第五十八回 · 水簾洞門 The Curtain Of Water — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

水簾洞門 The Curtain Of Water

原yuán來lái他tā水shuǐ簾lián洞dòng本běn是shì一yì股gǔ瀑pù布bù飛fēi泉quán，遮zhē掛guà洞dòng門mén，遠yuǎn看kàn似sì一yì條tiáo白bái布bù簾lián兒er，近jìn看kàn乃nǎi是shì一yì股gǔ水shuǐ脈mài，故gù曰yuē水shuǐ簾lián洞dòng。沙shā僧sēng不bù知zhī進jìn步bù來lái歷lì，故gù此cǐ難nán尋xún。即jí便biàn縱zòng雲yún，趕gǎn到dào九jiǔ霄xiāo雲yún裡lǐ，掄lūn著zhe寶bǎo杖zhàng，又yòu不bù好hǎo下xià手shǒu。大dà聖shèng道dào：「沙shā僧sēng，你nǐ既jì助zhù不bù得de力lì，且qiě回huí覆fù師shī父fù，說shuō我wǒ等děng這zhè般bān這zhè般bān，等děng老lǎo孫sūn與yǔ此cǐ妖yāo打dǎ上shàng南nán海hǎi落luò伽qié山shān菩pú薩sà前qián辨biàn個gè真zhēn假jiǎ。」道dào罷bà，那nà行xíng者zhě也yě如rú此cǐ說shuō。沙shā僧sēng見jiàn兩liǎng個gè相xiàng貌mào、聲shēng音yīn，更gèng無wú一yì毫háo差chā別bié，皂zào白bái難nán分fēn，只zhǐ得dé依yī言yán，撥bō轉zhuǎn雲yún頭tóu，回huí覆fù唐táng僧sēng不bù題tí。原yuán来lái他tā水shuǐ帘lián洞dòng本běn是shì一yì股gǔ瀑pù布bù飞fēi泉quán，遮zhē挂guà洞dòng门mén，远yuǎn看kàn似sì一yì条tiáo白bái布bù帘lián儿er，近jìn看kàn乃nǎi是shì一yì股gǔ水shuǐ脉mài，故gù曰yuē水shuǐ帘lián洞dòng。沙shā僧sēng不bù知zhī进jìn步bù来lái历lì，故gù此cǐ难nán寻xún。即jí便biàn纵zòng云yún，赶gǎn到dào九jiǔ霄xiāo云yún里lǐ，抡lūn着zhe宝bǎo杖zhàng，又yòu不bù好hǎo下xià手shǒu。大dà圣shèng道dào：「沙shā僧sēng，你nǐ既jì助zhù不bù得de力lì，且qiě回huí覆fù师shī父fù，说shuō我wǒ等děng这zhè般bān这zhè般bān，等děng老lǎo孙sūn与yǔ此cǐ妖yāo打dǎ上shàng南nán海hǎi落luò伽qié山shān菩pú萨sà前qián辨biàn个gè真zhēn假jiǎ。」道dào罢bà，那nà行xíng者zhě也yě如rú此cǐ说shuō。沙shā僧sēng见jiàn两liǎng个gè相xiàng貌mào、声shēng音yīn，更gèng无wú一yì毫háo差chā别bié，皂zào白bái难nán分fēn，只zhǐ得dé依yī言yán，拨bō转zhuǎn云yún头tóu，回huí覆fù唐táng僧sēng不bù题tí。

逐句解 Line by line

原yuán來lái他tā水shuǐ簾lián洞dòng本běn是shì一yì股gǔ瀑pù布bù飛fēi泉quán，遮zhē掛guà洞dòng門mén，遠yuǎn看kàn似sì一yì條tiáo白bái布bù簾lián兒er，近jìn看kàn乃nǎi是shì一yì股gǔ水shuǐ脈mài，故gù曰yuē水shuǐ簾lián洞dòng。原yuán来lái他tā水shuǐ帘lián洞dòng本běn是shì一yì股gǔ瀑pù布bù飞fēi泉quán，遮zhē挂guà洞dòng门mén，远yuǎn看kàn似sì一yì条tiáo白bái布bù帘lián儿er，近jìn看kàn乃nǎi是shì一yì股gǔ水shuǐ脉mài，故gù曰yuē水shuǐ帘lián洞dòng。

Now this Water-Curtain Cave of theirs was in origin a single cataract of flying spring-water, hung across the cave mouth to screen it. Seen from afar it resembled a single bolt of white cloth; seen from near it was a single vein of water. Hence its name, the Water-Curtain Cave.

簾兒 takes the true retroflex suffix, er. 似 sì corpus-wide, the scholarly comparative, not the colloquial shì of 似的.

