第六十五回 · 戰兢兢手軟 Their Hands Went Slack — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

戰兢兢手軟 Their Hands Went Slack

看kàn他tā兩liǎng個gè鬥dòu經jīng五wǔ十shí回huí合hé，不bú見jiàn輸shū贏yíng。那nà山shān門mén口kǒu鳴míng鑼luó擂léi鼓gǔ，眾zhòng妖yāo精jīng吶nà喊hǎn搖yáo旗qí。這zhè壁bì廂xiāng有yǒu二èr十shí八bā宿xiù天tiān兵bīng共gòng五wǔ方fāng揭jiē諦dì眾zhòng聖shèng，各gè掮qián器qì械xiè，吆yāo喝hè一yì聲shēng，把bǎ那nà魔mó頭tóu圍wéi在zài中zhōng間jiān，嚇xià得de那nà山shān門mén外wài群qún妖yāo難nán擂léi鼓gǔ，戰zhàn兢jīng兢jīng手shǒu軟ruǎn不bù敲qiāo鑼luó。看kàn他tā两liǎng个gè斗dòu经jīng五wǔ十shí回huí合hé，不bú见jiàn输shū赢yíng。那nà山shān门mén口kǒu鸣míng锣luó擂léi鼓gǔ，众zhòng妖yāo精jīng呐nà喊hǎn摇yáo旗qí。这zhè壁bì厢xiāng有yǒu二èr十shí八bā宿xiù天tiān兵bīng共gòng五wǔ方fāng揭jiē谛dì众zhòng圣shèng，各gè掮qián器qì械xiè，吆yāo喝hè一yì声shēng，把bǎ那nà魔mó头tóu围wéi在zài中zhōng间jiān，吓xià得de那nà山shān门mén外wài群qún妖yāo难nán擂léi鼓gǔ，战zhàn兢jīng兢jīng手shǒu软ruǎn不bù敲qiāo锣luó。

逐句解 Line by line

看kàn他tā兩liǎng個gè鬥dòu經jīng五wǔ十shí回huí合hé，不bú見jiàn輸shū贏yíng。看kàn他tā两liǎng个gè斗dòu经jīng五wǔ十shí回huí合hé，不bú见jiàn输shū赢yíng。

See the two of them go fifty bouts, with nothing to choose between them.

The demon asked for three bouts; they have had fifty. 不見輸贏 — no winning or losing showed — is the novel's standard formula for a match that will have to be settled some other way.

那nà山shān門mén口kǒu鳴míng鑼luó擂léi鼓gǔ，眾zhòng妖yāo精jīng吶nà喊hǎn搖yáo旗qí。那nà山shān门mén口kǒu鸣míng锣luó擂léi鼓gǔ，众zhòng妖yāo精jīng呐nà喊hǎn摇yáo旗qí。

At the mountain gate they beat the gong and rolled the drum, and the demons raised a shout and waved their flags.

Four verb-object pairs in fifteen characters, every one of them noise and none of them fighting. The demons are an audience — and the very next sentence takes the noise away from them.

這zhè壁bì廂xiāng有yǒu二èr十shí八bā宿xiù天tiān兵bīng共gòng五wǔ方fāng揭jiē諦dì眾zhòng聖shèng，各gè掮qián器qì械xiè，吆yāo喝hè一yì聲shēng，把bǎ那nà魔mó頭tóu圍wéi在zài中zhōng間jiān，嚇xià得de那nà山shān門mén外wài群qún妖yāo難nán擂léi鼓gǔ，戰zhàn兢jīng兢jīng手shǒu軟ruǎn不bù敲qiāo鑼luó。这zhè壁bì厢xiāng有yǒu二èr十shí八bā宿xiù天tiān兵bīng共gòng五wǔ方fāng揭jiē谛dì众zhòng圣shèng，各gè掮qián器qì械xiè，吆yāo喝hè一yì声shēng，把bǎ那nà魔mó头tóu围wéi在zài中zhōng间jiān，吓xià得de那nà山shān门mén外wài群qún妖yāo难nán擂léi鼓gǔ，战zhàn兢jīng兢jīng手shǒu软ruǎn不bù敲qiāo锣luó。

On this side the heavenly troops of the twenty-eight mansions together with the holy Guardians of the Five Quarters shouldered their weapons, gave one shout, and ringed the demon chief about — which so frightened the demons outside the mountain gate that they could not manage the drum, and their hands shook too much to strike the gong.

One shout, and both instruments named in the sentence before go silent. 喝 is hè in 吆喝, a shout, not the hē of drinking, and 得 is de in 嚇得, linking the fright to what it produced.

總評 Commentary

Fifty bouts and no result, and then the star host simply surrounds him. It is the sensible move, and it comes better than two hundred characters into the fight, after everybody has had time to see that single combat is going nowhere.

The two sentences about noise do something neat between them. The demons beat a gong and roll a drum and shout and wave flags; one shout from the heavenly troops and the drum cannot be managed and the hand is too slack for the gong. The same two instruments, given and taken away inside thirty characters.