第五十二回 · 鐵棒重歸 The Iron Cudgel Regained — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

鐵棒重歸 The Iron Cudgel Regained

話huà說shuō孫sūn大dà聖shèng得dé了le金jīn箍gū棒bàng，打dǎ出chū門mén前qián，跳tiào上shàng高gāo峰fēng，對duì眾zhòng神shén滿mǎn心xīn歡huān喜xǐ。李lǐ天tiān王wáng道dào：「你nǐ這zhè場chǎng如rú何hé？」行xíng者zhě道dào：「老lǎo孫sūn變biàn化huà進jìn他tā洞dòng去qù，那nà怪guài物wù越yuè發fā唱chàng唱chàng舞wǔ舞wǔ的de吃chī得dé勝shèng酒jiǔ哩li。更gèng不bù曾céng打dǎ聽tīng得dé他tā的de寶bǎo貝bèi在zài那nǎ裡lǐ。我wǒ轉zhuǎn他tā後hòu面miàn，忽hū聽tīng得dé馬mǎ叫jiào龍lóng吟yín，知zhī是shì火huǒ部bù之zhī物wù。東dōng壁bì廂xiāng靠kào著zhe我wǒ的de金jīn箍gū棒bàng，是shì老lǎo孫sūn拿ná在zài手shǒu中zhōng，一yí路lù打dǎ將jiāng出chū來lái也yě。」眾zhòng神shén道dào：「你nǐ的de寶bǎo貝bèi得dé了le，我wǒ們men的de寶bǎo貝bèi何hé時shí到dào手shǒu？」行xíng者zhě道dào：「不bù難nán，不bù難nán。我wǒ有yǒu了le這zhè根gēn鐵tiě棒bàng，不bù管guǎn怎zěn的de，也yě要yào打dǎ倒dǎo他tā，取qǔ寶bǎo貝bèi還huán你nǐ。」话huà说shuō孙sūn大dà圣shèng得dé了le金jīn箍gū棒bàng，打dǎ出chū门mén前qián，跳tiào上shàng高gāo峰fēng，对duì众zhòng神shén满mǎn心xīn欢huān喜xǐ。李lǐ天tiān王wáng道dào：「你nǐ这zhè场chǎng如rú何hé？」行xíng者zhě道dào：「老lǎo孙sūn变biàn化huà进jìn他tā洞dòng去qù，那nà怪guài物wù越yuè发fā唱chàng唱chàng舞wǔ舞wǔ的de吃chī得dé胜shèng酒jiǔ哩li。更gèng不bù曾céng打dǎ听tīng得dé他tā的de宝bǎo贝bèi在zài那nǎ里lǐ。我wǒ转zhuǎn他tā后hòu面miàn，忽hū听tīng得dé马mǎ叫jiào龙lóng吟yín，知zhī是shì火huǒ部bù之zhī物wù。东dōng壁bì厢xiāng靠kào着zhe我wǒ的de金jīn箍gū棒bàng，是shì老lǎo孙sūn拿ná在zài手shǒu中zhōng，一yí路lù打dǎ将jiāng出chū来lái也yě。」众zhòng神shén道dào：「你nǐ的de宝bǎo贝bèi得dé了le，我wǒ们men的de宝bǎo贝bèi何hé时shí到dào手shǒu？」行xíng者zhě道dào：「不bù难nán，不bù难nán。我wǒ有yǒu了le这zhè根gēn铁tiě棒bàng，不bù管guǎn怎zěn的de，也yě要yào打dǎ倒dǎo他tā，取qǔ宝bǎo贝bèi还huán你nǐ。」

逐句解 Line by line

話huà說shuō孫sūn大dà聖shèng得dé了le金jīn箍gū棒bàng，打dǎ出chū門mén前qián，跳tiào上shàng高gāo峰fēng，對duì眾zhòng神shén滿mǎn心xīn歡huān喜xǐ。话huà说shuō孙sūn大dà圣shèng得dé了le金jīn箍gū棒bàng，打dǎ出chū门mén前qián，跳tiào上shàng高gāo峰fēng，对duì众zhòng神shén满mǎn心xīn欢huān喜xǐ。

The story goes that the Great Sage, having got back his gold-banded cudgel, fought his way out before the gate, sprang up to the high peak, and faced the assembled spirits with a heart wholly delighted.

The chapter opens on 話說, the resumptive formula that picks the thread up exactly where Chapter 51 dropped it — inside the cave, with the cudgel just recovered. 得了: 得 = dé (attainment, "to get back"), 了 = le (aspect). 眾神 are the celestial levy standing by on the peak: Devarāja Li and his sons, the Thunder Squire, the Fire Star, the Water Earl.

李lǐ天tiān王wáng道dào：「你nǐ這zhè場chǎng如rú何hé？」李lǐ天tiān王wáng道dào：「你nǐ这zhè场chǎng如rú何hé？」

Devarāja Li said: "And how did this bout of yours go?"

李天王 is Li Jing, the Pagoda-Bearing Devarāja (托塔李天王), commander of the levy lent to Pilgrim by the Jade Emperor. 這場 = "this round, this engagement" — the vernacular measure-word for a bout.

