第二十五回 · 二次收袖 Gathered in the Sleeve Again — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

二次收袖 Gathered in the Sleeve Again

他tā兄xiōng弟dì三sān眾zhòng各gè舉jǔ神shén兵bīng，一yì齊qí攻gōng打dǎ；那nà大dà仙xiān只zhǐ把bǎ蠅yíng帚zhǒu兒ér演yǎn架jià。那nǎ裡lǐ有yǒu半bàn個gè時shí辰chén，他tā將jiāng袍páo袖xiù一yì展zhǎn，依yī然rán將jiāng四sì僧sēng一yì馬mǎ並bìng行xíng李li一yí袖xiù籠lǒng去qù。返fǎn雲yún頭tóu，又yòu到dào觀guàn裡lǐ，眾zhòng仙xiān接jiē著zhe。仙xiān師shī坐zuò於yú殿diàn上shàng，卻què又yòu在zài袖xiù兒ér裡lǐ一yí個gè個gè搬bān出chū：將jiāng唐táng僧sēng綁bǎng在zài階jiē下xià矮ǎi槐huái樹shù上shàng；八bā戒jiè、沙shā僧sēng各gè綁bǎng在zài兩liǎng邊biān樹shù上shàng；將jiāng行xíng者zhě捆kǔn倒dǎo。他tā兄xiōng弟dì三sān众zhòng各gè举jǔ神shén兵bīng，一yì齐qí攻gōng打dǎ；那nà大dà仙xiān只zhǐ把bǎ蝇yíng帚zhǒu儿ér演yǎn架jià。那nǎ里lǐ有yǒu半bàn个gè时shí辰chén，他tā将jiāng袍páo袖xiù一yì展zhǎn，依yī然rán将jiāng四sì僧sēng一yì马mǎ并bìng行xíng李li一yí袖xiù笼lǒng去qù。返fǎn云yún头tóu，又yòu到dào观guàn里lǐ，众zhòng仙xiān接jiē着zhe。仙xiān师shī坐zuò于yú殿diàn上shàng，却què又yòu在zài袖xiù儿ér里lǐ一yí个gè个gè搬bān出chū：将jiāng唐táng僧sēng绑bǎng在zài阶jiē下xià矮ǎi槐huái树shù上shàng；八bā戒jiè、沙shā僧sēng各gè绑bǎng在zài两liǎng边biān树shù上shàng；将jiāng行xíng者zhě捆kǔn倒dǎo。

逐句解 Line by line

他tā兄xiōng弟dì三sān眾zhòng各gè舉jǔ神shén兵bīng，一yì齊qí攻gōng打dǎ；那nà大dà仙xiān只zhǐ把bǎ蠅yíng帚zhǒu兒ér演yǎn架jià。他tā兄xiōng弟dì三sān众zhòng各gè举jǔ神shén兵bīng，一yì齐qí攻gōng打dǎ；那nà大dà仙xiān只zhǐ把bǎ蝇yíng帚zhǒu儿ér演yǎn架jià。

The three brothers each raised their divine weapons and attacked all at once; but the Great Immortal only parried with his fly-whisk.

And the whisk has been downgraded. 蠅帚兒, yíng zhǒu'r, is a fly-whisk — plain household equipment, where the poem a moment ago called it a 麈尾, the philosopher's emblem. Same object, and against three divine weapons the narrator now calls it what you would swat a fly with. 演架, yǎn jià, is going through the motions of a parry. The suffix 兒 is ér.

那nǎ裡lǐ有yǒu半bàn個gè時shí辰chén，他tā將jiāng袍páo袖xiù一yì展zhǎn，依yī然rán將jiāng四sì僧sēng一yì馬mǎ並bìng行xíng李li一yí袖xiù籠lǒng去qù。那nǎ里lǐ有yǒu半bàn个gè时shí辰chén，他tā将jiāng袍páo袖xiù一yì展zhǎn，依yī然rán将jiāng四sì僧sēng一yì马mǎ并bìng行xíng李li一yí袖xiù笼lǒng去qù。

In scarcely half a shíchen, he gave his gown-sleeve a spread and, as before, bagged the four monks, the one horse, and the luggage into his sleeve.

A 時辰, shíchen, is a traditional Chinese hour, and it is twice as long as ours: the old day and night were divided into twelve of them, each covering two of our hours and each named after one of the twelve earthly branches. So half a shíchen is about one hour by the clock, and 那裡有半個時辰 means the fight did not even last that — nǎ lǐ as a rhetorical "hardly." This time the sleeve takes the luggage as well. 行李 takes 行 as xíng.

返fǎn雲yún頭tóu，又yòu到dào觀guàn裡lǐ，眾zhòng仙xiān接jiē著zhe。返fǎn云yún头tóu，又yòu到dào观guàn里lǐ，众zhòng仙xiān接jiē着zhe。

He turned his cloud, came again to the abbey, and the immortals received him.

又到觀裡, back at the abbey again, 觀 as guàn; 眾仙接著 takes 著 as zhe, the household coming out to receive him, exactly as before.

仙xiān師shī坐zuò於yú殿diàn上shàng，卻què又yòu在zài袖xiù兒ér裡lǐ一yí個gè個gè搬bān出chū：將jiāng唐táng僧sēng綁bǎng在zài階jiē下xià矮ǎi槐huái樹shù上shàng；八bā戒jiè、沙shā僧sēng各gè綁bǎng在zài兩liǎng邊biān樹shù上shàng；將jiāng行xíng者zhě捆kǔn倒dǎo。仙xiān师shī坐zuò于yú殿diàn上shàng，却què又yòu在zài袖xiù儿ér里lǐ一yí个gè个gè搬bān出chū：将jiāng唐táng僧sēng绑bǎng在zài阶jiē下xià矮ǎi槐huái树shù上shàng；八bā戒jiè、沙shā僧sēng各gè绑bǎng在zài两liǎng边biān树shù上shàng；将jiāng行xíng者zhě捆kǔn倒dǎo。

The immortal master sat down on the hall and drew them out of his sleeve again, one by one: he bound the Tang Monk to a low pagoda-tree at the foot of the steps; Bajie and Wujing he bound to trees on either side; and the Pilgrim he trussed up on the ground.

The arrangements have changed, and the change is the message. Sanzang goes to a low 槐樹, huái shù — a pagoda tree, the scholar-tree planted in courtyards — at the foot of the steps; Bajie and Wujing to trees on either side; and Wukong is 捆倒, trussed and laid on the ground, not tied to anything at all. Yesterday he was one prisoner among four. Today he is the prisoner. 袖兒裡 takes the diminutive suffix 兒, ér; 倒 is dǎo.

總評 Commentary

The second capture repeats the first with all the drama removed. Three weapons, one fly-whisk, less than an hour, and the sleeve again — and this time the luggage goes in too, which is almost insulting. The narrator even demotes the whisk from the poem's 麈尾, emblem of philosophical talk, to a plain 蠅帚兒, a thing for swatting flies.

The detail that matters is how they are tied. Sanzang to a pagoda tree at the foot of the steps, Bajie and Wujing to trees on either side, and Wukong trussed on the ground on his own. He has been separated out. Everything the rest of the chapter invents — the cloth, the lacquer, the cauldron — is being prepared for him alone.