第五回 · 日落收兵 Battle to dusk; the cloned host — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

日落收兵 Battle to dusk; the cloned host

這zhè一yì場cháng自zì辰chén時shí佈bù陣zhèn，混hùn殺shā到dào日rì落luò西xī山shān。那nà獨dú角jiǎo鬼guǐ王wáng與yǔ七qī十shí二èr洞dòng妖yāo怪guài，盡jìn被bèi眾zhòng天tiān神shén捉zhuō拿ná去qù了le。止zhǐ走zǒu了le四sì健jiàn將jiàng與yǔ那nà群qún猴hóu，深shēn藏cáng在zài水shuǐ簾lián洞dòng底dǐ。這zhè大dà聖shèng一yì條tiáo棒bàng，抵dǐ住zhù了le四sì大dà天tiān神shén與yǔ李lǐ托tuō塔tǎ、哪né吒zhā太tài子zǐ，俱jù在zài半bàn空kōng中zhōng，殺shā勾gòu多duō時shí，大dà聖shèng見jiàn天tiān色sè將jiāng晚wǎn，即jí拔bá毫háo毛máo一yì把bǎ，丟diū在zài口kǒu中zhōng，嚼jué碎suì了le，噴pēn將jiāng出chū去qù，叫jiào聲shēng：「變biàn！」就jiù變biàn了le千qiān百bǎi個gè大dà聖shèng，都dōu使shǐ的de是shì金jīn箍gū棒bàng，打dǎ退tuì了le哪né吒zhā太tài子zǐ，戰zhàn敗bài了le五wǔ個gè天tiān王wáng。这zhè一yì场cháng自zì辰chén时shí布bù阵zhèn，混hùn杀shā到dào日rì落luò西xī山shān。那nà独dú角jiǎo鬼guǐ王wáng与yǔ七qī十shí二èr洞dòng妖yāo怪guài，尽jìn被bèi众zhòng天tiān神shén捉zhuō拿ná去qù了le。止zhǐ走zǒu了le四sì健jiàn将jiàng与yǔ那nà群qún猴hóu，深shēn藏cáng在zài水shuǐ帘lián洞dòng底dǐ。这zhè大dà圣shèng一yì条tiáo棒bàng，抵dǐ住zhù了le四sì大dà天tiān神shén与yǔ李lǐ托tuō塔tǎ、哪né咤zhā太tài子zǐ，俱jù在zài半bàn空kōng中zhōng，杀shā勾gòu多duō时shí，大dà圣shèng见jiàn天tiān色sè将jiāng晚wǎn，即jí拔bá毫háo毛máo一yì把bǎ，丢diū在zài口kǒu中zhōng，嚼jué碎suì了le，喷pēn将jiāng出chū去qù，叫jiào声shēng：「变biàn！」就jiù变biàn了le千qiān百bǎi个gè大dà圣shèng，都dōu使shǐ的de是shì金jīn箍gū棒bàng，打dǎ退tuì了le哪né咤zhā太tài子zǐ，战zhàn败bài了le五wǔ个gè天tiān王wáng。

逐句解 Line by line

這zhè一yì場cháng自zì辰chén時shí佈bù陣zhèn，混hùn殺shā到dào日rì落luò西xī山shān。这zhè一yì场cháng自zì辰chén时shí布bù阵zhèn，混hùn杀shā到dào日rì落luò西xī山shān。

This battle, with ranks drawn up from the hour of the Dragon, raged in confusion until the sun set behind the western hills.

辰時 is the double-hour of the Dragon, roughly seven to nine in the morning. The old day was cut into twelve two-hour blocks named for the zodiac animals, so this is a precise way of saying the fighting has run from breakfast to sunset.

那nà獨dú角jiǎo鬼guǐ王wáng與yǔ七qī十shí二èr洞dòng妖yāo怪guài，盡jìn被bèi眾zhòng天tiān神shén捉zhuō拿ná去qù了le。那nà独dú角jiǎo鬼guǐ王wáng与yǔ七qī十shí二èr洞dòng妖yāo怪guài，尽jìn被bèi众zhòng天tiān神shén捉zhuō拿ná去qù了le。

The One-Horned Demon King and the fiends of the seventy-two caves were all taken captive by the host of gods.

盡被: taken to the last one, 盡 at jìn. The seventy-two cave-kings and the One-Horned Demon King — the entire force sent out first — are lost in a single sentence, and the chapter spends no more words on them.

