Canonical Classics ← 第七十四回
第七十四回
chánggēngchuánbàotóuhěn
xíngzhěshīwéibiànhuànéng

Long Geng Brings Word of a Fierce Demon Chief · Pilgrim Works His Powers of Transformation

人喊馬嘶
模式 Mode Read Study
拼音 Pinyin Off
字體 Script
原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

人喊馬嘶 Men Shouting Horses Neighing

chuǎngshēnshānzhejiùzhèngzǒuchùtīngrénhǎnzhīshēngguānzhīyuánláishìshītuódòngkǒuyǒuwànshùxiǎoyāopáilièzheqiāngdāojiànzhìjīngmáochuǎngshēnshānzhejiùzhèngzǒuchùtīngrénhǎnzhīshēngguānzhīyuánláishìshītuódòngkǒuyǒuwànshùxiǎoyāopáilièzheqiāngdāojiànzhìjīngmáo


逐句解 Line by line

chuǎngshēnshānzhejiù chuǎngshēnshānzhejiù

He plunged into the deep mountain, keeping to the old road.

依著 with as zhe — following along, the road held to throughout. is to burst in, a horse forcing a gate.

zhèngzǒuchùtīngrénhǎnzhīshēng zhèngzǒuchùtīngrénhǎnzhīshēng

As he was going along, he suddenly heard the sound of men shouting and horses neighing.

人喊馬嘶 is a set four-character phrase for an army in the field. 聽得 keeps as , the perception suffix.

guānzhīyuánláishìshītuódòngkǒuyǒuwànshùxiǎoyāopáilièzheqiāngdāojiànzhìjīngmáo guānzhīyuánláishìshītuódòngkǒuyǒuwànshùxiǎoyāopáilièzheqiāngdāojiànzhìjīngmáo

Lifting his eyes to look, he found that at the mouth of the Lion Camel Cave there were tens of thousands of little demons drawn up with spears and swords, blades and halberds, banners and standards and pennons.

萬數 is tens of thousands. 排列著 has as zhe again, the formation standing. Then two four-character lists — 槍刀劍戟 and 旗幟旌旄 — which is how this novel writes an army: not a number but an inventory of edges and cloth.


總評 Commentary

The forty-eight thousand stop being a figure in a report and become a sound. Men shouting, horses neighing, heard before anything is seen.

Then the sight, given as two lists of four. Spears, swords, blades, halberds; banners, standards, pennons — weapons first and then colours, which is the order you would see them in as you came round a hill.

Everything the chapter has spent four thousand characters arguing about is now standing in front of one monkey in a dead demon's uniform.