第三十二回 · 賭鬥 The Combat — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

賭鬥 The Combat

那nà怪guài聞wén言yán，那nǎ裡lǐ肯kěn讓ràng。使shǐ七qī星xīng劍jiàn，丟diū開kāi解jiě數shù，與yǔ八bā戒jiè一yì往wǎng一yì來lái，在zài山shān中zhōng賭dǔ鬥dòu有yǒu二èr十shí回huí合hé，不bù分fēn勝shèng負fù。八bā戒jiè發fā起qǐ狠hěn來lái，捨shě死sǐ的de相xiāng迎yíng。那nà怪guài見jiàn他tā捽zuó耳ěr朵duo，噴pēn粘zhān涎xián，舞wǔ釘dīng鈀pá，口kǒu裡lǐ吆yāo吆yāo喝hè喝hè的de，也yě盡jìn有yǒu些xiē悚sǒng懼jù，即jí回huí頭tóu招zhāo呼hū小xiǎo怪guài，一yì齊qí動dòng手shǒu。若ruò是shì一yí個gè打dǎ一yí個gè，其qí實shí還hái好hǎo。他tā見jiàn那nà些xiē小xiǎo妖yāo齊qí上shàng，慌huāng了le手shǒu腳jiǎo，遮zhē架jià不bú住zhù，敗bài了le陣zhèn，回huí頭tóu就jiù跑pǎo。那nà怪guài闻wén言yán，那nǎ里lǐ肯kěn让ràng。使shǐ七qī星xīng剑jiàn，丢diū开kāi解jiě数shù，与yǔ八bā戒jiè一yì往wǎng一yì来lái，在zài山shān中zhōng赌dǔ斗dòu有yǒu二èr十shí回huí合hé，不bù分fēn胜shèng负fù。八bā戒jiè发fā起qǐ狠hěn来lái，舍shě死sǐ的de相xiāng迎yíng。那nà怪guài见jiàn他tā捽zuó耳ěr朵duo，喷pēn粘zhān涎xián，舞wǔ钉dīng钯pá，口kǒu里lǐ吆yāo吆yāo喝hè喝hè的de，也yě尽jìn有yǒu些xiē悚sǒng惧jù，即jí回huí头tóu招zhāo呼hū小xiǎo怪guài，一yì齐qí动dòng手shǒu。若ruò是shì一yí个gè打dǎ一yí个gè，其qí实shí还hái好hǎo。他tā见jiàn那nà些xiē小xiǎo妖yāo齐qí上shàng，慌huāng了le手shǒu脚jiǎo，遮zhē架jià不bú住zhù，败bài了le阵zhèn，回huí头tóu就jiù跑pǎo。

逐句解 Line by line

那nà怪guài聞wén言yán，那nǎ裡lǐ肯kěn讓ràng。那nà怪guài闻wén言yán，那nǎ里lǐ肯kěn让ràng。

The fiend, hearing this, was in no way minded to yield.

那裡肯讓, nǎ lǐ kěn ràng, "not about to give way" — rhetorical, so 那 is nǎ; but 那怪 two characters earlier points at the fiend, so there it is nà.

使shǐ七qī星xīng劍jiàn，丟diū開kāi解jiě數shù，與yǔ八bā戒jiè一yì往wǎng一yì來lái，在zài山shān中zhōng賭dǔ鬥dòu有yǒu二èr十shí回huí合hé，不bù分fēn勝shèng負fù。使shǐ七qī星xīng剑jiàn，丢diū开kāi解jiě数shù，与yǔ八bā戒jiè一yì往wǎng一yì来lái，在zài山shān中zhōng赌dǔ斗dòu有yǒu二èr十shí回huí合hé，不bù分fēn胜shèng负fù。

Wielding his seven-star sword and opening up his fighting forms, he traded blows with Eight Rules back and forth, and they contended on the mountain some twenty rounds without decision.

七星劍, qī xīng jiàn, the seven-star sword, its blade inlaid with the seven stars of the Dipper — a Daoist ritual weapon before it is a fighting one. 丟開解數 means to open out one's repertoire of moves: 解數 is the set of forms a martial artist has been taught, the word that survives in 渾身解數, giving something everything you have. 中 in 山中 is zhōng. Twenty rounds, no result.

