Canonical Classics ← 第五十二回
第五十二回
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Wukong Makes Havoc at the Cave of the Golden Helmet · The Tathāgata Hints Covertly at the Owner

天晚各歸
模式 Mode Read Study
拼音 Pinyin Off
字體 Script
原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

天晚各歸 Nightfall, and Each Withdraws

wángsūnshèngzhànjīngsānshíchénfēnshèngbàizǎoyòujiàntiānjiāngwǎnyāozhīzhechángqiāngdào:「kōngzhùletiānhūnànshìdòuzhīshíqiěxiēxiēmíngzhāozàibèng。」xíngzhědào:「chùxiūyánlǎosūndexìngtóucáiláiguǎnshénmetiānwǎnshìdìngshūyíng。」guàishēnghuǎngqiāngtáolexìngmìngshuàiqúnyāoshōuzhuǎngāndòngzhōngjiāngménjǐnjǐnlewángsūnshèngzhànjīngsānshíchénfēnshèngbàizǎoyòujiàntiānjiāngwǎnyāozhīzhechángqiāngdào:「kōngzhùletiānhūnànshìdòuzhīshíqiěxiēxiēmíngzhāozàibèng。」xíngzhědào:「chùxiūyánlǎosūndexìngtóucáiláiguǎnshénmetiānwǎnshìdìngshūyíng。」guàishēnghuǎngqiāngtáolexìngmìngshuàiqúnyāoshōuzhuǎngāndòngzhōngjiāngménjǐnjǐnle


逐句解 Line by line

wángsūnshèngzhànjīngsānshíchénfēnshèngbàizǎoyòujiàntiānjiāngwǎn wángsūnshèngzhànjīngsānshíchénfēnshèngbàizǎoyòujiàntiānjiāngwǎn

That demon king and the Great Sage Sun fought through three shíchén without a division of victory or defeat, and before long they saw the sky beginning to darken.

Six hours of fighting, and nothing decided. 那魔王 points, so is . 時辰 stays in Chinese as shíchén, because English has no word for it: the traditional day was cut into twelve of these rather than twenty-four hours, so one shíchén is two of our hours and 三個時辰 is six. It is worth keeping distinct from the or night-watch that turns up later in the chapter, which is a different unit again. 不分勝敗: is fēn. 天色將晚: is jiāng, "about to."

yāozhīzhechángqiāngdào:「kōngzhùle yāozhīzhechángqiāngdào:「kōngzhùle

The fiend held his long spear at rest and said: "Wukong, hold there.

支著: is zhe, for a position simply held — the spear is grounded, at rest. 長槍: is cháng. 你住了: is le, and here means "stop", not "dwell."

tiānhūnànshìdòuzhīshíqiěxiēxiēmíngzhāozàibèng。」 tiānhūnànshìdòuzhīshíqiěxiēxiēmíngzhāozàibèng。」

"The sky is dim and the earth dark, and this is no hour for a wager of arms. Let each of us rest a while, and in the morning I will have it out with you again."

明朝: is zhāo, morning — 明朝 is "tomorrow morning", not the cháo of a royal court or a dynasty. 賭鬥 is a contest with something staked on it; 比迸 is the vernacular "to have it out."

xíngzhědào:「chùxiūyánlǎosūndexìngtóucáiláiguǎnshénmetiānwǎn xíngzhědào:「chùxiūyánlǎosūndexìngtóucáiláiguǎnshénmetiānwǎn

Pilgrim cursed him: "Hold your tongue, foul beast! Old Monkey's blood is only now up — what do I care whether it is late?

潑畜: is chù. 興頭: is xìng, high spirits and enthusiasm, not the xīng of rising up. 管甚麼: is shén.

shìdìngshūyíng。」 shìdìngshūyíng。」

"We shall settle which of us wins and which loses, and that is flat."

是必 is "without fail, come what may." 定個輸贏 — to fix a winner and a loser — answers the demon's 賭鬥 word for word: a bet has been laid, and Pilgrim will not let it be adjourned.

guàishēnghuǎngqiāngtáolexìngmìngshuàiqúnyāoshōuzhuǎngāndòngzhōngjiāngménjǐnjǐnle guàishēnghuǎngqiāngtáolexìngmìngshuàiqúnyāoshōuzhuǎngāndòngzhōngjiāngménjǐnjǐnle

The monster gave a shout, made a feint with his spear, escaped with his life, led his band of imps back with their weapons, went into the cave, and shut the gate fast behind him.

那怪物 points, so is . 虛幌一槍 is the set phrase for a feint made in order to disengage — a fake thrust and out. 逃了 and 閉了: both are le. 喝一聲: is again, shouting rather than drinking — the automatic reading tool bakes the drinking in here, though it gets 喝道 right. 洞中: is zhōng; 將門: is jiāng. 收轉干戈 — "to gather in shield and axe" — means to break off the engagement.


總評 Commentary

The bout ends by the clock rather than by any decision — three 時辰, six of our hours, with nothing settled — and the demon proposes the adjournment in the courteous formula the genre keeps for evenly matched opponents: night has fallen, this is no hour for a wager of arms, we resume in the morning. It is good manners. It is also a confession. He is the one who wants the night.

Pilgrim's refusal is exactly in character and, for once, sound tactics wearing the costume of bad temper. He will not let the fight be adjourned, because the adjournment is precisely what he means to exploit: within the hour he is back at the cave mouth in the shape of a cricket, hunting for the ring on a sleeping demon's arm. The feint, the flight, the gate shut fast behind — every detail sets up a night raid, and the narrator lets the demon go to bed believing he has bought himself a quiet night.