第七十一回 · 更不曾沾身 Three Years And Never Touched — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

更不曾沾身 Three Years And Never Touched

自zì到dào麒qí麟lín山shān，與yǔ那nà賽sài太tài歲suì三sān年nián，那nà妖yāo更gèng不bù曾céng沾zhān身shēn。但dàn沾zhān身shēn就jiù害hài身shēn疼téng，但dàn沾zhān手shǒu就jiù害hài手shǒu疼téng。」眾zhòng官guān聽tīng說shuō：「似sì此cǐ怎zěn生shēng奈nài何hé？」此cǐ時shí外wài面miàn眾zhòng官guān憂yōu疑yí，內nèi裡lǐ妃fēi嬪pín悚sǒng懼jù。傍páng有yǒu玉yù聖shèng、銀yín聖shèng二èr宮gōng，將jiāng君jūn王wáng扶fú起qǐ。自zì到dào麒qí麟lín山shān，与yǔ那nà赛sài太tài岁suì三sān年nián，那nà妖yāo更gèng不bù曾céng沾zhān身shēn。但dàn沾zhān身shēn就jiù害hài身shēn疼téng，但dàn沾zhān手shǒu就jiù害hài手shǒu疼téng。」众zhòng官guān听tīng说shuō：「似sì此cǐ怎zěn生shēng奈nài何hé？」此cǐ时shí外wài面miàn众zhòng官guān忧yōu疑yí，内nèi里lǐ妃fēi嫔pín悚sǒng惧jù。傍páng有yǒu玉yù圣shèng、银yín圣shèng二èr宫gōng，将jiāng君jūn王wáng扶fú起qǐ。

逐句解 Line by line

自zì到dào麒qí麟lín山shān，與yǔ那nà賽sài太tài歲suì三sān年nián，那nà妖yāo更gèng不bù曾céng沾zhān身shēn。自zì到dào麒qí麟lín山shān，与yǔ那nà赛sài太tài岁suì三sān年nián，那nà妖yāo更gèng不bù曾céng沾zhān身shēn。

"Since she came to Unicorn Mountain, three years with the Rival of the Grand Year, the fiend has never once touched her.

更 is gèng, still or even — not the gēng of a night watch that this character took at 三更 and 支更 earlier. 沾身 is to make bodily contact.

但dàn沾zhān身shēn就jiù害hài身shēn疼téng，但dàn沾zhān手shǒu就jiù害hài手shǒu疼téng。」但dàn沾zhān身shēn就jiù害hài身shēn疼téng，但dàn沾zhān手shǒu就jiù害hài手shǒu疼téng。」

"Touch her body and the body hurts; touch her hand and the hand hurts."

Two clauses built to the identical shape, with only the body-part swapped — the plainest way of saying it works every time. 但 is the classical whenever, as soon as.

眾zhòng官guān聽tīng說shuō：「似sì此cǐ怎zěn生shēng奈nài何hé？」众zhòng官guān听tīng说shuō：「似sì此cǐ怎zěn生shēng奈nài何hé？」

The officials heard it and said, "If that is so, what is to be done?"

似 is sì, like or as — 似此 is if it is like this. 怎生 is the vernacular how, and 奈何 the classical what-is-to-be-done: two registers in one sentence.

此cǐ時shí外wài面miàn眾zhòng官guān憂yōu疑yí，內nèi裡lǐ妃fēi嬪pín悚sǒng懼jù。此cǐ时shí外wài面miàn众zhòng官guān忧yōu疑yí，内nèi里lǐ妃fēi嫔pín悚sǒng惧jù。

At that moment the officials outside were anxious and uncertain, and the consorts within were frightened.

A matched pair — outside and within, officials and consorts, anxiety and fear. 悚懼 pairs two words for dread.

傍páng有yǒu玉yù聖shèng、銀yín聖shèng二èr宮gōng，將jiāng君jūn王wáng扶fú起qǐ。傍páng有yǒu玉yù圣shèng、银yín圣shèng二èr宫gōng，将jiāng君jūn王wáng扶fú起qǐ。

The Jade Sage and Silver Sage of the two other palaces were at hand, and helped the king to his feet.

傍 is páng, beside — the locative, not the verb of leaning. The two other queens are named here for the first time: 金聖, 玉聖 and 銀聖, Golden, Jade and Silver, one to a palace.

總評 Commentary

更不曾沾身 is the sentence the whole chapter has been arranging. Three years of captivity and the fiend never touched her — and it is delivered flatly, as an item of medical information, by a monkey explaining why the king fell over.

The text has been circling this since the second passage of the chapter, when Wukong told the queen to use a wife's courtesy on the fiend and the narrator remarked 只是沒福，不得沾身. That was played as a joke about a cat and a bladder. Here the same two characters, 沾身, come back as the fact that saves the marriage.

The court reacts in two directions at once — officials outside anxious, consorts inside frightened — and the two other queens step forward to pick the king up off the floor. 玉聖 and 銀聖, Jade and Silver, to the abducted 金聖, Golden: three palaces, three consorts, and the chapter has only ever been interested in one of them.