Canonical Classics ← 第八十六回
第八十六回
木mù母mǔ助zhù威wēi征zhēng怪guài物wù
金jīn公gōng施shī法fǎ滅miè妖yāo邪xié

The Wood Mother Lends His Strength to Fight the Monster · The Metal Lord Works His Art to Destroy the Fiend

血滴滴的
模式 Mode Read Study
拼音 Pinyin Off
字體 Script 繁
原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

血滴滴的 Dripping Blood Rolls Out

這zhè個gè真zhēn正zhèng是shì唐táng老lǎo爺yé的de頭tóu,我wǒ大dà王wáng留liú了le鎮zhèn宅zhái子zi的de,今jīn特tè獻xiàn出chū來lái也yě。」撲pū通tōng的de把bǎ個gè人rén頭tóu又yòu從cóng門mén窟kū裡lǐ拋pāo出chū,血xiě滴dī滴dī的de亂luàn滾gǔn。这zhè个gè真zhēn正zhèng是shì唐táng老lǎo爷yé的de头tóu,我wǒ大dà王wáng留liú了le镇zhèn宅zhái子zi的de,今jīn特tè献xiàn出chū来lái也yě。」扑pū通tōng的de把bǎ个gè人rén头tóu又yòu从cóng门mén窟kū里lǐ抛pāo出chū,血xiě滴dī滴dī的de乱luàn滚gǔn。


逐句解 Line by line

這zhè個gè真zhēn正zhèng是shì唐táng老lǎo爺yé的de頭tóu,我wǒ大dà王wáng留liú了le鎮zhèn宅zhái子zi的de,今jīn特tè獻xiàn出chū來lái也yě。」 这zhè个gè真zhēn正zhèng是shì唐táng老lǎo爷yé的de头tóu,我wǒ大dà王wáng留liú了le镇zhèn宅zhái子zi的de,今jīn特tè献xiàn出chū来lái也yě。」

This one is truly the head of the venerable Tang. Our Great King was keeping it to ward the house, and today he presents it to you specially."

鎮宅 is to steady or guard a dwelling, the language of a protective charm hung over a door — the fiends are claiming they had installed a holy man's skull as a household talisman. It is a grotesque compliment, and it is calculated: they are telling Wukong his master was too valuable to waste.

撲pū通tōng的de把bǎ個gè人rén頭tóu又yòu從cóng門mén窟kū裡lǐ拋pāo出chū,血xiě滴dī滴dī的de亂luàn滾gǔn。 扑pū通tōng的de把bǎ个gè人rén头tóu又yòu从cóng门mén窟kū里lǐ抛pāo出chū,血xiě滴dī滴dī的de乱luàn滚gǔn。

With a thud they pitched the human head out through the hole in the gate again, and it went rolling about, dripping with blood.

撲通 is the sound of something heavy landing, and it is the exact noise Wukong told Bajie a real head would make — the demonstration he gave two passages ago is now being played back at him as proof. 血滴滴 doubles the dripping, and the 血 takes its colloquial reading here rather than the formal one it carries in verse. The passage ends on movement: the thing will not even lie still.


總評 Commentary

The trick works because it uses Wukong's own test against him. He established the rule that a real head lands with a dull thud and no ring, and the fiends have supplied an object that satisfies it. His reasoning was sound and his conclusion will be wrong, because the premise he could not check was whose head it is.

That is the sharp edge of this whole sequence. The first forgery failed because it was a bad forgery. The second one succeeds because it is not a forgery at all — it is a genuine human head, belonging to a person nobody in the story ever names. The fiends beat the test by telling the truth about the object and lying about the man.