第二十五回 · 袖裡乾坤 The Sleeve of Heaven and Earth — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

袖裡乾坤 The Sleeve of Heaven and Earth

那nà行xíng者zhě沒méi高gāo沒méi低dī的de，棍gùn子zi亂luàn打dǎ。大dà仙xiān把bǎ玉yù麈zhǔ左zuǒ遮zhē右yòu擋dǎng，奈nài了le他tā兩liǎng三sān回huí合hé。使shǐ一yí個gè「袖xiù裡lǐ乾qián坤kūn」的de手shǒu段duàn，在zài雲yún端duān裡lǐ把bǎ袍páo袖xiù迎yíng風fēng輕qīng輕qīng的de一yì展zhǎn，刷shuā地dì前qián來lái，把bǎ四sì僧sēng連lián馬mǎ一yí袖xiù子zi籠lǒng住zhù。那nà行xíng者zhě没méi高gāo没méi低dī的de，棍gùn子zi乱luàn打dǎ。大dà仙xiān把bǎ玉yù麈zhǔ左zuǒ遮zhē右yòu挡dǎng，奈nài了le他tā两liǎng三sān回huí合hé。使shǐ一yí个gè「袖xiù里lǐ干qián坤kūn」的de手shǒu段duàn，在zài云yún端duān里lǐ把bǎ袍páo袖xiù迎yíng风fēng轻qīng轻qīng的de一yì展zhǎn，刷shuā地dì前qián来lái，把bǎ四sì僧sēng连lián马mǎ一yí袖xiù子zi笼lǒng住zhù。

逐句解 Line by line

那nà行xíng者zhě沒méi高gāo沒méi低dī的de，棍gùn子zi亂luàn打dǎ。那nà行xíng者zhě没méi高gāo没méi低dī的de，棍gùn子zi乱luàn打dǎ。

That Pilgrim, striking high and low without pattern, flailed away with his cudgel.

沒高沒低, méi gāo méi dī, "no high, no low," is swinging without aim or measure. 棍子亂打, flailing with the staff. Two phrases, and Wukong's technique is dismissed entirely.

大dà仙xiān把bǎ玉yù麈zhǔ左zuǒ遮zhē右yòu擋dǎng，奈nài了le他tā兩liǎng三sān回huí合hé。大dà仙xiān把bǎ玉yù麈zhǔ左zuǒ遮zhē右yòu挡dǎng，奈nài了le他tā两liǎng三sān回huí合hé。

The Great Immortal, warding left and fending right with his jade whisk, held him off through two or three bouts,

左遮右擋, zuǒ zhē yòu dǎng, warding on the left and blocking on the right, is a stock four-character phrase for a defence that never has to become an attack. 奈了他兩三回合, "put up with him for two or three bouts" — 回合 is the standard unit for exchanges in a duel, and two or three of them is nothing at all. He is not fighting; he is waiting for the right moment.

使shǐ一yí個gè「袖xiù裡lǐ乾qián坤kūn」的de手shǒu段duàn，在zài雲yún端duān裡lǐ把bǎ袍páo袖xiù迎yíng風fēng輕qīng輕qīng的de一yì展zhǎn，刷shuā地dì前qián來lái，把bǎ四sì僧sēng連lián馬mǎ一yí袖xiù子zi籠lǒng住zhù。使shǐ一yí个gè「袖xiù里lǐ干qián坤kūn」的de手shǒu段duàn，在zài云yún端duān里lǐ把bǎ袍páo袖xiù迎yíng风fēng轻qīng轻qīng的de一yì展zhǎn，刷shuā地dì前qián来lái，把bǎ四sì僧sēng连lián马mǎ一yí袖xiù子zi笼lǒng住zhù。

then worked a trick called "Heaven-and-Earth in a Sleeve": up in the clouds he lifted his gown-sleeve to the wind and lightly gave it a spread, swept forward, and gathered all four monks and the horse into the one sleeve.

And here is the famous trick. 袖裡乾坤, xiù lǐ qián kūn, "Heaven and Earth in a Sleeve": 乾 and 坤 are the first two trigrams of the Book of Changes, pure yang and pure yin, sky and ground, and together they are the ordinary Chinese way of saying "the whole cosmos." 乾 here is qián, the trigram, not the gān that means "dry." The magic is exactly what the name says: a sleeve with room inside it for everything there is. Note the verbs — the sleeve is lifted to the wind and 輕輕的一展, given a light little spread, which is all the effort required. 一袖子籠住, yí xiù zi lǒng zhù, bagged in the one sleeve, takes 籠 as the verb lǒng, "to gather in, to enclose," rather than the noun lóng, "a cage."

總評 Commentary

The duel lasts two or three exchanges and is never in doubt. Wukong swings 沒高沒低, without aim or measure; the Great Immortal wards left and right with an ornamental whisk and waits. Then he lifts his sleeve into the wind, gives it a light spread, and four pilgrims and a horse are gone.

袖裡乾坤, "Heaven and Earth in a Sleeve," is one of the novel's most celebrated feats and one of its most economical images. The name is not a boast about capacity; it is a statement about scale. If the whole cosmos fits inside the garment, then the question of whether a monkey can punch his way out has already been answered.

It is worth noticing what the sleeve replaces. Wukong has spent this chapter escaping from things — locked gates, bolted doors, a temple compound — by being cleverer than the container. There is no being cleverer than this one.