第三回 · 群妖來伏 The Seventy-Two Caves — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

群妖來伏 The Seventy-Two Caves

次cì日rì，依yī舊jiù排pái營yíng。悟wù空kōng會huì聚jù群qún猴hóu，計jì有yǒu四sì萬wàn七qī千qiān餘yú口kǒu。早zǎo驚jīng動dòng滿mǎn山shān怪guài獸shòu，都dōu是shì些xiē狼láng、蟲chóng、虎hǔ、豹bào、麖jīng、麂jǐ、獐zhāng、𤜱bā、狐hú、狸li、獾huān、狢hé、獅shī、象xiàng、狻suān猊ní、猩xīng猩xīng、熊xióng、鹿lù、野yě豕shǐ、山shān牛niú、羚líng羊yáng、青qīng兕sì、狡jiǎo兒er、神shén獒áo……各gè樣yàng妖yāo王wáng，共gòng有yǒu七qī十shí二èr洞dòng，都dōu來lái參cān拜bài猴hóu王wáng為wéi尊zūn。每měi年nián獻xiàn貢gòng，四sì時shí點diǎn卯mǎo。也yě有yǒu隨suí班bān操cāo演yǎn的de，也yě有yǒu隨suí節jié徵zhēng糧liáng的de。齊qí齊qí整zhěng整zhěng，把bǎ一yí座zuò花huā果guǒ山shān造zào得de似sì鐵tiě桶tǒng金jīn城chéng。各gè路lù妖yāo王wáng，又yòu有yǒu進jìn金jīn鼓gǔ、進jìn彩cǎi旗qí、進jìn盔kuī甲jiǎ的de，紛fēn紛fēn攘rǎng攘rǎng，日rì逐zhú家jiā習xí舞wǔ興xīng師shī。次cì日rì，依yī旧jiù排pái营yíng。悟wù空kōng会huì聚jù群qún猴hóu，计jì有yǒu四sì万wàn七qī千qiān余yú口kǒu。早zǎo惊jīng动dòng满mǎn山shān怪guài兽shòu，都dōu是shì些xiē狼láng、虫chóng、虎hǔ、豹bào、麖jīng、麂jǐ、獐zhāng、𤜱bā、狐hú、狸li、獾huān、狢hé、狮shī、象xiàng、狻suān猊ní、猩xīng猩xīng、熊xióng、鹿lù、野yě豕shǐ、山shān牛niú、羚líng羊yáng、青qīng兕sì、狡jiǎo儿er、神shén獒áo……各gè样yàng妖yāo王wáng，共gòng有yǒu七qī十shí二èr洞dòng，都dōu来lái参cān拜bài猴hóu王wáng为wéi尊zūn。每měi年nián献xiàn贡gòng，四sì时shí点diǎn卯mǎo。也yě有yǒu随suí班bān操cāo演yǎn的de，也yě有yǒu随suí节jié征zhēng粮liáng的de。齐qí齐qí整zhěng整zhěng，把bǎ一yí座zuò花huā果guǒ山shān造zào得de似sì铁tiě桶tǒng金jīn城chéng。各gè路lù妖yāo王wáng，又yòu有yǒu进jìn金jīn鼓gǔ、进jìn彩cǎi旗qí、进jìn盔kuī甲jiǎ的de，纷fēn纷fēn攘rǎng攘rǎng，日rì逐zhú家jiā习xí舞wǔ兴xīng师shī。

逐句解 Line by line

次cì日rì，依yī舊jiù排pái營yíng。次cì日rì，依yī旧jiù排pái营yíng。

The next day they drew up their ranks as before.

Yesterday's holiday, today's parade ground. 次日 is "the following day," 依舊 "as before, as usual," and 排營 "to form up camp and ranks."

悟wù空kōng會huì聚jù群qún猴hóu，計jì有yǒu四sì萬wàn七qī千qiān餘yú口kǒu。悟wù空kōng会huì聚jù群qún猴hóu，计jì有yǒu四sì万wàn七qī千qiān余yú口kǒu。

Wukong mustered the whole troop of monkeys, and they came to over forty-seven thousand head.

