第七十七回 · 不識起倒 Not Knowing Rise From Fall — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

不識起倒 Not Knowing Rise From Fall

這zhè魔mó頭tóu不bù識shí起qǐ倒dǎo，真zhēn個gè舉jǔ刀dāo上shàng前qián亂luàn砍kǎn。卻què被bèi文wén殊shū、普pǔ賢xián念niàn動dòng真zhēn言yán，喝hè道dào：「這zhè孽niè畜chù還hái不bù皈guī正zhèng，更gèng待dài怎zěn生shēng？」这zhè魔mó头tóu不bù识shí起qǐ倒dǎo，真zhēn个gè举jǔ刀dāo上shàng前qián乱luàn砍kǎn。却què被bèi文wén殊shū、普pǔ贤xián念niàn动dòng真zhēn言yán，喝hè道dào：「这zhè孽niè畜chù还hái不bù皈guī正zhèng，更gèng待dài怎zěn生shēng？」

逐句解 Line by line

這zhè魔mó頭tóu不bù識shí起qǐ倒dǎo，真zhēn個gè舉jǔ刀dāo上shàng前qián亂luàn砍kǎn。这zhè魔mó头tóu不bù识shí起qǐ倒dǎo，真zhēn个gè举jǔ刀dāo上shàng前qián乱luàn砍kǎn。

This fiend chief knew nothing of rise or fall, and did in fact lift his sabre and go forward hacking.

不識起倒 is not to know up from down — to have no sense of when you are beaten, or of your own place. 倒 takes dǎo, the falling one. The narrator's 真個, and he actually did, is doing a lot of work: even the storyteller cannot quite believe it.

卻què被bèi文wén殊shū、普pǔ賢xián念niàn動dòng真zhēn言yán，喝hè道dào：「這zhè孽niè畜chù還hái不bù皈guī正zhèng，更gèng待dài怎zěn生shēng？」却què被bèi文wén殊shū、普pǔ贤xián念niàn动dòng真zhēn言yán，喝hè道dào：「这zhè孽niè畜chù还hái不bù皈guī正zhèng，更gèng待dài怎zěn生shēng？」

But Manjushri and Samantabhadra recited their true words and shouted, "Will you not turn to the right way, you cursed beast? What are you waiting for?"

真言 translates the Sanskrit mantra — true words, the syllables that compel. 皈正 is to take refuge in the right path, the standard word for a creature's submission and conversion, and it is what happens to almost every monster in this book who turns out to belong to somebody.

總評 Commentary

The narrator will not let it pass. He actually did — as though even the storyteller had expected the third fiend to see sense.

Then the owners speak, and the fight ends without a blow being struck at them. Not weapons: mantras, and a scolding. The Bodhisattvas are not fighting their animals, they are calling them.

The word for what they demand is the important one. To turn to the right way is conversion and submission at once, and this novel uses it constantly — the monsters of the road are almost never killed, they are reclaimed. Being someone's property turns out to be the thing that saves you.