第七回 · 巽宮煉睛 Into the Eight-Trigram Brazier — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

巽宮煉睛 Into the Eight-Trigram Brazier

那nà老lǎo君jūn到dào兜dōu率lǜ宮gōng，將jiāng大dà聖shèng解jiě去qù繩shéng索suǒ，放fàng了le穿chuān琵pí琶pá骨gǔ之zhī器qì，推tuī入rù八bā卦guà爐lú中zhōng，命mìng看kàn爐lú的de道dào人rén、架jià火huǒ的de童tóng子zi，將jiāng火huǒ搧shān起qǐ鍛duàn煉liàn。原yuán來lái那nà爐lú是shì乾qián、坎kǎn、艮gèn、震zhèn、巽xùn、離lí、坤kūn、兌duì八bā卦guà。他tā即jí將jiāng身shēn鑽zuān在zài巽xùn宮gōng位wèi下xià。巽xùn乃nǎi風fēng也yě，有yǒu風fēng則zé無wú火huǒ。只zhǐ是shì風fēng攪jiǎo得dé煙yān來lái，把bǎ一yì雙shuāng眼yǎn火huǒ煼chǎo紅hóng了le，弄nòng做zuò個gè老lǎo害hài病bìng眼yǎn，故gù喚huàn作zuò「火huǒ眼yǎn金jīn睛jīng」。那nà老lǎo君jūn到dào兜dōu率lǜ宫gōng，将jiāng大dà圣shèng解jiě去qù绳shéng索suǒ，放fàng了le穿chuān琵pí琶pá骨gǔ之zhī器qì，推tuī入rù八bā卦guà炉lú中zhōng，命mìng看kàn炉lú的de道dào人rén、架jià火huǒ的de童tóng子zi，将jiāng火huǒ搧shān起qǐ锻duàn炼liàn。原yuán来lái那nà炉lú是shì干qián、坎kǎn、艮gèn、震zhèn、巽xùn、离lí、坤kūn、兑duì八bā卦guà。他tā即jí将jiāng身shēn钻zuān在zài巽xùn宫gōng位wèi下xià。巽xùn乃nǎi风fēng也yě，有yǒu风fēng则zé无wú火huǒ。只zhǐ是shì风fēng搅jiǎo得dé烟yān来lái，把bǎ一yì双shuāng眼yǎn火huǒ煼chǎo红hóng了le，弄nòng做zuò个gè老lǎo害hài病bìng眼yǎn，故gù唤huàn作zuò「火huǒ眼yǎn金jīn睛jīng」。

逐句解 Line by line

那nà老lǎo君jūn到dào兜dōu率lǜ宮gōng，將jiāng大dà聖shèng解jiě去qù繩shéng索suǒ，放fàng了le穿chuān琵pí琶pá骨gǔ之zhī器qì，推tuī入rù八bā卦guà爐lú中zhōng，命mìng看kàn爐lú的de道dào人rén、架jià火huǒ的de童tóng子zi，將jiāng火huǒ搧shān起qǐ鍛duàn煉liàn。那nà老lǎo君jūn到dào兜dōu率lǜ宫gōng，将jiāng大dà圣shèng解jiě去qù绳shéng索suǒ，放fàng了le穿chuān琵pí琶pá骨gǔ之zhī器qì，推tuī入rù八bā卦guà炉lú中zhōng，命mìng看kàn炉lú的de道dào人rén、架jià火huǒ的de童tóng子zi，将jiāng火huǒ搧shān起qǐ锻duàn炼liàn。

Laozi came to the Tushita Palace, loosed the Great Sage's cords, drew out the spike that had pierced his collarbone, and thrust him into the Brazier of the Eight Trigrams; he ordered the brazier-tending Daoist and the fire-stoking lad to fan the flames up and refine him.

兜率宮 (Dōushuài Gōng) — Tuṣita, Laozi's heaven. 琵琶骨 (pí pá gǔ), the "lute-bone" (collarbone/scapula region), through which the captive had been pinned. Both 將s are the disposal-jiāng. 搧 (shān), to fan.

