第三十五回 · 怒打殘妖 Beating the Battered Imps — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

怒打殘妖 Beating the Battered Imps

急jí到dào門mén前qián，把bǎ雲yún頭tóu按àn落luò，又yòu見jiàn那nà洞dòng門mén外wài有yǒu百bǎi十shí個gè小xiǎo妖yāo，都dōu破pò頭tóu折zhé腳jiǎo，肉ròu綻zhàn皮pí開kāi。原yuán來lái都dōu是shì他tā分fēn身shēn法fǎ打dǎ傷shāng了le的de，都dōu在zài這zhè裡lǐ聲shēng聲shēng喚huàn喚huàn，忍rěn疼téng而ér立lì。大dà聖shèng見jiàn了le，按àn不bú住zhù惡è性xìng兇xiōng頑wán，掄lūn起qǐ鐵tiě棒bàng，一yí路lù打dǎ將jiāng進jìn去qù。可kě憐lián把bǎ那nà苦kǔ煉liàn人rén身shēn的de功gōng果guǒ息xī，依yī然rán是shì塊kuài舊jiù皮pí毛máo。急jí到dào门mén前qián，把bǎ云yún头tóu按àn落luò，又yòu见jiàn那nà洞dòng门mén外wài有yǒu百bǎi十shí个gè小xiǎo妖yāo，都dōu破pò头tóu折zhé脚jiǎo，肉ròu绽zhàn皮pí开kāi。原yuán来lái都dōu是shì他tā分fēn身shēn法fǎ打dǎ伤shāng了le的de，都dōu在zài这zhè里lǐ声shēng声shēng唤huàn唤huàn，忍rěn疼téng而ér立lì。大dà圣shèng见jiàn了le，按àn不bú住zhù恶è性xìng凶xiōng顽wán，抡lūn起qǐ铁tiě棒bàng，一yí路lù打dǎ将jiāng进jìn去qù。可kě怜lián把bǎ那nà苦kǔ炼liàn人rén身shēn的de功gōng果guǒ息xī，依yī然rán是shì块kuài旧jiù皮pí毛máo。

逐句解 Line by line

急jí到dào門mén前qián，把bǎ雲yún頭tóu按àn落luò，又yòu見jiàn那nà洞dòng門mén外wài有yǒu百bǎi十shí個gè小xiǎo妖yāo，都dōu破pò頭tóu折zhé腳jiǎo，肉ròu綻zhàn皮pí開kāi。急jí到dào门mén前qián，把bǎ云yún头tóu按àn落luò，又yòu见jiàn那nà洞dòng门mén外wài有yǒu百bǎi十shí个gè小xiǎo妖yāo，都dōu破pò头tóu折zhé脚jiǎo，肉ròu绽zhàn皮pí开kāi。

Hastening to the gate, he brought his cloud down and saw before the cave-door a hundred-odd imps, all with broken heads and snapped legs, flesh split and skin burst.

破頭折腳，肉綻皮開 — "heads broken, legs snapped, flesh split, skin burst." These are the survivors of the rout his own clones inflicted, still standing outside the door.

原yuán來lái都dōu是shì他tā分fēn身shēn法fǎ打dǎ傷shāng了le的de，都dōu在zài這zhè裡lǐ聲shēng聲shēng喚huàn喚huàn，忍rěn疼téng而ér立lì。原yuán来lái都dōu是shì他tā分fēn身shēn法fǎ打dǎ伤shāng了le的de，都dōu在zài这zhè里lǐ声shēng声shēng唤huàn唤huàn，忍rěn疼téng而ér立lì。

These were all the ones his body-dividing art had wounded, and here they stood, moaning and crying, enduring the pain.

分身法, the "body-dividing method," is the same hair-clone trick under a second name. 聲聲喚喚 is "crying out over and over"; 忍疼而立 is "standing there, bearing the pain."

大dà聖shèng見jiàn了le，按àn不bú住zhù惡è性xìng兇xiōng頑wán，掄lūn起qǐ鐵tiě棒bàng，一yí路lù打dǎ將jiāng進jìn去qù。大dà圣shèng见jiàn了le，按àn不bú住zhù恶è性xìng凶xiōng顽wán，抡lūn起qǐ铁tiě棒bàng，一yí路lù打dǎ将jiāng进jìn去qù。

Seeing them, the Great Sage could not curb his fierce, ungovernable temper: he swung up his iron cudgel and battered his way straight in.

按不住惡性兇頑 — "could not press down his savage, ungovernable nature." The phrasing is the narrator's, and it is not admiring. 一路打將進去 is "beat his way all the way in."

可kě憐lián把bǎ那nà苦kǔ煉liàn人rén身shēn的de功gōng果guǒ息xī，依yī然rán是shì塊kuài舊jiù皮pí毛máo。可kě怜lián把bǎ那nà苦kǔ炼liàn人rén身shēn的de功gōng果guǒ息xī，依yī然rán是shì块kuài旧jiù皮pí毛máo。

Pitiful it was: the merit of those hard-won human bodies was snuffed out, and they were once more but old scraps of hide and hair.

And then the line that changes the temperature of the whole scene. 苦煉人身的功果 is "the merit of attaining a human body through bitter refining," and 息 is "extinguished." These imps were animal-spirits who had worked their way up toward human form; 舊皮毛, "old fur and hide," is what death leaves of that work.

總評 Commentary

Wukong comes back to the cave and finds the aftermath of his own clone-army: a hundred imps broken and moaning outside the door. Unable to master his fierce, ungovernable temper, he cuts his way through them. The mind-monkey of the chapter-title shows its unruly face here — the mind that strikes before it thinks.

The narrator's closing aside gives the killing an unexpected weight. The merit of those hard-won human bodies is snuffed out and the imps revert to old scraps of hide and hair. They were beasts who had cultivated their way toward human shape, and death strips the attainment off them. It is a small reminder set against the comedy: the routed rabble had been climbing the same ladder the pilgrims are on, and were cut down partway up.