止zhǐ走zǒu了le四sì健jiàn將jiàng與yǔ那nà群qún猴hóu，深shēn藏cáng在zài水shuǐ簾lián洞dòng底dǐ。止zhǐ走zǒu了le四sì健jiàn将jiàng与yǔ那nà群qún猴hóu，深shēn藏cáng在zài水shuǐ帘lián洞dòng底dǐ。

Only the Four Stalwart Generals and the band of monkeys escaped, hiding deep at the bottom of the Water-Curtain Cave.

止走了: only these got clear. 深藏 takes 藏 at cáng, to hide away. They go to ground in the Water-Curtain Cave, which is where the novel first found the Great Sage in the first place.

這zhè大dà聖shèng一yì條tiáo棒bàng，抵dǐ住zhù了le四sì大dà天tiān神shén與yǔ李lǐ托tuō塔tǎ、哪né吒zhā太tài子zǐ，俱jù在zài半bàn空kōng中zhōng，殺shā勾gòu多duō時shí，大dà聖shèng見jiàn天tiān色sè將jiāng晚wǎn，即jí拔bá毫háo毛máo一yì把bǎ，丟diū在zài口kǒu中zhōng，嚼jué碎suì了le，噴pēn將jiāng出chū去qù，叫jiào聲shēng：「變biàn！」这zhè大dà圣shèng一yì条tiáo棒bàng，抵dǐ住zhù了le四sì大dà天tiān神shén与yǔ李lǐ托tuō塔tǎ、哪né咤zhā太tài子zǐ，俱jù在zài半bàn空kōng中zhōng，杀shā勾gòu多duō时shí，大dà圣shèng见jiàn天tiān色sè将jiāng晚wǎn，即jí拔bá毫háo毛máo一yì把bǎ，丢diū在zài口kǒu中zhōng，嚼jué碎suì了le，喷pēn将jiāng出chū去qù，叫jiào声shēng：「变biàn！」

This Great Sage, with his one cudgel, held off the Four Great Gods, Li the Pagoda-bearer, and Prince Nezha, all in mid-air. When he had fought a good while and saw the day growing late, the Great Sage plucked a handful of hairs, threw them into his mouth, chewed them to bits, spat them out, and cried: 'Change!'

將 does two entirely different jobs in this one sentence and reads jiāng for both: the adverb in 天色將晚, about to, and the direction-marking syllable in 噴將出去 a few characters later. 殺勾多時 has 勾 standing in for 夠 at gòu again: they had fought long enough.

就jiù變biàn了le千qiān百bǎi個gè大dà聖shèng，都dōu使shǐ的de是shì金jīn箍gū棒bàng，打dǎ退tuì了le哪né吒zhā太tài子zǐ，戰zhàn敗bài了le五wǔ個gè天tiān王wáng。就jiù变biàn了le千qiān百bǎi个gè大dà圣shèng，都dōu使shǐ的de是shì金jīn箍gū棒bàng，打dǎ退tuì了le哪né咤zhā太tài子zǐ，战zhàn败bài了le五wǔ个gè天tiān王wáng。

They turned into a thousand, a hundred Great Sages, all wielding gold-banded cudgels, who beat back Prince Nezha and routed the five Heavenly Kings.

千百個大聖: the hair trick, now at full scale. 打退 and 戰敗 are kept carefully distinct — beaten back as against routed. The five Heavenly Kings are the four of the rhapsody plus Li the Pagoda-bearer.

總評 Commentary

Dusk brings the first real reckoning. The One-Horned Demon King and all seventy-two cave-kings are taken, and only the Four Stalwart Generals and the monkeys get away, hidden deep in the Water-Curtain Cave. The mind-monkey's followers — the energies he had gathered around himself — are scattered and captured, and he is left essentially alone against the massed cosmos. This is the turn the whole siege has been driving towards: defiance has now cost Monkey everything except himself.

His answer is the 分身法, the body-dividing spell — hairs plucked and chewed into "a thousand, a hundred Great Sages" who drive back Nézhā and the five Kings. The trick is pure self-multiplication: faced with an army, the mind replies by becoming an army of itself. In the inner-alchemical reading this is the mind-monkey's signature evasion — not transformation into something higher, but more of the same thing. It buys him the day and settles nothing. The cloned legions are still only Monkey, and the next passage opens on the bill.