第七十二回 · 喚做盤絲洞 The Whole Story Told — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

喚做盤絲洞 The Whole Story Told

原yuán來lái此cǐ處chù喚huàn做zuò盤pán絲sī嶺lǐng，那nà莊zhuāng村cūn喚huàn做zuò盤pán絲sī洞dòng。洞dòng中zhōng有yǒu七qī個gè女nǚ怪guài，把bǎ我wǒ師shī父fù拿ná住zhù，吊diào在zài洞dòng裡lǐ，都dōu向xiàng濯zhuó垢gòu泉quán去qù洗xǐ浴yù。那nà泉quán卻què是shì天tiān地dì產chǎn成chéng的de，一yì塘táng子zi熱rè水shuǐ。他tā都dōu算suàn計jì著zhe洗xǐ了le澡zǎo，要yào把bǎ師shī父fù蒸zhēng吃chī。原yuán来lái此cǐ处chù唤huàn做zuò盘pán丝sī岭lǐng，那nà庄zhuāng村cūn唤huàn做zuò盘pán丝sī洞dòng。洞dòng中zhōng有yǒu七qī个gè女nǚ怪guài，把bǎ我wǒ师shī父fù拿ná住zhù，吊diào在zài洞dòng里lǐ，都dōu向xiàng濯zhuó垢gòu泉quán去qù洗xǐ浴yù。那nà泉quán却què是shì天tiān地dì产chǎn成chéng的de，一yì塘táng子zi热rè水shuǐ。他tā都dōu算suàn计jì着zhe洗xǐ了le澡zǎo，要yào把bǎ师shī父fù蒸zhēng吃chī。

逐句解 Line by line

原yuán來lái此cǐ處chù喚huàn做zuò盤pán絲sī嶺lǐng，那nà莊zhuāng村cūn喚huàn做zuò盤pán絲sī洞dòng。原yuán来lái此cǐ处chù唤huàn做zuò盘pán丝sī岭lǐng，那nà庄zhuāng村cūn唤huàn做zuò盘pán丝sī洞dòng。

"It turns out this place is called Spiderweb Ridge, and that farmstead is called Spiderweb Cave."

He repeats the names exactly as the local god gave them to him. Pilgrim is passing on a briefing, and he does it in the same order he received it.

洞dòng中zhōng有yǒu七qī個gè女nǚ怪guài，把bǎ我wǒ師shī父fù拿ná住zhù，吊diào在zài洞dòng裡lǐ，都dōu向xiàng濯zhuó垢gòu泉quán去qù洗xǐ浴yù。洞dòng中zhōng有yǒu七qī个gè女nǚ怪guài，把bǎ我wǒ师shī父fù拿ná住zhù，吊diào在zài洞dòng里lǐ，都dōu向xiàng濯zhuó垢gòu泉quán去qù洗xǐ浴yù。

"In the cave there are seven female monsters. They have taken my master prisoner and hung him up inside, and they have all gone off to the Filth-Cleansing Spring to bathe."

中 is zhōng, inside. Twenty-five characters to convey the whole situation: where, how many, what sex, what they have done, where they are now.

那nà泉quán卻què是shì天tiān地dì產chǎn成chéng的de，一yì塘táng子zi熱rè水shuǐ。那nà泉quán却què是shì天tiān地dì产chǎn成chéng的de，一yì塘táng子zi热rè水shuǐ。

"That spring is a thing heaven and earth produced of themselves, a pool of hot water."

子 takes the light zi in 一塘子 — a poolful. 產成 means brought forth ready-made, which is the same claim the poem made about the water not being brewed.

他tā都dōu算suàn計jì著zhe洗xǐ了le澡zǎo，要yào把bǎ師shī父fù蒸zhēng吃chī。他tā都dōu算suàn计jì着zhe洗xǐ了le澡zǎo，要yào把bǎ师shī父fù蒸zhēng吃chī。

"Their plan is to have their bath and then steam my master and eat him."

著 is zhe in 算計著 — reckoning, keeping it up. He reports the cooking method without comment, having already made his joke about the firewood to nobody.

總評 Commentary

Pilgrim briefs the other two, and the striking thing is how complete and how orderly it is. Place names, numbers, sex, what has happened to the master, where the enemy is now, what they intend.

He got all of it in the last twenty minutes by asking a terrified local official and then sitting in somebody's hair. Not one item came from fighting, and he passes it on in the order he was given it.

It is worth noticing that he tells them the plan for the master plainly. He made a joke about it at the time — boiling would use less firewood — but that was to himself, as a fly. To his brothers he simply reports it.