第六十七回 · 何處精靈 From What Quarter — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

何處精靈 From What Quarter

好hǎo行xíng者zhě，縱zòng身shēn打dǎ個gè唿hū哨shào，跳tiào到dào空kōng中zhōng，執zhí鐵tiě棒bàng，厲lì聲shēng高gāo叫jiào道dào：「慢màn來lái，慢màn來lái，有yǒu吾wú在zài此cǐ。」那nà怪guài見jiàn了le，挺tǐng住zhù身shēn軀qū，將jiāng一yì根gēn長cháng槍qiāng亂luàn舞wǔ。行xíng者zhě執zhí了le棍gùn勢shì，問wèn道dào：「你nǐ是shì那nǎ方fāng妖yāo怪guài？何hé處chù精jīng靈líng？」好hǎo行xíng者zhě，纵zòng身shēn打dǎ个gè唿hū哨shào，跳tiào到dào空kōng中zhōng，执zhí铁tiě棒bàng，厉lì声shēng高gāo叫jiào道dào：「慢màn来lái，慢màn来lái，有yǒu吾wú在zài此cǐ。」那nà怪guài见jiàn了le，挺tǐng住zhù身shēn躯qū，将jiāng一yì根gēn长cháng枪qiāng乱luàn舞wǔ。行xíng者zhě执zhí了le棍gùn势shì，问wèn道dào：「你nǐ是shì那nǎ方fāng妖yāo怪guài？何hé处chù精jīng灵líng？」

逐句解 Line by line

好hǎo行xíng者zhě，縱zòng身shēn打dǎ個gè唿hū哨shào，跳tiào到dào空kōng中zhōng，執zhí鐵tiě棒bàng，厲lì聲shēng高gāo叫jiào道dào：「慢màn來lái，慢màn來lái，有yǒu吾wú在zài此cǐ。」好hǎo行xíng者zhě，纵zòng身shēn打dǎ个gè唿hū哨shào，跳tiào到dào空kōng中zhōng，执zhí铁tiě棒bàng，厉lì声shēng高gāo叫jiào道dào：「慢màn来lái，慢màn来lái，有yǒu吾wú在zài此cǐ。」

That fine Pilgrim sprang up with a whistle, leapt into the air, took his iron rod in hand and called out in a hard voice, "Not so fast, not so fast! I am here."

好行者 — "that fine Pilgrim" — is the storyteller's formula for handing a character his moment, and the chapter uses it three times. 中 is zhōng in 空中, "in the air."

那nà怪guài見jiàn了le，挺tǐng住zhù身shēn軀qū，將jiāng一yì根gēn長cháng槍qiāng亂luàn舞wǔ。那nà怪guài见jiàn了le，挺tǐng住zhù身shēn躯qū，将jiāng一yì根gēn长cháng枪qiāng乱luàn舞wǔ。

Seeing him, the creature braced its body and set a long spear whirling.

長 is cháng, "long" — the size sense, which every one of the chapter's nine size-sense uses takes. 將 is the object-hauling jiāng.

行xíng者zhě執zhí了le棍gùn勢shì，問wèn道dào：「你nǐ是shì那nǎ方fāng妖yāo怪guài？何hé處chù精jīng靈líng？」行xíng者zhě执zhí了le棍gùn势shì，问wèn道dào：「你nǐ是shì那nǎ方fāng妖yāo怪guài？何hé处chù精jīng灵líng？」

Pilgrim took up his stance with the rod and asked, "From what quarter are you, monster? What place bred you, spirit?"

那 is the question-word nǎ — from which quarter. The four-character question that ends the speech names no speaker of its own, so it folds into this unit rather than standing alone.

總評 Commentary

Pilgrim goes up alone and announces himself before striking, which is his habit. The challenge opens with the four characters 你是那方, "what quarter are you from" — and those four occur exactly twice in this chapter. Once from the old man at his own gate, asking what region this monk had come out of; and once here, with the roles the other way round.

The creature braces and produces a spear, and that is all the narrative gives it. No face, no size, no voice. Everything the reader knows about this thing so far arrived second-hand from frightened villagers, and the first-hand account opens with a single weapon and nothing else.