第三十四回 · 半截脫身 Escape by the Half-Body — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

半截脫身 Escape by the Half-Body

那nà大dà聖shèng聞wén言yán，就jiù拔bá了le一yì根gēn毫háo毛máo，叫jiào：「變biàn！」變biàn作zuò個gè半bàn截jié的de身shēn子zi，在zài葫hú蘆lú底dǐ上shàng。真zhēn身shēn卻què變biàn做zuò個gè蟭jiāo蟟liáo蟲chóng兒er，釘dīng在zài那nà葫hú蘆lú口kǒu邊biān。只zhǐ見jiàn那nà二èr魔mó揭jiē起qǐ帖tiě子zi看kàn時shí，大dà聖shèng早zǎo已yǐ飛fēi出chū。打dǎ個gè滾gǔn，又yòu變biàn做zuò個gè倚yǐ海hǎi龍lóng。倚yǐ海hǎi龍lóng卻què是shì原yuán去qù請qǐng老lǎo奶nǎi奶nǎi的de那nà個gè小xiǎo妖yāo，他tā變biàn了le，站zhàn在zài旁páng邊biān。那nà老lǎo魔mó扳bān著zhe葫hú蘆lú口kǒu張zhāng了le一yì張zhāng，見jiàn是shì個gè半bàn截jié身shēn子zi動dòng耽dān，他tā也yě不bú認rèn真zhēn假jiǎ，慌huāng忙máng叫jiào：「兄xiōng弟dì，蓋gài上shàng，蓋gài上shàng，還hái不bù曾céng化huà得de了le哩lī。」二èr魔mó依yī舊jiù貼tiē上shàng。大dà聖shèng在zài傍bàng暗àn笑xiào道dào：「不bù知zhī老lǎo孫sūn已yǐ在zài此cǐ矣yǐ。」那nà大dà圣shèng闻wén言yán，就jiù拔bá了le一yì根gēn毫háo毛máo，叫jiào：「变biàn！」变biàn作zuò个gè半bàn截jié的de身shēn子zi，在zài葫hú芦lú底dǐ上shàng。真zhēn身shēn却què变biàn做zuò个gè蟭jiāo蟟liáo虫chóng儿er，钉dīng在zài那nà葫hú芦lú口kǒu边biān。只zhǐ见jiàn那nà二èr魔mó揭jiē起qǐ帖tiě子zi看kàn时shí，大dà圣shèng早zǎo已yǐ飞fēi出chū。打dǎ个gè滚gǔn，又yòu变biàn做zuò个gè倚yǐ海hǎi龙lóng。倚yǐ海hǎi龙lóng却què是shì原yuán去qù请qǐng老lǎo奶nǎi奶nǎi的de那nà个gè小xiǎo妖yāo，他tā变biàn了le，站zhàn在zài旁páng边biān。那nà老lǎo魔mó扳bān著zhe葫hú芦lú口kǒu张zhāng了le一yì张zhāng，见jiàn是shì个gè半bàn截jié身shēn子zi动dòng耽dān，他tā也yě不bú认rèn真zhēn假jiǎ，慌huāng忙máng叫jiào：「兄xiōng弟dì，盖gài上shàng，盖gài上shàng，还hái不bù曾céng化huà得de了le哩lī。」二èr魔mó依yī旧jiù贴tiē上shàng。大dà圣shèng在zài傍bàng暗àn笑xiào道dào：「不bù知zhī老lǎo孙sūn已yǐ在zài此cǐ矣yǐ。」

逐句解 Line by line

Hearing this, the Great Sage plucked out a hair and cried “Change!” — making it into a half-body lying at the bottom of the gourd; his true self he changed into a mosquito-gnat and lit at the gourd's mouth. The moment that second fiend lifted the seal to look, the Great Sage had already flown out.

半截的身子 (bàn jié de shēn zi), "a half-body," the melting-decoy left behind. 蟭蟟蟲兒 (jiāo liáo chóng er), "a mosquito-gnat" — diminutive er. 釘在那葫蘆口邊 (dìng zài nà hú lu kǒu biān), "lit at the gourd's mouth," deictic nà.

