第二十五回 · 石獅替身 The Stone-Lion Decoy — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

石獅替身 The Stone-Lion Decoy

大dà聖shèng卻què又yòu留liú心xīn，恐kǒng他tā仙xiān法fǎ難nán參cān，油yóu鍋guō裡lǐ難nán做zuò手shǒu腳jiǎo，急jí回huí頭tóu四sì顧gù，只zhǐ見jiàn那nà臺tái下xià東dōng邊biān是shì一yí座zuò日rì規guī臺tái，西xī邊biān是shì一yí個gè石shí獅shī子zi。行xíng者zhě將jiāng身shēn一yí縱zòng，滾gǔn到dào西xī邊biān，咬yǎo破pò舌shé尖jiān，把bǎ石shí獅shī子zi噴pēn了le一yì口kǒu，叫jiào聲shēng：「變biàn！」變biàn作zuò他tā本běn身shēn模mú樣yàng，也yě這zhè般bān捆kǔn作zuò一yì團tuán。他tā卻què出chū了le元yuán神shén，起qǐ在zài雲yún端duān裡lǐ，低dī頭tóu看kàn著zhe道dào士shi。大dà圣shèng却què又yòu留liú心xīn，恐kǒng他tā仙xiān法fǎ难nán参cān，油yóu锅guō里lǐ难nán做zuò手shǒu脚jiǎo，急jí回huí头tóu四sì顾gù，只zhǐ见jiàn那nà台tái下xià东dōng边biān是shì一yí座zuò日rì规guī台tái，西xī边biān是shì一yí个gè石shí狮shī子zi。行xíng者zhě将jiāng身shēn一yí纵zòng，滚gǔn到dào西xī边biān，咬yǎo破pò舌shé尖jiān，把bǎ石shí狮shī子zi喷pēn了le一yì口kǒu，叫jiào声shēng：「变biàn！」变biàn作zuò他tā本běn身shēn模mú样yàng，也yě这zhè般bān捆kǔn作zuò一yì团tuán。他tā却què出chū了le元yuán神shén，起qǐ在zài云yún端duān里lǐ，低dī头tóu看kàn着zhe道dào士shi。

逐句解 Line by line

大dà聖shèng卻què又yòu留liú心xīn，恐kǒng他tā仙xiān法fǎ難nán參cān，油yóu鍋guō裡lǐ難nán做zuò手shǒu腳jiǎo，急jí回huí頭tóu四sì顧gù，只zhǐ見jiàn那nà臺tái下xià東dōng邊biān是shì一yí座zuò日rì規guī臺tái，西xī邊biān是shì一yí個gè石shí獅shī子zi。大dà圣shèng却què又yòu留liú心xīn，恐kǒng他tā仙xiān法fǎ难nán参cān，油yóu锅guō里lǐ难nán做zuò手shǒu脚jiǎo，急jí回huí头tóu四sì顾gù，只zhǐ见jiàn那nà台tái下xià东dōng边biān是shì一yí座zuò日rì规guī台tái，西xī边biān是shì一yí个gè石shí狮shī子zi。

But the Great Sage was on his guard: fearing the immortal's arts ran too deep to fathom, and that there might be no working a trick inside the oil-cauldron, he glanced hurriedly around—and saw that below the terrace, on the east, stood a sundial-terrace, and on the west a stone lion.

And here is the caution behind the bravado. 恐他仙法難參, fearing the immortal's arts were too deep to fathom — 參 here is cān, "to penetrate, to get to the bottom of," not the shēn of ginseng. He does not know whether his tricks will work inside that pot, so he prefers not to find out. 難做手腳, no room to work a trick; 做手腳, literally "to do hands and feet," is still the phrase for tampering with something. Then he looks around, and the narrator gives us the courtyard: a 日規臺, rì guī tái, sundial platform, to the east, and a 石獅子, stone lion, to the west. Only one of those is useful.

行xíng者zhě將jiāng身shēn一yí縱zòng，滾gǔn到dào西xī邊biān，咬yǎo破pò舌shé尖jiān，把bǎ石shí獅shī子zi噴pēn了le一yì口kǒu，叫jiào聲shēng：「變biàn！」行xíng者zhě将jiāng身shēn一yí纵zòng，滚gǔn到dào西xī边biān，咬yǎo破pò舌shé尖jiān，把bǎ石shí狮shī子zi喷pēn了le一yì口kǒu，叫jiào声shēng：「变biàn！」

The Pilgrim gave his body a leap, rolled over to the west side, bit open his tongue-tip, sprayed a mouthful over the stone lion, and cried, "Change!"

The willow trick again, on harder material. 將身一縱 takes 將, jiāng; 滾到西邊, rolling over to the west side, because he is trussed and cannot walk. Bitten tongue, a mouthful of blood, and the word.

變biàn作zuò他tā本běn身shēn模mú樣yàng，也yě這zhè般bān捆kǔn作zuò一yì團tuán。变biàn作zuò他tā本běn身shēn模mú样yàng，也yě这zhè般bān捆kǔn作zuò一yì团tuán。

and it turned into his own likeness, trussed up just so in a bundle.

捆作一團, trussed into a bundle — the stone lion copies not just his shape but the ropes. He is careful about detail, as he was with the willows and their knots.

他tā卻què出chū了le元yuán神shén，起qǐ在zài雲yún端duān裡lǐ，低dī頭tóu看kàn著zhe道dào士shi。他tā却què出chū了le元yuán神shén，起qǐ在zài云yún端duān里lǐ，低dī头tóu看kàn着zhe道dào士shi。

He then sent out his primal spirit, rose into the clouds, and looked down at the Daoists.

元神, yuán shén, the "primal spirit," is the self that can leave the body in Daoist practice — a term with real technical weight, not just a ghost. 低頭看著道士 takes 著 as zhe: he watches from the cloud while a stone lion in his shape waits for the oil.

總評 Commentary

The escape is the willow trick performed again with better material. Blood from a bitten tongue, sprayed on a stone lion, and the lion takes his shape down to the ropes; then the primal spirit steps out and goes up to watch. It is the third substitution of the chapter and the funniest, because of what he chooses.

A stone lion is not just any object in the courtyard. It cannot burn, it cannot be cut, and above all it cannot be lifted — the joke is already loaded before anyone touches it, and the next two passages simply let it go off.

Underneath the bravado, though, the reasoning is prudent and slightly worried. 恐他仙法難參: he fears the immortal's arts are too deep to fathom, and would rather not test them from inside a boiling cauldron. Wukong has spent this chapter being reckless about consequences and meticulous about method, and this is the clearest case of it.