第五十八回 · 沙僧難認 Sha Monk Cannot Choose — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

沙僧難認 Sha Monk Cannot Choose

他tā兩liǎng個gè各gè踏tà雲yún光guāng，跳tiào鬥dòu上shàng九jiǔ霄xiāo雲yún內nèi。沙shā僧sēng在zài傍bàng，不bù敢gǎn下xià手shǒu。見jiàn他tā們men戰zhàn此cǐ一yì場chǎng，誠chéng然rán難nán認rèn真zhēn假jiǎ。欲yù待dài拔bá刀dāo相xiāng助zhù，又yòu恐kǒng傷shāng了le真zhēn的de。忍rěn耐nài良liáng久jiǔ，且qiě縱zòng身shēn跳tiào下xià山shān崖yá，使shǐ降xiáng妖yāo寶bǎo杖zhàng，打dǎ近jìn水shuǐ簾lián洞dòng外wài，驚jīng散sàn群qún妖yāo，掀xiān翻fān石shí凳dèng，把bǎ飲yǐn酒jiǔ食shí肉ròu的de器qì皿mǐn盡jìn情qíng打dǎ碎suì。尋xún他tā的de青qīng氈zhān包bāo袱fú，四sì下xià裡lǐ全quán然rán不bú見jiàn。他tā两liǎng个gè各gè踏tà云yún光guāng，跳tiào斗dòu上shàng九jiǔ霄xiāo云yún内nèi。沙shā僧sēng在zài傍bàng，不bù敢gǎn下xià手shǒu。见jiàn他tā们men战zhàn此cǐ一yì场chǎng，诚chéng然rán难nán认rèn真zhēn假jiǎ。欲yù待dài拔bá刀dāo相xiāng助zhù，又yòu恐kǒng伤shāng了le真zhēn的de。忍rěn耐nài良liáng久jiǔ，且qiě纵zòng身shēn跳tiào下xià山shān崖yá，使shǐ降xiáng妖yāo宝bǎo杖zhàng，打dǎ近jìn水shuǐ帘lián洞dòng外wài，惊jīng散sàn群qún妖yāo，掀xiān翻fān石shí凳dèng，把bǎ饮yǐn酒jiǔ食shí肉ròu的de器qì皿mǐn尽jìn情qíng打dǎ碎suì。寻xún他tā的de青qīng毡zhān包bāo袱fú，四sì下xià里lǐ全quán然rán不bú见jiàn。

逐句解 Line by line

他tā兩liǎng個gè各gè踏tà雲yún光guāng，跳tiào鬥dòu上shàng九jiǔ霄xiāo雲yún內nèi。他tā两liǎng个gè各gè踏tà云yún光guāng，跳tiào斗dòu上shàng九jiǔ霄xiāo云yún内nèi。

The two of them each trod their cloud-light and leapt fighting up into the ninefold empyrean.

九霄 the ninefold empyrean, the highest reach of the sky. The prose following the rhapsody is kept out of the showcase.

沙shā僧sēng在zài傍bàng，不bù敢gǎn下xià手shǒu。沙shā僧sēng在zài傍bàng，不bù敢gǎn下xià手shǒu。

Sha Monk stood by and dared not put out a hand.

在傍 bàng, at the side — held invariant corpus-wide.

見jiàn他tā們men戰zhàn此cǐ一yì場chǎng，誠chéng然rán難nán認rèn真zhēn假jiǎ。见jiàn他tā们men战zhàn此cǐ一yì场chǎng，诚chéng然rán难nán认rèn真zhēn假jiǎ。

Seeing them do battle in this one bout, he found in all sincerity that true and false could not be told apart.

誠然難認 'in all sincerity hard to recognise'. 難 nán, hard-to, against the nàn of calamity.

欲yù待dài拔bá刀dāo相xiāng助zhù，又yòu恐kǒng傷shāng了le真zhēn的de。欲yù待dài拔bá刀dāo相xiāng助zhù，又yòu恐kǒng伤shāng了le真zhēn的de。

He would have drawn his blade to help, but feared he might wound the true one.

欲待…又恐: the frame of an intention checked by a fear. 相助 xiāng, to assist, the reciprocal adverb.

忍rěn耐nài良liáng久jiǔ，且qiě縱zòng身shēn跳tiào下xià山shān崖yá，使shǐ降xiáng妖yāo寶bǎo杖zhàng，打dǎ近jìn水shuǐ簾lián洞dòng外wài，驚jīng散sàn群qún妖yāo，掀xiān翻fān石shí凳dèng，把bǎ飲yǐn酒jiǔ食shí肉ròu的de器qì皿mǐn盡jìn情qíng打dǎ碎suì。忍rěn耐nài良liáng久jiǔ，且qiě纵zòng身shēn跳tiào下xià山shān崖yá，使shǐ降xiáng妖yāo宝bǎo杖zhàng，打dǎ近jìn水shuǐ帘lián洞dòng外wài，惊jīng散sàn群qún妖yāo，掀xiān翻fān石shí凳dèng，把bǎ饮yǐn酒jiǔ食shí肉ròu的de器qì皿mǐn尽jìn情qíng打dǎ碎suì。

Having borne it a good while, he leapt down the mountain cliff instead, used his demon-quelling treasure staff, beat his way up to the outside of the Water-Curtain Cave, scattered the throng of fiends in fright, overturned the stone benches, and smashed to pieces every vessel they had been drinking and eating from.

降妖 xiáng, to subdue — the standing ruling; pypinyin bakes jiàng, 'to descend'. 盡情 jìn, to the utmost.

尋xún他tā的de青qīng氈zhān包bāo袱fú，四sì下xià裡lǐ全quán然rán不bú見jiàn。寻xún他tā的de青qīng毡zhān包bāo袱fú，四sì下xià里lǐ全quán然rán不bú见jiàn。

He looked for their blue felt bundle, but in all four directions it was nowhere to be seen.

青氈包袱 the blue felt wrapping-cloth holding the pilgrims' baggage and the travel rescript — the object the whole quarrel turns on.

總評 Commentary

Sha Monk's paralysis is the practical form of the chapter's problem. He is willing to fight and able to fight, and the only thing preventing him is that action requires knowing which way to aim it. 又恐傷了真的 — the fear of wounding the true one — is a scruple, and the episode treats it as a genuine one rather than as cowardice.

What he does instead is instructive. Unable to choose between two persons, he goes and attacks property: benches, vessels, the cave itself. It is displaced action, and the narrative lets it be both understandable and useless. He breaks everything breakable and still comes away without the one thing he went for.

The bundle's absence is the chapter's first genuinely material clue, and it is withheld from him by nothing more than ignorance of the cave's entrance. The novel is careful here: Sha Monk fails not because he is outmatched but because he does not know how the door works. That will be explained two passages later, and by then it will be too late to matter.