Canonical Classics ← 第三十四回
第三十四回
魔mó王wáng巧qiǎo算suàn困kùn心xīn猿yuán
大dà聖shèng騰téng挪nuó騙piàn寶bǎo貝bèi

The Demon King, by artful reckoning, confounds the Mind-Monkey; the Great Sage, by shifting sleight, filches away the treasures.

變身赴洞
模式 Mode Read Study
拼音 Pinyin Off
字體 Script 繁
原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

變身赴洞 Assuming Both Their Forms

即jí便biàn拔bá下xià一yì根gēn毫háo毛máo,吹chuī口kǒu仙xiān氣qì,叫jiào:「變biàn!」變biàn做zuò個gè巴bā山shān虎hǔ,自zì身shēn卻què變biàn做zuò個gè倚yǐ海hǎi龍lóng。假jiǎ妝zhuāng做zuò兩liǎng個gè小xiǎo妖yāo,徑jìng往wǎng那nà壓yā龍lóng洞dòng請qǐng老lǎo奶nǎi奶nai。這zhè叫jiào做zuò七qī十shí二èr變biàn神shén通tōng大dà,指zhǐ物wù騰téng那nuó手shǒu段duàn高gāo。即jí便biàn拔bá下xià一yì根gēn毫háo毛máo,吹chuī口kǒu仙xiān气qì,叫jiào:「变biàn!」变biàn做zuò个gè巴bā山shān虎hǔ,自zì身shēn却què变biàn做zuò个gè倚yǐ海hǎi龙lóng。假jiǎ妆zhuāng做zuò两liǎng个gè小xiǎo妖yāo,径jìng往wǎng那nà压yā龙lóng洞dòng请qǐng老lǎo奶nǎi奶nai。这zhè叫jiào做zuò七qī十shí二èr变biàn神shén通tōng大dà,指zhǐ物wù腾téng那nuó手shǒu段duàn高gāo。


逐句解 Line by line

即jí便biàn拔bá下xià一yì根gēn毫háo毛máo,吹chuī口kǒu仙xiān氣qì,叫jiào:「變biàn!」變biàn做zuò個gè巴bā山shān虎hǔ,自zì身shēn卻què變biàn做zuò個gè倚yǐ海hǎi龍lóng。假jiǎ妝zhuāng做zuò兩liǎng個gè小xiǎo妖yāo,徑jìng往wǎng那nà壓yā龍lóng洞dòng請qǐng老lǎo奶nǎi奶nai。 即jí便biàn拔bá下xià一yì根gēn毫háo毛máo,吹chuī口kǒu仙xiān气qì,叫jiào:「变biàn!」变biàn做zuò个gè巴bā山shān虎hǔ,自zì身shēn却què变biàn做zuò个gè倚yǐ海hǎi龙lóng。假jiǎ妆zhuāng做zuò两liǎng个gè小xiǎo妖yāo,径jìng往wǎng那nà压yā龙lóng洞dòng请qǐng老lǎo奶nǎi奶nai。

At once he plucked out a hair, blew on it a breath of immortal air, and cried “Change!” — turning it into Mountain-Straddling Tiger, while he made his own body into Sea-Reclining Dragon. Counterfeiting the two little imps, he went straight to Dragon-Crushing Cave to invite Old Grandma.

吹口仙氣 chuī kǒu xiān qì, blew a breath of immortal air, is the standard way of bringing a plucked hair to life — the breath is what turns matter into an actor. 那壓龍洞 nà yā lóng dòng, that Dragon-Crushing Cave, points with 那; 假妝 jiǎ zhuāng is counterfeiting, got up as. He has to be both messengers at once, so he splits the job between a hair and himself.

這zhè叫jiào做zuò七qī十shí二èr變biàn神shén通tōng大dà,指zhǐ物wù騰téng那nuó手shǒu段duàn高gāo。 这zhè叫jiào做zuò七qī十shí二èr变biàn神shén通tōng大dà,指zhǐ物wù腾téng那nuó手shǒu段duàn高gāo。

This is what is called: great is the power of the seventy-two transformations; high the craft of pointing at things and shifting them about.

A rhyming pair of lines closing the episode, the storyteller applauding his own hero — and the second line names the chapter. 騰那 téng nuó is to shift and manoeuvre, sleight of hand; 那 is read nuó here, standing in for 挪, to move, and has nothing to do with the pointing word it looks like. It is the same compound the chapter title carries as 騰挪. 指物 zhǐ wù is to point at a thing — and by pointing, change it.


總評 Commentary

The double transformation solves the problem the couriers created: to arrive at Dragon-Crushing Cave he must be both messengers, so he splits his presence between a conjured hair and his own body. The economy is characteristic — corpses hidden, shapes borrowed, errand continued without a beat lost. This is not concealment but impersonation: walking into the enemy's house wearing the enemy's face.

The couplet that closes the episode names the chapter's whole method. 騰那 — written 挪 in the chapter title, 那 in the text here — means shifting, transposing, sleight of hand, and it gathers everything Wukong does in these forty-seven passages into two characters. He wins nothing by force in this chapter. He wins it all by moving things, and himself, into places they should not be.