第五十九回 · 旋風敗葉 Tossed Like A Fallen Leaf — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

旋風敗葉 Tossed Like A Fallen Leaf

那nà大dà聖shèng飄piāo飄piāo蕩dàng蕩dàng，左zuǒ沉chén不bù能néng落luò地dì，右yòu墜zhuì不bù得dé存cún身shēn。就jiù如rú旋xuán風fēng翻fān敗bài葉yè，流liú水shuǐ淌tǎng殘cán花huā。滾gǔn了le一yí夜yè，直zhí至zhì天tiān明míng，方fāng才cái落luò在zài一yí座zuò山shān上shàng，雙shuāng手shǒu抱bào住zhù一yí塊kuài峰fēng石shí。定dìng性xìng良liáng久jiǔ，仔zǐ細xì觀guān看kàn，卻què才cái認rèn得dé是shì小xiǎo須xū彌mí山shān。那nà大dà圣shèng飘piāo飘piāo荡dàng荡dàng，左zuǒ沉chén不bù能néng落luò地dì，右yòu坠zhuì不bù得dé存cún身shēn。就jiù如rú旋xuán风fēng翻fān败bài叶yè，流liú水shuǐ淌tǎng残cán花huā。滚gǔn了le一yí夜yè，直zhí至zhì天tiān明míng，方fāng才cái落luò在zài一yí座zuò山shān上shàng，双shuāng手shǒu抱bào住zhù一yí块kuài峰fēng石shí。定dìng性xìng良liáng久jiǔ，仔zǐ细xì观guān看kàn，却què才cái认rèn得dé是shì小xiǎo须xū弥mí山shān。

逐句解 Line by line

那nà大dà聖shèng飄piāo飄piāo蕩dàng蕩dàng，左zuǒ沉chén不bù能néng落luò地dì，右yòu墜zhuì不bù得dé存cún身shēn。那nà大dà圣shèng飘piāo飘piāo荡dàng荡dàng，左zuǒ沉chén不bù能néng落luò地dì，右yòu坠zhuì不bù得dé存cún身shēn。

That Great Sage went drifting and tumbling. Sink to the left as he might, he could not reach the ground; drop to the right as he might, he could find no place to rest.

落 is luò throughout this chapter, not the là of leaving behind. The two parallel clauses use 不能 and 不得 for the same impossibility, and the second 得 is the dé of attainment, so its 不 takes mechanical bù against the base tone.

就jiù如rú旋xuán風fēng翻fān敗bài葉yè，流liú水shuǐ淌tǎng殘cán花huā。就jiù如rú旋xuán风fēng翻fān败bài叶yè，流liú水shuǐ淌tǎng残cán花huā。

It was as when a whirlwind turns over a withered leaf, or running water carries off the last of the blossom.

淌 is tǎng, to flow or let flow. Both similes are of something light being moved by something that does not notice it — which is what has just happened to the Great Sage Equal to Heaven.

滾gǔn了le一yí夜yè，直zhí至zhì天tiān明míng，方fāng才cái落luò在zài一yí座zuò山shān上shàng，雙shuāng手shǒu抱bào住zhù一yí塊kuài峰fēng石shí。滚gǔn了le一yí夜yè，直zhí至zhì天tiān明míng，方fāng才cái落luò在zài一yí座zuò山shān上shàng，双shuāng手shǒu抱bào住zhù一yí块kuài峰fēng石shí。

He rolled about the whole night, and only at daybreak did he come down at last on a mountain, where he caught hold of a crag with both arms.

滾了一夜 'rolled for a whole night'. The fan has carried him from dusk to dawn, which the next passage will convert into a distance. 石 is shí in 峰石.

定dìng性xìng良liáng久jiǔ，仔zǐ細xì觀guān看kàn，卻què才cái認rèn得dé是shì小xiǎo須xū彌mí山shān。定dìng性xìng良liáng久jiǔ，仔zǐ细xì观guān看kàn，却què才cái认rèn得dé是shì小xiǎo须xū弥mí山shān。

When he had steadied himself a good while and looked carefully about, he recognised the place at last as the Little Sumeru Mountain.

仔細 takes 仔 as zǐ — pypinyin supplies zǎi, which belongs to the sense of a young animal. 定性 'to settle the nature', to compose oneself. 小須彌山 renders Sumeru, the world-mountain of Buddhist cosmology, in its lesser form.

總評 Commentary

The two similes are chosen to humiliate. A whirlwind turning over a dead leaf, running water carrying off fallen blossom — in both, the thing moved is weightless and the thing moving it is not paying attention. This is the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, who has fought the armies of the Jade Emperor.

The detail that makes it worse is the effort. He is not unconscious: he sinks left and cannot reach ground, drops right and finds nothing to rest on, and rolls about the whole night before dawn brings him down. The novel gives him the entire night of futile struggling, and then a crag to hold on to with both arms.

Recognising the place takes him a further moment of composing himself and looking carefully — 定性良久，仔細觀看 — which is the first time in the chapter he has had to work out where he is. For a character who normally crosses the world in a somersault, being lost is a novel condition.