師徒復合 Back on the Road
這行者須臾間看見唐僧在路傍悶坐。他上前道：「師父，怎麼不走路？還在此做甚？」三藏擡頭道：「你往那裡去來？教我行又不敢行，動又不敢動，只管在此等你。」行者道：「我往東洋大海老龍王家討茶吃吃。」三藏道：「徒弟啊，出家人不要說謊。你離了我沒多一個時辰，就說到龍王家吃茶？」行者笑道：「不瞞師父說，我會駕觔斗雲，一個觔斗有十萬八千里路，故此得即去即來。」三藏道：「我略略的言語重了些兒，你就怪我，使個性子丟了我去。像你這有本事的，討得茶吃；像我這去不得的，只管在此忍餓。你也過意不去呀。」行者道：「師父，你若餓了，我便去與你化些齋吃。」三藏道：「不用化齋，我那包袱裡還有些乾糧，是劉太保母親送的。你去拿缽盂尋些水來，等我吃些兒走路罷。」这行者须臾间看见唐僧在路傍闷坐。他上前道：「师父，怎么不走路？还在此做甚？」三藏抬头道：「你往那里去来？教我行又不敢行，动又不敢动，只管在此等你。」行者道：「我往东洋大海老龙王家讨茶吃吃。」三藏道：「徒弟啊，出家人不要说谎。你离了我没多一个时辰，就说到龙王家吃茶？」行者笑道：「不瞒师父说，我会驾觔斗云，一个觔斗有十万八千里路，故此得即去即来。」三藏道：「我略略的言语重了些儿，你就怪我，使个性子丢了我去。像你这有本事的，讨得茶吃；像我这去不得的，只管在此忍饿。你也过意不去呀。」行者道：「师父，你若饿了，我便去与你化些斋吃。」三藏道：「不用化斋，我那包袱里还有些干粮，是刘太保母亲送的。你去拿钵盂寻些水来，等我吃些儿走路罢。」
逐句解 Line by line
In a moment this Pilgrim caught sight of the Tang monk sitting dejected by the roadside.
He finds him sitting exactly where he was left, doing nothing, which is the whole argument in one image. 行者 reads 行 as xíng.
He came up and said, "Master, why are you not on the road? Still sitting here — what for?"
And greets him as though he had stepped out for five minutes. Not a word of apology; simply, why are you still sitting here? 還在 reads 還 as hái; 做甚 reads 甚 as shén.
Sanzang raised his head and said, "Where have you been off to? You have left me neither daring to go nor daring to stir, only to wait here for you."
The reproach of a man who has discovered he cannot manage: neither daring to go on nor daring to move, just waiting. 三藏 reads 藏 as zàng; 那裡 reads 那 as the asking-word nǎ, 'where'; 教我 reads 教 as jiào.
The Pilgrim said, "I went to the house of the old Dragon King in the Eastern Ocean to beg a cup of tea."
He tells the plain truth, and it sounds exactly like showing off. 行者 reads 行 as xíng.
Sanzang said, "Disciple, a man who has left the household should not tell lies. You had not been gone from me the length of an hour — and you say you went to the Dragon King's house for tea?"
A lovely small joke: the monk reproves his disciple for lying, and the lie is the one true thing he has said. 三藏 reads 藏 as zàng.
The Pilgrim laughed and said, "I won't deceive you, Master: I can ride the somersault-cloud, and a single somersault covers a hundred and eight thousand li — so I can go and come again in an instant."
The explanation, and the figure that has to be taken on faith: one somersault of the cloud covers a hundred and eight thousand 里 — which is, to the character, precisely the distance the old woman gave for the whole journey west. He can cross the entire pilgrimage in one jump, and will still have to walk every step of it. 行者 reads 行 as xíng; 觔斗 reads 斗 as dǒu, twice; 得即去即來 takes 得 as dé.
Sanzang said, "My words were just a trifle too heavy, and at that you took offence and lost your temper and abandoned me.
And here the repair really begins, because the master gives ground: my words were a trifle too heavy. It is half an apology, delivered inside a complaint, which is a very recognisable way of saying sorry. 三藏 reads 藏 as zàng; 言語重 reads 重 as zhòng; 性子 takes the light 子 (zi).
One so able as you can go and get tea; one like me, who cannot go, must sit here and starve. You ought to feel you have gone too far."
Then the guilt, applied with precision: you can fly off for tea; I can only sit here and go hungry. You ought to feel bad. 討得茶吃 and 去不得 both take 得 as dé.
The Pilgrim said, "Master, if you are hungry, I will go and beg some food for you."
And it works. The offer to go and beg food is the disciple resuming his duties without being asked. 行者 reads 行 as xíng.
Sanzang said, "There is no need to beg. There is still some dry provender in my bundle, sent by the mother of Guardian Liu.
No need — there are dry rations in the bundle, sent by the mother of Guardian Liu, the hunter from the earlier chapters. A kindness done two chapters ago is about to spring the trap. 三藏 reads 藏 as zàng; 那包袱 reads 那 as nà; 還有 reads 還 as hái; 乾糧 reads 乾 as gān.
Go and take the alms-bowl to find a little water, and let me eat a little before we take the road."
Fetch water, and I will eat before we go on. It is the most ordinary sentence in the chapter, and it sends Wukong to the bundle.
The reconciliation is played, as usual, for comedy. Wukong comes back to find Sanzang sitting helpless and dejected exactly where he was abandoned, and greets him as though nothing had happened. The exchange about the tea is a fine small joke at the gap between them: the monkey tells the literal truth — he flew to the Dragon King's palace and back — and the earthbound monk cannot possibly believe it, because for him the thing is impossible.
Underneath the comedy the repair is real, and it runs both ways. Sanzang's reproach has softened notably: he concedes that his own words were 'a trifle too heavy', half-apologising even while he scolds, and what he is really voicing is helplessness — stranded, afraid to move, dependent on the disciple he drove off. Wukong offers to go and beg food, which is service resumed without being asked for. Both of them give ground.
The passage also sets the climax quietly running. Sanzang's mention of the dry rations from Guardian Liu's mother sends Wukong to the bundle — where he will find not only the food but a gleaming cap and robe. The homely business of a roadside meal is what puts the golden band within reach.