原yuán來lái那nà爐lú是shì乾qián、坎kǎn、艮gèn、震zhèn、巽xùn、離lí、坤kūn、兌duì八bā卦guà。他tā即jí將jiāng身shēn鑽zuān在zài巽xùn宮gōng位wèi下xià。原yuán来lái那nà炉lú是shì干qián、坎kǎn、艮gèn、震zhèn、巽xùn、离lí、坤kūn、兑duì八bā卦guà。他tā即jí将jiāng身shēn钻zuān在zài巽xùn宫gōng位wèi下xià。

Now that brazier was set by the Eight Trigrams — Qian, Kan, Gen, Zhen, Xun, Li, Kun, Dui. He at once thrust himself in beneath the Xun position.

The eight 卦: 乾 qián (Heaven), 坎 kǎn (Water), 艮 gèn (Mountain), 震 zhèn (Thunder), 巽 xùn (Wind), 離 lí (Fire), 坤 kūn (Earth), 兌 duì (Lake). 將身 again disposal-jiāng. The monkey's choice of 巽 is pure cunning, explained next.

巽xùn乃nǎi風fēng也yě，有yǒu風fēng則zé無wú火huǒ。只zhǐ是shì風fēng攪jiǎo得dé煙yān來lái，把bǎ一yì雙shuāng眼yǎn火huǒ煼chǎo紅hóng了le，弄nòng做zuò個gè老lǎo害hài病bìng眼yǎn，故gù喚huàn作zuò「火huǒ眼yǎn金jīn睛jīng」。巽xùn乃nǎi风fēng也yě，有yǒu风fēng则zé无wú火huǒ。只zhǐ是shì风fēng搅jiǎo得dé烟yān来lái，把bǎ一yì双shuāng眼yǎn火huǒ煼chǎo红hóng了le，弄nòng做zuò个gè老lǎo害hài病bìng眼yǎn，故gù唤huàn作zuò「火huǒ眼yǎn金jīn睛jīng」。

Xun is Wind, and where there is wind there is no fire. Only, the wind churned up smoke, which seared his pair of eyes fire-red, leaving them like an old man's chronic sore eyes — and so they came to be called the "Fiery Eyes and Golden Pupils."

The trick: 巽 (Wind) is the one trigram-position with no flame, so the monkey hides there. But wind-driven smoke does what fire could not — it sears his eyes. 一雙: 一 before 雙 (shuāng, 1st tone) is yì. 煼 (chǎo), to scorch with smoke. The injury becomes his most famous gift: 火眼金睛, eyes that see through every disguise.

總評 Commentary

This short passage delivers one of the most beloved origin-details in the novel: how Sun Wukong acquired his 火眼金睛, the "fiery eyes and golden pupils" that let him see through any transformation. The mechanism is a small masterpiece of allegorical wit. Placed in the brazier to be reduced to ash, the monkey reads the 八卦 structure of the furnace and hides in the 巽 (Wind) position — for "where there is wind, there is no fire."

But the cleverness is incomplete. Wind without fire still carries smoke, and seven times seven days of smoke do to his eyes what flame could not. The injury is real — his eyes end "red as an old man's sore eyes" — yet it is precisely the wound that becomes the power. In the inner-alchemical reading, the 心猿 placed in the crucible is not annihilated but transmuted: the refining that was meant to destroy him instead sharpens his discernment. The 易經 trigrams are not decoration here; the monkey survives by reading the pattern of Wind and Fire, the very competence the pilgrimage will later demand of the disciplined mind.

The lute-bone detail (琵琶骨) recalls his capture in Chapter 6: a spike driven through the collarbone was the standard way, in this fictional cosmology, to immobilize a shape-shifter and prevent transformation. Laozi removes it — confident the furnace needs no such restraint — which is exactly the overconfidence the next passage punishes.