第九十七回 · 爬出材來 He Climbed Out of His Own Coffin — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

爬出材來 He Climbed Out of His Own Coffin

行xíng者zhě謝xiè辭cí了le菩pú薩sà，將jiāng他tā吹chuī化huà為wéi氣qì，掉diào於yú衣yī袖xiù之zhī間jiān，同tóng去qù幽yōu府fǔ，復fù返fǎn陽yáng間jiān。駕jià雲yún頭tóu，到dào了le寇kòu家jiā，即jí喚huàn八bā戒jiè捎shāo開kāi材cái蓋gài，把bǎ他tā魂hún靈líng兒ér推tuī付fù本běn身shēn。須xū臾yú間jiān，透tòu出chū氣qì來lái活huó了le。那nà員yuán外wài爬pá出chū材cái來lái，對duì唐táng僧sēng四sì眾zhòng磕kē頭tóu道dào：「師shī父fù，師shī父fù，寇kòu洪hóng死sǐ於yú非fēi命mìng，蒙méng師shī父fù至zhì陰yīn司sī救jiù活huó，乃nǎi再zài造zào之zhī恩ēn。」言yán謝xiè不bù已yǐ。行xíng者zhě谢xiè辞cí了le菩pú萨sà，将jiāng他tā吹chuī化huà为wéi气qì，掉diào于yú衣yī袖xiù之zhī间jiān，同tóng去qù幽yōu府fǔ，复fù返fǎn阳yáng间jiān。驾jià云yún头tóu，到dào了le寇kòu家jiā，即jí唤huàn八bā戒jiè捎shāo开kāi材cái盖gài，把bǎ他tā魂hún灵líng儿ér推tuī付fù本běn身shēn。须xū臾yú间jiān，透tòu出chū气qì来lái活huó了le。那nà员yuán外wài爬pá出chū材cái来lái，对duì唐táng僧sēng四sì众zhòng磕kē头tóu道dào：「师shī父fù，师shī父fù，寇kòu洪hóng死sǐ于yú非fēi命mìng，蒙méng师shī父fù至zhì阴yīn司sī救jiù活huó，乃nǎi再zài造zào之zhī恩ēn。」言yán谢xiè不bù已yǐ。

逐句解 Line by line

行xíng者zhě謝xiè辭cí了le菩pú薩sà，將jiāng他tā吹chuī化huà為wéi氣qì，掉diào於yú衣yī袖xiù之zhī間jiān，同tóng去qù幽yōu府fǔ，復fù返fǎn陽yáng間jiān。駕jià雲yún頭tóu，到dào了le寇kòu家jiā，即jí喚huàn八bā戒jiè捎shāo開kāi材cái蓋gài，把bǎ他tā魂hún靈líng兒ér推tuī付fù本běn身shēn。行xíng者zhě谢xiè辞cí了le菩pú萨sà，将jiāng他tā吹chuī化huà为wéi气qì，掉diào于yú衣yī袖xiù之zhī间jiān，同tóng去qù幽yōu府fǔ，复fù返fǎn阳yáng间jiān。驾jià云yún头tóu，到dào了le寇kòu家jiā，即jí唤huàn八bā戒jiè捎shāo开kāi材cái盖gài，把bǎ他tā魂hún灵líng儿ér推tuī付fù本běn身shēn。

Monkey thanked the Bodhisattva and took his leave, blew Kou Hong away into vapour and tucked him into his sleeve, and they went out of the shadowy offices together and returned to the world of light. Riding his cloud, he came to the Kou house and at once called Bajie to prise the coffin lid open, and pushed the soul back into its own body.

吹化為氣 — blew him away into vapour. The middle character means to become or be turned into. THE SEVENTH AND LAST OF THE SEVEN THIS CHAPTER GETS WRONG, out of thirteen: every one of the seven is this verb and every one is read as the preposition. 掉於衣袖之間 — tucked him into his sleeve. A dead man carried home in a sleeve, which is where Monkey keeps everything. 魂靈兒推付本身 — pushed the soul back into its own body. Blunt and physical. The reversal of the three-souls formula that closed Kou Hong's death six thousand four hundred characters ago.

須xū臾yú間jiān，透tòu出chū氣qì來lái活huó了le。那nà員yuán外wài爬pá出chū材cái來lái，對duì唐táng僧sēng四sì眾zhòng磕kē頭tóu道dào：「師shī父fù，師shī父fù，寇kòu洪hóng死sǐ於yú非fēi命mìng，蒙méng師shī父fù至zhì陰yīn司sī救jiù活huó，乃nǎi再zài造zào之zhī恩ēn。」言yán謝xiè不bù已yǐ。须xū臾yú间jiān，透tòu出chū气qì来lái活huó了le。那nà员yuán外wài爬pá出chū材cái来lái，对duì唐táng僧sēng四sì众zhòng磕kē头tóu道dào：「师shī父fù，师shī父fù，寇kòu洪hóng死sǐ于yú非fēi命mìng，蒙méng师shī父fù至zhì阴yīn司sī救jiù活huó，乃nǎi再zài造zào之zhī恩ēn。」言yán谢xiè不bù已yǐ。

In a moment the breath came through and he was alive. The squire climbed out of the coffin and knocked his head to the Tang monk and his three, saying, "Teacher! Teacher! Kou Hong died out of his proper span, and by your favour was brought back alive from the shades below. This is the kindness of a second making."

爬出材來 — climbed out of the coffin. Not raised, not risen — he climbs out, by himself, which is exactly the right undignified detail. 死於非命 — died out of his proper span. He uses the same phrase the old beancurd-maker used of him at four this morning, and he is now the only person who could know whether it was true. Dizang has just said it was not: his time had come. 再造之恩 — the kindness of a second making. The formal phrase for an unrepayable debt, and here it is literal.

總評 Commentary

The resurrection takes twenty characters and most of them are logistics: blow him into vapour, put him in a sleeve, fly home, get Bajie to open the lid, push the soul back in. The book spends no wonder on it at all.

The detail that makes it work is that Kou Hong climbs out. He is not raised up or restored to life in a blaze; he gets himself over the side of a coffin in front of his own family and the assembled officials of two administrations, and then kneels down and thanks people.

And the first thing he says is that he died out of his proper span — the very phrase a neighbour used of him before dawn. He has been dead for a day and he still believes it, and the bodhisattva has just told Monkey the opposite. Nobody corrects him.