第三十一回 · 遞書復戰 The Letter Delivered, the Battle Rejoined — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

遞書復戰 The Letter Delivered, the Battle Rejoined

他tā修xiū了le一yì封fēng家jiā書shū，託tuō師shī父fù寄jì去qù，遂suì說shuō方fāng便biàn，解jiě放fàng了le師shī父fù。到dào了le國guó中zhōng，遞dì了le書shū子zi，那nà國guó王wáng就jiù請qǐng師shī父fù降xiáng妖yāo，取qǔ回huí公gōng主zhǔ。哥gē啊a，你nǐ曉xiǎo得de，那nà老lǎo和hé尚shàng可kě會huì降xiáng妖yāo？我wǒ二èr人rén復fù去qù與yǔ戰zhàn，不bù知zhī那nà怪guài神shén通tōng廣guǎng大dà，將jiāng沙shā僧sēng又yòu捉zhuō了le。我wǒ敗bài陣zhèn而ér走zǒu，伏fú在zài草cǎo中zhōng。他tā修xiū了le一yì封fēng家jiā书shū，托tuō师shī父fù寄jì去qù，遂suì说shuō方fāng便biàn，解jiě放fàng了le师shī父fù。到dào了le国guó中zhōng，递dì了le书shū子zi，那nà国guó王wáng就jiù请qǐng师shī父fù降xiáng妖yāo，取qǔ回huí公gōng主zhǔ。哥gē啊a，你nǐ晓xiǎo得de，那nà老lǎo和hé尚shàng可kě会huì降xiáng妖yāo？我wǒ二èr人rén复fù去qù与yǔ战zhàn，不bù知zhī那nà怪guài神shén通tōng广guǎng大dà，将jiāng沙shā僧sēng又yòu捉zhuō了le。我wǒ败bài阵zhèn而ér走zǒu，伏fú在zài草cǎo中zhōng。

逐句解 Line by line

他tā修xiū了le一yì封fēng家jiā書shū，託tuō師shī父fù寄jì去qù，遂suì說shuō方fāng便biàn，解jiě放fàng了le師shī父fù。他tā修xiū了le一yì封fēng家jiā书shū，托tuō师shī父fù寄jì去qù，遂suì说shuō方fāng便biàn，解jiě放fàng了le师shī父fù。

She wrote out a letter to her family and entrusted it to the master to carry, and so, contriving his release, set him free.

The princess turns out to be the hinge of the whole plot, and she works it with a letter. 修書, xiū shū, is to compose one — the verb means to put a thing in good order, which is what writing a letter was. 說方便, shuō fāng biàn, is to work an accommodation, to talk a way out for somebody.

到dào了le國guó中zhōng，遞dì了le書shū子zi，那nà國guó王wáng就jiù請qǐng師shī父fù降xiáng妖yāo，取qǔ回huí公gōng主zhǔ。到dào了le国guó中zhōng，递dì了le书shū子zi，那nà国guó王wáng就jiù请qǐng师shī父fù降xiáng妖yāo，取qǔ回huí公gōng主zhǔ。

Arrived at the capital, he presented the letter; whereupon the king at once besought the master to subdue the fiend and win back the princess.

國中, guó zhōng, at the capital, at court. 降妖, xiáng yāo, to subdue a fiend — 降 is xiáng when it means to bring something to heel, and jiàng when it means to come down. Both readings turn up in this chapter, several times each.

哥gē啊a，你nǐ曉xiǎo得de，那nà老lǎo和hé尚shàng可kě會huì降xiáng妖yāo？哥gē啊a，你nǐ晓xiǎo得de，那nà老lǎo和hé尚shàng可kě会huì降xiáng妖yāo？

Brother — you know it yourself — what should that old monk understand of subduing fiends?

A rhetorical question with a real answer: Tripitaka has no such power whatever. (降 again xiáng, subdue.)

我wǒ二èr人rén復fù去qù與yǔ戰zhàn，不bù知zhī那nà怪guài神shén通tōng廣guǎng大dà，將jiāng沙shā僧sēng又yòu捉zhuō了le。我wǒ二èr人rén复fù去qù与yǔ战zhàn，不bù知zhī那nà怪guài神shén通tōng广guǎng大dà，将jiāng沙shā僧sēng又yòu捉zhuō了le。

The two of us went once more to give battle; but we knew not how vast were the fiend's arts, and he took Sha Seng captive again.

神通廣大, shén tōng guǎng dà, "of vast magic powers" — the standing formula for a serious adversary, and still a live phrase in Chinese for someone who can pull off anything. 將 here is the take-and-do word, jiāng, not the general jiàng.

我wǒ敗bài陣zhèn而ér走zǒu，伏fú在zài草cǎo中zhōng。我wǒ败bài阵zhèn而ér走zǒu，伏fú在zài草cǎo中zhōng。

Beaten from the field, I fled, and lay hidden in the grass.

敗陣, bài zhèn, beaten from the field. Bajie is perfectly candid about ending up face-down in the grass; it is one of his more endearing habits.

總評 Commentary

The recap now turns on the princess's stratagem. Her letter home is the hinge by which Tripitaka is loosed and the King of Baoxiang drawn into the quarrel — a captive woman with pen and paper moves more of this plot than either disciple's weapon does. Bajie's pointed aside, that an old monk knows nothing of subduing fiends, is both true and self-serving, and lays the ground for the argument that only Wukong will answer.

The doubled defeat — Sha Seng taken a second time, Bajie himself routed into the grass — sets up the deadlock the chapter exists to break. The twice-told rout is not idle repetition but a measuring of the adversary: the demon's powers are shown to exceed the remaining pilgrims' entirely, so that the case for recalling the banished disciple becomes unanswerable.