打dǎ個gè滾gǔn，又yòu變biàn做zuò個gè倚yǐ海hǎi龍lóng。倚yǐ海hǎi龍lóng卻què是shì原yuán去qù請qǐng老lǎo奶nǎi奶nǎi的de那nà個gè小xiǎo妖yāo，他tā變biàn了le，站zhàn在zài旁páng邊biān。那nà老lǎo魔mó扳bān著zhe葫hú蘆lú口kǒu張zhāng了le一yì張zhāng，見jiàn是shì個gè半bàn截jié身shēn子zi動dòng耽dān，他tā也yě不bú認rèn真zhēn假jiǎ，慌huāng忙máng叫jiào：「兄xiōng弟dì，蓋gài上shàng，蓋gài上shàng，還hái不bù曾céng化huà得de了le哩lī。」打dǎ个gè滚gǔn，又yòu变biàn做zuò个gè倚yǐ海hǎi龙lóng。倚yǐ海hǎi龙lóng却què是shì原yuán去qù请qǐng老lǎo奶nǎi奶nǎi的de那nà个gè小xiǎo妖yāo，他tā变biàn了le，站zhàn在zài旁páng边biān。那nà老lǎo魔mó扳bān著zhe葫hú芦lú口kǒu张zhāng了le一yì张zhāng，见jiàn是shì个gè半bàn截jié身shēn子zi动dòng耽dān，他tā也yě不bú认rèn真zhēn假jiǎ，慌huāng忙máng叫jiào：「兄xiōng弟dì，盖gài上shàng，盖gài上shàng，还hái不bù曾céng化huà得de了le哩lī。」

With a tumble he changed again into Sea-Reclining Dragon — Sea-Reclining Dragon being the very imp who had first gone to invite Old Grandma; into that he changed, and stood off to the side. That old fiend pried at the gourd's mouth and took a peer, saw a half-body stirring inside, and, not troubling to tell true from false, cried in a fluster: “Brother, cap it, cap it — it hasn't finished melting yet!”

扳著葫蘆口張了一張 (bān zhe hú lu kǒu zhāng le yì zhāng), "pried at the mouth and took a peer" — durative zhe. 還不曾化得了哩 (hái bù céng huà de liǎo lī), "hasn't finished melting" — 還 read hái, complement de.

二èr魔mó依yī舊jiù貼tiē上shàng。大dà聖shèng在zài傍bàng暗àn笑xiào道dào：「不bù知zhī老lǎo孫sūn已yǐ在zài此cǐ矣yǐ。」二èr魔mó依yī旧jiù贴tiē上shàng。大dà圣shèng在zài傍bàng暗àn笑xiào道dào：「不bù知zhī老lǎo孙sūn已yǐ在zài此cǐ矣yǐ。」

The second fiend sealed it up again as before. The Great Sage, off to one side, laughed to himself: “Little do they know Old Monkey is already out here.”

依舊貼上 (yī jiù tiē shàng), "sealed it up again as before." 不知老孫已在此矣 (bù zhī lǎo sūn yǐ zài cǐ yǐ), "little do they know Old Monkey is already out here" — Wukong's private triumph.

總評 Commentary

The escape is the mirror of the imprisonment, and the same trick that trapped him now frees him. Where the gourd swallowed him for answering, he leaves it a hair-conjured half-body to answer for him — a melting corpse in effigy — while his true self slips out as a gnat the instant the seal is lifted. The substitution is by now the chapter's deepest habit: the real Wukong is never where the demons think, always a decoy in his place.

The demons' re-sealing is the crowning stroke of the deception. The old fiend sees the half-body stirring, cannot be bothered to tell true from false, and orders the gourd capped again on an empty decoy — 還不曾化得了, it hasn't finished melting — while the genuine article stands beside him disguised as their own imp. Wukong's aside, 不知老孫已在此矣, seals the joke: the fiends guard a phantom with elaborate care while their real enemy watches from arm's length, and the whole apparatus of the melting-test has been turned into a machine for their own gulling.