一しょに、峨眉山の奥へ来て見るが好い。おお、幸、ここに竹杖が一本落ちている。では早速これへ乗って、一飛びに空を渡るとしよう」
"No, you need not thank me so. Even if I take you on as my disciple, whether or not you become a true immortal will depend on you alone. But in any case, come with me first, and see the depths of Mount Emei. Ah, how fortunate—here lies a bamboo staff. Let us mount it at once, and cross the sky in a single flight."
鉄冠子はそこにあった青竹を一本拾い上げると、口の中に咒文を唱えながら、杜子春と一しょにその竹へ、馬にでも乗るように跨りました。すると不思議ではありませんか。竹杖は忽ち竜のように、勢よく大空へ舞い上って、晴れ渡った春の夕空を峨眉山の方角へ飛んで行きました。
Tekkanshi picked up a green bamboo cane that lay there, and, murmuring a spell under his breath, straddled it together with Toshishun as though mounting a horse. And—was it not a wonder?—the bamboo staff rose up mightily into the great sky like a dragon, and flew off through the clear spring evening sky toward Mount Emei.
杜子春は胆をつぶしながら、恐る恐る下を見下しました。が、下には唯青い山々が夕明りの底に見えるばかりで、あの洛陽の都の西の門は、（とうに霞に紛れたのでしょう）どこを探しても見当りません。その内に鉄冠子は、白い鬢の毛を風に吹かせて、高らかに歌を唱い出しました。
Toshishun, his heart nearly bursting from fright, looked timidly down below. But below there was nothing to be seen but blue mountains at the bottom of the evening light, and search as he might, that western gate of Luoyang was nowhere to be found—lost, no doubt, long since in the haze. Meanwhile Tekkanshi, letting the wind blow through the white hair at his temples, began to sing aloud in a ringing voice.
朝に北海に遊び、暮には蒼梧。
In the morning I wander the Northern Sea, by evening I am at Cangwu.
袖裏の青蛇、胆気粗なり。
The green serpent within my sleeve, my spirit is bold and rough.
三たび岳陽に入れども、人識らず。
Thrice I have entered Yueyang, yet no man knows me.
朗吟して、飛過す洞庭湖。
Chanting aloud, I fly on past Lake Dongting.
四
IV
二人を乗せた青竹は、間もなく峨眉山へ舞い下りました。
The green bamboo bearing the two of them soon came sweeping down onto Mount Emei.
そこは深い谷に臨んだ、幅の広い一枚岩の上でしたが、よくよく高い所だと見えて、中空に垂れた北斗の星が、茶碗程の大きさに光っていました。元より人跡の絶えた山ですから、あたりはしんと静まり返って、やっと耳にはいるものは、後の絶壁に生えている、曲りくねった一株の松が、こうこうと夜風に鳴る音だけです。
It was a broad slab of rock overlooking a deep ravine, and so high a place did it seem that the stars of the Dipper, hanging in the mid-heaven, shone as large as tea bowls. As it was a mountain from which every trace of man had long since vanished, all about lay hushed in perfect stillness, and the only sound that reached the ear at all was the roaring of the night wind through the branches of a single gnarled pine that grew upon the cliff behind them.
二人がこの岩の上に来ると、鉄冠子は杜子春を絶壁の下に坐らせて、
When the two of them had come onto this rock, Tekkanshi made Toshishun sit down at the foot of the cliff, and said,
「おれはこれから天上へ行って、西王母に御眼にかかって来るから、お前はその間ここに坐って、おれの帰るのを待っているが好い。多分おれがいなくなると、いろいろな魔性が現れて、お前をたぶらかそうとするだろうが、たといどんなことが起ろうとも、決して声を出すのではないぞ。もし一言でも口を利いたら、お前は到底仙人にはなれないものだと覚悟をしろ。好いか。天地が裂けても、黙っているのだぞ」と言いました。
"I am going now up to heaven, to pay my respects to the Queen Mother of the West, so while I am gone, sit here and wait for my return. No doubt, once I am gone, all manner of demonic beings will appear and try to deceive you, but whatever happens, on no account are you to make a sound. If you so much as utter a single word, resign yourself to the fact that you will never become an immortal. Do you understand? Though heaven and earth should split apart, you must remain silent."
