第六十回 · 一陣清風 Changed to a Gust of Wind — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

一陣清風 Changed to a Gust of Wind

大dà聖shèng在zài高gāo峰fēng上shàng看kàn著zhe，心xīn中zhōng暗àn想xiǎng道dào：「這zhè老lǎo牛niú不bù知zhī又yòu結jié識shí了le甚shén麼me朋péng友yǒu，往wǎng那nǎ裡lǐ去qù赴fù會huì。等děng老lǎo孫sūn跟gēn他tā走zǒu走zǒu。」好hǎo行xíng者zhě，將jiāng身shēn幌huǎng一yì幌huǎng，變biàn作zuò一yí陣zhèn清qīng風fēng趕gǎn上shàng，隨suí著zhe同tóng走zǒu。不bù多duō時shí，到dào了le一yí座zuò山shān中zhōng，那nà牛niú王wáng寂jì然rán不bú見jiàn。大dà聖shèng聚jù了le原yuán身shēn，入rù山shān尋xún看kàn。大dà圣shèng在zài高gāo峰fēng上shàng看kàn着zhe，心xīn中zhōng暗àn想xiǎng道dào：「这zhè老lǎo牛niú不bù知zhī又yòu结jié识shí了le甚shén么me朋péng友yǒu，往wǎng那nǎ里lǐ去qù赴fù会huì。等děng老lǎo孙sūn跟gēn他tā走zǒu走zǒu。」好hǎo行xíng者zhě，将jiāng身shēn幌huǎng一yì幌huǎng，变biàn作zuò一yí阵zhèn清qīng风fēng赶gǎn上shàng，随suí着zhe同tóng走zǒu。不bù多duō时shí，到dào了le一yí座zuò山shān中zhōng，那nà牛niú王wáng寂jì然rán不bú见jiàn。大dà圣shèng聚jù了le原yuán身shēn，入rù山shān寻xún看kàn。

逐句解 Line by line

大dà聖shèng在zài高gāo峰fēng上shàng看kàn著zhe，心xīn中zhōng暗àn想xiǎng道dào：「這zhè老lǎo牛niú不bù知zhī又yòu結jié識shí了le甚shén麼me朋péng友yǒu，往wǎng那nǎ裡lǐ去qù赴fù會huì。等děng老lǎo孫sūn跟gēn他tā走zǒu走zǒu。」大dà圣shèng在zài高gāo峰fēng上shàng看kàn着zhe，心xīn中zhōng暗àn想xiǎng道dào：「这zhè老lǎo牛niú不bù知zhī又yòu结jié识shí了le甚shén么me朋péng友yǒu，往wǎng那nǎ里lǐ去qù赴fù会huì。等děng老lǎo孙sūn跟gēn他tā走zǒu走zǒu。」

The Great Sage watched from the high peak and thought within himself: "There is no telling what friends this old bull has made now, or where he goes to attend this gathering. Let old Sun follow him a while."

看著 takes the continuous zhe. 那裡 is a question here — where is he going — so 那 is nǎ, where every other instance nearby is the pointing nà.

好hǎo行xíng者zhě，將jiāng身shēn幌huǎng一yì幌huǎng，變biàn作zuò一yí陣zhèn清qīng風fēng趕gǎn上shàng，隨suí著zhe同tóng走zǒu。好hǎo行xíng者zhě，将jiāng身shēn幌huǎng一yì幌huǎng，变biàn作zuò一yí阵zhèn清qīng风fēng赶gǎn上shàng，随suí着zhe同tóng走zǒu。

Excellent Pilgrim! He gave his body a shake, changed into a gust of clear wind, overtook him and went along at his side.

將 is jiāng, fronting the object. 幌一幌 wraps the verb round the numeral in the vernacular manner — give it a shake — and 一 takes yì before the dipping tone of 幌. 隨著 takes zhe.

不bù多duō時shí，到dào了le一yí座zuò山shān中zhōng，那nà牛niú王wáng寂jì然rán不bú見jiàn。不bù多duō时shí，到dào了le一yí座zuò山shān中zhōng，那nà牛niú王wáng寂jì然rán不bú见jiàn。

In no long time they came into a mountain, and the Bull King was all at once nowhere to be seen.

寂然 makes the disappearance soundless as well as sudden. The wind that was following him has nothing left to follow.

大dà聖shèng聚jù了le原yuán身shēn，入rù山shān尋xún看kàn。大dà圣shèng聚jù了le原yuán身shēn，入rù山shān寻xún看kàn。

The Great Sage gathered up his own form again and went into the mountain to search.

聚了原身 — gathered up his original body — is the standard formula for undoing a transformation: the borrowed shape disperses and the true one is reassembled.

總評 Commentary

The pursuit takes four sentences and turns on a single piece of information the Bull King gave away without meaning to. He told the Jade-Faced Princess he was going to a friend's house to drink, and he rode off toward the north-west. The Great Sage, standing on the peak, needed nothing else.

The shape he chooses is exactly fitted to the job. A gust of clear wind can follow a mounted rider without being seen, heard or smelt, and it travels at his speed. The novel's transformations are almost always practical like this; the interest lies less in the magic than in the aptness of the choice.

It fails anyway. The Bull King vanishes without a sound, and the wind has to gather itself back into a monkey and go looking on foot. The Great Sage's resourcefulness in this chapter is consistently one step behind the situation — he picks the right disguise and arrives just too late to use it.