第四十五回 · 三打令牌 The Third Crack — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

三打令牌 The Third Crack

那nà道dào士shì心xīn中zhōng焦jiāo躁zào，仗zhàng寶bǎo劍jiàn，解jiě散sàn了le頭tóu髮fà，念niàn著zhe咒zhòu，燒shāo了le符fú，再zài一yí令lìng牌pái打dǎ將jiāng下xià去qù。只zhǐ見jiàn那nà南nán天tiān門mén裡lǐ，鄧dèng天tiān君jūn領lǐng著zhe雷léi公gōng、電diàn母mǔ到dào當dāng空kōng，迎yíng著zhe行xíng者zhě進jìn禮lǐ。那nà道dào士shì心xīn中zhōng焦jiāo躁zào，仗zhàng宝bǎo剑jiàn，解jiě散sàn了le头tóu发fà，念niàn着zhe咒zhòu，烧shāo了le符fú，再zài一yí令lìng牌pái打dǎ将jiāng下xià去qù。只zhǐ见jiàn那nà南nán天tiān门mén里lǐ，邓dèng天tiān君jūn领lǐng着zhe雷léi公gōng、电diàn母mǔ到dào当dāng空kōng，迎yíng着zhe行xíng者zhě进jìn礼lǐ。

逐句解 Line by line

那nà道dào士shì心xīn中zhōng焦jiāo躁zào，仗zhàng寶bǎo劍jiàn，解jiě散sàn了le頭tóu髮fà，念niàn著zhe咒zhòu，燒shāo了le符fú，再zài一yí令lìng牌pái打dǎ將jiāng下xià去qù。那nà道dào士shì心xīn中zhōng焦jiāo躁zào，仗zhàng宝bǎo剑jiàn，解jiě散sàn了le头tóu发fà，念niàn着zhe咒zhòu，烧shāo了le符fú，再zài一yí令lìng牌pái打dǎ将jiāng下xià去qù。

The Daoist, agitated in his heart, gripped his precious sword, loosed his hair, chanted his spell, burned a talisman, and struck the command-tablet down once again.

那道士: 那 = nà. 心中: 中 = zhōng. 解散了頭髮: 散 = sàn, to loosen -- letting the hair down is part of the rite, not a sign of disarray, though it reads as both here. 念著咒: 著 = zhe. 打將下去: 將 = jiāng, carrying the stroke downward.

只zhǐ見jiàn那nà南nán天tiān門mén裡lǐ，鄧dèng天tiān君jūn領lǐng著zhe雷léi公gōng、電diàn母mǔ到dào當dāng空kōng，迎yíng著zhe行xíng者zhě進jìn禮lǐ。只zhǐ见jiàn那nà南nán天tiān门mén里lǐ，邓dèng天tiān君jūn领lǐng着zhe雷léi公gōng、电diàn母mǔ到dào当dāng空kōng，迎yíng着zhe行xíng者zhě进jìn礼lǐ。

And there, within the Southern Gate of Heaven, Marshal Deng, leading the Thunder Lord and the Lightning Mother, came into the mid-air and, facing Pilgrim, made their salutes.

那南天門: 那 = nà. 領著 and 迎著: 著 = zhe. 鄧天君 is Marshal Deng, a senior officer of the thunder court; 雷公 the Thunder Lord and 電母 the Lightning Mother, who are exactly what their names say. 當空: 當 = dāng.

總評 Commentary

The third attempt is the most frantic -- hair unbound, sword drawn, the full Five-Thunder rite -- and it works. The great thunder deities come down through the Southern Gate of Heaven.

And they come down to salute Wukong. That is the passage's quiet joke: the summoning succeeds perfectly and delivers its results to the wrong man. The immortal is not being exposed as a fraud here; he is being outranked.

The next passage makes that explicit, and it is the point on which the whole contest turns from comedy into something with a rule behind it.