「大丈夫です。決して声なぞは出しません。命がなくなっても、黙っています」
"It will be all right. I will never make a sound. Even if it costs me my life, I will stay silent."
「そうか。それを聞いて、おれも安心した。ではおれは行って来るから」
"Is that so. Hearing that puts my mind at ease. Then I am off."
老人は杜子春に別れを告げると、又あの竹杖に跨って、夜目にも削ったような山々の空へ、一文字に消えてしまいました。
The old man, having bid Toshishun farewell, mounted the bamboo staff once more, and vanished in a straight line into the sky above the mountains, which even in the dark looked as if they had been carved with a knife.
杜子春はたった一人、岩の上に坐ったまま、静に星を眺めていました。するとかれこれ半時ばかり経って、深山の夜気が肌寒く薄い着物に透り出した頃、突然空中に声があって、
Toshishun, quite alone, sat on the rock gazing quietly at the stars. Then, after about an hour or so had passed, and the cold night air of the deep mountains had begun to pierce through his thin garments, a voice suddenly sounded in the air, saying,
「そこにいるのは何者だ」と、叱りつけるではありませんか。
"Who is that there?"—thundering the words like a rebuke.
しかし杜子春は仙人の教通り、何とも返事をしずにいました。
But Toshishun, as the immortal had taught him, made no answer whatsoever.
ところが又暫くすると、やはり同じ声が響いて、
But after a while longer, the same voice rang out again, saying,
「返事をしないと立ちどころに、命はないものと覚悟しろ」と、いかめしく嚇しつけるのです。
"If you do not answer, resign yourself to losing your life this instant"—threatening him sternly.
杜子春は勿論黙っていました。
Toshishun, of course, remained silent.
と、どこから登って来たか、爛々と眼を光らせた虎が一匹、忽然と岩の上に躍り上って、杜子春の姿を睨みながら、一声高く哮りました。のみならずそれと同時に、頭の上の松の枝が、烈しくざわざわ揺れたと思うと、後の絶壁の頂からは、四斗樽程の白蛇が一匹、炎のような舌を吐いて、見る見る近くへ下りて来るのです。
Then, from no one knew where, a tiger with eyes blazing came bounding suddenly up onto the rock, and, glaring at Toshishun's figure, gave a single high roar. And not only that—at the very same moment, the branches of the pine above his head began to rustle violently, and from the top of the cliff behind him a white snake, as large around as a great sake cask, came slithering down toward him before his very eyes, its tongue darting out like flame.
杜子春はしかし平然と、眉毛も動かさずに坐っていました。
Toshishun, however, sat perfectly calm, without so much as moving an eyebrow.
虎と蛇とは、一つ餌食を狙って、互に隙でも窺うのか、暫くは睨合いの体でしたが、やがてどちらが先ともなく、一時に杜子春に飛びかかりました。が虎の牙に噛まれるか、蛇の舌に呑まれるか、杜子春の命は瞬く内に、なくなってしまうと思った時、虎と蛇とは霧の如く、夜風と共に消え失せて、後には唯、絶壁の松が、さっきの通りこうこうと枝を鳴らしているばかりなのです。杜子春はほっと一息しながら、今度はどんなことが起るかと、心待ちに待っていました。
The tiger and the snake, both after the same prey, seemed for a while to be watching each other for an opening, glaring one at the other; but presently, neither first nor second, they sprang at Toshishun both at once. And just when he thought that in an instant his life must surely end—bitten by the tiger's fangs, or swallowed by the snake's tongue—tiger and snake vanished like mist along with the night wind, and afterward there was only the pine on the cliff, roaring in its branches just as before. Toshishun let out a breath of relief, and waited, expectant, to see what would happen next.
