第三十二回 · 照嘴一下 A Peck on the Lip — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

照嘴一下 A Peck on the Lip

這zhè蟲chóng鷖yī不bú大dà不bù小xiǎo的de，上shàng秤chèng稱chēng，只zhǐ有yǒu二èr三sān兩liǎng重zhòng。紅hóng銅tóng嘴zuǐ，黑hēi鐵tiě腳jiǎo。刷shuā剌lá的de一yí翅chì飛fēi下xià來lái。那nà八bā戒jiè丟diū倒dǎo頭tóu，正zhèng睡shuì著zhe哩li，被bèi他tā照zhào嘴zuǐ唇chún上shàng扢gǔ揸zhā的de一yí下xià。这zhè虫chóng鹥yī不bú大dà不bù小xiǎo的de，上shàng秤chèng称chēng，只zhǐ有yǒu二èr三sān两liǎng重zhòng。红hóng铜tóng嘴zuǐ，黑hēi铁tiě脚jiǎo。刷shuā剌lá的de一yí翅chì飞fēi下xià来lái。那nà八bā戒jiè丢diū倒dǎo头tóu，正zhèng睡shuì着zhe哩li，被bèi他tā照zhào嘴zuǐ唇chún上shàng扢gǔ揸zhā的de一yí下xià。

逐句解 Line by line

這zhè蟲chóng鷖yī不bú大dà不bù小xiǎo的de，上shàng秤chèng稱chēng，只zhǐ有yǒu二èr三sān兩liǎng重zhòng。这zhè虫chóng鹥yī不bú大dà不bù小xiǎo的de，上shàng秤chèng称chēng，只zhǐ有yǒu二èr三sān两liǎng重zhòng。

This bird was neither big nor small — set on the scale to weigh, it came to but two or three taels.

The bird is weighed before it is used. 上秤稱, shàng chèng chēng, "put on the balance and weighed" — 秤 the steelyard, 稱 the act. Two or three liǎng: the 兩 is the Chinese ounce-weight that English borrowed as the tael, about 37 grams, so the whole bird comes to something under a quarter-pound. 重 is zhòng, weight.

紅hóng銅tóng嘴zuǐ，黑hēi鐵tiě腳jiǎo。红hóng铜tóng嘴zuǐ，黑hēi铁tiě脚jiǎo。

A beak of red copper, feet of black iron.

紅銅, hóng tóng, "red copper"; 黑鐵, black iron. Three ounces of bird, described entirely in metals.

刷shuā剌lá的de一yí翅chì飛fēi下xià來lái。刷shuā剌lá的de一yí翅chì飞fēi下xià来lái。

With a rush of its wings it came flying down.

刷剌, shuā lá, the rush of wings — sound-characters again, like the water-noise in the mountain poem.

那nà八bā戒jiè丟diū倒dǎo頭tóu，正zhèng睡shuì著zhe哩li，被bèi他tā照zhào嘴zuǐ唇chún上shàng扢gǔ揸zhā的de一yí下xià。那nà八bā戒jiè丢diū倒dǎo头tóu，正zhèng睡shuì着zhe哩li，被bèi他tā照zhào嘴zuǐ唇chún上shàng扢gǔ揸zhā的de一yí下xià。

Eight Rules, his head flung down, was fast asleep — and got a sharp peck square on the lip.

And down it comes. 扢揸, gǔ zhā, the sharp rap of the strike, another pair of characters standing in for a noise. 那 is nà; 丟倒 takes 倒 as dǎo; 睡著 takes 著 as zhe. Square on the lip.

總評 Commentary

Before the blow lands, the narrator stops to weigh the bird: two or three taels, copper beak, iron feet. It is a strange thing to pause for, and it is doing real work — the smaller and lighter the instrument, the funnier the effect, and by fixing the weight so precisely the novel makes sure we understand that what is about to knock Eight Rules out of paradise is a few ounces of feathers.

Then the timing. The peck comes not while he is settling but at the exact peak of his self-satisfaction, one line after "not even that Bimawen could be as free and easy as I am." It lands square on the lip. Four passages of surveillance, two transformations and a poem have been building to a single moment of slapstick, and the novel spends them without hesitation.