行xíng者zhě道dào：「老lǎo孫sūn變biàn化huà進jìn他tā洞dòng去qù，那nà怪guài物wù越yuè發fā唱chàng唱chàng舞wǔ舞wǔ的de吃chī得dé勝shèng酒jiǔ哩li。行xíng者zhě道dào：「老lǎo孙sūn变biàn化huà进jìn他tā洞dòng去qù，那nà怪guài物wù越yuè发fā唱chàng唱chàng舞wǔ舞wǔ的de吃chī得dé胜shèng酒jiǔ哩li。

Pilgrim said: "Old Monkey changed shape and got inside his cave. The monster was carrying on worse than ever — singing and capering and drinking his victory wine.

變化: 化 = huà. Deictic 那怪物: 那 = nà. 吃得勝酒: 得 = dé (得勝 "to win the victory"). The sentence-final 哩 = li, the vernacular particle of report; pypinyin defaults it to lī, and it is fixed corpus-wide in GLOBAL_PY.

更gèng不bù曾céng打dǎ聽tīng得dé他tā的de寶bǎo貝bèi在zài那nǎ裡lǐ。更gèng不bù曾céng打dǎ听tīng得dé他tā的de宝bǎo贝bèi在zài那nǎ里lǐ。

"What I never did make out was where he keeps that treasure of his.

更不曾: 更 = gèng ("still, at all"), not the night-watch gēng. 打聽得: 得 = dé, patterning with 聽得 / 聞得. 在那裡 is here an indirect question, "where" — 那 = nǎ, the pre-differentiated form of 哪, not the deictic nà of the preceding line.

我wǒ轉zhuǎn他tā後hòu面miàn，忽hū聽tīng得dé馬mǎ叫jiào龍lóng吟yín，知zhī是shì火huǒ部bù之zhī物wù。我wǒ转zhuǎn他tā后hòu面miàn，忽hū听tīng得dé马mǎ叫jiào龙lóng吟yín，知zhī是shì火huǒ部bù之zhī物wù。

"I slipped round to the back of the place, and all at once heard horses neighing and a dragon's cry, and knew them for the gear of the Fire Department.

忽聽得: 得 = dé. 火部之物 — the fire-dragons, fire-horses, fire-crows and fire-rats commanded by the Fire-Virtue Star Lord (火德星君), all swallowed by the ring in Chapter 51.

東dōng壁bì廂xiāng靠kào著zhe我wǒ的de金jīn箍gū棒bàng，是shì老lǎo孫sūn拿ná在zài手shǒu中zhōng，一yí路lù打dǎ將jiāng出chū來lái也yě。」东dōng壁bì厢xiāng靠kào着zhe我wǒ的de金jīn箍gū棒bàng，是shì老lǎo孙sūn拿ná在zài手shǒu中zhōng，一yí路lù打dǎ将jiāng出chū来lái也yě。」

"Leaning against the eastern wall was my own gold-banded cudgel. Old Monkey took it in hand, and beat his way out along the whole road."

靠著: durative 著 = zhe. 手中: 中 = zhōng. 打將出來: 將 = jiāng, the directional coverb of vernacular narrative, not the jiàng of "general."

眾zhòng神shén道dào：「你nǐ的de寶bǎo貝bèi得dé了le，我wǒ們men的de寶bǎo貝bèi何hé時shí到dào手shǒu？」众zhòng神shén道dào：「你nǐ的de宝bǎo贝bèi得dé了le，我wǒ们men的de宝bǎo贝bèi何hé时shí到dào手shǒu？」

The spirits said: "Your treasure you have got; when do ours come to hand?"

得了: 得 = dé, 了 = le. The question is the engine of the chapter: six weapons of the Third Prince, the whole fire-armoury, and presently the golden sand of the arhats are all still inside the ring.

行xíng者zhě道dào：「不bù難nán，不bù難nán。我wǒ有yǒu了le這zhè根gēn鐵tiě棒bàng，不bù管guǎn怎zěn的de，也yě要yào打dǎ倒dǎo他tā，取qǔ寶bǎo貝bèi還huán你nǐ。」行xíng者zhě道dào：「不bù难nán，不bù难nán。我wǒ有yǒu了le这zhè根gēn铁tiě棒bàng，不bù管guǎn怎zěn的de，也yě要yào打dǎ倒dǎo他tā，取qǔ宝bǎo贝bèi还huán你nǐ。」

Pilgrim said: "No hard matter, no hard matter. Now that I have this iron rod, come what may I mean to knock him down, take the treasures, and hand them back to you."

不難，不難: 難 = nán both times ("difficult"), not the nominal nàn ("calamity"); the doubling is vernacular bravado. 打倒: 倒 = dǎo ("to topple"), distinct from the adversative dào two passages below. 還你: 還 = huán ("to give back"), not hái.

總評 Commentary

Chapter 52 opens without a pause. The formula is 話說, not the 卻說 that marks a change of scene, and it resumes on the same peak, in the same hour, with the same company: this is the third and last chapter of the Golden Helm arc, and the narrator is at pains not to let the pressure off. Wukong has just done the one thing that seemed impossible — walked into the cave as an insect and walked out with his cudgel — and the celestial levy on the ridge greets him as a conqueror.

The comedy of the passage lies in the gods' single question. They are not admiring; they want their own weapons back. Everything the ring has swallowed is still inside it, and Wukong's answer — 不難，不難 — is the boast the whole chapter exists to dismantle. He will steal the weapons out and lose them again; he will fetch fire, then water, then the golden sand of eighteen arhats, and lose those too. The recovered cudgel is a real gain and an irrelevant one, because the problem is not that he is unarmed but that the ring takes anything at all. Nothing in his own repertoire can answer it, and the chapter's solution, when it comes, will not be a victory but a piece of information.