第七十回 · 挨挨摸摸 Edging And Feeling His Way — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

挨挨摸摸 Edging And Feeling His Way

孫sūn行xíng者zhě在zài旁páng取qǔ事shì，但dàn挨āi挨āi摸mō摸mō，行xíng近jìn妝zhuāng臺tái，把bǎ三sān個gè金jīn鈴líng輕qīng輕qīng拿ná過guò，慢màn慢màn移yí步bù，溜liū出chū宮gōng門mén，徑jìng離lí洞dòng府fǔ。到dào了le剝bō皮pí亭tíng前qián無wú人rén處chù，展zhǎn開kāi豹bào皮pí幅fú子zi看kàn時shí，中zhōng間jiān一yí個gè有yǒu茶chá鍾zhōng大dà，兩liǎng頭tóu兩liǎng個gè有yǒu拳quán頭tóu大dà。孙sūn行xíng者zhě在zài旁páng取qǔ事shì，但dàn挨āi挨āi摸mō摸mō，行xíng近jìn妆zhuāng台tái，把bǎ三sān个gè金jīn铃líng轻qīng轻qīng拿ná过guò，慢màn慢màn移yí步bù，溜liū出chū宫gōng门mén，径jìng离lí洞dòng府fǔ。到dào了le剥bō皮pí亭tíng前qián无wú人rén处chù，展zhǎn开kāi豹bào皮pí幅fú子zi看kàn时shí，中zhōng间jiān一yí个gè有yǒu茶chá钟zhōng大dà，两liǎng头tóu两liǎng个gè有yǒu拳quán头tóu大dà。

逐句解 Line by line

孫sūn行xíng者zhě在zài旁páng取qǔ事shì，但dàn挨āi挨āi摸mō摸mō，行xíng近jìn妝zhuāng臺tái，把bǎ三sān個gè金jīn鈴líng輕qīng輕qīng拿ná過guò，慢màn慢màn移yí步bù，溜liū出chū宮gōng門mén，徑jìng離lí洞dòng府fǔ。孙sūn行xíng者zhě在zài旁páng取qǔ事shì，但dàn挨āi挨āi摸mō摸mō，行xíng近jìn妆zhuāng台tái，把bǎ三sān个gè金jīn铃líng轻qīng轻qīng拿ná过guò，慢màn慢màn移yí步bù，溜liū出chū宫gōng门mén，径jìng离lí洞dòng府fǔ。

Sun Pilgrim, standing by and watching for his chance, edged and felt his way along, came up to the dressing table, lifted the three golden bells away very softly, moved his feet slowly, slipped out at the palace door and left the cave outright.

Four doubled words in thirty-seven characters — edging, feeling, softly, slowly — and every one of them is about being quiet or being slow. The theft this chapter has spent two thousand six hundred characters arranging, ever since the bracelets were first asked for, is executed in one sentence, and nobody in the cave notices.

到dào了le剝bō皮pí亭tíng前qián無wú人rén處chù，展zhǎn開kāi豹bào皮pí幅fú子zi看kàn時shí，中zhōng間jiān一yí個gè有yǒu茶chá鍾zhōng大dà，兩liǎng頭tóu兩liǎng個gè有yǒu拳quán頭tóu大dà。到dào了le剥bō皮pí亭tíng前qián无wú人rén处chù，展zhǎn开kāi豹bào皮pí幅fú子zi看kàn时shí，中zhōng间jiān一yí个gè有yǒu茶chá钟zhōng大dà，两liǎng头tóu两liǎng个gè有yǒu拳quán头tóu大dà。

When he reached an empty spot in front of the Flaying Pavilion he opened out the leopard-skin cloth to look: the middle one was the size of a teacup, and the two at either end the size of fists.

He gets as far as the Flaying Pavilion and stops, because it is empty — and it is empty because the demon who was waiting there for a report is now inside at a banquet, which is Wukong's own doing. 幅子 is simply a length of cloth. The bundle he opens is the leopard skin the demon wrapped with his own hands a few minutes earlier, and this is the first time anybody has looked at what is inside it.

總評 Commentary

The theft is over in thirty-seven characters and four doubled adverbs, and every one of the four is about care. Edge and feel, softly, slowly — the Great Sage who cleared the Taihang range in a single bound is taking small steps across a bedroom, and the sentence pays more attention to how quietly he walks than to what he is stealing.

Then he stops to look at them, which is the first mistake. He had been told twice not to shake them and once exactly how far the fire reaches, and what he does with the first empty spot he finds is open the parcel to see how big they are.