第七十二回 · 無窮之數 One Becomes Ten Thousand — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

無窮之數 One Becomes Ten Thousand

好hǎo怪guài物wù，一yí個gè個gè亂luàn打dǎ將jiāng來lái。八bā戒jiè本běn是shì跌diē惱nǎo了le的de性xìng子zi，又yòu見jiàn那nà夥huǒ蟲chóng蛭zhì小xiǎo巧qiǎo，就jiù發fā狠hěn舉jǔ鈀pá來lái築zhù。那nà些xiē怪guài見jiàn獃dāi子zi兇xiōng猛měng，一yí個gè個gè現xiàn了le本běn像xiàng，飛fēi將jiāng起qǐ去qù，叫jiào聲shēng：「變biàn！」須xū臾yú間jiān，一yí個gè變biàn十shí個gè，十shí個gè變biàn百bǎi個gè，百bǎi個gè變biàn千qiān個gè，千qiān個gè變biàn萬wàn個gè，個gè個gè都dōu變biàn成chéng無wú窮qióng之zhī數shù。好hǎo怪guài物wù，一yí个gè个gè乱luàn打dǎ将jiāng来lái。八bā戒jiè本běn是shì跌diē恼nǎo了le的de性xìng子zi，又yòu见jiàn那nà伙huǒ虫chóng蛭zhì小xiǎo巧qiǎo，就jiù发fā狠hěn举jǔ钯pá来lái筑zhù。那nà些xiē怪guài见jiàn呆dāi子zi凶xiōng猛měng，一yí个gè个gè现xiàn了le本běn像xiàng，飞fēi将jiāng起qǐ去qù，叫jiào声shēng：「变biàn！」须xū臾yú间jiān，一yí个gè变biàn十shí个gè，十shí个gè变biàn百bǎi个gè，百bǎi个gè变biàn千qiān个gè，千qiān个gè变biàn万wàn个gè，个gè个gè都dōu变biàn成chéng无wú穷qióng之zhī数shù。

逐句解 Line by line

好hǎo怪guài物wù，一yí個gè個gè亂luàn打dǎ將jiāng來lái。好hǎo怪guài物wù，一yí个gè个gè乱luàn打dǎ将jiāng来lái。

Good monsters — they all came swarming forward to fight.

好怪物 is the storyteller's admiring formula, the same one he uses for 好大聖 and 好行者. He gives it to seven insects.

八bā戒jiè本běn是shì跌diē惱nǎo了le的de性xìng子zi，又yòu見jiàn那nà夥huǒ蟲chóng蛭zhì小xiǎo巧qiǎo，就jiù發fā狠hěn舉jǔ鈀pá來lái築zhù。八bā戒jiè本běn是shì跌diē恼nǎo了le的de性xìng子zi，又yòu见jiàn那nà伙huǒ虫chóng蛭zhì小xiǎo巧qiǎo，就jiù发fā狠hěn举jǔ钯pá来lái筑zhù。

Eight Rules, whose temper was up after his fall, saw what dainty little things these crawlers were and set to in a rage with his rake.

性子 takes the light zi — a temper, a disposition. 小巧 means small and neat, dainty; he is attacking them because they look easy.

那nà些xiē怪guài見jiàn獃dāi子zi兇xiōng猛měng，一yí個gè個gè現xiàn了le本běn像xiàng，飛fēi將jiāng起qǐ去qù，叫jiào聲shēng：「變biàn！」那nà些xiē怪guài见jiàn呆dāi子zi凶xiōng猛měng，一yí个gè个gè现xiàn了le本běn像xiàng，飞fēi将jiāng起qǐ去qù，叫jiào声shēng：「变biàn！」

Those monsters saw how fierce the blockhead was, showed their true forms one and all, flew up into the air and cried: "Change!"

將 is jiāng in 飛將起去, carrying the verb upward. 本像 is the true shape a spirit wears under a disguise — and theirs, as it turns out, is insects.

須xū臾yú間jiān，一yí個gè變biàn十shí個gè，十shí個gè變biàn百bǎi個gè，百bǎi個gè變biàn千qiān個gè，千qiān個gè變biàn萬wàn個gè，個gè個gè都dōu變biàn成chéng無wú窮qióng之zhī數shù。须xū臾yú间jiān，一yí个gè变biàn十shí个gè，十shí个gè变biàn百bǎi个gè，百bǎi个gè变biàn千qiān个gè，千qiān个gè变biàn万wàn个gè，个gè个gè都dōu变biàn成chéng无wú穷qióng之zhī数shù。

In a moment one became ten, ten became a hundred, a hundred became a thousand, a thousand became ten thousand, and every one of them became a number beyond counting.

Four multiplications in one line, each ten times the last, and then a fifth clause that abandons arithmetic altogether. 無窮之數 — a number without end. The escalation is the sentence's entire structure.

總評 Commentary

Eight Rules attacks because they look small, and the chapter answers by multiplying them.

The multiplication line is beautifully built. One to ten, ten to a hundred, a hundred to a thousand, a thousand to ten thousand — four steps of the same shape, each a factor of ten — and then it gives up counting and says a number without end. You can hear the storyteller doing it aloud.

It is also the exact mistake his brother avoided. Pilgrim looked at the web, touched it, worked out that hitting a soft thing hard achieves nothing, and put the club down. Eight Rules looks at seven small insects, decides they are easy, and swings.