すると一陣の風が吹き起って、墨のような黒雲が一面にあたりをとざすや否や、うす紫の稲妻がやにわに闇を二つに裂いて、凄じく雷が鳴り出しました。いや、雷ばかりではありません。それと一しょに瀑のような雨も、いきなりどうどうと降り出したのです。杜子春はこの天変の中に、恐れ気もなく坐っていました。風の音、雨のしぶき、それから絶え間ない稲妻の光、――暫くはさすがの峨眉山も、覆るかと思う位でしたが、その内に耳をもつんざく程、大きな雷鳴が轟いたと思うと、空に渦巻いた黒雲の中から、まっ赤な一本の火柱が、杜子春の頭へ落ちかかりました。
Then a gust of wind rose up, and no sooner had ink-black clouds closed in on every side than a pale violet flash of lightning suddenly split the darkness in two, and the thunder began to crash terribly. But it was not thunder alone—together with it, a rain like a waterfall came pouring down with a great roar. Toshishun sat through this convulsion of the heavens without the least sign of fear. The sound of the wind, the lashing of the rain, and the ceaseless flashing of the lightning—for a while it seemed that even mighty Mount Emei itself must be overturned; but presently, just as a great peal of thunder crashed loud enough to split the very ears, a single pillar of fire, blood-red, came falling out of the black clouds swirling in the sky, straight down upon Toshishun's head.
杜子春は思わず耳を抑えて、一枚岩の上へひれ伏しました。が、すぐに眼を開いて見ると、空は以前の通り晴れ渡って、向うに聳えた山々の上にも、茶碗ほどの北斗の星が、やはりきらきら輝いています。して見れば今の大あらしも、あの虎や白蛇と同じように、鉄冠子の留守をつけこんだ、魔性の悪戯に違いありません。杜子春は漸く安心して、額の冷汗を拭いながら、又岩の上に坐り直しました。
Toshishun could not help but clap his hands over his ears and throw himself flat upon the rock. But when he opened his eyes again at once, the sky was clear as before, and above the mountains rising in the distance the stars of the Dipper still glittered, as large as tea bowls. It seemed, then, that this great storm too, like the tiger and the white snake, must have been nothing but some demonic mischief, taking advantage of Tekkanshi's absence. Toshishun, at last reassured, wiped the cold sweat from his brow, and sat himself upright on the rock once more.
が、そのため息がまだ消えない内に、今度は彼の坐っている前へ、金の鎧を着下した、身の丈三丈もあろうという、厳かな神将が現れました。神将は手に三叉の戟を持っていましたが、いきなりその戟の切先を杜子春の胸もとへ向けながら、眼を嗔らせて叱りつけるのを聞けば、
But before that sigh of his had even faded away, there appeared before him this time a majestic divine general, clad in golden armor, who must have stood some thirty feet tall. The general held a three-pronged halberd in his hand, and, suddenly leveling the point of it at Toshishun's breast, his eyes blazing with fury, rebuked him, saying,
「こら、その方は一体何物だ。この峨眉山という山は、天地開闢の昔から、おれが住居をしている所だぞ。それも憚らずたった一人、ここへ足を踏み入れるとは、よもや唯の人間ではあるまい。さあ命が惜しかったら、一刻も早く返答しろ」と言うのです。
"You there—what manner of thing are you? This mountain, Mount Emei, has been my dwelling place since the very dawn of heaven and earth. That you should set foot here alone, without the least fear, and unbidden—surely you can be no common human being. Now then, if you value your life, answer at once, without a moment's delay."
しかし杜子春は老人の言葉通り、黙然と口を噤んでいました。
But Toshishun, just as the old man had bidden him, kept his lips sealed and remained silent.
「返事をしないか。――しないな。好し。しなければ、しないで勝手にしろ。その代りおれの眷属たちが、その方をずたずたに斬ってしまうぞ」
"You will not answer? So you will not. Very well. If you will not, then have it your own way—but in that case my followers shall cut you to pieces."
神将は戟を高く挙げて、向うの山の空を招きました。その途端に闇がさっと裂けると、驚いたことには無数の神兵が、雲の如く空に充満ちて、それが皆槍や刀をきらめかせながら、今にもここへ一なだれに攻め寄せようとしているのです。
The general raised his halberd high, and beckoned toward the sky above the mountain opposite. At that instant the darkness split open all at once, and, to his astonishment, countless divine soldiers filled the sky like clouds, every one of them flashing spear and sword, poised to sweep down upon him in a single onrush.
