第八十八回 · 蜻蜓撼石柱 Like Dragonflies Shaking a Stone Pillar — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

蜻蜓撼石柱 Like Dragonflies Shaking a Stone Pillar

沙shā僧sēng將jiāng寶bǎo杖zhàng拋pāo出chū，倚yǐ在zài牆qiáng邊biān。二èr王wáng子zǐ與yǔ三sān王wáng子zǐ跳tiào起qǐ去qù便biàn拿ná，就jiù如rú蜻qīng蜓tíng撼hàn石shí柱zhù，一yí個gè個gè掙zhèng得de紅hóng頭tóu赤chì臉liǎn，莫mò想xiǎng拿ná動dòng半bàn分fēn毫háo。沙shā僧sēng将jiāng宝bǎo杖zhàng抛pāo出chū，倚yǐ在zài墙qiáng边biān。二èr王wáng子zǐ与yǔ三sān王wáng子zǐ跳tiào起qǐ去qù便biàn拿ná，就jiù如rú蜻qīng蜓tíng撼hàn石shí柱zhù，一yí个gè个gè挣zhèng得de红hóng头tóu赤chì脸liǎn，莫mò想xiǎng拿ná动dòng半bàn分fēn毫háo。

逐句解 Line by line

沙shā僧sēng將jiāng寶bǎo杖zhàng拋pāo出chū，倚yǐ在zài牆qiáng邊biān。沙shā僧sēng将jiāng宝bǎo杖zhàng抛pāo出chū，倚yǐ在zài墙qiáng边biān。

Sha Monk tossed his treasure staff out and stood it leaning against the wall.

Sha Monk props his against the wall where Bajie dropped his on the floor, which is entirely in character for the tidiest member of the party. 倚 is to lean something against a support.

二èr王wáng子zǐ與yǔ三sān王wáng子zǐ跳tiào起qǐ去qù便biàn拿ná，就jiù如rú蜻qīng蜓tíng撼hàn石shí柱zhù，一yí個gè個gè掙zhèng得de紅hóng頭tóu赤chì臉liǎn，莫mò想xiǎng拿ná動dòng半bàn分fēn毫háo。二èr王wáng子zǐ与yǔ三sān王wáng子zǐ跳tiào起qǐ去qù便biàn拿ná，就jiù如rú蜻qīng蜓tíng撼hàn石shí柱zhù，一yí个gè个gè挣zhèng得de红hóng头tóu赤chì脸liǎn，莫mò想xiǎng拿ná动dòng半bàn分fēn毫háo。

The second and third princes sprang up to take hold of them, and it was like dragonflies trying to shake a stone pillar. Every one of them strained till his head and face went scarlet, and there was no hope of shifting them by half a hair.

The image is the best in the chapter. 蜻蜓撼石柱 — a dragonfly shaking a stone pillar — sets the lightest thing anyone can picture against the heaviest, and the joke is in the verb: the dragonfly is genuinely trying. 掙 is zhèng here, to strain, and 得 is de, tying the straining to the scarlet faces. 莫想, do not even think of it, is the same fixed shape used when the eldest prince failed at the rod.

總評 Commentary

The novel has been building to this image and it is worth stopping on. A dragonfly landing on a stone pillar and heaving is exactly the shape of what is happening, down to the good faith of the attempt.

Note that these are strong boys who have trained all their lives, and the text says so twice. Their failure is not weakness. It is a difference in kind, and the next few pages are about how that difference gets crossed.