第五十二回 · 扇落現形 The Fan Falls, the Form Appears — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

扇落現形 The Fan Falls, the Form Appears

老lǎo君jūn念niàn個gè咒zhòu語yǔ，將jiāng扇shàn子zi搧shān了le一yí下xià，那nà怪guài將jiāng圈quān子zi丟diū來lái，被bèi老lǎo君jūn一yì把bǎ接jiē住zhù。又yòu一yì搧shān，那nà怪guài物wù力lì軟ruǎn筋jīn麻má，現xiàn了le本běn相xiàng，原yuán來lái是shì一yì隻zhī青qīng牛niú。老lǎo君jūn將jiāng金jīn鋼gāng琢zhuó吹chuī口kǒu仙xiān氣qì，穿chuān了le那nà怪guài的de鼻bí子zi，解jiě下xià勒lēi袍páo帶dài，繫jì於yú琢zhuó上shàng，牽qiān在zài手shǒu中zhōng。至zhì今jīn留liú下xià個gè拴shuān牛niú鼻bí的de拘jū兒er，又yòu名míng賓bīn郎láng，職zhí此cǐ之zhī謂wèi。老lǎo君jūn辭cí了le眾zhòng神shén，跨kuà上shàng青qīng牛niú背bèi上shàng，駕jià彩cǎi雲yún，徑jìng歸guī兜dōu率shuài院yuàn；縛fù妖yāo怪guài，高gāo昇shēng離lí恨hèn天tiān。老lǎo君jūn念niàn个gè咒zhòu语yǔ，将jiāng扇shàn子zi扇shān了le一yí下xià，那nà怪guài将jiāng圈quān子zi丢diū来lái，被bèi老lǎo君jūn一yì把bǎ接jiē住zhù。又yòu一yì扇shān，那nà怪guài物wù力lì软ruǎn筋jīn麻má，现xiàn了le本běn相xiàng，原yuán来lái是shì一yì只zhī青qīng牛niú。老lǎo君jūn将jiāng金jīn钢gāng琢zhuó吹chuī口kǒu仙xiān气qì，穿chuān了le那nà怪guài的de鼻bí子zi，解jiě下xià勒lēi袍páo带dài，系jì于yú琢zhuó上shàng，牵qiān在zài手shǒu中zhōng。至zhì今jīn留liú下xià个gè拴shuān牛niú鼻bí的de拘jū儿er，又yòu名míng宾bīn郎láng，职zhí此cǐ之zhī谓wèi。老lǎo君jūn辞cí了le众zhòng神shén，跨kuà上shàng青qīng牛niú背bèi上shàng，驾jià彩cǎi云yún，径jìng归guī兜dōu率shuài院yuàn；缚fù妖yāo怪guài，高gāo升shēng离lí恨hèn天tiān。

逐句解 Line by line

老lǎo君jūn念niàn個gè咒zhòu語yǔ，將jiāng扇shàn子zi搧shān了le一yí下xià，那nà怪guài將jiāng圈quān子zi丟diū來lái，被bèi老lǎo君jūn一yì把bǎ接jiē住zhù。老lǎo君jūn念niàn个gè咒zhòu语yǔ，将jiāng扇shàn子zi扇shān了le一yí下xià，那nà怪guài将jiāng圈quān子zi丢diū来lái，被bèi老lǎo君jūn一yì把bǎ接jiē住zhù。

Lord Lao recited a spell and fanned once with his fan; the fiend flung the ring at him, and Lord Lao caught it in one hand.

Both 將 (將扇子, 將圈子) = jiāng and both suffix 子 = zi, positional; 搧了: 了 = le; deictic 那怪: 那 = nà. 搧 (shān) is the verb to the 扇 (shàn) of the noun.

又yòu一yì搧shān，那nà怪guài物wù力lì軟ruǎn筋jīn麻má，現xiàn了le本běn相xiàng，原yuán來lái是shì一yì隻zhī青qīng牛niú。又yòu一yì扇shān，那nà怪guài物wù力lì软ruǎn筋jīn麻má，现xiàn了le本běn相xiàng，原yuán来lái是shì一yì只zhī青qīng牛niú。

He fanned once more, and the monster's strength went soft and his sinews slack; he showed his true form, and it turned out to be a blue ox.

