第四十九回 · 閉門不出 The Gate Barred — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

閉門不出 The Gate Barred

說shuō不bù了liǎo，只zhǐ見jiàn門mén裡lǐ小xiǎo妖yāo來lái報bào：「大dà王wáng，那nà兩liǎng個gè和hé尚shàng又yòu來lái門mén前qián索suǒ戰zhàn哩li。」妖yāo精jīng道dào：「賢xián妹mèi所suǒ見jiàn甚shèn長zhǎng，再zài不bù出chū去qù，看kàn他tā怎zěn麼me。」急jí傳chuán令lìng教jiào：「小xiǎo的de們men，把bǎ門mén關guān緊jǐn了le。正zhèng是shì『任rèn君jūn門mén外wài叫jiào，只zhǐ是shì不bù開kāi門mén』。讓ràng他tā纏chán兩liǎng日rì，性xìng攤tān了le回huí去qù時shí，我wǒ們men卻què不bú自zì在zài受shòu用yòng唐táng僧sēng也yě？」那nà小xiǎo妖yāo一yì齊qí都dōu搬bān石shí頭tóu，塞sāi泥ní塊kuài，把bǎ門mén閉bì殺shā。说shuō不bù了liǎo，只zhǐ见jiàn门mén里lǐ小xiǎo妖yāo来lái报bào：「大dà王wáng，那nà两liǎng个gè和hé尚shàng又yòu来lái门mén前qián索suǒ战zhàn哩li。」妖yāo精jīng道dào：「贤xián妹mèi所suǒ见jiàn甚shèn长zhǎng，再zài不bù出chū去qù，看kàn他tā怎zěn么me。」急jí传chuán令lìng教jiào：「小xiǎo的de们men，把bǎ门mén关guān紧jǐn了le。正zhèng是shì『任rèn君jūn门mén外wài叫jiào，只zhǐ是shì不bù开kāi门mén』。让ràng他tā缠chán两liǎng日rì，性xìng摊tān了le回huí去qù时shí，我wǒ们men却què不bú自zì在zài受shòu用yòng唐táng僧sēng也yě？」那nà小xiǎo妖yāo一yì齐qí都dōu搬bān石shí头tóu，塞sāi泥ní块kuài，把bǎ门mén闭bì杀shā。

逐句解 Line by line

說shuō不bù了liǎo，只zhǐ見jiàn門mén裡lǐ小xiǎo妖yāo來lái報bào：「大dà王wáng，那nà兩liǎng個gè和hé尚shàng又yòu來lái門mén前qián索suǒ戰zhàn哩li。」说shuō不bù了liǎo，只zhǐ见jiàn门mén里lǐ小xiǎo妖yāo来lái报bào：「大dà王wáng，那nà两liǎng个gè和hé尚shàng又yòu来lái门mén前qián索suǒ战zhàn哩li。」

Before she had finished, a little demon came in from the gate to report: "Great King, those two monks are back at the gate again, offering battle."

說不了: 了 read liǎo, "to finish" — not the aspect particle le. 哩 the vernacular final particle li; 那兩個 deictic nà.

妖yāo精jīng道dào：「賢xián妹mèi所suǒ見jiàn甚shèn長zhǎng，再zài不bù出chū去qù，看kàn他tā怎zěn麼me。」妖yāo精jīng道dào：「贤xián妹mèi所suǒ见jiàn甚shèn长zhǎng，再zài不bù出chū去qù，看kàn他tā怎zěn么me。」

The fiend said: "Worthy sister, your judgement reaches far. I will not go out again, and we shall see what they can do."

所見甚長: 甚 the intensifier shèn, "very," and 長 zhǎng, "far-reaching" (of judgement). 看他怎麼看 kàn. The demon adopts the dame's prohibition as a policy of waiting.

急jí傳chuán令lìng教jiào：「小xiǎo的de們men，把bǎ門mén關guān緊jǐn了le。急jí传chuán令lìng教jiào：「小xiǎo的de们men，把bǎ门mén关guān紧jǐn了le。

He hastily gave the order: "You little ones, shut the gate fast.

傳令教: 教 jiào, causative "ordered." 關緊了了 the aspect particle le — contrast 說不了 in the first segment, where the same graph is liǎo.

正zhèng是shì『任rèn君jūn門mén外wài叫jiào，只zhǐ是shì不bù開kāi門mén』。正zhèng是shì『任rèn君jūn门mén外wài叫jiào，只zhǐ是shì不bù开kāi门mén』。

It is just as the saying goes: 'Let them cry outside the gate as they please — the one thing is, don't open it.'

A rhymed proverb quoted inside the speech and marked with 『』: 任君門外叫，只是不開門. The demon governs by maxim, as he argued by statute at his gate — a creature of formulas throughout.

讓ràng他tā纏chán兩liǎng日rì，性xìng攤tān了le回huí去qù時shí，我wǒ們men卻què不bú自zì在zài受shòu用yòng唐táng僧sēng也yě？」让ràng他tā缠chán两liǎng日rì，性xìng摊tān了le回huí去qù时shí，我wǒ们men却què不bú自zì在zài受shòu用yòng唐táng僧sēng也yě？」

Let them pester us a couple of days; when their spirit flags and they go away, shall we not then enjoy the Tang Monk at our ease?"

性攤了: 攤 tān, "to slacken, to go limp" — here of resolve giving out. 纏, to pester; 受用, to enjoy the use of. The plan is simply to outlast them.

那nà小xiǎo妖yāo一yì齊qí都dōu搬bān石shí頭tóu，塞sāi泥ní塊kuài，把bǎ門mén閉bì殺shā。那nà小xiǎo妖yāo一yì齐qí都dōu搬bān石shí头tóu，塞sāi泥ní块kuài，把bǎ门mén闭bì杀shā。

So the little demons all together hauled up stones, stopped the cracks with lumps of mud, and shut the gate dead.

都 dōu, "all." 塞 read sāi, "to stop up, to plug" — the colloquial sense, not the frontier sài. 石 shí; 閉殺, to shut fast, with 殺 as a resultative intensifier.

總評 Commentary

The demon's response to being told he cannot win is to make himself unreachable, and the block is a small study in how a creature of rules behaves under threat. He quotes a proverb to license the decision — 任君門外叫，只是不開門, let them cry as they will, only do not open — exactly as he had cited the law of 冒名頂替 to justify his grievance at the gate. His whole conduct in the chapter is formulaic: he keeps accounts, argues statutes, governs by maxim, and now defends himself with a saying.

The stratagem is also a confession. To wall up his own gate with stones and mud is to grant everything the 鱖婆 said: he cannot fight Wukong, so he will refuse to be fought. The calculation — 讓他纏兩日，性攤了回去, let them pester us two days and their resolve will slacken — is reasonable against ordinary besiegers and hopeless against this one, since Wukong's answer will not be to wait at the gate but to go over the demon's head entirely, to Guanyin. The sealed gate that is meant to be a defence becomes, in the next blocks, merely the reason the pilgrims must look elsewhere for help.