第三十三回 · 移山壓聖 Moving a Mountain onto the Sage — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

移山壓聖 Moving a Mountain onto the Sage

這zhè大dà聖shèng正zhèng算suàn計jì要yào摜guàn，原yuán來lái那nà怪guài就jiù知zhī道dào了le，且qiě會huì遣qiǎn山shān。就jiù使shǐ一yí個gè「移yí山shān倒dǎo海hǎi」的de法fǎ術shù，就jiù在zài行xíng者zhě背bèi上shàng捻niǎn訣jué，念niàn動dòng真zhēn言yán，把bǎ一yí座zuò須xū彌mí山shān遣qiǎn在zài空kōng中zhōng，劈pī頭tóu來lái壓yā行xíng者zhě。這zhè大dà聖shèng慌huāng得de把bǎ頭tóu偏piān一yì偏piān，壓yā在zài左zuǒ肩jiān臂bì上shàng，笑xiào道dào：「我wǒ的de兒ér，你nǐ使shǐ甚shén麼me重zhòng身shēn法fǎ來lái壓yā老lǎo孫sūn哩li？这zhè大dà圣shèng正zhèng算suàn计jì要yào掼guàn，原yuán来lái那nà怪guài就jiù知zhī道dào了le，且qiě会huì遣qiǎn山shān。就jiù使shǐ一yí个gè「移yí山shān倒dǎo海hǎi」的de法fǎ术shù，就jiù在zài行xíng者zhě背bèi上shàng捻niǎn诀jué，念niàn动dòng真zhēn言yán，把bǎ一yí座zuò须xū弥mí山shān遣qiǎn在zài空kōng中zhōng，劈pī头tóu来lái压yā行xíng者zhě。这zhè大dà圣shèng慌huāng得de把bǎ头tóu偏piān一yì偏piān，压yā在zài左zuǒ肩jiān臂bì上shàng，笑xiào道dào：「我wǒ的de儿ér，你nǐ使shǐ甚shén么me重zhòng身shēn法fǎ来lái压yā老lǎo孙sūn哩li？

逐句解 Line by line

這zhè大dà聖shèng正zhèng算suàn計jì要yào摜guàn，原yuán來lái那nà怪guài就jiù知zhī道dào了le，且qiě會huì遣qiǎn山shān。这zhè大dà圣shèng正zhèng算suàn计jì要yào掼guàn，原yuán来lái那nà怪guài就jiù知zhī道dào了le，且qiě会huì遣qiǎn山shān。

Just as the Great Sage was reckoning to dash him down, it turned out the fiend already knew — and could summon mountains besides.

算計 (suàn jì), "reckoning it up, working out how." 原來 (yuán lái), "as it turned out" -- the storyteller's way of springing information he has been withholding. 遣山 (qiǎn shān), "to dispatch mountains," is the demon's particular art: he does not move himself, he sends peaks.

就jiù使shǐ一yí個gè「移yí山shān倒dǎo海hǎi」的de法fǎ術shù，就jiù在zài行xíng者zhě背bèi上shàng捻niǎn訣jué，念niàn動dòng真zhēn言yán，把bǎ一yí座zuò須xū彌mí山shān遣qiǎn在zài空kōng中zhōng，劈pī頭tóu來lái壓yā行xíng者zhě。就jiù使shǐ一yí个gè「移yí山shān倒dǎo海hǎi」的de法fǎ术shù，就jiù在zài行xíng者zhě背bèi上shàng捻niǎn诀jué，念niàn动dòng真zhēn言yán，把bǎ一yí座zuò须xū弥mí山shān遣qiǎn在zài空kōng中zhōng，劈pī头tóu来lái压yā行xíng者zhě。

He worked a spell of "moving mountains and overturning seas": there on Pilgrim's back he made the finger-signs and intoned the true words, sent a Mount Sumeru through the air, and brought it crashing down head-on to crush Pilgrim.

移山倒海 (yí shān dǎo hǎi), "shift mountains and upend seas," is still in daily use for any feat of overwhelming force, and here it is meant literally, 倒 read dǎo. 捻訣 (niǎn jué) is working the finger-signs of a spell, the hand-shapes a Daoist priest makes. And what he drops is 須彌山, Mount Sumeru -- not a mountain but the axis of the entire Buddhist cosmos, with the heavens stacked above it. The scale is a joke and a threat at once.

這zhè大dà聖shèng慌huāng得de把bǎ頭tóu偏piān一yì偏piān，壓yā在zài左zuǒ肩jiān臂bì上shàng，笑xiào道dào：「我wǒ的de兒ér，你nǐ使shǐ甚shén麼me重zhòng身shēn法fǎ來lái壓yā老lǎo孫sūn哩li？这zhè大dà圣shèng慌huāng得de把bǎ头tóu偏piān一yì偏piān，压yā在zài左zuǒ肩jiān臂bì上shàng，笑xiào道dào：「我wǒ的de儿ér，你nǐ使shǐ甚shén么me重zhòng身shēn法fǎ来lái压yā老lǎo孙sūn哩li？

The Great Sage, flustered, tilted his head to one side so it came down on his left shoulder, and laughed: "My boy — what heavy-body magic is this, to press down on old Monkey?

慌得 (huāng de) is the 得 that measures degree: flustered to the point of tilting his head. 我的兒 (wǒ de ér), "my boy," is mock-paternal insolence -- and here at last is 兒 as the full noun ér, exactly as promised when it turned up as a toneless suffix early in the chapter. 重身法 (zhòng shēn fǎ), "heavy-body magic," 重 again zhòng.

總評 Commentary

Forewarned by the grumbling above him, the demon strikes first, and in doing so reveals the power that gives the chapter its central image: he can send mountains through the air. From his seat on Pilgrim's own back he works the spell and drops Mount Sumeru -- not a mountain but the axis of the Buddhist universe -- straight onto his bearer. The scale is deliberately absurd. A threatened murder is answered with the weight of a world.

Pilgrim's reply is pure bravado. A flick of the head shifts Sumeru onto one shoulder, and he laughs up at his passenger with mock affection. The insouciance is funny, but it also sets the pattern the next two scenes will test to destruction: one peak, then two, then three, until even these shoulders give.