The joke is the sudden accountancy: a rabble of monkeys counted out to the nearest thousand, like a standing army on a state's books. 會聚 is "to assemble," 會 read huì, not kuài. 計有 is "numbering, amounting to." 口 is the counter "head" — literally "mouths" — used for the tally.

早zǎo驚jīng動dòng滿mǎn山shān怪guài獸shòu，都dōu是shì些xiē狼láng、蟲chóng、虎hǔ、豹bào、麖jīng、麂jǐ、獐zhāng、𤜱bā、狐hú、狸li、獾huān、狢hé、獅shī、象xiàng、狻suān猊ní、猩xīng猩xīng、熊xióng、鹿lù、野yě豕shǐ、山shān牛niú、羚líng羊yáng、青qīng兕sì、狡jiǎo兒er、神shén獒áo…… 早zǎo惊jīng动dòng满mǎn山shān怪guài兽shòu，都dōu是shì些xiē狼láng、虫chóng、虎hǔ、豹bào、麖jīng、麂jǐ、獐zhāng、𤜱bā、狐hú、狸li、獾huān、狢hé、狮shī、象xiàng、狻suān猊ní、猩xīng猩xīng、熊xióng、鹿lù、野yě豕shǐ、山shān牛niú、羚líng羊yáng、青qīng兕sì、狡jiǎo儿er、神shén獒áo……

Soon every wild beast on the mountain was roused — wolves and serpents, tigers and leopards; the jīng-deer, muntjac, and water-deer; the bā-sow; foxes, wildcats, badgers, and raccoon-dogs; lions and elephants, the lion-like suānní, orangutans, bears, deer, wild boar, mountain-oxen, antelopes, the blue-grey rhino-ox, the jiǎo-beast, and the divine mastiff — and more besides;

A formulaic bestiary that mixes real animals with creatures out of the 山海經 tradition, and the rare characters need glossing. 麖 (jīng) is a large deer; 麂 (jǐ) the muntjac; 獐 (zhāng) the water-deer; 𤜱 (bā) a wild sow, a female boar — kept exactly as the 世德堂 text prints it. 狢 (hé, a variant of 貉) is the raccoon-dog; 狻猊 (suān ní) a lion-like mythical beast; 兕 (sì) a one-horned rhino-ox; 狡 (jiǎo) a leopard-marked dog-beast out of the 山海經; 獒 (áo) a great mastiff. The 兒 of 狡兒 is the small-scale er ending.

各gè樣yàng妖yāo王wáng，共gòng有yǒu七qī十shí二èr洞dòng，都dōu來lái參cān拜bài猴hóu王wáng為wéi尊zūn。各gè样yàng妖yāo王wáng，共gòng有yǒu七qī十shí二èr洞dòng，都dōu来lái参cān拜bài猴hóu王wáng为wéi尊zūn。

demon-kings of every sort, seventy-two caves in all, who came to do homage and honor the Monkey King as their sovereign.

Seventy-two caves of beast-kings, answering the seventy-two transformations Wukong mastered in ch.2: the realm has quietly taken the shape of its master. 參拜 (cān bài) is "to pay homage, to present oneself before"; 為尊 is "as the honored one, as sovereign," with 為 read wéi, "to be, to take as."

每měi年nián獻xiàn貢gòng，四sì時shí點diǎn卯mǎo。每měi年nián献xiàn贡gòng，四sì时shí点diǎn卯mǎo。

Each year they offered tribute, and at the four seasons they answered the roll.

The diction is pure civil service, applied to a mountain of animals. 點卯 means literally "to be checked at the mǎo hour" — five to seven in the morning, the dawn muster at the old yamen — and so "to answer roll-call, to report for duty." It is still the phrase for clocking in, and for clocking in without doing any work. 四時 is "the four seasons."

也yě有yǒu隨suí班bān操cāo演yǎn的de，也yě有yǒu隨suí節jié徵zhēng糧liáng的de。也yě有yǒu随suí班bān操cāo演yǎn的de，也yě有yǒu随suí节jié征zhēng粮liáng的de。

Some fell in with the ranks for drill, and some came at the appointed times to render their grain.

