第五十二回 · 圈套飛砂 The Ring Takes the Sand — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

圈套飛砂 The Ring Takes the Sand

那nà妖yāo魔mó見jiàn飛fēi砂shā迷mí目mù，把bǎ頭tóu低dī了le一yì低dī，足zú下xià就jiù有yǒu三sān尺chǐ餘yú深shēn。慌huāng得de他tā將jiāng身shēn一yí縱zòng，跳tiào在zài浮fú上shàng一yì層céng。未wèi曾céng立lì得de穩wěn，須xū臾yú，又yòu有yǒu二èr尺chǐ餘yú深shēn。那nà怪guài急jí了le，拔bá出chū腳jiǎo來lái，即jí忙máng取qǔ圈quān子zi，往wǎng上shàng一yì撇piē，叫jiào聲shēng：「著zháo！」唿hū喇lǎ的de一yí下xià，把bǎ十shí八bā粒lì金jīn丹dān砂shā又yòu盡jìn套tào去qù，拽zhuài回huí步bù，徑jìng歸guī本běn洞dòng。那nà妖yāo魔mó见jiàn飞fēi砂shā迷mí目mù，把bǎ头tóu低dī了le一yì低dī，足zú下xià就jiù有yǒu三sān尺chǐ余yú深shēn。慌huāng得de他tā将jiāng身shēn一yí纵zòng，跳tiào在zài浮fú上shàng一yì层céng。未wèi曾céng立lì得de稳wěn，须xū臾yú，又yòu有yǒu二èr尺chǐ余yú深shēn。那nà怪guài急jí了le，拔bá出chū脚jiǎo来lái，即jí忙máng取qǔ圈quān子zi，往wǎng上shàng一yì撇piē，叫jiào声shēng：「着zháo！」唿hū喇lǎ的de一yí下xià，把bǎ十shí八bā粒lì金jīn丹dān砂shā又yòu尽jìn套tào去qù，拽zhuài回huí步bù，径jìng归guī本běn洞dòng。

逐句解 Line by line

那nà妖yāo魔mó見jiàn飛fēi砂shā迷mí目mù，把bǎ頭tóu低dī了le一yì低dī，足zú下xià就jiù有yǒu三sān尺chǐ餘yú深shēn。那nà妖yāo魔mó见jiàn飞fēi砂shā迷mí目mù，把bǎ头tóu低dī了le一yì低dī，足zú下xià就jiù有yǒu三sān尺chǐ余yú深shēn。

The fiend saw the flying sand blinding his eyes, and dropped his head for one moment — and under his feet there was already more than three feet of it.

Deictic 那妖魔: 那 = nà; 低了一低: 了 = le, and 一 sandhis to yì before a first tone. 三尺餘深: the measure 尺 stays as chǐ — a Ming foot of roughly 32 centimetres.

慌huāng得de他tā將jiāng身shēn一yí縱zòng，跳tiào在zài浮fú上shàng一yì層céng。慌huāng得de他tā将jiāng身shēn一yí纵zòng，跳tiào在zài浮fú上shàng一yì层céng。

In alarm he gave his body a spring and jumped to the layer floating on top.

慌得: 得 = de, complement; 將身一縱: 將 = jiāng. This is the closest anyone comes to winning in the chapter: for two sentences the demon is losing.

未wèi曾céng立lì得de穩wěn，須xū臾yú，又yòu有yǒu二èr尺chǐ餘yú深shēn。未wèi曾céng立lì得de稳wěn，须xū臾yú，又yòu有yǒu二èr尺chǐ余yú深shēn。

He had not yet got his footing when in a moment there were two feet more.

立得穩: 得 = de. 須臾 — a moment, from the Buddhist measure of time; the sand is gaining faster than he can climb.

那nà怪guài急jí了le，拔bá出chū腳jiǎo來lái，即jí忙máng取qǔ圈quān子zi，往wǎng上shàng一yì撇piē，叫jiào聲shēng：「著zháo！」那nà怪guài急jí了le，拔bá出chū脚jiǎo来lái，即jí忙máng取qǔ圈quān子zi，往wǎng上shàng一yì撇piē，叫jiào声shēng：「着zháo！」

The monster was desperate. He pulled his feet free, snatched out the ring in haste, flung it upward, and cried: "Have it!"

Deictic 那怪: 那 = nà; 急了: 了 = le; 圈子: 子 = zi; the cry 著！ = zháo, as before. 一撇: 一 = yì before a third tone.

唿hū喇lǎ的de一yí下xià，把bǎ十shí八bā粒lì金jīn丹dān砂shā又yòu盡jìn套tào去qù，拽zhuài回huí步bù，徑jìng歸guī本běn洞dòng。唿hū喇lǎ的de一yí下xià，把bǎ十shí八bā粒lì金jīn丹dān砂shā又yòu尽jìn套tào去qù，拽zhuài回huí步bù，径jìng归guī本běn洞dòng。

With a whoosh and a rattle it snared away all eighteen grains of golden cinnabar sand as well; and he hauled his steps back and went straight home to his cave.

盡套去: 盡 = jìn (GLOBAL_PY); 拽回步: 拽 = zhuài. 唿喇的一下 repeats the mimetic of the first confiscation word for word — the narrator is quoting himself.

總評 Commentary

For three sentences the sand is winning, and the chapter lets the reader feel it: three feet under his feet before he has finished blinking, a jump to the surface, no footing, two feet more. It is the only stretch in three chapters where the demon is in trouble, and the narrative measures it out in 尺 like a rising flood.

Then the same four graphs as before — 唿喇的一下, with a whoosh and a rattle — and the sand is inside the ring with everything else. The repetition is exact and deliberate: the narrator used this mimetic when the ring took the six weapons and the fire-gear, and he uses it again here without varying a word. Four assaults have now ended in the same sentence. What is different this time is that the failure was anticipated: the Tathāgata gave the arhats a sealed instruction to be opened when the sand was lost, which means he knew it would be.