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 torn, skin split" — the imps his hair-clones had mauled in the rout.

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," the hair-clone trick of the previous scene. 聲聲喚喚, "crying out again and again"; 忍疼而立, "standing and 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"; 一路打將進去, "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.

苦煉人身的功果 — "the merit of [attaining] human form by hard refining"; 息, "extinguished." 舊皮毛, "old fur and hide" — in death the imps revert to the beasts they had been.

總評 Commentary

Returning to the cave, Wukong finds the aftermath of his own clone-army: a hundred imps broken and moaning. Unable to master his "fierce, ungovernable temper," he cuts his way in and finishes them. The 心猿 of the chapter-title shows here its unruly, violent face — the mind-monkey that acts before it reflects.

The narrator’s closing aside gives the slaughter an unexpected weight. The "merit of those hard-won human bodies" is extinguished, and the imps revert to "old scraps of hide and hair." They were animal-spirits who had cultivated their way toward human form; death strips that attainment away. It is a small memento mori set against the comedy — a reminder that even the routed rabble had, in their way, been climbing the same ladder of self-refinement the pilgrims climb.