第三十八回 · 陰風聚獸 A Shadow-Wind Gathers the Beasts — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

陰風聚獸 A Shadow-Wind Gathers the Beasts

那nà各gè神shén即jí著zhuó本běn處chù陰yīn兵bīng，刮guā一yí陣zhèn聚jù獸shòu陰yīn風fēng，捉zhuō了le些xiē野yě雞jī山shān雉zhì、角jiǎo鹿lù肥féi獐zhāng、狐hú獾huān狢hé兔tù、虎hǔ豹bào狼láng蟲chóng，共gòng有yǒu百bǎi千qiān餘yú隻zhī，獻xiàn與yǔ行xíng者zhě。行xíng者zhě道dào：「老lǎo孫sūn不bú要yào，你nǐ可kě把bǎ他tā都dōu捻niǎn就jiù了le觔jīn，單dān擺bǎi在zài那nà四sì十shí里lǐ路lù上shàng兩liǎng傍páng，教jiào那nà些xiē人rén不bú放fàng鷹yīng犬quǎn，拿ná回huí城chéng去qù，算suàn了le汝rǔ等děng之zhī功gōng。」眾zhòng神shén依yī言yán，收shōu了le陰yīn風fēng，擺bǎi在zài左zuǒ右yòu。那nà各gè神shén即jí着zhuó本běn处chù阴yīn兵bīng，刮guā一yí阵zhèn聚jù兽shòu阴yīn风fēng，捉zhuō了le些xiē野yě鸡jī山shān雉zhì、角jiǎo鹿lù肥féi獐zhāng、狐hú獾huān狢hé兔tù、虎hǔ豹bào狼láng虫chóng，共gòng有yǒu百bǎi千qiān余yú只zhī，献xiàn与yǔ行xíng者zhě。行xíng者zhě道dào：「老lǎo孙sūn不bú要yào，你nǐ可kě把bǎ他tā都dōu捻niǎn就jiù了le觔jīn，单dān摆bǎi在zài那nà四sì十shí里lǐ路lù上shàng两liǎng傍páng，教jiào那nà些xiē人rén不bú放fàng鹰yīng犬quǎn，拿ná回huí城chéng去qù，算suàn了le汝rǔ等děng之zhī功gōng。」众zhòng神shén依yī言yán，收shōu了le阴yīn风fēng，摆bǎi在zài左zuǒ右yòu。

逐句解 Line by line

那nà各gè神shén即jí著zhuó本běn處chù陰yīn兵bīng，刮guā一yí陣zhèn聚jù獸shòu陰yīn風fēng，捉zhuō了le些xiē野yě雞jī山shān雉zhì、角jiǎo鹿lù肥féi獐zhāng、狐hú獾huān狢hé兔tù、虎hǔ豹bào狼láng蟲chóng，共gòng有yǒu百bǎi千qiān餘yú隻zhī，獻xiàn與yǔ行xíng者zhě。那nà各gè神shén即jí着zhuó本běn处chù阴yīn兵bīng，刮guā一yí阵zhèn聚jù兽shòu阴yīn风fēng，捉zhuō了le些xiē野yě鸡jī山shān雉zhì、角jiǎo鹿lù肥féi獐zhāng、狐hú獾huān狢hé兔tù、虎hǔ豹bào狼láng虫chóng，共gòng有yǒu百bǎi千qiān余yú只zhī，献xiàn与yǔ行xíng者zhě。

Each of those gods at once dispatched the ghost-soldiers of his own domain to raise a beast-gathering shadow-wind, and they took wild fowl and mountain pheasants, antlered deer and fat roe, foxes, badgers, raccoon-dogs and hares, tigers, leopards, wolves and vermin — several hundreds and thousands of head in all — and presented them to the Pilgrim.

即著本處陰兵: each god at once sets his own precinct's ghost-soldiers to work, with 著 read zhuó in its sense of assigning a task. 聚獸陰風 is a beast-gathering yin-wind — a shadow-wind that herds animals. The catalogue that follows heaps up food animals and predators together with cheerful disregard: pheasants and deer alongside tigers, leopards and wolves. 那 = nà.

行xíng者zhě道dào：「老lǎo孫sūn不bú要yào，你nǐ可kě把bǎ他tā都dōu捻niǎn就jiù了le觔jīn，單dān擺bǎi在zài那nà四sì十shí里lǐ路lù上shàng兩liǎng傍páng，教jiào那nà些xiē人rén不bú放fàng鷹yīng犬quǎn，拿ná回huí城chéng去qù，算suàn了le汝rǔ等děng之zhī功gōng。」行xíng者zhě道dào：「老lǎo孙sūn不bú要yào，你nǐ可kě把bǎ他tā都dōu捻niǎn就jiù了le觔jīn，单dān摆bǎi在zài那nà四sì十shí里lǐ路lù上shàng两liǎng傍páng，教jiào那nà些xiē人rén不bú放fàng鹰yīng犬quǎn，拿ná回huí城chéng去qù，算suàn了le汝rǔ等děng之zhī功gōng。」

The Pilgrim said: 'Old Sun does not want them. You may just pinch them all lifeless and lay them out singly along both sides of the forty-lǐ road, so that those men, without loosing hawk or hound, may carry them back into the city — and that will be counted to your credit.'

He does not want the animals; he wants the tableau. 捻就了觔 is to pinch them until the sinews set — stopped where they stand. 四十里路上兩傍: along both sides of the forty-lǐ road, with 傍 read páng, 'beside,' and 里 (lǐ) left in Chinese rather than converted, since English has no borrowed name for it. 都 = dōu; 那, twice, = nà. The soldiers will 'catch' game that has been laid out for them like props on a set.

眾zhòng神shén依yī言yán，收shōu了le陰yīn風fēng，擺bǎi在zài左zuǒ右yòu。众zhòng神shén依yī言yán，收shōu了le阴yīn风fēng，摆bǎi在zài左zuǒ右yòu。

The host of gods did as he said, withdrew the shadow-wind, and arranged them to left and right.

收了陰風: they call the shadow-wind back in. 擺在左右: and set the results out on either side.

總評 Commentary

The gods deliver with supernatural efficiency. A beast-gathering shadow-wind sweeps up a comically excessive haul — hundreds upon hundreds of animals, predators included — and Wukong turns down the lot. What he wants is not game but a staged scene: the animals laid out along the road to be 'caught' without a hawk or hound in play. That refusal is the joke's payoff, since the hunt is to be counterfeited exactly as neatly as the demon has counterfeited the king.

The passage quietly doubles the chapter's theme of the false passing for the true. The impostor's kingship is a fabrication; the prince's triumphant catch will be a fabrication too — a benign one, engineered by the pilgrims to keep him out of prison. The novel is entirely untroubled by the symmetry. Deception in a good cause is simply good tactics.