第二十一回 · 蚊蟲叮醒把門小妖 The Gatekeeper Wakes with a Lump — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

蚊蟲叮醒把門小妖 The Gatekeeper Wakes with a Lump

只zhǐ見jiàn那nà把bǎ門mén的de小xiǎo妖yāo正zhèng打dǎ鼾hān睡shuì，行xíng者zhě往wǎng他tā臉liǎn上shàng叮dīng了le一yì口kǒu，那nà小xiǎo妖yāo翻fān身shēn醒xǐng了le，道dào：「我wǒ爺yé啞yā！好hǎo大dà蚊wén子zi，一yì口kǒu就jiù叮dīng了le一yí個gè大dà疙gē疸da。」忽hū睜zhēng眼yǎn道dào：「天tiān亮liàng了le。」又yòu聽tīng得de支zhī的de一yì聲shēng，二èr門mén開kāi了le。行xíng者zhě嚶yīng嚶yīng的de飛fēi將jiāng進jìn去qù，只zhǐ見jiàn那nà老lǎo妖yāo吩fēn咐fù各gè門mén上shàng謹jǐn慎shèn，一yí壁bì廂xiāng收shōu拾shí兵bīng器qì：「只zhǐ怕pà昨zuó日rì那nà陣zhèn風fēng不bù曾céng刮guā死sǐ孫sūn行xíng者zhě，他tā今jīn日rì必bì定dìng還hái來lái，來lái時shí定dìng教jiào他tā一yí命mìng休xiū矣yǐ。」只zhǐ见jiàn那nà把bǎ门mén的de小xiǎo妖yāo正zhèng打dǎ鼾hān睡shuì，行xíng者zhě往wǎng他tā脸liǎn上shàng叮dīng了le一yì口kǒu，那nà小xiǎo妖yāo翻fān身shēn醒xǐng了le，道dào：「我wǒ爷yé哑yā！好hǎo大dà蚊wén子zi，一yì口kǒu就jiù叮dīng了le一yí个gè大dà疙gē疸da。」忽hū睁zhēng眼yǎn道dào：「天tiān亮liàng了le。」又yòu听tīng得de支zhī的de一yì声shēng，二èr门mén开kāi了le。行xíng者zhě嘤yīng嘤yīng的de飞fēi将jiāng进jìn去qù，只zhǐ见jiàn那nà老lǎo妖yāo吩fēn咐fù各gè门mén上shàng谨jǐn慎shèn，一yí壁bì厢xiāng收shōu拾shí兵bīng器qì：「只zhǐ怕pà昨zuó日rì那nà阵zhèn风fēng不bù曾céng刮guā死sǐ孙sūn行xíng者zhě，他tā今jīn日rì必bì定dìng还hái来lái，来lái时shí定dìng教jiào他tā一yí命mìng休xiū矣yǐ。」

逐句解 Line by line

只zhǐ見jiàn那nà把bǎ門mén的de小xiǎo妖yāo正zhèng打dǎ鼾hān睡shuì，行xíng者zhě往wǎng他tā臉liǎn上shàng叮dīng了le一yì口kǒu，只zhǐ见jiàn那nà把bǎ门mén的de小xiǎo妖yāo正zhèng打dǎ鼾hān睡shuì，行xíng者zhě往wǎng他tā脸liǎn上shàng叮dīng了le一yì口kǒu，

He saw the imp who kept the gate snoring where he lay, and the Pilgrim stung him once on the face.

打鼾睡, snoring in his sleep. The Pilgrim's first act inside the cave is to bite the doorkeeper, which is a mosquito's reason for existing and also the Great Sage's.

那nà小xiǎo妖yāo翻fān身shēn醒xǐng了le，道dào：「我wǒ爺yé啞yā！好hǎo大dà蚊wén子zi，一yì口kǒu就jiù叮dīng了le一yí個gè大dà疙gē疸da。」那nà小xiǎo妖yāo翻fān身shēn醒xǐng了le，道dào：「我wǒ爷yé哑yā！好hǎo大dà蚊wén子zi，一yì口kǒu就jiù叮dīng了le一yí个gè大dà疙gē疸da。」

The little imp rolled over and woke. "Oh, my father!" he said. "What a monstrous mosquito. One bite, and it has raised a great lump on me."

我爺啞: 啞 is written for 呀, the exclamatory particle, and is read yā by the loan-graph rule. 疙疸 is the vernacular 疙瘩, a swelling; 疸 stands for 瘩 and takes the neutral da.

忽hū睜zhēng眼yǎn道dào：「天tiān亮liàng了le。」又yòu聽tīng得de支zhī的de一yì聲shēng，二èr門mén開kāi了le。忽hū睁zhēng眼yǎn道dào：「天tiān亮liàng了le。」又yòu听tīng得de支zhī的de一yì声shēng，二èr门mén开kāi了le。

Then he opened his eyes suddenly and said, "It is light." And there came the creak of a hinge, and the second gate was opened.

支的一聲, onomatopoeia for a hinge or a bolt, and 得 in 聽得 is the resultative de. The imp mistakes a mosquito-bite for the dawn, which is a good joke and a small piece of characterisation.

行xíng者zhě嚶yīng嚶yīng的de飛fēi將jiāng進jìn去qù，只zhǐ見jiàn那nà老lǎo妖yāo吩fēn咐fù各gè門mén上shàng謹jǐn慎shèn，一yí壁bì廂xiāng收shōu拾shí兵bīng器qì：行xíng者zhě嘤yīng嘤yīng的de飞fēi将jiāng进jìn去qù，只zhǐ见jiàn那nà老lǎo妖yāo吩fēn咐fù各gè门mén上shàng谨jǐn慎shèn，一yí壁bì厢xiāng收shōu拾shí兵bīng器qì：

The Pilgrim went whining in, and saw the old fiend giving orders that every gate be watched closely, and on one side of the hall that the weapons be got ready.

嚶嚶的, the thin whine of the insect, taken straight from the poem of the preceding passage. 將 is the directional jiāng. 一壁廂 is vernacular for "on one side."

「只zhǐ怕pà昨zuó日rì那nà陣zhèn風fēng不bù曾céng刮guā死sǐ孫sūn行xíng者zhě，他tā今jīn日rì必bì定dìng還hái來lái，來lái時shí定dìng教jiào他tā一yí命mìng休xiū矣yǐ。」「只zhǐ怕pà昨zuó日rì那nà阵zhèn风fēng不bù曾céng刮guā死sǐ孙sūn行xíng者zhě，他tā今jīn日rì必bì定dìng还hái来lái，来lái时shí定dìng教jiào他tā一yí命mìng休xiū矣yǐ。」

"I am afraid," said he, "that yesterday's wind did not blow that Sun Xingzhe dead. He will certainly come again today; and when he does, I shall make an end of his life."

還 is hái, "again." 一命休矣, "his life is finished" — the fiend is speaking in the literary register, as he did with 吾 at P2. He is also, unknowingly, telling his plans to the Pilgrim, who is sitting on his gate.

總評 Commentary

The mosquito passage is one of the novel's most efficient pieces of espionage writing. In a hundred and twenty graphs the Pilgrim gets through two gates, learns that the fiend expects him, and learns what the fiend means to do. He gets through the first gate by biting the man who is guarding it, and the man opens his eyes, decides that it must be morning, and lets the day in.

The comedy is entirely in the imp's point of view. He does not think: an intruder. He thinks: what a big mosquito. 好大蚊子，一口就叮了一個大疙疸 — one bite and a lump like that. It is the last thought he has in this chapter, and it is correct.