第三十回 · 擒虎收監 The Caged Tiger — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

擒虎收監 The Caged Tiger

國guó王wáng一yí見jiàn，魄pò散sàn魂hún飛fēi。諕xià得de那nà多duō官guān盡jìn皆jiē躲duǒ避bì。有yǒu幾jǐ個gè大dà膽dǎn的de武wǔ將jiàng，領lǐng著zhe將jiàng軍jūn、校xiào尉wèi一yì擁yōng上shàng前qián，使shǐ各gè項xiàng兵bīng器qì亂luàn砍kǎn。這zhè一yì番fān，不bú是shì唐táng僧sēng該gāi有yǒu命mìng不bù死sǐ，就jiù是shì二èr十shí個gè僧sēng人rén也yě打dǎ為wéi肉ròu醬jiàng。此cǐ時shí幸xìng有yǒu丁dīng甲jiǎ、揭jiē諦dì、功gōng曹cáo、護hù教jiào諸zhū神shén暗àn在zài半bàn空kōng中zhōng護hù佑yòu，所suǒ以yǐ那nà些xiē人rén兵bīng器qì皆jiē不bù能néng打dǎ傷shāng。眾zhòng臣chén嚷rǎng到dào天tiān晚wǎn，才cái把bǎ那nà虎hǔ活huó活huó的de捉zhuō了le，用yòng鐵tiě繩shéng鎖suǒ了le，放fàng在zài鐵tiě籠lóng裡lǐ，收shōu於yú朝cháo房fáng之zhī內nèi。国guó王wáng一yí见jiàn，魄pò散sàn魂hún飞fēi。諕xià得de那nà多duō官guān尽jìn皆jiē躲duǒ避bì。有yǒu几jǐ个gè大dà胆dǎn的de武wǔ将jiàng，领lǐng着zhe将jiàng军jūn、校xiào尉wèi一yì拥yōng上shàng前qián，使shǐ各gè项xiàng兵bīng器qì乱luàn砍kǎn。这zhè一yì番fān，不bú是shì唐táng僧sēng该gāi有yǒu命mìng不bù死sǐ，就jiù是shì二èr十shí个gè僧sēng人rén也yě打dǎ为wéi肉ròu酱jiàng。此cǐ时shí幸xìng有yǒu丁dīng甲jiǎ、揭jiē谛dì、功gōng曹cáo、护hù教jiào诸zhū神shén暗àn在zài半bàn空kōng中zhōng护hù佑yòu，所suǒ以yǐ那nà些xiē人rén兵bīng器qì皆jiē不bù能néng打dǎ伤shāng。众zhòng臣chén嚷rǎng到dào天tiān晚wǎn，才cái把bǎ那nà虎hǔ活huó活huó的de捉zhuō了le，用yòng铁tiě绳shéng锁suǒ了le，放fàng在zài铁tiě笼lóng里lǐ，收shōu于yú朝cháo房fáng之zhī内nèi。

逐句解 Line by line

國guó王wáng一yí見jiàn，魄pò散sàn魂hún飛fēi。国guó王wáng一yí见jiàn，魄pò散sàn魂hún飞fēi。

At one sight of it the king's very soul scattered and his spirit took flight.

魄散魂飛 — the 魄-soul scatters and the 魂-spirit flies off — is the set idiom for terror, and it rests on the old belief that a person carries two souls, one earthy and one airy. Frightened out of your wits, in the older and more literal sense.

諕xià得de那nà多duō官guān盡jìn皆jiē躲duǒ避bì。諕xià得de那nà多duō官guān尽jìn皆jiē躲duǒ避bì。

The officials, frightened out of their wits, one and all shrank away to hide.

The character 諕 is a variant writing read xià — the same word as 嚇, "to frighten"; 諕得 takes 得 as de. 盡皆, "all, every one," takes 盡 as jìn; 那 is pointing nà.

有yǒu幾jǐ個gè大dà膽dǎn的de武wǔ將jiàng，領lǐng著zhe將jiàng軍jūn、校xiào尉wèi一yì擁yōng上shàng前qián，使shǐ各gè項xiàng兵bīng器qì亂luàn砍kǎn。有yǒu几jǐ个gè大dà胆dǎn的de武wǔ将jiàng，领lǐng着zhe将jiàng军jūn、校xiào尉wèi一yì拥yōng上shàng前qián，使shǐ各gè项xiàng兵bīng器qì乱luàn砍kǎn。

A few bold military officers, leading generals and captains, rushed forward in a press and hacked with every kind of weapon.

