第七十三回 · 倒栽蔥 Head First Like A Leek — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

倒栽蔥 Head First Like A Leek

行xíng者zhě慌huāng了le手shǒu腳jiǎo，只zhǐ在zài那nà金jīn光guāng影yǐng裡lǐ亂luàn轉zhuǎn，向xiàng前qián不bù能néng舉jǔ步bù，退tuì後hòu不bù能néng動dòng腳jiǎo，卻què便biàn似sì在zài個gè桶tǒng裡lǐ轉zhuǎn的de一yì般bān。無wú奈nài又yòu爆bào燥zào不bú過guò，他tā急jí了le，往wǎng上shàng著zhuó實shí一yí跳tiào，卻què撞zhuàng破pò金jīn光guāng，撲pū的de跌diē了le一yí個gè倒dào栽zāi蔥cōng，覺jué道dào撞zhuàng的de頭tóu疼téng。行xíng者zhě慌huāng了le手shǒu脚jiǎo，只zhǐ在zài那nà金jīn光guāng影yǐng里lǐ乱luàn转zhuǎn，向xiàng前qián不bù能néng举jǔ步bù，退tuì后hòu不bù能néng动dòng脚jiǎo，却què便biàn似sì在zài个gè桶tǒng里lǐ转zhuǎn的de一yì般bān。无wú奈nài又yòu爆bào燥zào不bú过guò，他tā急jí了le，往wǎng上shàng着zhuó实shí一yí跳tiào，却què撞zhuàng破pò金jīn光guāng，扑pū的de跌diē了le一yí个gè倒dào栽zāi葱cōng，觉jué道dào撞zhuàng的de头tóu疼téng。

逐句解 Line by line

行xíng者zhě慌huāng了le手shǒu腳jiǎo，只zhǐ在zài那nà金jīn光guāng影yǐng裡lǐ亂luàn轉zhuǎn，向xiàng前qián不bù能néng舉jǔ步bù，退tuì後hòu不bù能néng動dòng腳jiǎo，卻què便biàn似sì在zài個gè桶tǒng裡lǐ轉zhuǎn的de一yì般bān。行xíng者zhě慌huāng了le手shǒu脚jiǎo，只zhǐ在zài那nà金jīn光guāng影yǐng里lǐ乱luàn转zhuǎn，向xiàng前qián不bù能néng举jǔ步bù，退tuì后hòu不bù能néng动dòng脚jiǎo，却què便biàn似sì在zài个gè桶tǒng里lǐ转zhuǎn的de一yì般bān。

Pilgrim lost his head and his footing, and could only spin about inside the shadow of the golden light — unable to take a step forward, unable to move a foot backward, exactly like a man turning round inside a bucket.

慌了手腳 — hands and feet thrown into confusion — is the standing phrase for panic, and it is still current. The two middle clauses are built to match character for character: forward and not able to lift a step, backward and not able to move a foot. And the verse's bucket comes straight back as a simile in the prose. This is the first time in the chapter Pilgrim has been at a loss.

無wú奈nài又yòu爆bào燥zào不bú過guò，他tā急jí了le，往wǎng上shàng著zhuó實shí一yí跳tiào，卻què撞zhuàng破pò金jīn光guāng，撲pū的de跌diē了le一yí個gè倒dào栽zāi蔥cōng，覺jué道dào撞zhuàng的de頭tóu疼téng。无wú奈nài又yòu爆bào燥zào不bú过guò，他tā急jí了le，往wǎng上shàng着zhuó实shí一yí跳tiào，却què撞zhuàng破pò金jīn光guāng，扑pū的de跌diē了le一yí个gè倒dào栽zāi葱cōng，觉jué道dào撞zhuàng的de头tóu疼téng。

There was no help for it, and the scorching heat past bearing; he grew desperate, gave a good hard jump straight up, broke clean through the golden light — and came down with a thump head over heels, and felt his head aching where he had struck it.

⚠ 倒 is dào here, and it is the only one of the chapter's nine that is. 倒栽蔥 — planted upside down like a leek — is the vivid vernacular for landing head first, and the sense really is inverted rather than fallen. The other eight in this chapter all take the falling reading instead — knelt, fainted, drugged down. 著實 takes 著 as zhuó, the lexical band — solidly, in earnest.

總評 Commentary

Pilgrim panics, and the book says so. 慌了手腳 is not a word it uses lightly about him: he has been buried under a mountain, boiled in a furnace and wrapped in a silk marquee this same afternoon without losing his composure. A bucket of hot light does it.

The prose then does something quietly clever. The verse had described the trap as a golden bucket; the prose repeats the image as a simile — 似在個桶裡轉的一般, exactly like turning round inside a bucket — so the reader is told the same thing twice in two registers. The second time it is not decoration, it is a diagram of the problem.

And the escape is a failure. He jumps, he does break through, and he lands on his head. 倒栽蔥 is a phrase for pratfalls, and the book is using it about its hero on purpose. Everything from here to the end of the chapter follows from the fact that this did not work.