この景色を見た杜子春は、思わずあっと叫びそうにしましたが、すぐに又鉄冠子の言葉を思い出して、一生懸命に黙っていました。神将は彼が恐れないのを見ると、怒ったの怒らないのではありません。
Seeing this sight, Toshishun very nearly cried out in spite of himself, but he at once remembered Tekkanshi's words again, and held his silence with all his might. When the general saw that he showed no fear, his anger knew no bounds.
「この剛情者め。どうしても返事をしなければ、約束通り命はとってやるぞ」
"You stubborn wretch. If you will not answer no matter what, then as I have promised, I shall take your life."
神将はこう喚くが早いか、三叉の戟を閃かせて、一突きに杜子春を突き殺しました。そうして峨眉山もどよむ程、からからと高く笑いながら、どこともなく消えてしまいました。勿論この時はもう無数の神兵も、吹き渡る夜風の音と一しょに、夢のように消え失せた後だったのです。
No sooner had the general roared out these words than he flashed his three-pronged halberd, and with a single thrust ran Toshishun through and killed him. Then, laughing loudly enough to make even Mount Emei resound, he vanished, no one knew where. By this time, of course, the countless divine soldiers too had already vanished like a dream, along with the sound of the night wind blowing past.
北斗の星は又寒そうに、一枚岩の上を照らし始めました。絶壁の松も前に変らず、こうこうと枝を鳴らせています。が、杜子春はとうに息が絶えて、仰向けにそこへ倒れていました。
The stars of the Dipper began once more to shine down, coldly, upon the flat rock. The pine on the cliff, too, went on roaring in its branches, unchanged from before. But Toshishun had long since ceased to breathe, and lay there fallen upon his back.
五
V
杜子春の体は岩の上へ、仰向けに倒れていましたが、杜子春の魂は、静に体から抜け出して、地獄の底へ下りて行きました。
Toshishun's body lay fallen upon the rock, on its back, but Toshishun's soul quietly slipped out of his body, and descended down into the depths of hell.
この世と地獄との間には、闇穴道という道があって、そこは年中暗い空に、氷のような冷たい風がぴゅうぴゅう吹き荒んでいるのです。杜子春はその風に吹かれながら、暫くは唯木の葉のように、空を漂って行きましたが、やがて森羅殿という額の懸った立派な御殿の前へ出ました。
Between this world and hell there runs a road called the Passage of the Dark Cavern, where, beneath a sky that is dark the whole year round, an ice-cold wind blows wailing without cease. Toshishun, borne along by that wind, drifted for a while through the air like a mere leaf, but presently came out before a splendid palace, over whose gate hung a tablet reading the Hall of All Creation.
御殿の前にいた大勢の鬼は、杜子春の姿を見るや否や、すぐにそのまわりを取り捲いて、階の前へ引き据えました。階の上には一人の王様が、まっ黒な袍に金の冠をかぶって、いかめしくあたりを睨んでいます。これは兼ねて噂に聞いた、閻魔大王に違いありません。杜子春はどうなることかと思いながら、恐る恐るそこへ跪いていました。
The many demons before the palace, the moment they saw Toshishun, at once surrounded him and forced him down before the steps. At the top of the steps sat a king, clad in a robe of deepest black and wearing a golden crown, glaring sternly all about him. This could be none other than the King of Hell, of whom he had long heard tell. Toshishun, wondering what would become of him, knelt there timidly.
「こら、その方は何の為に、峨眉山の上へ坐っていた？」
"You there—for what purpose were you sitting atop Mount Emei?"
