第二十一回 · 火眼金睛，為風所傷 The Fiery Eyes Are Blinded — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

火眼金睛，為風所傷 The Fiery Eyes Are Blinded

那nà妖yāo怪guài使shǐ出chū這zhè陣zhèn狂kuáng風fēng，就jiù把bǎ孫sūn大dà聖shèng毫háo毛máo變biàn的de小xiǎo行xíng者zhě刮guā得de在zài那nà半bàn空kōng中zhōng卻què似sì紡fǎng車chē兒er一yì般bān亂luàn轉zhuǎn，莫mò想xiǎng掄lūn得dé棒bàng，如rú何hé攏lǒng得dé身shēn？慌huāng得de行xíng者zhě將jiāng毫háo毛máo一yì抖dǒu，收shōu上shàng身shēn來lái。獨dú自zì個gè舉jǔ著zhe鐵tiě棒bàng，上shàng前qián來lái打dǎ。又yòu被bèi那nà怪guài劈pī臉liǎn噴pēn了le一yì口kǒu黃huáng風fēng，把bǎ兩liǎng隻zhī火huǒ眼yǎn金jīn睛jīng刮guā得de緊jǐn緊jǐn閉bì合hé，莫mò能néng睜zhēng開kāi。因yīn此cǐ難nán使shǐ鐵tiě棒bàng，遂suì敗bài下xià陣zhèn來lái。那nà妖yāo收shōu風fēng回huí洞dòng不bù題tí。那nà妖yāo怪guài使shǐ出chū这zhè阵zhèn狂kuáng风fēng，就jiù把bǎ孙sūn大dà圣shèng毫háo毛máo变biàn的de小xiǎo行xíng者zhě刮guā得de在zài那nà半bàn空kōng中zhōng却què似sì纺fǎng车chē儿er一yì般bān乱luàn转zhuǎn，莫mò想xiǎng抡lūn得dé棒bàng，如rú何hé拢lǒng得dé身shēn？慌huāng得de行xíng者zhě将jiāng毫háo毛máo一yì抖dǒu，收shōu上shàng身shēn来lái。独dú自zì个gè举jǔ着zhe铁tiě棒bàng，上shàng前qián来lái打dǎ。又yòu被bèi那nà怪guài劈pī脸liǎn喷pēn了le一yì口kǒu黄huáng风fēng，把bǎ两liǎng只zhī火huǒ眼yǎn金jīn睛jīng刮guā得de紧jǐn紧jǐn闭bì合hé，莫mò能néng睁zhēng开kāi。因yīn此cǐ难nán使shǐ铁tiě棒bàng，遂suì败bài下xià阵zhèn来lái。那nà妖yāo收shōu风fēng回huí洞dòng不bù题tí。

逐句解 Line by line

那nà妖yāo怪guài使shǐ出chū這zhè陣zhèn狂kuáng風fēng，就jiù把bǎ孫sūn大dà聖shèng毫háo毛máo變biàn的de小xiǎo行xíng者zhě刮guā得de在zài那nà半bàn空kōng中zhōng卻què似sì紡fǎng車chē兒er一yì般bān亂luàn轉zhuǎn，那nà妖yāo怪guài使shǐ出chū这zhè阵zhèn狂kuáng风fēng，就jiù把bǎ孙sūn大dà圣shèng毫háo毛máo变biàn的de小xiǎo行xíng者zhě刮guā得de在zài那nà半bàn空kōng中zhōng却què似sì纺fǎng车chē儿er一yì般bān乱luàn转zhuǎn，

The fiend loosed this mad gale, and it whirled the little Pilgrims that the Great Sage's hairs had become round and round in the middle air, for all the world like so many spinning-wheels;

刮得 takes de, the little hinge that hangs a result off a verb. 似 is corrected to sì, and 紡車兒 ends in the small er suffix. The picture is domestic and faintly absurd: a hundred Great Sages spinning in mid-air like the wheels of a household loom.

