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砍頭搜寶
The Hacked Head and the Recovered Treasures
褪至頸項之下,原是一個金圈子套住。那怪將繩一扯,扯將下來,照光頭上砍了七八寶劍。行者頭皮兒也不曾紅了一紅。那魔道:「這猴子,你這等頭硬,我不砍你;且帶你回去,再打你。將我那兩件寶貝趁早還我。」行者道:「我拿你甚麼寶貝,你問我要?」那魔頭將身上細細搜檢,卻將那葫蘆、淨瓶都搜出來。又把繩子牽著,帶至洞裡道:「兄長,拿將來了。」褪至颈项之下,原是一个金圈子套住。那怪将绳一扯,扯将下来,照光头上砍了七八宝剑。行者头皮儿也不曾红了一红。那魔道:「这猴子,你这等头硬,我不砍你;且带你回去,再打你。将我那两件宝贝趁早还我。」行者道:「我拿你甚么宝贝,你问我要?」那魔头将身上细细搜检,却将那葫芦、净瓶都搜出来。又把绳子牵著,带至洞里道:「兄长,拿将来了。」
逐句解 Line by line
褪至頸項之下,原是一個金圈子套住。那怪將繩一扯,扯將下來,照光頭上砍了七八寶劍。行者頭皮兒也不曾紅了一紅。
褪至颈项之下,原是一个金圈子套住。那怪将绳一扯,扯将下来,照光头上砍了七八宝剑。行者头皮儿也不曾红了一红。
It slid down to below his neck, where it turned into a golden ring clasping him fast. The fiend gave the cord a jerk, dragged him down, and hacked seven or eight sword-strokes at his bald crown. Pilgrim's scalp did not so much as flush a single flush.
褪至頸項之下 (tùn zhì jǐng xiàng zhī xià), "slid down below the neck." 那怪將繩一扯 (nà guài jiāng shéng yì chě), "the fiend jerked the cord" — disposal 將. 頭皮兒也不曾紅了一紅 (tóu pí er yě bù céng hóng le yì hóng), "his scalp did not flush a single flush" — diminutive er.
那魔道:「這猴子,你這等頭硬,我不砍你;且帶你回去,再打你。將我那兩件寶貝趁早還我。」
那魔道:「这猴子,你这等头硬,我不砍你;且带你回去,再打你。将我那两件宝贝趁早还我。」
That fiend said: “This monkey — with a head as hard as this, I won't hack you; I'll just take you back and beat you later. Now, my two treasures — hand them over at once.”
頭硬 (tóu yìng), "head hard." 將我那兩件寶貝 (jiāng wǒ nà liǎng jiàn bǎo bèi), "my two treasures" — disposal 將, deictic nà. 趁早還我 (chèn zǎo huán wǒ), "hand them over at once" — 還 read huán, return.
行者道:「我拿你甚麼寶貝,你問我要?」那魔頭將身上細細搜檢,卻將那葫蘆、淨瓶都搜出來。又把繩子牽著,帶至洞裡道:「兄長,拿將來了。」
行者道:「我拿你甚么宝贝,你问我要?」那魔头将身上细细搜检,却将那葫芦、净瓶都搜出来。又把绳子牵著,带至洞里道:「兄长,拿将来了。」
Pilgrim said: “What treasures of yours did I take, that you ask me for them?” That demon lord searched him over minutely and turned out both the gourd and the vase. Then, leading him along by the cord, he brought him into the cave and said: “Elder brother, I've brought him back.”
我拿你甚麼寶貝 (wǒ ná nǐ shén me bǎo bèi), "what treasures of yours did I take?" — interrogative shén. 將那葫蘆、淨瓶都搜出來 (jiāng nà hú lu, jìng píng dōu sōu chū lái), "turned out both the gourd and vase" — disposal 將, deictic nà. 兄長 (xiōng zhǎng), "elder brother" — 長 read zhǎng.
總評 Commentary
The tables are wholly turned: the cord that Wukong sprang on the fiend now clasps his own neck as a golden ring, and the demon repays capture with a beating. Yet the reversal has a limit the demon cannot pass — Wukong's invulnerable body. Seven or eight sword-strokes on the bald crown, and 頭皮兒也不曾紅了一紅, not even a flush; the Great Sage's indestructibility, established since the eight days in the oil-caldrons, holds firm even in defeat.
The demon's shift from killing to keeping — I won't hack you, I'll take you back and beat you later — is both a concession to that invulnerability and a plot necessity, for a Wukong who cannot be slain must instead be held, and holding him sets up the escape to come. The recovery of the gourd and vase undoes the whole treasure-swindle at a stroke: the three vessels Wukong crowed were “surnamed Sun” are surnamed demon again, and the Great Sage is dragged into the cave with nothing but his unbreakable skull to show for the day's cunning.