閻魔大王の声は雷のように、階の上から響きました。杜子春は早速その問に答えようとしましたが、ふと又思い出したのは、「決して口を利くな」という鉄冠子の戒めの言葉です。そこで唯頭を垂れたまま、唖のように黙っていました。すると閻魔大王は、持っていた鉄の笏を挙げて、顔中の鬚を逆立てながら、
The King of Hell's voice rang down from the top of the steps like thunder. Toshishun was about to answer the question at once, but he suddenly remembered again Tekkanshi's warning: never utter a word. And so he only bowed his head, and remained silent as one struck dumb. Whereupon the King of Hell raised the iron scepter he held, and, every hair of his beard bristling, said,
「その方はここをどこだと思う？ 速に返答をすれば好し、さもなければ時を移さず、地獄の呵責に遇わせてくれるぞ」と、威丈高に罵りました。
"Where do you think you are? Answer at once, and it will go well for you—otherwise I shall have you put to the torments of hell without further delay," he railed, in a towering rage.
が、杜子春は相変らず唇一つ動かしません。それを見た閻魔大王は、すぐに鬼どもの方を向いて、荒々しく何か言いつけると、鬼どもは一度に畏って、忽ち杜子春を引き立てながら、森羅殿の空へ舞い上りました。
But Toshishun, as before, did not so much as move his lips. Seeing this, the King of Hell at once turned toward the demons and roughly gave some order, whereupon the demons all bowed low together, and, seizing Toshishun, rose at once up into the sky above the Hall of All Creation.
地獄には誰でも知っている通り、剣の山や血の池の外にも、焦熱地獄という焔の谷や極寒地獄という氷の海が、真暗な空の下に並んでいます。鬼どもはそういう地獄の中へ、代る代る杜子春を抛りこみました。ですから杜子春は無残にも、剣に胸を貫かれるやら、焔に顔を焼かれるやら、舌を抜かれるやら、皮を剥がれるやら、鉄の杵に撞かれるやら、油の鍋に煮られるやら、毒蛇に脳味噌を吸われるやら、熊鷹に眼を食われるやら、――その苦しみを数え立てていては、到底際限がない位、あらゆる責苦に遇わされたのです。それでも杜子春は我慢強く、じっと歯を食いしばったまま、一言も口を利きませんでした。
In hell, as everyone knows, besides the mountain of swords and the pool of blood, there stretch, beneath a pitch-black sky, the valley of flame called the Hell of Scorching Heat, and the sea of ice called the Hell of Bitter Cold. Into these hells the demons flung Toshishun, one after another. And so, most cruelly, his breast was pierced through with swords, his face was burned in flames, his tongue was torn out, his skin was flayed off, he was pounded with an iron pestle, boiled in a pot of oil, had his brain sucked out by venomous serpents, had his eyes devoured by eagle-hawks—were one to number all his sufferings, there would be no end to it; he was made to endure every torment there was. Yet still Toshishun endured it all, gritting his teeth without a sound, and never once opened his mouth to speak.
これにはさすがの鬼どもも、呆れ返ってしまったのでしょう。もう一度夜のような空を飛んで、森羅殿の前へ帰って来ると、さっきの通り杜子春を階の下に引き据えながら、御殿の上の閻魔大王に、
Even the demons, it seems, were quite taken aback by this. Flying once more through the night-black sky, they returned before the Hall of All Creation, and, forcing Toshishun down again below the steps as before, said all together to the King of Hell above,
「この罪人はどうしても、ものを言う気色がございません」と、口を揃えて言上しました。
"This sinner shows not the least sign of speaking, no matter what is done to him."
閻魔大王は眉をひそめて、暫く思案に暮れていましたが、やがて何か思いついたと見えて、
The King of Hell knit his brow, and sat lost in thought for a while, but presently, seeming to hit upon some idea, said to one of the demons,
「この男の父母は、畜生道に落ちている筈だから、早速ここへ引き立てて来い」と、一匹の鬼に言いつけました。
"This man's father and mother must have fallen into the Realm of Beasts—go at once and bring them here."
