第七十一回 · 一覺方醒 The Fiend Wakes At Last — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

一覺方醒 The Fiend Wakes At Last

慌huāng得de那nà大dà小xiǎo群qún妖yāo頂dǐng門mén的de頂dǐng門mén，報bào信xìn的de報bào信xìn。那nà妖yāo王wáng一yí覺jiào方fāng醒xǐng，只zhǐ聞wén得dé亂luàn攛cuān攛cuān的de諠xuān譁huá，起qǐ身shēn穿chuān了le衣yī服fú，即jí出chū羅luó帳zhàng之zhī外wài，問wèn道dào：「嚷rǎng甚shén麼me？」眾zhòng侍shì婢bì才cái跪guì下xià道dào：「爺yé爺ye，不bù知zhī是shì甚shén人rén在zài洞dòng外wài叫jiào罵mà了le半bàn夜yè，如rú今jīn卻què又yòu打dǎ門mén。」慌huāng得de那nà大dà小xiǎo群qún妖yāo顶dǐng门mén的de顶dǐng门mén，报bào信xìn的de报bào信xìn。那nà妖yāo王wáng一yí觉jiào方fāng醒xǐng，只zhǐ闻wén得dé乱luàn撺cuān撺cuān的de諠xuān哗huá，起qǐ身shēn穿chuān了le衣yī服fú，即jí出chū罗luó帐zhàng之zhī外wài，问wèn道dào：「嚷rǎng甚shén么me？」众zhòng侍shì婢bì才cái跪guì下xià道dào：「爷yé爷ye，不bù知zhī是shì甚shén人rén在zài洞dòng外wài叫jiào骂mà了le半bàn夜yè，如rú今jīn却què又yòu打dǎ门mén。」

逐句解 Line by line

慌huāng得de那nà大dà小xiǎo群qún妖yāo頂dǐng門mén的de頂dǐng門mén，報bào信xìn的de報bào信xìn。慌huāng得de那nà大dà小xiǎo群qún妖yāo顶dǐng门mén的de顶dǐng门mén，报bào信xìn的de报bào信xìn。

That threw the fiends great and small into a panic: those who could hold the gate held the gate, those who could carry word carried word.

得 is de here, the light link between the alarm and its result. The construction 頂門的頂門，報信的報信 is the same shorthand as 唱的唱，舞的舞 earlier — those for X did X — and it turns a crowd into two job descriptions.

那nà妖yāo王wáng一yí覺jiào方fāng醒xǐng，只zhǐ聞wén得dé亂luàn攛cuān攛cuān的de諠xuān譁huá，那nà妖yāo王wáng一yí觉jiào方fāng醒xǐng，只zhǐ闻wén得dé乱luàn撺cuān撺cuān的de諠xuān哗huá，

The fiend king woke from his sleep at last, hearing nothing but a confused uproar,

覺 is jiào, a sleep, the noun — not the reading for becoming aware that the same character took a few hundred characters back. Because that reading falls rather than rises, 一 in front of it takes yí and not the yì the mechanical rule would give.

起qǐ身shēn穿chuān了le衣yī服fú，即jí出chū羅luó帳zhàng之zhī外wài，問wèn道dào：「嚷rǎng甚shén麼me？」起qǐ身shēn穿chuān了le衣yī服fú，即jí出chū罗luó帐zhàng之zhī外wài，问wèn道dào：「嚷rǎng甚shén么me？」

got up, put on his clothes, came out from behind the gauze curtains and asked, "What is all the shouting?"

羅帳 is the light silk bed curtain, which is where he has spent the night. 甚 is shén here, the interrogative of 甚麼.

眾zhòng侍shì婢bì才cái跪guì下xià道dào：「爺yé爺ye，众zhòng侍shì婢bì才cái跪guì下xià道dào：「爷yé爷ye，

Only then did the maids kneel and say, "Master,

爺爺 takes a light second syllable, as doubled terms of address do in this edition. 才 is only then — the same word that measured how long it took the queen to believe a talking fly.

不bù知zhī是shì甚shén人rén在zài洞dòng外wài叫jiào罵mà了le半bàn夜yè，如rú今jīn卻què又yòu打dǎ門mén。」不bù知zhī是shì甚shén人rén在zài洞dòng外wài叫jiào骂mà了le半bàn夜yè，如rú今jīn却què又yòu打dǎ门mén。」

"we do not know who has been outside the cave cursing you half the night, and now he is battering the door as well."

甚 is shén again, in 甚人, who — and the automatic reading gets this one wrong, offering the intensifier instead. 叫罵 is to shout abuse.

總評 Commentary

一覺方醒 is a small, deadly phrase: he woke from his sleep at last. He has slept through a robbery, an open gate, half a night of a stranger bellowing his name outside, and the beginning of the door being knocked down — and the reason he slept through it is that his own servants would not disturb him.

The report is beautifully unhelpful. 不知是甚人 — we do not know who it is — from a household that was told the name at the third watch and decided not to pass it on. They also mention, as an afterthought, that the shouting has been going on half the night.

The character 甚 appears three times in this stretch with two different jobs: 拴鎖甚密 uses it for very, and 嚷甚麼 and 不知是甚人 use it for what and who. It is a useful reminder that a character is not a word — this one is doing duty for two of them a few sentences apart.