第三十五回 · 竊瓶脫身 Stealing the Vase — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

竊瓶脫身 Stealing the Vase

你nǐ看kàn他tā竊qiè了le這zhè瓶píng子zi，喜xǐ喜xǐ歡huān歡huān，且qiě不bú救jiù師shī父fù，急jí抽chōu身shēn往wǎng洞dòng外wài而ér走zǒu。才cái出chū門mén，只zhǐ見jiàn那nà妖yāo魔mó提tí著zhe寶bǎo劍jiàn，拿ná著zhe扇shàn子zi，從cóng南nán而ér來lái。孫sūn大dà聖shèng迴huí避bì不bù及jí，被bèi那nà老lǎo魔mó舉jǔ劍jiàn劈pī頭tóu就jiù砍kǎn。大dà聖shèng急jí縱zòng觔jīn斗dǒu雲yún跳tiào將jiāng起qǐ去qù，無wú影yǐng無wú蹤zōng的de逃táo了le不bù題tí。你nǐ看kàn他tā窃qiè了le这zhè瓶píng子zi，喜xǐ喜xǐ欢huān欢huān，且qiě不bú救jiù师shī父fù，急jí抽chōu身shēn往wǎng洞dòng外wài而ér走zǒu。才cái出chū门mén，只zhǐ见jiàn那nà妖yāo魔mó提tí着zhe宝bǎo剑jiàn，拿ná着zhe扇shàn子zi，从cóng南nán而ér来lái。孙sūn大dà圣shèng回huí避bì不bù及jí，被bèi那nà老lǎo魔mó举jǔ剑jiàn劈pī头tóu就jiù砍kǎn。大dà圣shèng急jí纵zòng觔jīn斗dǒu云yún跳tiào将jiāng起qǐ去qù，无wú影yǐng无wú踪zōng的de逃táo了le不bù题tí。

逐句解 Line by line

你nǐ看kàn他tā竊qiè了le這zhè瓶píng子zi，喜xǐ喜xǐ歡huān歡huān，且qiě不bú救jiù師shī父fù，急jí抽chōu身shēn往wǎng洞dòng外wài而ér走zǒu。你nǐ看kàn他tā窃qiè了le这zhè瓶píng子zi，喜xǐ喜xǐ欢huān欢huān，且qiě不bú救jiù师shī父fù，急jí抽chōu身shēn往wǎng洞dòng外wài而ér走zǒu。

See him: he made off with the vase, all delight, and — not stopping to free his master — hastily turned and hurried out of the cave.

竊了這瓶子 is "made off with the vase"; 且不救師父 is "and did not, for the moment, free his master." The narrator sets the two clauses side by side and declines to comment, which is far more damning than commenting would be.

才cái出chū門mén，只zhǐ見jiàn那nà妖yāo魔mó提tí著zhe寶bǎo劍jiàn，拿ná著zhe扇shàn子zi，從cóng南nán而ér來lái。才cái出chū门mén，只zhǐ见jiàn那nà妖yāo魔mó提tí着zhe宝bǎo剑jiàn，拿ná着zhe扇shàn子zi，从cóng南nán而ér来lái。

No sooner was he out the door than he saw the fiend coming from the south, treasure-sword in hand and fan in his grip.

提著寶劍，拿著扇子 — "carrying the sword, holding the fan," both 著 marking a grip in progress (zhe). The elder fiend comes back at precisely the wrong moment.

孫sūn大dà聖shèng迴huí避bì不bù及jí，被bèi那nà老lǎo魔mó舉jǔ劍jiàn劈pī頭tóu就jiù砍kǎn。孙sūn大dà圣shèng回huí避bì不bù及jí，被bèi那nà老lǎo魔mó举jǔ剑jiàn劈pī头tóu就jiù砍kǎn。

Sun the Great Sage could not dodge in time, and the old fiend raised his sword and hacked straight at his head.

迴避不及 — "could not evade in time." The two collide in the cave-mouth.

大dà聖shèng急jí縱zòng觔jīn斗dǒu雲yún跳tiào將jiāng起qǐ去qù，無wú影yǐng無wú蹤zōng的de逃táo了le不bù題tí。大dà圣shèng急jí纵zòng觔jīn斗dǒu云yún跳tiào将jiāng起qǐ去qù，无wú影yǐng无wú踪zōng的de逃táo了le不bù题tí。

The Great Sage quickly loosed his somersault-cloud and sprang up and away, vanishing without trace — fled, of which no more.

觔斗雲 is the somersault-cloud. 無影無蹤 is "without shadow or trace," still a live idiom for vanishing completely; 逃了不題 is "fled — of which no more," a storyteller's formula for dropping one thread and picking up another.

總評 Commentary

A brisk, telling beat. Having found the vase, Wukong pockets it and bolts — without stopping to free his master. The line is sharp characterization: the Monkey King's magpie delight in a treasure momentarily outweighs the rescue that brought him in, and the narrator lets the lapse stand without a word of judgment.

He gets out just in time, the old fiend returning from the south with sword and fan and hacking at his head, and vanishes on his somersault-cloud. The 不題 formula closes the movement and swings the telling back toward the demon, whose grief the next passage takes up.