第七十三回 · 攪那絲繩 Winding Up The Silk — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

攪那絲繩 Winding Up The Silk

每měi一yí個gè小xiǎo行xíng者zhě與yǔ他tā一yì根gēn，他tā自zì家jiā使shǐ一yì根gēn，站zhàn在zài外wài邊biān，將jiāng叉chā兒ér攪jiǎo那nà絲sī繩shéng，一yì齊qí著zhuó力lì，打dǎ個gè號hào子zi，把bǎ那nà絲sī繩shéng都dōu攪jiǎo斷duàn，各gè攪jiǎo了le有yǒu十shí餘yú斤jīn。裡lǐ面miàn拖tuō出chū七qī個gè蜘zhī蛛zhū，足zú有yǒu巴bā斗dǒu大dà小xiǎo的de身shēn軀qū。每měi一yí个gè小xiǎo行xíng者zhě与yǔ他tā一yì根gēn，他tā自zì家jiā使shǐ一yì根gēn，站zhàn在zài外wài边biān，将jiāng叉chā儿ér搅jiǎo那nà丝sī绳shéng，一yì齐qí着zhuó力lì，打dǎ个gè号hào子zi，把bǎ那nà丝sī绳shéng都dōu搅jiǎo断duàn，各gè搅jiǎo了le有yǒu十shí余yú斤jīn。里lǐ面miàn拖tuō出chū七qī个gè蜘zhī蛛zhū，足zú有yǒu巴bā斗dǒu大dà小xiǎo的de身shēn躯qū。

逐句解 Line by line

每měi一yí個gè小xiǎo行xíng者zhě與yǔ他tā一yì根gēn，他tā自zì家jiā使shǐ一yì根gēn，站zhàn在zài外wài邊biān，將jiāng叉chā兒ér攪jiǎo那nà絲sī繩shéng，一yì齊qí著zhuó力lì，打dǎ個gè號hào子zi，把bǎ那nà絲sī繩shéng都dōu攪jiǎo斷duàn，各gè攪jiǎo了le有yǒu十shí餘yú斤jīn。每měi一yí个gè小xiǎo行xíng者zhě与yǔ他tā一yì根gēn，他tā自zì家jiā使shǐ一yì根gēn，站zhàn在zài外wài边biān，将jiāng叉chā儿ér搅jiǎo那nà丝sī绳shéng，一yì齐qí着zhuó力lì，打dǎ个gè号hào子zi，把bǎ那nà丝sī绳shéng都dōu搅jiǎo断duàn，各gè搅jiǎo了le有yǒu十shí余yú斤jīn。

He gave one to each little Pilgrim and kept one himself, and standing outside they wound the silk cords onto the forks, put out their strength together at a work-chant, wound the cords right through, and each of them wound up ten catties and more.

著力 takes 著 as zhuó, the lexical band — to apply, to bring to bear. Not the zhe of a continuing action. And 號子 is a work-chant: the rhythmic call by which a gang of men hauling or lifting keeps time, exactly like a sea shanty. Seventy-one workers on one job, all pulling on the beat.

裡lǐ面miàn拖tuō出chū七qī個gè蜘zhī蛛zhū，足zú有yǒu巴bā斗dǒu大dà小xiǎo的de身shēn軀qū。里lǐ面miàn拖tuō出chū七qī个gè蜘zhī蛛zhū，足zú有yǒu巴bā斗dǒu大dà小xiǎo的de身shēn躯qū。

And out from inside they dragged seven spiders, each with a body a good basket-measure in size.

巴斗 is a round wicker basket used as a dry measure, and the 斗 in it is dǒu, a peck, not dòu, to fight. It holds perhaps ten litres. That is the size the seven women turn out to be when the silk comes off them, and the text gives it as a household measure rather than a marvel.

總評 Commentary

The whole rescue is done as manual labour and the vocabulary is a workshop's. Wind the cords onto the forks, pull together on a chant, keep winding until it comes away, and weigh the result. Ten catties apiece, seventy-one of them — the book even totals it up.

The 號子 is the detail that makes the scene. A work-chant is what you use when several people must pull at the same instant, and the whole point of seventy-one copies is that they can. It is a Ming reader's image of a dockside or a building site, transplanted onto a magic web.

And then the horror arrives measured in kitchen equipment. The seven beautiful women who knelt in a back room a few pages ago come out of the silk as spiders the size of a wicker basket. The book does not exclaim. It gives you the volume.