第三十四回 · 詐化誆魔 Feigning to Melt, He Gulls the Fiend — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

詐化誆魔 Feigning to Melt, He Gulls the Fiend

大dà聖shèng作zuò了le準zhǔn備bèi，那nà怪guài貪tān酒jiǔ不bù搖yáo。大dà聖shèng作zuò個gè法fǎ，意yì思si只zhǐ是shì哄hǒng他tā來lái搖yáo，忽hū然rán叫jiào道dào：「天tiān呀yā！孤gū拐guǎi都dōu化huà了le。」那nà魔mó也yě不bù搖yáo。大dà聖shèng又yòu叫jiào道dào：「娘niáng啊a！連lián腰yāo截jié骨gǔ都dōu化huà了le。」老lǎo魔mó道dào：「化huà至zhì腰yāo時shí，都dōu化huà盡jìn矣yǐ，揭jiē起qǐ帖tiē兒er看kàn看kàn。」大dà圣shèng作zuò了le准zhǔn备bèi，那nà怪guài贪tān酒jiǔ不bù摇yáo。大dà圣shèng作zuò个gè法fǎ，意yì思si只zhǐ是shì哄hǒng他tā来lái摇yáo，忽hū然rán叫jiào道dào：「天tiān呀yā！孤gū拐guǎi都dōu化huà了le。」那nà魔mó也yě不bù摇yáo。大dà圣shèng又yòu叫jiào道dào：「娘niáng啊a！连lián腰yāo截jié骨gǔ都dōu化huà了le。」老lǎo魔mó道dào：「化huà至zhì腰yāo时shí，都dōu化huà尽jìn矣yǐ，揭jiē起qǐ帖tiē儿er看kàn看kàn。」

逐句解 Line by line

大dà聖shèng作zuò了le準zhǔn備bèi，那nà怪guài貪tān酒jiǔ不bù搖yáo。大dà聖shèng作zuò個gè法fǎ，意yì思si只zhǐ是shì哄hǒng他tā來lái搖yáo，忽hū然rán叫jiào道dào：「天tiān呀yā！孤gū拐guǎi都dōu化huà了le。」那nà魔mó也yě不bù搖yáo。大dà圣shèng作zuò了le准zhǔn备bèi，那nà怪guài贪tān酒jiǔ不bù摇yáo。大dà圣shèng作zuò个gè法fǎ，意yì思si只zhǐ是shì哄hǒng他tā来lái摇yáo，忽hū然rán叫jiào道dào：「天tiān呀yā！孤gū拐guǎi都dōu化huà了le。」那nà魔mó也yě不bù摇yáo。

The Great Sage made his preparations, but the fiend, bent on his wine, did not shake it. So the Great Sage worked a little trick, meaning only to coax him into shaking, and suddenly cried out: “Heavens! My ankle-bones have all melted.” Still the fiend did not shake it. The Great Sage cried again: “Mother! Even my waist-bones have melted through.”

那怪貪酒不搖 (nà guài tān jiǔ bù yáo), "the fiend, bent on wine, did not shake it" — deictic nà. 孤拐都化了 (gū guǎi dōu huà le), "my ankle-bones have all melted" — 都 read dōu. 連腰截骨都化了 (lián yāo jié gǔ dōu huà le), "even my waist-bones melted through.”

大dà聖shèng又yòu叫jiào道dào：「娘niáng啊a！連lián腰yāo截jié骨gǔ都dōu化huà了le。」老lǎo魔mó道dào：「化huà至zhì腰yāo時shí，都dōu化huà盡jìn矣yǐ，揭jiē起qǐ帖tiē兒er看kàn看kàn。」大dà圣shèng又yòu叫jiào道dào：「娘niáng啊a！连lián腰yāo截jié骨gǔ都dōu化huà了le。」老lǎo魔mó道dào：「化huà至zhì腰yāo时shí，都dōu化huà尽jìn矣yǐ，揭jiē起qǐ帖tiē儿er看kàn看kàn。」

The old fiend said: “When it's melted to the waist, it's all melted through — lift the seal and take a look.”

化至腰時，都化盡矣 (huà zhì yāo shí, dōu huà jìn yǐ), "melted to the waist, it's all melted through" — 盡 read jìn. 揭起帖兒看看 (jiē qǐ tiē er kàn kàn), "lift the seal and take a look" — diminutive er; the fiends taking the bait.

總評 Commentary

The trick works by patience and performance. The fiend's absorption in his wine — the same distraction that let the cord be swapped — delays the shaking, so Wukong must escalate: not sound alone but a running commentary on his own dissolution, ankles first, then waist, staged cries of a body coming apart. The false report is calculated to a demon's credulity, feeding the melting-lore back to those who taught it to him.

The old fiend's conclusion is the perfect dupe's inference: melted to the waist means melted through, so lift the seal. His reasoning is sound and his premise is a fiction, and the order to unseal — 揭起帖兒看看 — springs the trap Wukong laid. The whole exchange turns the demons' own knowledge against them: they know exactly how the gourd unmakes a man, and that knowledge, exploited, is precisely what persuades them to open it on the one captive it never touched.