仙丹入腹 金箍加頂 The Pill Swallowed; the Fillet Set On
走到洞口,只見守洞小妖都有些認得道:「凌虛仙長來了。」一邊傳報,一邊接引。那妖早已迎出門道:「凌虛,有勞仙駕珍顧,蓬蓽有輝。」菩薩道:「小道敬獻一粒仙丹,敢稱千壽。」他二人拜畢,方才坐定,又敘起他昨日之事。菩薩不答,連忙拿丹盤道:「大王,且見小道鄙意。」覷定一粒大的,推與那妖道:「願大王千壽。」那妖亦推一粒,遞與菩薩道:「願與凌虛子同之。」讓畢,那妖才待要咽,那藥順口兒一直滾下。現了本相,理起四平。那妖滾倒在地。菩薩現相,問妖取了佛衣。行者早已從鼻孔中出去。菩薩又怕那妖無禮,卻把一個箍兒丟在那妖頭上。那妖起來,提槍要刺,行者、菩薩早已起在空中,將真言念起。那怪依舊頭疼,丟了槍,滿地亂滾。半空裡笑倒個美猴王,平地下滾壞個黑熊怪。走到洞口,只见守洞小妖都有些认得道:「凌虚仙长来了。」一边传报,一边接引。那妖早已迎出门道:「凌虚,有劳仙驾珍顾,蓬荜有辉。」菩萨道:「小道敬献一粒仙丹,敢称千寿。」他二人拜毕,方才坐定,又叙起他昨日之事。菩萨不答,连忙拿丹盘道:「大王,且见小道鄙意。」觑定一粒大的,推与那妖道:「愿大王千寿。」那妖亦推一粒,递与菩萨道:「愿与凌虚子同之。」让毕,那妖才待要咽,那药顺口儿一直滚下。现了本相,理起四平。那妖滚倒在地。菩萨现相,问妖取了佛衣。行者早已从鼻孔中出去。菩萨又怕那妖无礼,却把一个箍儿丢在那妖头上。那妖起来,提枪要刺,行者、菩萨早已起在空中,将真言念起。那怪依旧头疼,丢了枪,满地乱滚。半空里笑倒个美猴王,平地下滚坏个黑熊怪。
逐句解 Line by line
She came to the cave mouth, and the little demons who kept it half knew her. "The immortal elder Lingxu is come!"
認得 takes the resultative de; 仙長 takes zhǎng. 有些認得 — the gate-demons half recognise a man they have seen before. So the wolf was a regular caller.
Some ran in to report and some came forward to usher her. The fiend was already out at the door to meet her. "Lingxu! I am honoured that your immortal carriage should deign to call. My poor hut is lit up by it."
蓬蓽有輝, "my hut of wormwood and brambles is made bright" — the standard courtesy of a host receiving a guest of rank. It is the last thing the bear-fiend says as a free creature, and it is a compliment.
The Bodhisattva said, "This humble Taoist respectfully presents one pellet of immortal elixir, and ventures to wish you a thousand years."
小道, this humble Taoist. 敢稱千壽: 稱 reads chēng. The Bodhisattva of Great Compassion wishes a thousand years to a creature she is poisoning.
When the two of them had made their bows and were fairly seated, he began to speak again of what had passed the day before.
又敘起他昨日之事 — he wants to talk about the fight. The narrator does not report what he said.
The Bodhisattva did not answer, but took up the tray of elixir at once. "Great King, look first on the poor mind of this Taoist."
不答. She will not discuss yesterday. 鄙意, my poor intention: the word for a gift one belittles.
She fixed her eye upon the larger pellet and pushed it across to the fiend. "May the Great King live a thousand years."
覷定, to fix the eye upon and be sure. She has to look, because the pills differ only a trifle.
The fiend pushed the other across and handed it to the Bodhisattva. "May Lingxuzi share it with me."
願與凌虛子同之 — "may Lingxuzi share it with me." Offered the larger pill, the bear pushes the smaller back across the table.
The courtesies over, the fiend was just about to swallow when the drug went smoothly down and rolled straight in.
順口兒 takes the diminutive er. 一直滾下: the sandhi of 一 before the second-tone 直 gives yì. The pill does not wait to be swallowed; it goes down of itself.
It showed its true form and set itself four-square. The fiend rolled over upon the ground.
現了本相: 相 is xiàng, an appearance. 理起四平, to settle himself four-square — the Pilgrim taking a stance inside a stomach.
The Bodhisattva showed her own form, and demanded the Buddha-robe of the fiend. The Pilgrim had already come out by way of his nostril.
菩薩現相, again xiàng. Two showings of the true form in successive clauses: the monkey inside, the Bodhisattva outside, and the bear between them.
The Bodhisattva, fearing the fiend might yet turn violent, threw a fillet down upon his head.
箍兒, a fillet. It is the second such in the novel, and the Bodhisattva puts it on a creature who has just been poisoned and disarmed, because she is afraid he might be rude.
The fiend got up and raised his spear to thrust; but Pilgrim and Bodhisattva were already risen into the air, and she began upon the True Words.
真言 renders mantra. 將真言念起: 將 is jiāng.
The fiend's head ached as before. He threw down the spear and rolled about all over the ground.
依舊頭疼 — the same headache the Pilgrim complained of to her three passages ago, and for which he asked her help.
In mid-air the Handsome Monkey King laughed himself double; on the flat earth the Black Bear Fiend rolled himself sick.
A matched parallel couplet closing the paragraph. It carries no 正是 tag and stands inside the prose, and so is not set as verse. 笑倒 against 滾壞: one of them falls over laughing and the other falls over ruined, and the syntax makes them the same event.
The bear-fiend keeps his manners to the end. He comes out to the gate himself; he says 蓬蓽有輝, my poor hut is lit by your coming; and when his guest pushes the larger pill across the table, he pushes the other one back — 願與凌虛子同之, may Lingxuzi share it with me. It is the last free act of his life and it is an act of courtesy. The reader knows what is in the larger pill. So does his guest.
What follows is fast and merciless. The pill goes down of itself, the Pilgrim takes a stance in the stomach, the robe is surrendered, and the Bodhisattva — having disarmed, poisoned and robbed him — drops a golden fillet on his head, 又怕那妖無禮, for fear he might be rude. The paragraph ends on a couplet whose two halves are grammatically identical: 半空裡笑倒個美猴王,平地下滾壞個黑熊怪。 One falls down laughing; the other falls down broken. The chapter offers no comment, and the parallelism is the comment.