Canonical Classics ← 第十三回
第十三回
xiànxuéjīnxīngjiěè
shuāngchālǐngqīnliúsēng

Trapped in the Tiger's Den, the Gold Star Dispels the Peril · At Twin-Fork Ridge, Liu Boqin Takes In the Monk

辭金起程
模式 Mode Read Study
拼音 Pinyin Off
字體 Script
原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

辭金起程 Gifts Declined, the Road Resumed

qīnsānkǒuerdemènghuàduìsānzàngchénbiànsānzàngzǎogōnggěilezhāiyòubáiyínliǎngwèixièsānzàngfēnwénshòujiāeryòukěnkěnbàiyāngsānzàngjìngfēnwénwèishòudàndào:「shìkěnbēisòngchénggǎnzhìài。」qīnnàizuòlexiēmiànshāobǐnggānliángjiàoqīnyuǎnsòngsānzànghuānshōutàibǎolǐnglemìngyòuhuànliǎngsānjiātóngdàilièdexiètóngshàngkànjìnshānzhōngjǐnglǐngshàngfēngguāngqīnsānkǒuerdemènghuàduìsānzàngchénbiànsānzàngzǎogōnggěilezhāiyòubáiyínliǎngwèixièsānzàngfēnwénshòujiāeryòukěnkěnbàiyāngsānzàngjìngfēnwénwèishòudàndào:「shìkěnbēisòngchénggǎnzhìài。」qīnnàizuòlexiēmiànshāobǐnggānliángjiàoqīnyuǎnsòngsānzànghuānshōutàibǎolǐnglemìngyòuhuànliǎngsānjiātóngdàilièdexiètóngshàngkànjìnshānzhōngjǐnglǐngshàngfēngguāng


逐句解 Line by line

qīnsānkǒuerdemènghuàduìsānzàngchénbiànsānzàngzǎogōnggěilezhāiyòubáiyínliǎngwèixièsānzàngfēnwénshòujiāeryòukěnkěnbàiyāngsānzàngjìngfēnwénwèishòudàndào:「shìkěnbēisòngchénggǎnzhìài。」qīnnàizuòlexiēmiànshāobǐnggānliángjiàoqīnyuǎnsòngsānzànghuānshōutàibǎolǐnglemìngyòuhuànliǎngsānjiātóngdàilièdexiètóngshàngkànjìnshānzhōngjǐnglǐngshàngfēngguāng qīnsānkǒuerdemènghuàduìsānzàngchénbiànsānzàngzǎogōnggěilezhāiyòubáiyínliǎngwèixièsānzàngfēnwénshòujiāeryòukěnkěnbàiyāngsānzàngjìngfēnwénwèishòudàndào:「shìkěnbēisòngchénggǎnzhìài。」qīnnàizuòlexiēmiànshāobǐnggānliángjiàoqīnyuǎnsòngsānzànghuānshōutàibǎolǐnglemìngyòuhuànliǎngsānjiātóngdàilièdexiètóngshàngkànjìnshānzhōngjǐnglǐngshàngfēngguāng

Boqin related the whole of the three dreams to Sanzang, and Sanzang too was glad. Early they set out a vegetarian meal, and further offered a tael of silver in thanks; but Sanzang would not take a single cash of it. When the whole family earnestly and repeatedly pressed and entreated him, Sanzang, in the end, took not a single cash, saying only: “That you are willing to show mercy and see me a stage on my way is enough, and I am deeply moved by your kindness.” Boqin and his mother and wife, at a loss what to do, hastily made up some coarse-flour griddle-cakes for dry provisions, and bade Boqin see him far on his road. Sanzang gladly accepted these. The Guardian, having received his mother's command, called two or three of the house-servants besides, each with his hunting gear, and they set out together on the high road; and they could not take in all the wild scenes of the mountains and the light on the ridges.

一兩 (yī liǎng), “one tael,” is a substantial sum of silver; Sanzang's refusal of even 分文 (a fraction of money, “a single cash”) is of a piece with his refusal to break his fast — the monk keeps his discipline in matters of money as of food. The griddle-cakes he does accept are a gift of provisions, not payment.


總評 Commentary

The chapter turns toward departure, and Sanzang's character is confirmed once more in the small compass of a refused gift. Offered a tael of silver, and pressed hard by the grateful family, he declines every cash of it, accepting only the coarse travel-cakes that are provisions rather than payment. The gesture rhymes with his earlier refusal to break his fast even at the risk of starving: in money as in food, the monk holds to a discipline that sets him apart from the ordinary transactions of the world, taking what he needs for the road and no more. Boqin, at his mother's command, gathers servants and gear to escort the pilgrim onward, and the passage closes on the open road and the wild mountain prospect, carrying the narrative out of the farmstead and back toward the perils of the way.