第十二回 · 愚僧嗤價 The Foolish Monk Scoffs — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

愚僧嗤價 The Foolish Monk Scoffs

長cháng安ān城chéng裡lǐ，有yǒu那nà選xuǎn不bù中zhòng的de愚yú僧sēng，倒dào有yǒu幾jǐ貫guàn村cūn鈔chāo。見jiàn菩pú薩sà變biàn化huà個gè疥jiè癩lài形xíng容róng，身shēn穿chuān破pò衲nà，赤chì腳jiǎo光guāng頭tóu，將jiāng袈jiā裟shā捧pěng定dìng，豔yàn豔yàn生shēng光guāng，他tā上shàng前qián問wèn道dào：「那nà癩lài和hé尚shàng，你nǐ的de袈jiā裟shā要yào賣mài多duō少shǎo價jià錢qián？」菩pú薩sà道dào：「袈jiā裟shā價jià值zhí五wǔ千qiān兩liǎng，錫xī杖zhàng價jià值zhí二èr千qiān兩liǎng。」那nà愚yú僧sēng笑xiào道dào：「這zhè兩liǎng個gè癩lài和hé尚shàng是shì瘋fēng子zi！是shì傻shǎ子zi！這zhè兩liǎng件jiàn粗cū物wù，就jiù賣mài得de七qī千qiān兩liǎng銀yín子zi？只zhǐ是shì除chú非fēi穿chuān上shàng身shēn長cháng生shēng不bù老lǎo，就jiù得dé成chéng佛fó作zuò祖zǔ，也yě值zhí不bù得de這zhè許xǔ多duō！拿ná了le去qù！賣mài不bù成chéng！」长cháng安ān城chéng里lǐ，有yǒu那nà选xuǎn不bù中zhòng的de愚yú僧sēng，倒dào有yǒu几jǐ贯guàn村cūn钞chāo。见jiàn菩pú萨sà变biàn化huà个gè疥jiè癞lài形xíng容róng，身shēn穿chuān破pò衲nà，赤chì脚jiǎo光guāng头tóu，将jiāng袈jiā裟shā捧pěng定dìng，艳yàn艳yàn生shēng光guāng，他tā上shàng前qián问wèn道dào：「那nà癞lài和hé尚shàng，你nǐ的de袈jiā裟shā要yào卖mài多duō少shǎo价jià钱qián？」菩pú萨sà道dào：「袈jiā裟shā价jià值zhí五wǔ千qiān两liǎng，锡xī杖zhàng价jià值zhí二èr千qiān两liǎng。」那nà愚yú僧sēng笑xiào道dào：「这zhè两liǎng个gè癞lài和hé尚shàng是shì疯fēng子zi！是shì傻shǎ子zi！这zhè两liǎng件jiàn粗cū物wù，就jiù卖mài得de七qī千qiān两liǎng银yín子zi？只zhǐ是shì除chú非fēi穿chuān上shàng身shēn长cháng生shēng不bù老lǎo，就jiù得dé成chéng佛fó作zuò祖zǔ，也yě值zhí不bù得de这zhè许xǔ多duō！拿ná了le去qù！卖mài不bù成chéng！」

逐句解 Line by line

長cháng安ān城chéng裡lǐ，有yǒu那nà選xuǎn不bù中zhòng的de愚yú僧sēng，倒dào有yǒu幾jǐ貫guàn村cūn鈔chāo。长cháng安ān城chéng里lǐ，有yǒu那nà选xuǎn不bù中zhòng的de愚yú僧sēng，倒dào有yǒu几jǐ贯guàn村cūn钞chāo。

In the city of Chang'an there was a foolish monk who had failed to be selected, but who happened to have a few strings of country cash.

長 in 長安 is cháng; 那 is demonstrative nà; 中 in 選不中 ('failed to be selected') is zhòng ('to hit the mark, to be chosen').

