第三十回 · 妖魔陪禮 The Demon Makes Amends — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

妖魔陪禮 The Demon Makes Amends

那nà妖yāo見jiàn沙shā僧sēng說shuō得de雄xióng壯zhuàng，遂suì丟diū了le刀dāo，雙shuāng手shǒu抱bào起qǐ公gōng主zhǔ道dào：「是shì我wǒ一yì時shí粗cū鹵lǔ，多duō有yǒu衝chōng撞zhuàng，莫mò怪guài莫mò怪guài。」遂suì與yǔ他tā挽wǎn了le青qīng絲sī，扶fú上shàng寶bǎo髻jì，軟ruǎn款kuǎn溫wēn柔róu，怡yí顏yán悅yuè色sè，撮cuō哄hǒng著zhe他tā進jìn去qù了le，又yòu請qǐng上shàng坐zuò陪péi禮lǐ。那nà妖yāo见jiàn沙shā僧sēng说shuō得de雄xióng壮zhuàng，遂suì丢diū了le刀dāo，双shuāng手shǒu抱bào起qǐ公gōng主zhǔ道dào：「是shì我wǒ一yì时shí粗cū卤lǔ，多duō有yǒu冲chōng撞zhuàng，莫mò怪guài莫mò怪guài。」遂suì与yǔ他tā挽wǎn了le青qīng丝sī，扶fú上shàng宝bǎo髻jì，软ruǎn款kuǎn温wēn柔róu，怡yí颜yán悦yuè色sè，撮cuō哄hǒng着zhe他tā进jìn去qù了le，又yòu请qǐng上shàng坐zuò陪péi礼lǐ。

逐句解 Line by line

那nà妖yāo見jiàn沙shā僧sēng說shuō得de雄xióng壯zhuàng，遂suì丟diū了le刀dāo，雙shuāng手shǒu抱bào起qǐ公gōng主zhǔ道dào：「是shì我wǒ一yì時shí粗cū鹵lǔ，多duō有yǒu衝chōng撞zhuàng，莫mò怪guài莫mò怪guài。」那nà妖yāo见jiàn沙shā僧sēng说shuō得de雄xióng壮zhuàng，遂suì丢diū了le刀dāo，双shuāng手shǒu抱bào起qǐ公gōng主zhǔ道dào：「是shì我wǒ一yì时shí粗cū卤lǔ，多duō有yǒu冲chōng撞zhuàng，莫mò怪guài莫mò怪guài。」

Seeing how stoutly Sha the Monk spoke, the demon flung down his blade, lifted the princess up in both arms, and said: "It was my own moment's coarseness — I gave much offense; do not hold it against me, do not hold it against me."

The rage switches off like a tap. 說得雄壯 uses the structural 得, read de — "spoke so stoutly." 粗鹵 is a writing of 粗魯, "crude, rough-mannered." Note what has actually happened: Sha has not persuaded the demon of anything. He has handed him a version of events he can accept without losing face.

遂suì與yǔ他tā挽wǎn了le青qīng絲sī，扶fú上shàng寶bǎo髻jì，軟ruǎn款kuǎn溫wēn柔róu，怡yí顏yán悅yuè色sè，撮cuō哄hǒng著zhe他tā進jìn去qù了le，又yòu請qǐng上shàng坐zuò陪péi禮lǐ。遂suì与yǔ他tā挽wǎn了le青qīng丝sī，扶fú上shàng宝bǎo髻jì，软ruǎn款kuǎn温wēn柔róu，怡yí颜yán悦yuè色sè，撮cuō哄hǒng着zhe他tā进jìn去qù了le，又yòu请qǐng上shàng坐zuò陪péi礼lǐ。

Then he smoothed her dark tresses for her and set her jeweled coiffure to rights, and — all gentleness and warmth, his face softened with pleasure — coaxed her back inside, inviting her to the seat of honor to make his amends.

青絲, "dark silk," is the poetic word for a woman's black hair; 寶髻 is her jewelled hair-knot. In 撮哄著, coaxing and cajoling, the 著 is zhe, the held-action reading. He is fixing her hair. Ten lines ago he was pulling it.

總評 Commentary

The swing from murderous fury to fussing over his wife's hairpins finishes the portrait: this is a creature of weather, whose affection and whose violence are equally sudden and equally shallow. Sha's speech does not win on moral force. It wins because it offers an exit the demon can take without admitting he was wrong.

The tender vocabulary — 挽青絲, 軟款溫柔, 怡顏悅色 — mirrors and reverses the face of rage from a few lines back, 怒目攢眉 and 咬牙切齒. The two moods read as changes of weather over the same shallow ground.