第八十三回 · 洞門還向 Which Side The Door Opens — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

洞門還向 Which Side The Door Opens

這zhè個gè山shān就jiù是shì陷xiàn空kōng山shān了le？但dàn不bù知zhī他tā的de洞dòng門mén還hái向xiàng那nǎ邊biān開kāi？」行xíng者zhě道dào：「我wǒ這zhè條tiáo路lù且qiě是shì走zǒu熟shú了le，只zhǐ是shì這zhè個gè洞dòng叫jiào做zuò個gè無wú底dǐ洞dòng，周zhōu圍wéi有yǒu三sān百bǎi餘yú里lǐ，妖yāo精jīng窠kē穴xué甚shèn多duō。这zhè个gè山shān就jiù是shì陷xiàn空kōng山shān了le？但dàn不bù知zhī他tā的de洞dòng门mén还hái向xiàng那nǎ边biān开kāi？」行xíng者zhě道dào：「我wǒ这zhè条tiáo路lù且qiě是shì走zǒu熟shú了le，只zhǐ是shì这zhè个gè洞dòng叫jiào做zuò个gè无wú底dǐ洞dòng，周zhōu围wéi有yǒu三sān百bǎi余yú里lǐ，妖yāo精jīng窠kē穴xué甚shèn多duō。

逐句解 Line by line

這zhè個gè山shān就jiù是shì陷xiàn空kōng山shān了le？这zhè个gè山shān就jiù是shì陷xiàn空kōng山shān了le？

Is this mountain the Mountain of the Empty Trap?

陷空山 is the mountain that sinks away into nothing, and it has been named repeatedly without anybody remarking on it. The Heavenly King is the first to ask, because he is the first person here who has not been in it.

但dàn不bù知zhī他tā的de洞dòng門mén還hái向xiàng那nǎ邊biān開kāi？」但dàn不bù知zhī他tā的de洞dòng门mén还hái向xiàng那nǎ边biān开kāi？」

Only I do not know which side his cave door opens on."

那 is nǎ, the questioning one — which side, not that side. This is the general's question and it is a perfectly professional one: he has arrived with an army and wants to know where the entrance is.

行xíng者zhě道dào：「我wǒ這zhè條tiáo路lù且qiě是shì走zǒu熟shú了le，只zhǐ是shì這zhè個gè洞dòng叫jiào做zuò個gè無wú底dǐ洞dòng，周zhōu圍wéi有yǒu三sān百bǎi餘yú里lǐ，妖yāo精jīng窠kē穴xué甚shèn多duō。行xíng者zhě道dào：「我wǒ这zhè条tiáo路lù且qiě是shì走zǒu熟shú了le，只zhǐ是shì这zhè个gè洞dòng叫jiào做zuò个gè无wú底dǐ洞dòng，周zhōu围wéi有yǒu三sān百bǎi余yú里lǐ，妖yāo精jīng窠kē穴xué甚shèn多duō。

Pilgrim said, "I know this road well enough. Only the cave is called the Bottomless Cave. It runs three hundred lǐ and more round about, and the fiend has a great many burrows in it.

Pilgrim answers the question and then takes it apart. 無底洞 is the Bottomless Cave, and the name is the problem: there is a door, and knowing where the door is buys you nothing. 甚 is shèn here, meaning very, the reading it has carried at this same phrase earlier in the chapter.

總評 Commentary

The Heavenly King asks a soldier's question and gets an answer that makes his army beside the point. A door can be forced; a hundred and seventy kilometres of tunnel cannot be surrounded.

Pilgrim has been down there three times and knows exactly what the difficulty is. The novel has him state it plainly here so that the discovery a few passages on lands as luck rather than skill.