第二十五回 · 血噴柳變 Blood Transforms the Willows — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

血噴柳變 Blood Transforms the Willows

那nà大dà聖shèng念niàn動dòng咒zhòu語yǔ，咬yǎo破pò舌shé尖jiān，將jiāng血xuè噴pēn在zài樹shù上shàng，叫jiào：「變biàn！」一yì根gēn變biàn作zuò長zhǎng老lǎo，一yì根gēn變biàn作zuò自zì身shēn，那nà兩liǎng根gēn變biàn作zuò沙shā僧sēng、八bā戒jiè；都dōu變biàn得de容róng貌mào一yì般bān，相xiàng貌mào皆jiē同tóng，問wèn他tā也yě就jiù說shuō話huà，叫jiào名míng也yě就jiù答dá應yìng。他tā兩liǎng個gè卻què才cái放fàng開kāi步bù，趕gǎn上shàng師shī父fù。這zhè一yí夜yè依yī舊jiù馬mǎ不bù停tíng蹄tí，躲duǒ離lí了le五wǔ莊zhuāng觀guàn。那nà大dà圣shèng念niàn动dòng咒zhòu语yǔ，咬yǎo破pò舌shé尖jiān，将jiāng血xuè喷pēn在zài树shù上shàng，叫jiào：「变biàn！」一yì根gēn变biàn作zuò长zhǎng老lǎo，一yì根gēn变biàn作zuò自zì身shēn，那nà两liǎng根gēn变biàn作zuò沙shā僧sēng、八bā戒jiè；都dōu变biàn得de容róng貌mào一yì般bān，相xiàng貌mào皆jiē同tóng，问wèn他tā也yě就jiù说shuō话huà，叫jiào名míng也yě就jiù答dá应yìng。他tā两liǎng个gè却què才cái放fàng开kāi步bù，赶gǎn上shàng师shī父fù。这zhè一yí夜yè依yī旧jiù马mǎ不bù停tíng蹄tí，躲duǒ离lí了le五wǔ庄zhuāng观guàn。

逐句解 Line by line

那nà大dà聖shèng念niàn動dòng咒zhòu語yǔ，咬yǎo破pò舌shé尖jiān，將jiāng血xuè噴pēn在zài樹shù上shàng，叫jiào：「變biàn！」那nà大dà圣shèng念niàn动dòng咒zhòu语yǔ，咬yǎo破pò舌shé尖jiān，将jiāng血xuè喷pēn在zài树shù上shàng，叫jiào：「变biàn！」

That Great Sage recited a spell, bit open the tip of his tongue, sprayed the blood on the trees, and cried, "Change!"

The transformation needs blood, and he provides it the direct way. 咬破舌尖, biting the tongue-tip open, is a real move from Daoist ritual, where blood from the tongue was held to carry the practitioner's own vital force and was used to charge talismans. So the willows are not merely disguised; they are given something of him. 將血噴在樹上 takes 將, jiāng.

一yì根gēn變biàn作zuò長zhǎng老lǎo，一yì根gēn變biàn作zuò自zì身shēn，那nà兩liǎng根gēn變biàn作zuò沙shā僧sēng、八bā戒jiè；都dōu變biàn得de容róng貌mào一yì般bān，相xiàng貌mào皆jiē同tóng，問wèn他tā也yě就jiù說shuō話huà，叫jiào名míng也yě就jiù答dá應yìng。一yì根gēn变biàn作zuò长zhǎng老lǎo，一yì根gēn变biàn作zuò自zì身shēn，那nà两liǎng根gēn变biàn作zuò沙shā僧sēng、八bā戒jiè；都dōu变biàn得de容róng貌mào一yì般bān，相xiàng貌mào皆jiē同tóng，问wèn他tā也yě就jiù说shuō话huà，叫jiào名míng也yě就jiù答dá应yìng。

One root became the elder, one became himself, and the other two became Wujing and Bajie; all took on identical features and matching forms—question them and they would speak, call their names and they would answer.

The specification is thorough, and the last two items are the impressive ones: not just the right faces but the right answers. 問他也就說話，叫名也就答應 — question them and they speak, call their names and they reply. 都變得容貌一般 takes the linking 得, de; 相貌皆同 takes 相 as xiàng, "appearance"; 答應 takes 應 as yìng, "to answer," not the yīng that means "ought."

他tā兩liǎng個gè卻què才cái放fàng開kāi步bù，趕gǎn上shàng師shī父fù。他tā两liǎng个gè却què才cái放fàng开kāi步bù，赶gǎn上shàng师shī父fù。

The two of them then set off at a stride and caught up with their master.

放開步, letting the stride out — two brothers running to catch up.

這zhè一yí夜yè依yī舊jiù馬mǎ不bù停tíng蹄tí，躲duǒ離lí了le五wǔ莊zhuāng觀guàn。这zhè一yí夜yè依yī旧jiù马mǎ不bù停tíng蹄tí，躲duǒ离lí了le五wǔ庄zhuāng观guàn。

That night, once more without the horse resting a hoof, they got clear away from the Five-Villages Abbey.

依舊馬不停蹄, the horse never resting its hooves, again; the phrase came round in just these words on the morning after the first escape, and it is doing the same work here. 躲離, duǒ lí, is getting away by keeping out of sight. 五莊觀 takes 觀 as guàn.

總評 Commentary

This is the chapter's third substitution and the most elaborate. The hair that took a scolding, the willows that will take a whipping, and later a stone lion that will take a boiling — Wukong's whole method in this chapter is to put something else where he ought to be. It is worth noticing that the trick works on the abbey every single time.

The willows are a proper piece of craft. Blood from a bitten tongue — a genuine Daoist ritual gesture, the practitioner's own force lent to the working — and the results answer to their own names. Building decoys that can hold a conversation is not laziness; it is the difference between an hour's head start and a morning's.

And then a second night of hard riding, phrased in the same words as the first: 馬不停蹄, the horse never stopping its hooves. The repetition is the point. They are doing the same thing again, and it did not work the first time.