第七十二回 · 釘在路傍 A Fly On A Grass Stem — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

釘在路傍 A Fly On A Grass Stem

這zhè大dà聖shèng獨dú顯xiǎn神shén通tōng，搖yáo身shēn一yí變biàn，變biàn作zuò個gè麻má蒼cāng蠅yíng兒ér，釘dīng在zài路lù傍páng草cǎo梢shāo上shàng等děng待dài。須xū臾yú間jiān，只zhǐ聽tīng得dé呼hū呼hū吸xī吸xī之zhī聲shēng，猶yóu如rú蠶cán食shí葉yè，卻què似sì海hǎi生shēng潮cháo。只zhǐ好hǎo有yǒu半bàn盞zhǎn茶chá時shí，絲sī繩shéng皆jiē盡jìn，依yī然rán現xiàn出chū莊zhuāng村cūn，還hái像xiàng當dāng初chū模mú樣yàng。这zhè大dà圣shèng独dú显xiǎn神shén通tōng，摇yáo身shēn一yí变biàn，变biàn作zuò个gè麻má苍cāng蝇yíng儿ér，钉dīng在zài路lù傍páng草cǎo梢shāo上shàng等děng待dài。须xū臾yú间jiān，只zhǐ听tīng得dé呼hū呼hū吸xī吸xī之zhī声shēng，犹yóu如rú蚕cán食shí叶yè，却què似sì海hǎi生shēng潮cháo。只zhǐ好hǎo有yǒu半bàn盏zhǎn茶chá时shí，丝sī绳shéng皆jiē尽jìn，依yī然rán现xiàn出chū庄zhuāng村cūn，还hái像xiàng当dāng初chū模mú样yàng。

逐句解 Line by line

這zhè大dà聖shèng獨dú顯xiǎn神shén通tōng，搖yáo身shēn一yí變biàn，變biàn作zuò個gè麻má蒼cāng蠅yíng兒ér，釘dīng在zài路lù傍páng草cǎo梢shāo上shàng等děng待dài。这zhè大dà圣shèng独dú显xiǎn神shén通tōng，摇yáo身shēn一yí变biàn，变biàn作zuò个gè麻má苍cāng蝇yíng儿ér，钉dīng在zài路lù傍páng草cǎo梢shāo上shàng等děng待dài。

This Great Sage worked his own power: with a shake of the body he changed into a speckled fly, and settled on a grass stem at the roadside to wait.

傍 is páng, the side — the base wants bàng, to draw near, and the collocation 路傍 is the only thing that fixes it. 搖身一變 is the standard formula for his transformations, four characters used dozens of times across the book. 麻蒼蠅 is a speckled fly.

須xū臾yú間jiān，只zhǐ聽tīng得dé呼hū呼hū吸xī吸xī之zhī聲shēng，猶yóu如rú蠶cán食shí葉yè，卻què似sì海hǎi生shēng潮cháo。须xū臾yú间jiān，只zhǐ听tīng得dé呼hū呼hū吸xī吸xī之zhī声shēng，犹yóu如rú蚕cán食shí叶yè，却què似sì海hǎi生shēng潮cháo。

In a moment he heard a sound of drawing in and blowing out, for all the world like silkworms eating leaves, or a tide coming up out of the sea.

呼呼吸吸 doubles both halves of breathing in and out. The two comparisons are chosen for scale as much as for sound: silkworms on mulberry leaves, a small dry rustle, and then the sea. The same noise heard close and heard large.

只zhǐ好hǎo有yǒu半bàn盞zhǎn茶chá時shí，絲sī繩shéng皆jiē盡jìn，依yī然rán現xiàn出chū莊zhuāng村cūn，還hái像xiàng當dāng初chū模mú樣yàng。只zhǐ好hǎo有yǒu半bàn盏zhǎn茶chá时shí，丝sī绳shéng皆jiē尽jìn，依yī然rán现xiàn出chū庄zhuāng村cūn，还hái像xiàng当dāng初chū模mú样yàng。

In about the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea, the silk cords were all drawn in, and the farmstead stood out plainly again, looking just as it had at first.

盡 is fixed to jìn, exhausted, used up — the same reading that forced the chapter's one sandhi override earlier. 半盞茶, half a cup of tea, is the standard informal measure of a short while, the way English says a couple of minutes.

總評 Commentary

Pilgrim turns into a fly and waits. It is the least heroic possible approach to the problem and it is the first thing anybody in this chapter has done that works.

The sound of the web being drawn back in gets two comparisons and they are chosen to be mismatched in size. Silkworms eating leaves is a small, dry, close-up rustle. A tide out of the sea is enormous. Putting them together tells you the noise is both — a huge volume of a tiny sound, which is exactly what a great deal of silk moving at once would be.

Half a cup of tea is a real unit of time in this period, in the way that English says a couple of minutes without meaning two. The book uses it constantly and it is always worth about the same: long enough to notice, short enough not to matter.