Deictic 那怪物: 那 = nà; 現了: 了 = le; 本相: 相 = xiàng (appearance, form), not the mutual xiāng. 又一搧: 一 = yì before a first tone. Two waves of a fan, and the arc is over.

老lǎo君jūn將jiāng金jīn鋼gāng琢zhuó吹chuī口kǒu仙xiān氣qì，穿chuān了le那nà怪guài的de鼻bí子zi，解jiě下xià勒lēi袍páo帶dài，繫jì於yú琢zhuó上shàng，牽qiān在zài手shǒu中zhōng。老lǎo君jūn将jiāng金jīn钢gāng琢zhuó吹chuī口kǒu仙xiān气qì，穿chuān了le那nà怪guài的de鼻bí子zi，解jiě下xià勒lēi袍páo带dài，系jì于yú琢zhuó上shàng，牵qiān在zài手shǒu中zhōng。

Lord Lao breathed a divine breath on the diamond snare, ran it through the creature's nose, took off his own robe-belt, tied it to the ring and led him by the hand.

The Sìdétáng text writes 金鋼琢 here with 鋼 (steel), where its other three occurrences read 金剛琢 with 剛 (adamant). The reading is encoded as printed and the variant noted rather than normalized. 琢 = zhuó in both places, positional; 穿了: 了 = le; 鼻子: 子 = zi; 解下: 解 = jiě; 繫於: 繫 = jì (physical tying, not the xì of connection); 手中: 中 = zhōng.

至zhì今jīn留liú下xià個gè拴shuān牛niú鼻bí的de拘jū兒er，又yòu名míng賓bīn郎láng，職zhí此cǐ之zhī謂wèi。至zhì今jīn留liú下xià个gè拴shuān牛niú鼻bí的de拘jū儿er，又yòu名míng宾bīn郎láng，职zhí此cǐ之zhī谓wèi。

And to this day there remains the little ring for tethering an ox by the nose, which is also called a bīnláng — that is what the name refers to.

拘兒: 兒 = er — the nose-ring or nose-peg of a draught ox. 職此之謂 = "this is what is meant by it," the formula of an aetiology. The aside explains a piece of farm tackle by way of a cosmic catastrophe.

老lǎo君jūn辭cí了le眾zhòng神shén，跨kuà上shàng青qīng牛niú背bèi上shàng，駕jià彩cǎi雲yún，徑jìng歸guī兜dōu率shuài院yuàn；縛fù妖yāo怪guài，高gāo昇shēng離lí恨hèn天tiān。老lǎo君jūn辞cí了le众zhòng神shén，跨kuà上shàng青qīng牛niú背bèi上shàng，驾jià彩cǎi云yún，径jìng归guī兜dōu率shuài院yuàn；缚fù妖yāo怪guài，高gāo升shēng离lí恨hèn天tiān。

Lord Lao took his leave of the assembled gods, mounted the blue ox's back, rode his coloured cloud and went straight home to the Tuṣita court; and with the fiend bound he ascended to the Heaven of Parted Sorrows.

The two units are joined at the ；. 辭了: 了 = le; 背上: 背 = bèi; 兜率院: 率 = shuài. 跨上 is worth noting beside U+298D4 in the fire passage: the same act of mounting, and the graph there is composed of the horse radical with 夸 as phonetic, which is the ground for reading it kuà.

總評 Commentary

Two waves of a plantain-leaf fan. The first makes the demon throw the ring away — and Lord Lao catches it in one hand, which is the plainest possible statement of who it belongs to. The second takes the strength out of the creature's limbs and he stands revealed as a blue ox. Nothing is fought. The narrative gives the whole capture forty-eight graphs, against the several thousand it has spent on assaults that failed.

Then the aetiology, and it is a strange and lovely thing to find here. Lord Lao breathes on the diamond snare, runs it through the ox's nose, unties his own belt for a halter — and the narrator pauses to tell us that this is why oxen have nose-rings to this day, and why the ring is called a 賓郎. The implement that swallowed the cudgel of the Great Sage, the six weapons of Nezha, an entire fire-armoury, a flood and eighteen grains of the Buddha's golden sand ends the chapter as a nose-ring on a working animal, and the novel offers it as the origin of a piece of farm tackle.