沙shā僧sēng不bù知zhī進jìn步bù來lái歷lì，故gù此cǐ難nán尋xún。沙shā僧sēng不bù知zhī进jìn步bù来lái历lì，故gù此cǐ难nán寻xún。

Sha Monk did not know the way of getting in, and for that reason found the searching hard.

進步來歷 'the provenance of the way in' — the knowledge of how the waterfall is passed, which Wukong has and Sha Monk has not.

即jí便biàn縱zòng雲yún，趕gǎn到dào九jiǔ霄xiāo雲yún裡lǐ，掄lūn著zhe寶bǎo杖zhàng，又yòu不bù好hǎo下xià手shǒu。即jí便biàn纵zòng云yún，赶gǎn到dào九jiǔ霄xiāo云yún里lǐ，抡lūn着zhe宝bǎo杖zhàng，又yòu不bù好hǎo下xià手shǒu。

So he mounted his cloud at once, hastened up into the ninefold empyrean, brandished his treasure staff, and yet again could not well put out a hand.

掄著 zhe, the durative — brandishing and holding brandished; pypinyin bakes zhù. The clause repeats 又不好下手 from four segments earlier.

大dà聖shèng道dào：「沙shā僧sēng，你nǐ既jì助zhù不bù得de力lì，且qiě回huí覆fù師shī父fù，說shuō我wǒ等děng這zhè般bān這zhè般bān，等děng老lǎo孫sūn與yǔ此cǐ妖yāo打dǎ上shàng南nán海hǎi落luò伽qié山shān菩pú薩sà前qián辨biàn個gè真zhēn假jiǎ。」大dà圣shèng道dào：「沙shā僧sēng，你nǐ既jì助zhù不bù得de力lì，且qiě回huí覆fù师shī父fù，说shuō我wǒ等děng这zhè般bān这zhè般bān，等děng老lǎo孙sūn与yǔ此cǐ妖yāo打dǎ上shàng南nán海hǎi落luò伽qié山shān菩pú萨sà前qián辨biàn个gè真zhēn假jiǎ。」

The Great Sage said: "Sha Monk, since you can lend no strength to it, go back and report to our master. Tell him such and such of us, and that old Sun will fight this fiend up to the Bodhisattva on Potalaka Mountain in the Southern Sea and there have the true and false told apart."

落伽山 luò qié, Potalaka, the Bodhisattva's mountain — the transcription phrase, not the jiā of 瑜伽. 助不得力: 得 is the potential complement, de.

道dào罷bà，那nà行xíng者zhě也yě如rú此cǐ說shuō。道dào罢bà，那nà行xíng者zhě也yě如rú此cǐ说shuō。

When he had done speaking, that Pilgrim said the very same thing.

道罷 bà, the verb 'to finish', as in the sealed corpus's 便罷 — not the imperative particle ba.

沙shā僧sēng見jiàn兩liǎng個gè相xiàng貌mào、聲shēng音yīn，更gèng無wú一yì毫háo差chā別bié，皂zào白bái難nán分fēn，只zhǐ得dé依yī言yán，撥bō轉zhuǎn雲yún頭tóu，回huí覆fù唐táng僧sēng不bù題tí。沙shā僧sēng见jiàn两liǎng个gè相xiàng貌mào、声shēng音yīn，更gèng无wú一yì毫háo差chā别bié，皂zào白bái难nán分fēn，只zhǐ得dé依yī言yán，拨bō转zhuǎn云yún头tóu，回huí覆fù唐táng僧sēng不bù题tí。

Sha Monk saw that the two of them, in appearance and in voice, had not so much as a hair's difference between them. Black and white could not be told apart, and he could only do as he was bidden: he turned his cloud-head about and went back to report to the Tang Monk — of which no more here.

更無一毫差別: 更 gèng, as at 更無 in the sealed corpus; 差別 chā, difference, not the chāi of dispatch. 只得 dé, could only.

總評 Commentary

The digression on the waterfall is not ornament. It explains, at the exact moment the explanation is useless, why Sha Monk's raid failed: the cave has a door that looks like water, and knowing this is a piece of insider knowledge that the true Wukong possesses and that Sha Monk does not. The novel thus quietly supplies a test it declines to use — the impostor, sitting in that cave, evidently knows the door too.

Wukong's instruction is to go back to Potalaka, which is where they have just come from. The chapter's structure is beginning to show itself: it will consist of the same appeal made to successively higher authorities, each of whom will fail in the same way. That the first repetition is a return to the very Bodhisattva who has already declined to rule makes the futility explicit at the outset.

道罷，那行者也如此說 is the chapter's characteristic sentence and it will recur almost verbatim at every stage. The impostor's method is not invention but echo, and echo is unfalsifiable: any statement the true Wukong can make to prove himself becomes, on repetition, evidence for nobody. Sha Monk's 皂白難分 — black and white indistinguishable — is the proverb for a situation that ought to be the easiest discrimination there is.