鬼は忽ち風に乗って、地獄の空へ舞い上りました。と思うと、又星が流れるように、二匹の獣を駆り立てながら、さっと森羅殿の前へ下りて来ました。その獣を見た杜子春は、驚いたの驚かないのではありません。なぜかといえばそれは二匹とも、形は見すぼらしい痩せ馬でしたが、顔は夢にも忘れない、死んだ父母の通りでしたから。
The demon rose at once upon the wind, up into the sky of hell. And no sooner had he gone than, like a shooting star, he came swooping down again before the Hall of All Creation, driving two beasts before him. When Toshishun saw those beasts, his astonishment knew no bounds. For though the two of them were, in form, nothing but wretched, gaunt horses, their faces were exactly those of his dead father and mother, whom he had never forgotten even in his dreams.
「こら、その方は何のために、峨眉山の上に坐っていたか、まっすぐに白状しなければ、今度はその方の父母に痛い思いをさせてやるぞ」
"You there—if you will not confess plainly for what purpose you were sitting atop Mount Emei, this time I shall make your father and mother suffer for it."
杜子春はこう嚇されても、やはり返答をしずにいました。
Even threatened in this way, Toshishun still made no answer.
「この不孝者めが。その方は父母が苦しんでも、その方さえ都合が好ければ、好いと思っているのだな」
"You undutiful wretch. So you think it is well enough, so long as it suits you, even if your father and mother suffer for it."
閻魔大王は森羅殿も崩れる程、凄じい声で喚きました。
The King of Hell roared out in a voice terrible enough to bring the very Hall of All Creation crashing down.
「打て。鬼ども。その二匹の畜生を、肉も骨も打ち砕いてしまえ」
"Strike them. Demons—beat these two beasts until their flesh and bone are shattered."
鬼どもは一斉に「はっ」と答えながら、鉄の鞭をとって立ち上ると、四方八方から二匹の馬を、未練未釈なく打ちのめしました。鞭はりゅうりゅうと風を切って、所嫌わず雨のように、馬の皮肉を打ち破るのです。馬は、――畜生になった父母は、苦しそうに身を悶えて、眼には血の涙を浮べたまま、見てもいられない程嘶き立てました。
The demons, all crying "Aye!" together, seized iron whips and rose up, and beat the two horses without the least mercy from every side. The whips cut whistling through the air, and, like rain falling anywhere and everywhere, tore open the horses' flesh and hide. The horses—the father and mother turned into beasts—writhed in agony, and, tears of blood standing in their eyes, whinnied so pitifully that it was more than one could bear to watch.
「どうだ。まだその方は白状しないか」
"Well then. Will you still not confess?"
閻魔大王は鬼どもに、暫く鞭の手をやめさせて、もう一度杜子春の答を促しました。もうその時には二匹の馬も、肉は裂け骨は砕けて、息も絶え絶えに階の前へ、倒れ伏していたのです。
The King of Hell had the demons stay their whips for a moment, and once more pressed Toshishun for an answer. By this time the two horses, their flesh torn and their bones shattered, lay collapsed before the steps, their breath all but gone.
杜子春は必死になって、鉄冠子の言葉を思い出しながら、緊く眼をつぶっていました。するとその時彼の耳には、殆声とはいえない位、かすかな声が伝わって来ました。
Toshishun, desperate, called Tekkanshi's words to mind again, and shut his eyes tight. And then, at that moment, a voice reached his ear, so faint it could scarcely be called a voice at all.
「心配をおしでない。私たちはどうなっても、お前さえ仕合せになれるのなら、それより結構なことはないのだからね。大王が何と仰っても、言いたくないことは黙って御出で」
"Don't you worry about us. Whatever becomes of us, if only you can be happy, there is nothing better than that. Whatever the Great King may say, if there is something you do not want to say, stay silent about it."
