第四十回 · 妖魔弄風 The Demon Conjures a Whirlwind — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition 含詞賦 With rhapsody

妖魔弄風 The Demon Conjures a Whirlwind

那nà物wù在zài空kōng中zhōng明míng明míng看kàn著zhe，忍rěn不bú住zhù心xīn頭tóu火huǒ起qǐ道dào：「這zhè猴hóu和hé尚shàng十shí分fēn憊bèi懶lǎn，就jiù作zuò我wǒ是shì個gè妖yāo魔mó，要yào害hài你nǐ師shī父fù，卻què還hái不bù曾céng見jiàn怎zěn麼me下xià手shǒu哩lī，你nǐ怎zěn麼me就jiù把bǎ我wǒ這zhè等děng傷shāng損sǔn？早zǎo是shì我wǒ有yǒu算suàn計jì，出chū神shén走zǒu了le；不bù然rán，是shì無wú故gù傷shāng生shēng也yě。若ruò不bú趁chèn此cǐ時shí拿ná了le唐táng僧sēng，再zài讓ràng一yì番fān，越yuè教jiào他tā停tíng留liú長zhǎng智zhì。」好hǎo怪guài物wù，就jiù在zài半bàn空kōng裡lǐ弄nòng了le一yí陣zhèn旋xuán風fēng，呼hū的de一yì聲shēng響xiǎng喨liàng，走zǒu石shí揚yáng沙shā，誠chéng然rán兇xiōng狠hěn。好hǎo風fēng：那nà物wù在zài空kōng中zhōng明míng明míng看kàn着zhe，忍rěn不bú住zhù心xīn头tóu火huǒ起qǐ道dào：「这zhè猴hóu和hé尚shàng十shí分fēn惫bèi懒lǎn，就jiù作zuò我wǒ是shì个gè妖yāo魔mó，要yào害hài你nǐ师shī父fù，却què还hái不bù曾céng见jiàn怎zěn么me下xià手shǒu哩lī，你nǐ怎zěn么me就jiù把bǎ我wǒ这zhè等děng伤shāng损sǔn？早zǎo是shì我wǒ有yǒu算suàn计jì，出chū神shén走zǒu了le；不bù然rán，是shì无wú故gù伤shāng生shēng也yě。若ruò不bú趁chèn此cǐ时shí拿ná了le唐táng僧sēng，再zài让ràng一yì番fān，越yuè教jiào他tā停tíng留liú长zhǎng智zhì。」好hǎo怪guài物wù，就jiù在zài半bàn空kōng里lǐ弄nòng了le一yí阵zhèn旋xuán风fēng，呼hū的de一yì声shēng响xiǎng喨liàng，走zǒu石shí扬yáng沙shā，诚chéng然rán凶xiōng狠hěn。好hǎo风fēng：

淘táo淘táo怒nù捲juǎn水shuǐ雲yún腥xīng，黑hēi氣qì騰téng騰téng閉bì日rì明míng。淘táo淘táo怒nù卷juǎn水shuǐ云yún腥xīng，黑hēi气qì腾téng腾téng闭bì日rì明míng。

嶺lǐng樹shù連lián根gēn通tōng拔bá盡jìn，野yě梅méi帶dài幹gàn悉xī皆jiē平píng。岭lǐng树shù连lián根gēn通tōng拔bá尽jìn，野yě梅méi带dài干gàn悉xī皆jiē平píng。

黃huáng沙shā迷mí目mù人rén難nán走zǒu，怪guài石shí傷shāng殘cán路lù怎zěn平píng。黄huáng沙shā迷mí目mù人rén难nán走zǒu，怪guài石shí伤shāng残cán路lù怎zěn平píng。

滾gǔn滾gǔn團tuán團tuán平píng地dì暗àn，遍biàn山shān禽qín獸shòu發fā哮xiāo聲shēng。滚gǔn滚gǔn团tuán团tuán平píng地dì暗àn，遍biàn山shān禽qín兽shòu发fā哮xiāo声shēng。

逐句解 Line by line

That thing, plain to see in the middle air, could not hold back the fire that rose in his heart, and said: "This monkey-monk is an utter rogue! Granted I'm a demon meaning to harm your master — you'd not yet even seen how I'd set to work, so how could you damage me like this?

那物: deictic 那 = nà. 空中: 中 = zhōng. 明明看著: durative 著 = zhe. 忍不住: mechanical sandhi raises 不 to bú before 住 (4th tone). 十分: 分 = fēn. 卻還不曾: 還 = hái ("yet"); mechanical sandhi leaves 不 as bù before 曾 (2nd tone).

