第四十五回 · 佈雲之問 Who Spreads the Cloud? — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

佈雲之問 Who Spreads the Cloud?

那nà道dào士shì又yòu執zhí令lìng牌pái，燒shāo了le符fú檄xí，撲pū的de又yòu打dǎ了le一yí下xià，只zhǐ見jiàn那nà空kōng中zhōng雲yún霧wù遮zhē滿mǎn。孫sūn大dà聖shèng又yòu當dāng頭tóu叫jiào道dào：「佈bù雲yún的de是shì那nǎ個gè？」慌huāng得de那nà推tuī雲yún童tóng子zǐ、佈bù霧wù郎láng君jūn當dāng面miàn施shī禮lǐ。那nà道dào士shì又yòu执zhí令lìng牌pái，烧shāo了le符fú檄xí，扑pū的de又yòu打dǎ了le一yí下xià，只zhǐ见jiàn那nà空kōng中zhōng云yún雾wù遮zhē满mǎn。孙sūn大dà圣shèng又yòu当dāng头tóu叫jiào道dào：「布bù云yún的de是shì那nǎ个gè？」慌huāng得de那nà推tuī云yún童tóng子zǐ、布bù雾wù郎láng君jūn当dāng面miàn施shī礼lǐ。

逐句解 Line by line

那nà道dào士shì又yòu執zhí令lìng牌pái，燒shāo了le符fú檄xí，撲pū的de又yòu打dǎ了le一yí下xià，只zhǐ見jiàn那nà空kōng中zhōng雲yún霧wù遮zhē滿mǎn。那nà道dào士shì又yòu执zhí令lìng牌pái，烧shāo了le符fú檄xí，扑pū的de又yòu打dǎ了le一yí下xià，只zhǐ见jiàn那nà空kōng中zhōng云yún雾wù遮zhē满mǎn。

The Daoist again took up the command-tablet, burned a talisman-writ, and with a thud struck it once more; and there — in mid-air — clouds and mist came filling the sky.

那道士 and 那空中: 那 = nà. 空中: 中 = zhōng. 符檄 (fú xí) "a talisman writ," a charm in the form of an official dispatch.

孫sūn大dà聖shèng又yòu當dāng頭tóu叫jiào道dào：「佈bù雲yún的de是shì那nǎ個gè？」孙sūn大dà圣shèng又yòu当dāng头tóu叫jiào道dào：「布bù云yún的de是shì那nǎ个gè？」

The Great Sage again called out overhead, “The one spreading the cloud — which of you is it?”

當頭: 當 = dāng, overhead. 是那個: 那 = nǎ, "which one of you?"

慌huāng得de那nà推tuī雲yún童tóng子zǐ、佈bù霧wù郎láng君jūn當dāng面miàn施shī禮lǐ。慌huāng得de那nà推tuī云yún童tóng子zǐ、布bù雾wù郎láng君jūn当dāng面miàn施shī礼lǐ。

In alarm the Cloud-Pushing Lad and the Mist-Spreading Lord bowed before his face.

慌得: 得 = de. 那推雲童子: 那 = nà; 童子: 子 = zǐ, a boy attendant. 當面: 當 = dāng.

總評 Commentary

The same shape again with cloud. The tablet cracks, mist fills the sky, and the deities behind it turn out to be bowing to somebody else.

Repetition is the point. A contest settled once would be a plot event; settled four times in a row, in the same rhythm, it becomes a routine -- and the immortal on the platform starts to look less like a defeated rival than like a man doing a party trick that has stopped working.