Canonical Classics ← 第三十五回
第三十五回
外wài道dào施shī威wēi欺qī正zhèng性xìng
心xīn猿yuán獲huò寶bǎo伏fú邪xié魔mó

The Heretic Way plies its might to cow the upright nature;,The Mind-Monkey wins the treasures and quells the vile fiend.

蕉扇搧火
模式 Mode Read Study
拼音 Pinyin Off
字體 Script 繁
原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

蕉扇搧火 The Plantain Fan Raises Fire

那nà魔mó慌huāng了le，將jiāng左zuǒ手shǒu擎qíng著zhe寶bǎo劍jiàn，右yòu手shǒu伸shēn於yú項xiàng後hòu，取qǔ出chū芭bā蕉jiāo扇shàn子zi，望wàng東dōng南nán丙bǐng丁dīng火huǒ，正zhèng對duì離lí宮gōng，唿hū喇lǎ的de一yí扇shàn子zi搧shān將jiāng下xià來lái只zhǐ見jiàn那nà就jiù地dì上shàng，火huǒ光guāng焰yàn焰yàn。原yuán來lái這zhè般bān寶bǎo貝bèi，平píng白bái地dì搧shān出chū火huǒ來lái。那nà怪guài物wù著zhuó實shí無wú情qíng，一yì連lián搧shān了le七qī八bā扇shàn子zi，熯hàn天tiān熾chì地dì，烈liè火huǒ飛fēi騰téng。那nà魔mó慌huāng了le，将jiāng左zuǒ手shǒu擎qíng著zhe宝bǎo剑jiàn，右yòu手shǒu伸shēn于yú项xiàng后hòu，取qǔ出chū芭bā蕉jiāo扇shàn子zi，望wàng东dōng南nán丙bǐng丁dīng火huǒ，正zhèng对duì离lí宫gōng，唿hū喇lǎ的de一yí扇shàn子zi扇shān将jiāng下xià来lái只zhǐ见jiàn那nà就jiù地dì上shàng，火huǒ光guāng焰yàn焰yàn。原yuán来lái这zhè般bān宝bǎo贝bèi，平píng白bái地dì扇shān出chū火huǒ来lái。那nà怪guài物wù著zhuó实shí无wú情qíng，一yì连lián扇shān了le七qī八bā扇shàn子zi，熯hàn天tiān炽chì地dì，烈liè火huǒ飞fēi腾téng。

逐句解 Line by line

那nà魔mó慌huāng了le，將jiāng左zuǒ手shǒu擎qíng著zhe寶bǎo劍jiàn，右yòu手shǒu伸shēn於yú項xiàng後hòu，取qǔ出chū芭bā蕉jiāo扇shàn子zi，望wàng東dōng南nán丙bǐng丁dīng火huǒ，正zhèng對duì離lí宮gōng，唿hū喇lǎ的de一yí扇shàn子zi搧shān將jiāng下xià來lái只zhǐ見jiàn那nà就jiù地dì上shàng，火huǒ光guāng焰yàn焰yàn。 那nà魔mó慌huāng了le，将jiāng左zuǒ手shǒu擎qíng著zhe宝bǎo剑jiàn，右yòu手shǒu伸shēn于yú项xiàng后hòu，取qǔ出chū芭bā蕉jiāo扇shàn子zi，望wàng东dōng南nán丙bǐng丁dīng火huǒ，正zhèng对duì离lí宫gōng，唿hū喇lǎ的de一yí扇shàn子zi扇shān将jiāng下xià来lái只zhǐ见jiàn那nà就jiù地dì上shàng，火huǒ光guāng焰yàn焰yàn。

The fiend, in a panic, gripped his treasure-sword in his left hand, reached his right behind his nape and drew out the Plantain Fan, faced it toward the fire of the south-east, ping-ting quarter, square against the Li palace, and with a whoosh fanned once downward — and there on the very ground, flames came blazing up.

丙丁火 — "the ping-ting fire," the cyclical stems that stand for fire in the Five Phases; 離宮, "the Li palace," the trigram 離, whose element is fire and whose quarter is the south. 唐喇的, "with a whoosh"; 搧將下來, "fanned down," 將 the coverb (jiāng). The fan draws real fire out of the fire-quarter.

原yuán來lái這zhè般bān寶bǎo貝bèi，平píng白bái地dì搧shān出chū火huǒ來lái。 原yuán来lái这zhè般bān宝bǎo贝bèi，平píng白bái地dì扇shān出chū火huǒ来lái。

It turned out this sort of treasure could fan fire up out of level, empty ground.

平白地 — "out of bare, empty ground," underscoring the marvel: the fan conjures flame from nothing.

那nà怪guài物wù著zhuó實shí無wú情qíng，一yì連lián搧shān了le七qī八bā扇shàn子zi，熯hàn天tiān熾chì地dì，烈liè火huǒ飛fēi騰téng。 那nà怪guài物wù著zhuó实shí无wú情qíng，一yì连lián扇shān了le七qī八bā扇shàn子zi，熯hàn天tiān炽chì地dì，烈liè火huǒ飞fēi腾téng。

That monster was pitiless indeed: he fanned seven or eight times over, scorching heaven and searing earth, the fierce flames leaping and soaring.

著實 (zhuóshí) — "truly, downright," 著 the adverbial zhuó. 熯天熾地 (hàn tiān chì dì), "scorching sky and searing ground," the fire spreading without limit.

總評 Commentary

Cornered by the hair-clone host, the old fiend resorts to the second of his treasures, the Plantain Fan. The passage is dense with Five-Phases cosmology: he aims the fan at the "ping-ting fire" of the south-east and the Li palace — the trigram and cyclical stems proper to fire — and with a single downward stroke draws real flame out of the bare ground.

This is a fire of a wholly different order from ordinary conflagration, as the verse to come will insist — conjured, elemental, "fanned up out of level, empty ground." The fiend, "pitiless indeed," plies the fan seven or eight times until the blaze scorches heaven and earth, turning the tide of a battle he could not win by sword and setting the stage for the great fire-賦.