早zǎo是shì我wǒ有yǒu算suàn計jì，出chū神shén走zǒu了le；早zǎo是shì我wǒ有yǒu算suàn计jì，出chū神shén走zǒu了le；

Lucky I had a plan and got out by sending forth my spirit; otherwise it would have been killing without cause.

出神走了: aspect 了 = le. 算計 = "a plan, a stratagem."

不bù然rán，是shì無wú故gù傷shāng生shēng也yě。不bù然rán，是shì无wú故gù伤shāng生shēng也yě。

otherwise, it would have been killing without cause.

無故傷生 = "to take life without cause" — the demon's self-justifying framing of Wukong's attack on his shed corpse. mechanical sandhi leaves 不 as bù before 然 (2nd tone).

若ruò不bú趁chèn此cǐ時shí拿ná了le唐táng僧sēng，再zài讓ràng一yì番fān，越yuè教jiào他tā停tíng留liú長zhǎng智zhì。」好hǎo怪guài物wù，就jiù在zài半bàn空kōng裡lǐ弄nòng了le一yí陣zhèn旋xuán風fēng，呼hū的de一yì聲shēng響xiǎng喨liàng，走zǒu石shí揚yáng沙shā，誠chéng然rán兇xiōng狠hěn。好hǎo風fēng：若ruò不bú趁chèn此cǐ时shí拿ná了le唐táng僧sēng，再zài让ràng一yì番fān，越yuè教jiào他tā停tíng留liú长zhǎng智zhì。」好hǎo怪guài物wù，就jiù在zài半bàn空kōng里lǐ弄nòng了le一yí阵zhèn旋xuán风fēng，呼hū的de一yì声shēng响xiǎng喨liàng，走zǒu石shí扬yáng沙shā，诚chéng然rán凶xiōng狠hěn。好hǎo风fēng：

If I don't seize the Tang Monk this very moment, but yield one more time over, all the more will I let him linger and grow wise." Fine monster! Up in the middle air he stirred up a whirlwind — a single roaring blast — that rolled stones and flung sand, truly savage and fierce. A fine wind it was:

若不趁此時: mechanical sandhi raises 不 to bú before 趁 (4th tone). 拿了唐僧: aspect 了 = le. 再讓一番: 一 sandhi → yì before 番 (1st tone). 越教他停留長智: causative 教 = jiào; 長 = zhǎng ("grow," let Wukong grow wiser). 弄了一陣旋風: 一 sandhi → yí before 陣 (4th tone). 一聲響喨: 一 sandhi → yì before 聲 (1st tone). 好風 tag introduces the descriptive 賦.

In seething fury it rolls up the reek of water and cloud; black vapors, thick and rising, shut out the light of day.

淘淘怒捲 / 黑氣騰騰: the opening couplet of the wind-rhapsody, pairing surging water-reek with light-blotting black vapor.

Ridge-trees, root and all, are wrenched clean up; wild plums, trunk and all, are laid flat to a man.

連根通拔盡: 盡 = jìn (GLOBAL, "utterly"). 帶幹悉皆平: 幹 = gàn ("trunk").

Yellow sand blinds the eye, and a man can hardly walk; jagged rocks maim and wound — how can the road be crossed?

黃沙迷目人難走: 難 = nán ("hard to"). The couplet renders the wind's disorienting violence.

Rolling and roiling, the level ground goes dark; over all the mountain, birds and beasts send up a howling.

滾滾團團 / 遍山禽獸發哮聲: the closing couplet — total darkness below, the whole bestiary crying out in the storm.

總評 Commentary

The passage turns on the demon's fury at having his shed corpse so thoroughly destroyed, and on the reasoning that fury produces. His complaint has a certain rough justice to it — he had not yet even made his move, he protests, when Wukong smashed and dismembered his body — and his conclusion is coldly strategic: no more delay, no more yielding, for delay only lets the sharp-eyed guardian (停留長智, "linger and grow wise") become harder to overcome. Force having failed to reach him and cunning having been penetrated, he falls back on overwhelming power: a whirlwind.

The wind-rhapsody (好風賦) that follows is a set-piece of a familiar kind — four parallel couplets of escalating violence, uprooting trees, flattening plums, blinding the eye with sand, darkening the ground, driving the whole mountain's creatures to howl — and its function is to raise the demon's assault to the scale of a natural catastrophe. Where the mountain-fu of Batch 1 established the place as merely ominous, this wind-fu makes the demon's power elemental and irresistible, a storm no vigilance can guard against. It is the hinge of the chapter: the moment the contest passes out of the register of trickery and counter-trickery, in which Wukong held his own, and into the register of sheer force, in which the demon holds the advantage. Under its cover — as the prose tail of the block will tell — the Tang Monk is seized and borne away.