第七十八回 · 三尸神散 His Three Corpse Spirits Scattered — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

三尸神散 His Three Corpse Spirits Scattered

行xíng者zhě聽tīng得dé這zhè個gè消xiāo息xī，一yí翅chì飛fēi奔bēn館guǎn驛yì，現xiàn了le本běn相xiàng，對duì唐táng僧sēng道dào：「師shī父fù，禍huò事shì了le，禍huò事shì了le。」那nà三sān藏zàng才cái與yǔ八bā戒jiè、沙shā僧sēng領lǐng御yù齋zhāi，忽hū聞wén此cǐ言yán，諕xià得de三sān尸shī神shén散sàn，七qī竅qiào煙yān生shēng，倒dǎo在zài塵chén埃āi，渾hún身shēn是shì汗hàn，眼yǎn不bú定dìng睛jīng，口kǒu不bù能néng言yán。行xíng者zhě听tīng得dé这zhè个gè消xiāo息xī，一yí翅chì飞fēi奔bēn馆guǎn驿yì，现xiàn了le本běn相xiàng，对duì唐táng僧sēng道dào：「师shī父fù，祸huò事shì了le，祸huò事shì了le。」那nà三sān藏zàng才cái与yǔ八bā戒jiè、沙shā僧sēng领lǐng御yù斋zhāi，忽hū闻wén此cǐ言yán，諕xià得de三sān尸shī神shén散sàn，七qī窍qiào烟yān生shēng，倒dǎo在zài尘chén埃āi，浑hún身shēn是shì汗hàn，眼yǎn不bú定dìng睛jīng，口kǒu不bù能néng言yán。

逐句解 Line by line

行xíng者zhě聽tīng得dé這zhè個gè消xiāo息xī，一yí翅chì飛fēi奔bēn館guǎn驛yì，現xiàn了le本běn相xiàng，對duì唐táng僧sēng道dào：「師shī父fù，禍huò事shì了le，禍huò事shì了le。」行xíng者zhě听tīng得dé这zhè个gè消xiāo息xī，一yí翅chì飞fēi奔bēn馆guǎn驿yì，现xiàn了le本běn相xiàng，对duì唐táng僧sēng道dào：「师shī父fù，祸huò事shì了le，祸huò事shì了le。」

Pilgrim, hearing this news, flew off to the posting house with a beat of his wings, resumed his own form and said to the Tang Monk, "Master, disaster! Disaster!"

聽得 keeps 得 at dé, its lexicalised sense after a verb of perception. 本相 takes 相 as xiàng, form — his own true shape, the reading this compound has taken six times out of six across the project.

那nà三sān藏zàng才cái與yǔ八bā戒jiè、沙shā僧sēng領lǐng御yù齋zhāi，忽hū聞wén此cǐ言yán，諕xià得de三sān尸shī神shén散sàn，七qī竅qiào煙yān生shēng，倒dǎo在zài塵chén埃āi，渾hún身shēn是shì汗hàn，眼yǎn不bú定dìng睛jīng，口kǒu不bù能néng言yán。那nà三sān藏zàng才cái与yǔ八bā戒jiè、沙shā僧sēng领lǐng御yù斋zhāi，忽hū闻wén此cǐ言yán，諕xià得de三sān尸shī神shén散sàn，七qī窍qiào烟yān生shēng，倒dǎo在zài尘chén埃āi，浑hún身shēn是shì汗hàn，眼yǎn不bú定dìng睛jīng，口kǒu不bù能néng言yán。

Tripitaka had only just sat down with Bajie and Sha Monk to the royal meal when he heard this, and was so terrified that his three corpse spirits scattered and smoke came out of his seven orifices; he fell into the dust, sweating all over, his eyes unable to fix and his mouth unable to speak.

諕 is xià, to terrify, and 得 after it is the reduced de. 倒 is dǎo here, to fall over. The 三尸 sān shī are three spirits that Daoist teaching held to live in the head, chest and belly of every person, reporting your misdeeds to heaven; the 七竅 are the seven openings of the head. Both phrases are set expressions for extreme fright, and the novel is using a Daoist anatomy to describe a Buddhist monk's panic.

總評 Commentary

The meal is the detail that makes this land. Tripitaka has sat down to the farewell dinner the king ordered for him as a courtesy, and it is that dinner keeping him inside the walls while the guard forms up outside.

The vocabulary of his collapse is worth noticing. Three corpse spirits and seven orifices are both Daoist anatomy, and the novel applies them without comment to a Buddhist monk who has spent the morning arguing that Daoist practice is empty words. This book has never been interested in keeping the two systems apart.