Both 武將, military officer, and 將軍, general, take 將 as jiàng — the noun, quite distinct from the object-marking jiāng that has been turning up all chapter. In 領著 the 著 is zhe. 校尉 are junior officers.

這zhè一yì番fān，不bú是shì唐táng僧sēng該gāi有yǒu命mìng不bù死sǐ，就jiù是shì二èr十shí個gè僧sēng人rén也yě打dǎ為wéi肉ròu醬jiàng。这zhè一yì番fān，不bú是shì唐táng僧sēng该gāi有yǒu命mìng不bù死sǐ，就jiù是shì二èr十shí个gè僧sēng人rén也yě打dǎ为wéi肉ròu酱jiàng。

Had it not been that Tripitaka was fated to live and not to die, then a full score of monks would have been beaten to a pulp.

The 不是……就是 frame — "were it not that…, then…" — is how the storyteller announces that fate has intervened. 打為肉醬, beaten into meat-paste, takes 為 as wéi, "into." Twenty monks' worth of blows are landing on one transformed man.

此cǐ時shí幸xìng有yǒu丁dīng甲jiǎ、揭jiē諦dì、功gōng曹cáo、護hù教jiào諸zhū神shén暗àn在zài半bàn空kōng中zhōng護hù佑yòu，所suǒ以yǐ那nà些xiē人rén兵bīng器qì皆jiē不bù能néng打dǎ傷shāng。此cǐ时shí幸xìng有yǒu丁dīng甲jiǎ、揭jiē谛dì、功gōng曹cáo、护hù教jiào诸zhū神shén暗àn在zài半bàn空kōng中zhōng护hù佑yòu，所suǒ以yǐ那nà些xiē人rén兵bīng器qì皆jiē不bù能néng打dǎ伤shāng。

But happily the Ding and Jia guardians, the Jiedi vajra-spirits, the Day-Sentinels, and the dharma-protecting gods were secretly warding him from the empty air above, so that none of those men's weapons could strike him.

The pilgrimage travels with an invisible escort, and this is the one moment in the chapter it becomes visible to the reader. 丁甲 is short for 六丁六甲, the twelve calendar-spirits named from the cycle of days; 揭諦 are the Jiedi guardian-kings; 功曹 are the Day-Sentinels, in full 值日功曹, the officer on duty for that particular day. Think of a celestial civil service with a roster. 半空中 takes 中 as zhōng; 那 is pointing nà.

眾zhòng臣chén嚷rǎng到dào天tiān晚wǎn，才cái把bǎ那nà虎hǔ活huó活huó的de捉zhuō了le，用yòng鐵tiě繩shéng鎖suǒ了le，放fàng在zài鐵tiě籠lóng裡lǐ，收shōu於yú朝cháo房fáng之zhī內nèi。众zhòng臣chén嚷rǎng到dào天tiān晚wǎn，才cái把bǎ那nà虎hǔ活huó活huó的de捉zhuō了le，用yòng铁tiě绳shéng锁suǒ了le，放fàng在zài铁tiě笼lóng里lǐ，收shōu于yú朝cháo房fáng之zhī内nèi。

The assembled ministers clamored until nightfall before at last they took the tiger alive, chained it with iron cords, set it in an iron cage, and stowed it away within the court lodge.

朝房, the court lodge — an antechamber where officials wait — takes 朝 as cháo; 那 is pointing nà. They take him alive, chain him, cage him, and put the cage indoors.

總評 Commentary

A press of officers hacking with every weapon they own would have killed the transformed pilgrim outright, and the passage says so plainly. What saves him is the invisible escort. Beneath the surface chaos the novel reasserts its deeper order: even at his most helpless and least recognised, Tripitaka is under the continuous protection of the celestial bureaucracy assigned to the scripture-quest.

The 不是……就是 formula is the vernacular narrator's standard way of flagging a providential turn — stating the outcome fate requires even while the scene rushes toward disaster. The saint is preserved, but barely, and entirely out of sight.

The chapter's cruellest image closes the passage. The sacred teacher, in the shape of an animal, chained in iron and shut in a cage inside a palace. The reversal that began with the transformation is now complete and, worse, official.