第六十六回 · 山門外叫戰 Calling For Battle At The Gate — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

山門外叫戰 Calling For Battle At The Gate

行xíng者zhě拜bài謝xiè了le祖zǔ師shī，即jí同tóng龜guī、蛇shé、龍lóng神shén各gè帶dài精jīng銳ruì之zhī兵bīng，復fù轉zhuǎn西xī洲zhōu之zhī界jiè。不bù一yí日rì，到dào了le小xiǎo雷léi音yīn寺sì，按àn下xià雲yún頭tóu，徑jìng至zhì山shān門mén外wài叫jiào戰zhàn。行xíng者zhě拜bài谢xiè了le祖zǔ师shī，即jí同tóng龟guī、蛇shé、龙lóng神shén各gè带dài精jīng锐ruì之zhī兵bīng，复fù转zhuǎn西xī洲zhōu之zhī界jiè。不bù一yí日rì，到dào了le小xiǎo雷léi音yīn寺sì，按àn下xià云yún头tóu，径jìng至zhì山shān门mén外wài叫jiào战zhàn。

逐句解 Line by line

行xíng者zhě拜bài謝xiè了le祖zǔ師shī，即jí同tóng龜guī、蛇shé、龍lóng神shén各gè帶dài精jīng銳ruì之zhī兵bīng，復fù轉zhuǎn西xī洲zhōu之zhī界jiè。行xíng者zhě拜bài谢xiè了le祖zǔ师shī，即jí同tóng龟guī、蛇shé、龙lóng神shén各gè带dài精jīng锐ruì之zhī兵bīng，复fù转zhuǎn西xī洲zhōu之zhī界jiè。

Pilgrim made his thanks to the Patriarch and set off at once with Tortoise, Snake and the dragon gods, each bringing his crack troops, back to the border of the Western Continent.

精銳之兵, crack troops, is the first sign that the loan is bigger than the two generals the god actually named. The dragons have brought soldiers of their own.

不bù一yí日rì，到dào了le小xiǎo雷léi音yīn寺sì，按àn下xià雲yún頭tóu，徑jìng至zhì山shān門mén外wài叫jiào戰zhàn。不bù一yí日rì，到dào了le小xiǎo雷léi音yīn寺sì，按àn下xià云yún头tóu，径jìng至zhì山shān门mén外wài叫jiào战zhàn。

Before a day was out they reached the Monastery of Little Thunderclap, pressed down their cloud-heads, and went straight up outside the mountain gate to call for battle.

按下雲頭 repeats, with 下 where the earlier line had 落, the gesture Monkey made arriving at Mount Wudang: 輕輕按落雲頭. The difference is that this time he is not alone.

總評 Commentary

Two segments carry the whole journey out. The chapter spends a long scene on the asking and four clauses on the getting there, which is the usual proportion in this novel: negotiation is dramatised, travel is summarised.

叫戰 — calling for battle — is the operative phrase. Monkey does not go to the gate to talk, or to look for his master, or to try a rescue by stealth; he tried all of those in the previous chapter. He arrives with borrowed troops and challenges, which is the one approach left.