莫mò想xiǎng掄lūn得dé棒bàng，如rú何hé攏lǒng得dé身shēn？慌huāng得de行xíng者zhě將jiāng毫háo毛máo一yì抖dǒu，收shōu上shàng身shēn來lái。莫mò想xiǎng抡lūn得dé棒bàng，如rú何hé拢lǒng得dé身shēn？慌huāng得de行xíng者zhě将jiāng毫háo毛máo一yì抖dǒu，收shōu上shàng身shēn来lái。

not one of them could manage to swing his rod, and how were they to gather their bodies together? In alarm the Pilgrim gave his hairs a shake and drew them back onto his body.

Three 得 in one line and two readings between them, so the site needs a positional fixspec: 掄得棒 and 攏得身 are the "could manage to" sense (dé), while 慌得 is the result-hanging de. 將 is jiāng, the marker that sets up the object about to be dealt with.

獨dú自zì個gè舉jǔ著zhe鐵tiě棒bàng，上shàng前qián來lái打dǎ。独dú自zì个gè举jǔ着zhe铁tiě棒bàng，上shàng前qián来lái打dǎ。

Alone now, he lifted his iron rod and went forward to strike.

獨自個 is the vernacular "all on his own," and 著 is zhe. The hundred have become one again, and the whole sentence runs eleven characters.

又yòu被bèi那nà怪guài劈pī臉liǎn噴pēn了le一yì口kǒu黃huáng風fēng，把bǎ兩liǎng隻zhī火huǒ眼yǎn金jīn睛jīng刮guā得de緊jǐn緊jǐn閉bì合hé，莫mò能néng睜zhēng開kāi。又yòu被bèi那nà怪guài劈pī脸liǎn喷pēn了le一yì口kǒu黄huáng风fēng，把bǎ两liǎng只zhī火huǒ眼yǎn金jīn睛jīng刮guā得de紧jǐn紧jǐn闭bì合hé，莫mò能néng睁zhēng开kāi。

But the fiend blew a mouthful of yellow wind full in his face, and it scoured his two fiery eyes with golden pupils until they were shut fast and could not be opened.

This is the moment the chapter has been built toward. 火眼金睛, the fiery eyes with golden pupils, were baked into him over forty-nine days in Laozi's crucible in chapter 7, and they have never once failed him — they are the eyes that see through every disguise. A mouthful of wind shuts them.

因yīn此cǐ難nán使shǐ鐵tiě棒bàng，遂suì敗bài下xià陣zhèn來lái。那nà妖yāo收shōu風fēng回huí洞dòng不bù題tí。因yīn此cǐ难nán使shǐ铁tiě棒bàng，遂suì败bài下xià阵zhèn来lái。那nà妖yāo收shōu风fēng回huí洞dòng不bù题tí。

He could not wield the iron rod after that, and so he fell back from the field. The fiend gathered in his wind and returned to his cave, of which no more.

不題, "of which no more," is the storyteller putting a thread down on the table to pick up later. 難 is nán, "hard to," shading here into "could not at all."

總評 Commentary

The chapter's first movement ends in defeat, and the defeat is very specific. The Pilgrim is not overpowered. He is blinded. 火眼金睛 — the eyes that see through every disguise, the one thing he got out of forty-nine days in the eight-trigram crucible — are shut by a mouthful of wind. Everything that follows in this chapter is a consequence of it: the hunt for an eye-doctor, the ointment applied by night, and the change into a mosquito, of all creatures, that needs its senses more than any other.

There is a structural joke here too. The Pilgrim's answer to being outmatched is always multiplication: a hundred bodies, a hundred rods. The wind answers multiplication with dispersal, and the hairs have to be shaken back onto the single body they were pulled from. He then advances alone and is beaten in one line. The novel is quietly making the point that 身外身 is a trick of quantity, and quantity is not what this adversary is short of.