それは確に懐しい、母親の声に違いありません。杜子春は思わず、眼をあきました。そうして馬の一匹が、力なく地上に倒れたまま、悲しそうに彼の顔へ、じっと眼をやっているのを見ました。母親はこんな苦しみの中にも、息子の心を思いやって、鬼どもの鞭に打たれたことを、怨む気色さえも見せないのです。大金持になれば御世辞を言い、貧乏人になれば口も利かない世間の人たちに比べると、何という有難い志でしょう。何という健気な決心でしょう。杜子春は老人の戒めも忘れて、転ぶようにその側へ走りよると、両手に半死の馬の頸を抱いて、はらはらと涙を落しながら、「お母さん」と一声を叫びました。…………
That was surely, beyond all doubt, his own dear mother's voice. Toshishun could not help but open his eyes. And he saw that one of the horses, lying fallen powerlessly upon the ground, had its eyes fixed sorrowfully, steadily, upon his face. His mother, even in the midst of such suffering, was thinking only of her son's heart, and showed not the least sign of resentment at being beaten by the demons' whips. Compared with the people of the world, who flatter a man when he is rich and will not speak to him when he is poor, what a precious devotion this was. What a heroic resolve. Toshishun, forgetting even the old man's warning, ran stumbling to her side, and, clasping the half-dead horse's neck in both his arms, cried out, with the tears streaming down, "Mother!"…
六
VI
その声に気がついて見ると、杜子春はやはり夕日を浴びて、洛陽の西の門の下に、ぼんやり佇んでいるのでした。霞んだ空、白い三日月、絶え間ない人や車の波、――すべてがまだ峨眉山へ、行かない前と同じことです。
When he came to himself at the sound of that cry, Toshishun was standing, as before, bathed in the evening sun, vacantly beneath the western gate of Luoyang. The hazy sky, the white crescent moon, the ceaseless waves of people and carriages—everything was just as it had been before ever he went to Mount Emei.
「どうだな。おれの弟子になったところが、とても仙人にはなれはすまい」
"Well then. It seems that, become my disciple though you might, you could never have become an immortal after all."
片目眇の老人は微笑を含みながら言いました。
The one-eyed old man said this with a faint smile.
「なれません。なれませんが、しかし私はなれなかったことも、反って嬉しい気がするのです」
"I could not. I could not become one—but even so, I find that I am glad, rather, that I could not."
杜子春はまだ眼に涙を浮べたまま、思わず老人の手を握りました。
Toshishun, the tears still standing in his eyes, could not help but seize the old man's hand.
「いくら仙人になれたところが、私はあの地獄の森羅殿の前に、鞭を受けている父母を見ては、黙っている訳には行きません」
"Even if it would have made me an immortal, when I saw my father and mother being whipped there before the Hall of All Creation in hell, I could not possibly keep silent."
「もしお前が黙っていたら――」と鉄冠子は急に厳な顔になって、じっと杜子春を見つめました。
"If you had kept silent—" Tekkanshi said, his face suddenly turning grave, and looked steadily at Toshishun.
「もしお前が黙っていたら、おれは即座にお前の命を絶ってしまおうと思っていたのだ。――お前はもう仙人になりたいという望も持っていまい。大金持になることは、元より愛想がつきた筈だ。ではお前はこれから後、何になったら好いと思うな」
"If you had kept silent, I meant to end your life then and there, on the spot. You can no longer have any wish to become an immortal, and you were already sick to death of becoming a great rich man in the first place. What, then, do you think you should become, from now on?"
「何になっても、人間らしい、正直な暮しをするつもりです」
"Whatever I become, I mean to live an honest life, a life fit for a human being."
杜子春の声には今までにない晴れ晴れした調子が罩っていました。
There was, in Toshishun's voice, a brightness it had never held until now.
「その言葉を忘れるなよ。ではおれは今日限り、二度とお前には遇わないから」
"See that you do not forget those words. Then, from today, I shall never meet with you again."
鉄冠子はこう言う内に、もう歩き出していましたが、急に又足を止めて、杜子春の方を振り返ると、
Even as he said this, Tekkanshi had already begun to walk away, but suddenly he stopped again, and, turning back toward Toshishun,
「おお、幸、今思い出したが、おれは泰山の南の麓に一軒の家を持っている。その家を畑ごとお前にやるから、早速行って住まうが好い。今頃は丁度家のまわりに、桃の花が一面に咲いているだろう」と、さも愉快そうにつけ加えました。
"Ah, how fortunate—I have just now remembered. I own a house at the southern foot of Mount Tai. I shall give you that house, fields and all, so go there at once and live in it. Just about now, the peach blossoms should be in full bloom all around the house," he added, with evident pleasure.