隨班 is "to fall in by rota, with the ranks"; 隨節 "at the season's appointed times"; 徵糧 "to levy or render grain." The paired 的 (de) each turn a phrase into a noun, "the ones who…"

齊qí齊qí整zhěng整zhěng，把bǎ一yí座zuò花huā果guǒ山shān造zào得de似sì鐵tiě桶tǒng金jīn城chéng。齐qí齐qí整zhěng整zhěng，把bǎ一yí座zuò花huā果guǒ山shān造zào得de似sì铁tiě桶tǒng金jīn城chéng。

All in good order, they made the single Mountain of Flowers and Fruit as tight as an iron cask, as strong as a city of metal.

鐵桶金城, "iron cask and metal rampart," is the stock way of saying a stronghold nothing can get into — near enough to "buttoned up tight." 齊齊整整 is "all in trim order"; 把 marks the object, as 將 does elsewhere; 一座 takes yí before the falling tone of 座; and 造得 uses 得 (de) to hang the result on the verb.

各gè路lù妖yāo王wáng，又yòu有yǒu進jìn金jīn鼓gǔ、進jìn彩cǎi旗qí、進jìn盔kuī甲jiǎ的de，紛fēn紛fēn攘rǎng攘rǎng，日rì逐zhú家jiā習xí舞wǔ興xīng師shī。各gè路lù妖yāo王wáng，又yòu有yǒu进jìn金jīn鼓gǔ、进jìn彩cǎi旗qí、进jìn盔kuī甲jiǎ的de，纷fēn纷fēn攘rǎng攘rǎng，日rì逐zhú家jiā习xí舞wǔ兴xīng师shī。

Demon-kings from every quarter, besides, came presenting gongs and drums, presenting bright banners, presenting helmets and armor; in milling throngs, day after day they trained in maneuvers and mustered for war.

The faint menace returns: monkey-play has hardened into a mountain mobilized for war. 進 here is "to present, to offer up" (jìn), running through 進金鼓, 進彩旗 and 進盔甲. 紛紛攘攘 is "in milling, jostling crowds." 日逐家 is a colloquial "day after day," with 家 as the everyday time-tag, read jiā (compare 終日家). 習舞 is "to drill in maneuvers," 興師 "to raise troops."

總評 Commentary

The muster of the seventy-two caves is built around one of the novel's set-piece catalogues — a bestiary that runs ordinary Chinese fauna (wolves, tigers, deer, badgers, boars) together with creatures out of the 山海經 and the mythical-zoology tradition: the lion-like 狻猊, the one-horned 兕, the leopard-marked 狡. Such lists are a pleasure of vernacular fiction in their own right, and they do quiet thematic work besides. The mountain's animal population now organizes itself into a state that mirrors its master, the seventy-two caves answering the seventy-two transformations Wukong learned under Subodhi.

What is most telling is the relentlessly bureaucratic vocabulary in which monkey-rule is cast. The troop is censused to the head (四萬七千餘口); the beast-kings render annual tribute (獻貢) and answer seasonal roll-call (點卯, the yamen's dawn muster); some drill by rota, some deliver grain-levies (徵糧); gongs, banners and armor are formally "presented" (進). Plaks reads this as looking forward: the celestial bureaucracy that will shortly try first to absorb and then to suppress Wukong is here foreshadowed in miniature, with Wukong himself cast — comically — as the sovereign at the center of a fully administered state. A mountain made "as tight as an iron cask" is a boast and a warning at once, and the last clause of the passage (日逐家習舞興師, "day after day they mustered for war") completes the arc the chapter's opening anxiety began.

The catalogue also shows the textual texture this edition means to preserve. Among its names stands 𤜱 (bā, a wild sow), a rare character that later punctuated editions tend to normalize away; following the project's fidelity rule the 世德堂 reading is kept verbatim rather than quietly replaced. These rare beast-characters — 麖, 𤜱, 狻猊, 兕 — are part of what makes the 世德堂 witness worth reading in the original: a layer of Ming spelling and mythical zoology that modernized texts smooth over.