第六十八回 · 使個隱身法 A Pinch Of Earth And A Wind — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

使個隱身法 A Pinch Of Earth And A Wind

好hǎo大dà聖shèng，彎wān倒dǎo腰yāo，丟diū了le碗wǎn盞zhǎn，拈niān一yì撮cuō土tǔ，往wǎng上shàng灑sǎ去qù，念niàn聲shēng咒zhòu語yǔ，使shǐ個gè隱yǐn身shēn法fǎ，輕qīng輕qīng的de上shàng前qián揭jiē了le榜bǎng。朝cháo著zhe巽xùn地dì上shàng吸xī口kǒu仙xiān氣qì吹chuī來lái，立lì起qǐ一yí陣zhèn旋xuán風fēng，將jiāng人rén都dōu吹chuī散sàn。好hǎo大dà圣shèng，弯wān倒dǎo腰yāo，丢diū了le碗wǎn盏zhǎn，拈niān一yì撮cuō土tǔ，往wǎng上shàng洒sǎ去qù，念niàn声shēng咒zhòu语yǔ，使shǐ个gè隐yǐn身shēn法fǎ，轻qīng轻qīng的de上shàng前qián揭jiē了le榜bǎng。朝cháo着zhe巽xùn地dì上shàng吸xī口kǒu仙xiān气qì吹chuī来lái，立lì起qǐ一yí阵zhèn旋xuán风fēng，将jiāng人rén都dōu吹chuī散sàn。

逐句解 Line by line

好hǎo大dà聖shèng，彎wān倒dǎo腰yāo，丟diū了le碗wǎn盞zhǎn，拈niān一yì撮cuō土tǔ，往wǎng上shàng灑sǎ去qù，念niàn聲shēng咒zhòu語yǔ，使shǐ個gè隱yǐn身shēn法fǎ，輕qīng輕qīng的de上shàng前qián揭jiē了le榜bǎng。好hǎo大dà圣shèng，弯wān倒dǎo腰yāo，丢diū了le碗wǎn盏zhǎn，拈niān一yì撮cuō土tǔ，往wǎng上shàng洒sǎ去qù，念niàn声shēng咒zhòu语yǔ，使shǐ个gè隐yǐn身shēn法fǎ，轻qīng轻qīng的de上shàng前qián揭jiē了le榜bǎng。

Fine Great Sage! He bent low, dropped the bowl and dish, took a pinch of earth and scattered it upward, spoke a spell, worked a method of invisibility, and stepped up lightly to peel the notice off.

撮 is cuō, a pinch taken between the fingers. 康熙字典 files it at 手部十二畫 under 倉括切, glossing it 兩指撮也 and 三指取也 — two fingers, three fingers — and cites 《禮·中庸》今夫地一撮土之多, which is this exact phrase. The zuǒ that measures a tuft of hair is a separate reading, and it is what the reading drifts to in this context if left alone. 倒 is dǎo, the verb, bending.

朝cháo著zhe巽xùn地dì上shàng吸xī口kǒu仙xiān氣qì吹chuī來lái，立lì起qǐ一yí陣zhèn旋xuán風fēng，將jiāng人rén都dōu吹chuī散sàn。朝cháo着zhe巽xùn地dì上shàng吸xī口kǒu仙xiān气qì吹chuī来lái，立lì起qǐ一yí阵zhèn旋xuán风fēng，将jiāng人rén都dōu吹chuī散sàn。

Facing the quarter of the Xun trigram he drew in a breath of immortal air and blew, raising a whirlwind that scattered the people every way.

著 is the weak zhe, and 朝 before it is cháo, to face toward — the same sense the court scenes gave it, here doing geometry instead. 巽 is the trigram of wind, so the direction is chosen for what he means to raise.

總評 Commentary

Seven actions in one sentence and not one of them explained. Bend, drop, pinch, scatter, chant, vanish, take — the grammar gives them equal weight and equal speed, and the whole theft is over before the reader has caught up.

The wind is the elegant part. He does not need it to cover his escape, since he is already invisible. He raises it so the crowd will have something to blame and something to hide their faces from. It is stagecraft rather than an escape.