第六十五回 · 千百塊散碎 A Thousand Loose Scraps — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

千百塊散碎 A Thousand Loose Scraps

行xíng者zhě卻què自zì他tā角jiǎo尖jiān鑽zuān眼yǎn裡lǐ鑽zuān出chū，現xiàn了le原yuán身shēn，掣chè出chū鐵tiě棒bàng，照zhào鐃náo鈸bó噹dāng的de一yì聲shēng打dǎ去qù，就jiù如rú崩bēng倒dǎo銅tóng山shān，咋zé開kāi金jīn礦kuàng。可kě惜xī把bǎ個gè佛fó門mén之zhī器qì，打dǎ做zuò個gè千qiān百bǎi塊kuài散sǎn碎suì之zhī金jīn。諕xià得de那nà二èr十shí八bā宿xiù驚jīng張zhāng，五wǔ方fāng揭jiē諦dì髮fà豎shù，大dà小xiǎo群qún妖yāo皆jiē夢mèng醒xǐng。行xíng者zhě却què自zì他tā角jiǎo尖jiān钻zuān眼yǎn里lǐ钻zuān出chū，现xiàn了le原yuán身shēn，掣chè出chū铁tiě棒bàng，照zhào铙náo钹bó当dāng的de一yì声shēng打dǎ去qù，就jiù如rú崩bēng倒dǎo铜tóng山shān，咋zé开kāi金jīn矿kuàng。可kě惜xī把bǎ个gè佛fó门mén之zhī器qì，打dǎ做zuò个gè千qiān百bǎi块kuài散sǎn碎suì之zhī金jīn。諕xià得de那nà二èr十shí八bā宿xiù惊jīng张zhāng，五wǔ方fāng揭jiē谛dì发fà竖shù，大dà小xiǎo群qún妖yāo皆jiē梦mèng醒xǐng。

逐句解 Line by line

行xíng者zhě卻què自zì他tā角jiǎo尖jiān鑽zuān眼yǎn裡lǐ鑽zuān出chū，現xiàn了le原yuán身shēn，掣chè出chū鐵tiě棒bàng，照zhào鐃náo鈸bó噹dāng的de一yì聲shēng打dǎ去qù，就jiù如rú崩bēng倒dǎo銅tóng山shān，咋zé開kāi金jīn礦kuàng。行xíng者zhě却què自zì他tā角jiǎo尖jiān钻zuān眼yǎn里lǐ钻zuān出chū，现xiàn了le原yuán身shēn，掣chè出chū铁tiě棒bàng，照zhào铙náo钹bó当dāng的de一yì声shēng打dǎ去qù，就jiù如rú崩bēng倒dǎo铜tóng山shān，咋zé开kāi金jīn矿kuàng。

Pilgrim came out of the drilled hole in the tip of the horn, showed his own shape again, snatched out the iron cudgel and struck at the cymbals with a clang — like a copper mountain toppling, like a gold seam cracked open.

One blow, and the problem that has taken up a third of the chapter is over. 咋 reads zé: the Kāngxī dictionary leads with 側革切 and 側格切, glossed simply 大聲, a great noise, and a note on the 考工記 explains the doubled form as 聲大外也, sound carrying outward. The everyday zǎ of 咋辦 does not appear in the entry at all. Both similes are of something enormous breaking loudly.

可kě惜xī把bǎ個gè佛fó門mén之zhī器qì，打dǎ做zuò個gè千qiān百bǎi塊kuài散sǎn碎suì之zhī金jīn。可kě惜xī把bǎ个gè佛fó门mén之zhī器qì，打dǎ做zuò个gè千qiān百bǎi块kuài散sǎn碎suì之zhī金jīn。

A pity, to take a vessel of the Buddha's house and beat it into a thousand loose scraps of gold.

可惜 is the storyteller regretting the destruction — not any character, the teller himself. 散 is sǎn here, loose and unattached, which is what the object has finally become after refusing for two thousand characters to have so much as a seam.

諕xià得de那nà二èr十shí八bā宿xiù驚jīng張zhāng，五wǔ方fāng揭jiē諦dì髮fà豎shù，大dà小xiǎo群qún妖yāo皆jiē夢mèng醒xǐng。諕xià得de那nà二èr十shí八bā宿xiù惊jīng张zhāng，五wǔ方fāng揭jiē谛dì发fà竖shù，大dà小xiǎo群qún妖yāo皆jiē梦mèng醒xǐng。

It so startled the twenty-eight mansions that they scattered, and the Guardians of the Five Quarters that their hair stood on end, and every demon great and small woke out of sleep.

諕 is xià, to frighten, and this project reads it that way throughout; the automatic reading offers a roaring háo instead. 得 is de, linking the fright to its three consequences — and the three are given in ascending order of trouble, ending with the one that matters.

總評 Commentary

One blow ends the problem that has occupied a third of the chapter. Everything tried from outside failed and everything tried from inside failed; what breaks the cymbals is a cudgel swung by somebody standing next to them, which is the one position nobody could get him into.

The narrator's 可惜 is the surprise. Twenty-eight star lords and the Great Sage have spent a night on this object, and the only comment when it finally goes is regret — because it was, whatever else, a vessel belonging to the Buddha's house. The novel keeps noticing that the demon's props are real.

The noise takes up the whole third sentence. Star lords scatter, Guardians' hair lifts, and every demon in the building wakes — which is exactly what the star lords warned would happen if anybody struck it, four hundred and sixty-six characters earlier.