八bā戒jiè發fā起qǐ狠hěn來lái，捨shě死sǐ的de相xiāng迎yíng。八bā戒jiè发fā起qǐ狠hěn来lái，舍shě死sǐ的de相xiāng迎yíng。

Eight Rules worked himself into a fury and met him with reckless abandon.

捨死的相迎, shě sǐ de xiāng yíng, "meeting him as a man who has given up on living" — 捨死 is to throw your life away, the same construction as modern 捨命. 相 is xiāng. For once, Eight Rules is genuinely dangerous.

那nà怪guài見jiàn他tā捽zuó耳ěr朵duo，噴pēn粘zhān涎xián，舞wǔ釘dīng鈀pá，口kǒu裡lǐ吆yāo吆yāo喝hè喝hè的de，也yě盡jìn有yǒu些xiē悚sǒng懼jù，即jí回huí頭tóu招zhāo呼hū小xiǎo怪guài，一yì齊qí動dòng手shǒu。那nà怪guài见jiàn他tā捽zuó耳ěr朵duo，喷pēn粘zhān涎xián，舞wǔ钉dīng钯pá，口kǒu里lǐ吆yāo吆yāo喝hè喝hè的de，也yě尽jìn有yǒu些xiē悚sǒng惧jù，即jí回huí头tóu招zhāo呼hū小xiǎo怪guài，一yì齐qí动dòng手shǒu。

The fiend, seeing him shake his ears, spew sticky slobber, brandish his rake, and holler and shout, felt no little dread himself, and turned at once to call up the little fiends to fall on him all together.

And it works. 捽耳朵，噴粘涎, zuó ěr duo, pēn zhān xián, "shaking his ears, spraying sticky slobber" — the novel never lets us forget what he looks like, even when he is winning. 吆吆喝喝 is roaring and hollering. 那 is nà. The phrase 也盡有些悚懼 means the fiend was quite badly frightened, 盡 here carrying the sense "rather, a good deal" that later Chinese writes with 儘; the edition prints 盡 and the ruby gives it the corpus reading jìn.

若ruò是shì一yí個gè打dǎ一yí個gè，其qí實shí還hái好hǎo。若ruò是shì一yí个gè打dǎ一yí个gè，其qí实shí还hái好hǎo。

Had it been one against one, all would have been well enough.

其實還好, qí shí hái hǎo, "would have been all right" — 還 read hái. The narrator steps in to say it out loud: one against one, he would have been fine.

他tā見jiàn那nà些xiē小xiǎo妖yāo齊qí上shàng，慌huāng了le手shǒu腳jiǎo，遮zhē架jià不bú住zhù，敗bài了le陣zhèn，回huí頭tóu就jiù跑pǎo。他tā见jiàn那nà些xiē小xiǎo妖yāo齐qí上shàng，慌huāng了le手shǒu脚jiǎo，遮zhē架jià不bú住zhù，败bài了le阵zhèn，回huí头tóu就jiù跑pǎo。

But when he saw the little fiends come on all at once, he lost his nerve, could not ward them off, broke and gave way, and turned to run.

遮架不住, zhē jià bù zhù, "could not keep them off" — 遮架 is parrying, warding. 敗了陣, "his line broke." 那些 takes 那 as nà. Thirty at once is a different proposition, and he runs.

總評 Commentary

The combat is written in the novel's standard idiom — the seven-star sword against the nine-tooth rake, twenty rounds without a result — and for once Eight Rules acquits himself well. Worked into a fury, ears flapping, slobbering and roaring, he frightens Silver-Horn, who has to be described as rather badly shaken. This is the pig at his best, and the novel gives him the moment properly, without undercutting it.

Then the demon does the sensible thing and calls up the other thirty. The narrator's aside is the most generous line anyone gives Eight Rules in the whole chapter: one against one, it would have been all right. He loses on numbers rather than on skill or nerve, which is a face-saving frame the novel reliably extends to its sympathetic bunglers — and it is also, on the evidence of the preceding twenty rounds, true.