見jiàn菩pú薩sà變biàn化huà個gè疥jiè癩lài形xíng容róng，身shēn穿chuān破pò衲nà，赤chì腳jiǎo光guāng頭tóu，將jiāng袈jiā裟shā捧pěng定dìng，豔yàn豔yàn生shēng光guāng，他tā上shàng前qián問wèn道dào：「那nà癩lài和hé尚shàng，你nǐ的de袈jiā裟shā要yào賣mài多duō少shǎo價jià錢qián？」见jiàn菩pú萨sà变biàn化huà个gè疥jiè癞lài形xíng容róng，身shēn穿chuān破pò衲nà，赤chì脚jiǎo光guāng头tóu，将jiāng袈jiā裟shā捧pěng定dìng，艳yàn艳yàn生shēng光guāng，他tā上shàng前qián问wèn道dào：「那nà癞lài和hé尚shàng，你nǐ的de袈jiā裟shā要yào卖mài多duō少shǎo价jià钱qián？」

Seeing the Bodhisattva transformed into a scabby, mangy figure — clad in a torn cassock, barefoot and bald-headed, holding the cassock forth all radiant with light — he came up and asked: 'Scabby monk, how much do you want for that cassock of yours?'

The Bodhisattva has taken the guise of a diseased mendicant, the better to test the worth of those who approach. 將 in 將袈裟 is jiāng; 那 in 那癩和尚 is demonstrative nà.

菩pú薩sà道dào：「袈jiā裟shā價jià值zhí五wǔ千qiān兩liǎng，錫xī杖zhàng價jià值zhí二èr千qiān兩liǎng。」菩pú萨sà道dào：「袈jiā裟shā价jià值zhí五wǔ千qiān两liǎng，锡xī杖zhàng价jià值zhí二èr千qiān两liǎng。」

The Bodhisattva said: 'The cassock is worth five thousand taels, the staff two thousand.'

兩 (liǎng, the tael) is left untranslated as a unit of silver weight.

那nà愚yú僧sēng笑xiào道dào：「這zhè兩liǎng個gè癩lài和hé尚shàng是shì瘋fēng子zi！是shì傻shǎ子zi！這zhè兩liǎng件jiàn粗cū物wù，就jiù賣mài得de七qī千qiān兩liǎng銀yín子zi？那nà愚yú僧sēng笑xiào道dào：「这zhè两liǎng个gè癞lài和hé尚shàng是shì疯fēng子zi！是shì傻shǎ子zi！这zhè两liǎng件jiàn粗cū物wù，就jiù卖mài得de七qī千qiān两liǎng银yín子zi？

That foolish monk laughed: 'These two scabby monks are madmen! Are fools! These two coarse things — to sell for seven thousand taels of silver?'

那 is demonstrative nà; 得 in 賣得 ('to sell for') is the resultative de. 瘋子／傻子／銀子 all take the neutral-tone suffix 子 (zi).

只zhǐ是shì除chú非fēi穿chuān上shàng身shēn長cháng生shēng不bù老lǎo，就jiù得dé成chéng佛fó作zuò祖zǔ，也yě值zhí不bù得de這zhè許xǔ多duō！拿ná了le去qù！賣mài不bù成chéng！」只zhǐ是shì除chú非fēi穿chuān上shàng身shēn长cháng生shēng不bù老lǎo，就jiù得dé成chéng佛fó作zuò祖zǔ，也yě值zhí不bù得de这zhè许xǔ多duō！拿ná了le去qù！卖mài不bù成chéng！」

'Only if wearing them on your body made you live forever without aging, or gain buddhahood and patriarchhood at once, would they even be worth so much! Take them away! There's no sale!'

The monk measures the treasures by crude utility and finds them absurdly overpriced — the counter-example to the discernment Xiao Yu will show. 長 in 長生 ('to live long') is cháng; the two occurrences of 得 divide — 得成佛 ('gain buddhahood') is dé (obtain), while 值不得 ('not worth') is the resultative de.

總評 Commentary

The foolish monk is the negative foil the episode requires. Having failed selection for the very assembly the treasures are meant to grace, he judges the cassock and staff by brute utility — would they confer immortality or instant buddhahood? — and, finding they do not, dismisses their price as lunacy. His crass literalism sets in sharp relief the spiritual discernment that Xiao Yu is about to display: where the foolish monk sees only 'two coarse things,' the devout chancellor will recognize a treasure whose worth is measured not in taels but in merit. The Bodhisattva's disguise as a diseased beggar is the instrument of this sorting, exposing who can see past appearances and who cannot.