第四十九回 · 詐敗佯輸 The Feigned Rout — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

詐敗佯輸 The Feigned Rout

三sān人rén在zài水shuǐ底dǐ下xià鬥dòu經jīng兩liǎng個gè時shí辰chén，不bù分fēn勝shèng敗bài。豬zhū八bā戒jiè料liào道dào不bù得dé贏yíng他tā，對duì沙shā僧sēng丟diū了le個gè眼yǎn色sè。二èr人rén詐zhà敗bài佯yáng輸shū，各gè拖tuō兵bīng器qì，回huí頭tóu就jiù走zǒu。那nà怪guài物wù教jiào：「小xiǎo的de們men，扎zhā住zhù在zài此cǐ，等děng我wǒ追zhuī趕gǎn上shàng這zhè廝sī，捉zhuō將jiāng來lái與yǔ汝rǔ等děng湊còu吃chī啞yǎ。」你nǐ看kàn他tā如rú風fēng吹chuī敗bài葉yè，似sì雨yǔ打dǎ殘cán花huā，將jiāng他tā兩liǎng個gè趕gǎn出chū水shuǐ面miàn。三sān人rén在zài水shuǐ底dǐ下xià斗dòu经jīng两liǎng个gè时shí辰chén，不bù分fēn胜shèng败bài。猪zhū八bā戒jiè料liào道dào不bù得dé赢yíng他tā，对duì沙shā僧sēng丢diū了le个gè眼yǎn色sè。二èr人rén诈zhà败bài佯yáng输shū，各gè拖tuō兵bīng器qì，回huí头tóu就jiù走zǒu。那nà怪guài物wù教jiào：「小xiǎo的de们men，扎zhā住zhù在zài此cǐ，等děng我wǒ追zhuī赶gǎn上shàng这zhè厮sī，捉zhuō将jiāng来lái与yǔ汝rǔ等děng凑còu吃chī哑yǎ。」你nǐ看kàn他tā如rú风fēng吹chuī败bài叶yè，似sì雨yǔ打dǎ残cán花huā，将jiāng他tā两liǎng个gè赶gǎn出chū水shuǐ面miàn。

逐句解 Line by line

三sān人rén在zài水shuǐ底dǐ下xià鬥dòu經jīng兩liǎng個gè時shí辰chén，不bù分fēn勝shèng敗bài。三sān人rén在zài水shuǐ底dǐ下xià斗dòu经jīng两liǎng个gè时shí辰chén，不bù分fēn胜shèng败bài。

The three of them fought beneath the water for two double-hours without deciding it either way.

時辰 is the double hour, a twelfth of the day — so two of them is four hours of fighting, disposed of here in a single line. 不分勝敗 keeps 分 as fēn.

豬zhū八bā戒jiè料liào道dào不bù得dé贏yíng他tā，對duì沙shā僧sēng丟diū了le個gè眼yǎn色sè。猪zhū八bā戒jiè料liào道dào不bù得dé赢yíng他tā，对duì沙shā僧sēng丢diū了le个gè眼yǎn色sè。

Eight Rules reckoned he could not win, and threw Sha Monk a look.

料道, to reckon or judge. 不得贏 keeps 得 as dé. 丟了個眼色, to throw someone a look — the entire plan passes between them in a glance, with a hundred spearmen watching.

二èr人rén詐zhà敗bài佯yáng輸shū，各gè拖tuō兵bīng器qì，回huí頭tóu就jiù走zǒu。二èr人rén诈zhà败bài佯yáng输shū，各gè拖tuō兵bīng器qì，回huí头tóu就jiù走zǒu。

The two of them feigned a rout and made a show of losing, trailed their weapons, turned and fled.

詐敗佯輸 is Wukong's instruction carried out to the letter. The four characters pair two near-synonyms for the same fake defeat, which is what these set phrases almost always do — the doubling is for rhythm, not for meaning.

那nà怪guài物wù教jiào：「小xiǎo的de們men，扎zhā住zhù在zài此cǐ，等děng我wǒ追zhuī趕gǎn上shàng這zhè廝sī，捉zhuō將jiāng來lái與yǔ汝rǔ等děng湊còu吃chī啞yǎ。」那nà怪guài物wù教jiào：「小xiǎo的de们men，扎zhā住zhù在zài此cǐ，等děng我wǒ追zhuī赶gǎn上shàng这zhè厮sī，捉zhuō将jiāng来lái与yǔ汝rǔ等děng凑còu吃chī哑yǎ。」

The monster gave the order: "You little ones, hold your ground here. Let me run this fellow down, and I'll bring him back for you all to share in the eating."

教 jiào, "ordered." 扎住, halt and hold position; 捉將來 keeps 將 as jiāng. The final 啞 stands in for 呀, the spoken exclamation.

你nǐ看kàn他tā如rú風fēng吹chuī敗bài葉yè，似sì雨yǔ打dǎ殘cán花huā，將jiāng他tā兩liǎng個gè趕gǎn出chū水shuǐ面miàn。你nǐ看kàn他tā如rú风fēng吹chuī败bài叶yè，似sì雨yǔ打dǎ残cán花huā，将jiāng他tā两liǎng个gè赶gǎn出chū水shuǐ面miàn。

And see him now — like a wind driving withered leaves, like rain beating the last of the blossom — as he chased the two of them up to the surface.

將他兩個趕出水面: this 將 is the one that hands you the object before the verb, doing the same job as 把. 似 sì. The two similes belong to the narrator, and they flatter the demon at precisely the moment he is being led by the nose.

總評 Commentary

Ninety-five characters to spend four hours and set an ambush. The economy is worth pausing on. The fight itself was given a hundred and ninety-one characters of verse, and its outcome — two double-hours, no decision — is handed over in a single line of prose. What the passage spends its space on instead is the machinery of the feint, and the one sentence that undoes the demon.

That sentence is the order he gives his troops: hold here, I'll run him down and bring him back for you all to share. It is a promise of dinner, and it is the reason he goes up alone after two opponents while a hundred armed subordinates stand still on the riverbed.

The narrator then follows him upward with two similes of a conqueror sweeping all before him — withered leaves in the wind, blossom under rain. The flattery is exact, and it is entirely ironic, because the leaves are leading him somewhere.