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dé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fu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dé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fu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 where he lies. The Pilgrim's first act inside the cave is to bite the man on the door — which is what a mosquito is for, and, on the evidence of twenty chapters, what the Great Sage is for as well.

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."

啞 is written here for 呀, the exclamation, and takes yā under the borrowed-character rule. 疙疸 is the everyday 疙瘩, a lump — 疸 standing in for 瘩 and taking the toneless da.

忽hū睜zhēng眼yǎn道dào：「天tiān亮liàng了le。」又yòu聽tīng得dé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dé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 is the noise of a hinge or a bolt, and 得 in 聽得 hangs the perception on the verb. The imp is bitten, opens his eyes, and concludes that it must be morning. It is a good joke and it is also characterisation: this is a creature whose reasoning runs one step and stops.

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fu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fu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 is the thin whine of the insect, taken word for word out of the poem in the passage before. 將 is the direction-marker jiāng. 一壁廂 is vernacular for "over 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," is the literary register once more — the same voice that produced 吾 at the cave mouth. He is also, without knowing it, dictating his plans to the man sitting on his roof-beam.

總評 Commentary

The mosquito passage is one of the novel's most efficient pieces of spy writing. In a hundred and twenty-three characters the Pilgrim gets through two gates, learns that the fiend is expecting him, and learns what the fiend intends to do about it. He gets through the first gate by biting the man guarding it, whereupon the man opens his eyes, decides it must be dawn, and lets the day in.

The comedy sits entirely in the imp's point of view. He does not think: an intruder. He thinks: what an enormous 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.