第二十四回 · 童子竊嘗 The Boys Eat in Private — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

童子竊嘗 The Boys Eat in Private

那nà兩liǎng個gè童tóng兒er見jiàn千qiān推tuī萬wàn阻zǔ不bù吃chī，只zhǐ得dé拿ná著zhe盤pán子zi，轉zhuǎn回huí本běn房fáng。那nà果guǒ子zi卻què也yě蹺qiāo蹊qī，久jiǔ放fàng不bù得dé；若ruò放fàng多duō時shí，即jí僵jiāng了le，不bú中zhòng吃chī。二èr人rén到dào於yú房fáng中zhōng，一yì家jiā一yí個gè，坐zuò在zài床chuáng邊biān上shàng，只zhǐ情qíng吃chī起qǐ。那nà两liǎng个gè童tóng儿er见jiàn千qiān推tuī万wàn阻zǔ不bù吃chī，只zhǐ得dé拿ná着zhe盘pán子zi，转zhuǎn回huí本běn房fáng。那nà果guǒ子zi却què也yě跷qiāo蹊qī，久jiǔ放fàng不bù得dé；若ruò放fàng多duō时shí，即jí僵jiāng了le，不bú中zhòng吃chī。二èr人rén到dào于yú房fáng中zhōng，一yì家jiā一yí个gè，坐zuò在zài床chuáng边biān上shàng，只zhǐ情qíng吃chī起qǐ。

逐句解 Line by line

那nà兩liǎng個gè童tóng兒er見jiàn千qiān推tuī萬wàn阻zǔ不bù吃chī，只zhǐ得dé拿ná著zhe盤pán子zi，轉zhuǎn回huí本běn房fáng。那nà两liǎng个gè童tóng儿er见jiàn千qiān推tuī万wàn阻zǔ不bù吃chī，只zhǐ得dé拿ná着zhe盘pán子zi，转zhuǎn回huí本běn房fáng。

The two boys, seeing him refuse through a thousand pushings and ten-thousand balkings, had no choice but to take up the tray and turn back to their own room.

千推萬阻, qiān tuī wàn zǔ — "a thousand pushings, ten thousand balkings," the vernacular way of saying he would not be budged. 只得 takes 得 as dé, "had no choice but."

那nà果guǒ子zi卻què也yě蹺qiāo蹊qī，久jiǔ放fàng不bù得dé；若ruò放fàng多duō時shí，即jí僵jiāng了le，不bú中zhòng吃chī。那nà果guǒ子zi却què也yě跷qiāo蹊qī，久jiǔ放fàng不bù得dé；若ruò放fàng多duō时shí，即jí僵jiāng了le，不bú中zhòng吃chī。

Now the fruit was a curious thing: it could not be kept long — if left too long it would harden and be unfit to eat.

This is the detail that clears them entirely. The fruit will not keep — leave it and it goes hard and inedible. 蹺蹊, qiāo qī, odd, uncanny. 不中吃 takes 中 as zhòng, "fit for," the hitting-the-mark sense, with 不 rising to bú before it. Compare 房中 in the next line, where the same character is zhōng, "within" — a minimal pair two lines apart.

二èr人rén到dào於yú房fáng中zhōng，一yì家jiā一yí個gè，坐zuò在zài床chuáng邊biān上shàng，只zhǐ情qíng吃chī起qǐ。二èr人rén到dào于yú房fáng中zhōng，一yì家jiā一yí个gè，坐zuò在zài床chuáng边biān上shàng，只zhǐ情qíng吃chī起qǐ。

The two came to their room, one apiece, and sitting on the edge of the bed, ate them with a will.

一家一個, one apiece. 只情, zhǐ qíng, to one's heart's content — they enjoy it, and why not: it was allotted, offered, and refused.

總評 Commentary

The boys are refused through what the text calls a thousand pushings and ten thousand balkings, and retreat with the tray. Then the narrator supplies the detail that settles the moral question: the fruit spoils fast. Left standing it goes hard and becomes inedible. So they sit on the edge of the bed and eat one each.

There is no theft here and no disobedience. Two were allotted, two were offered, the guest declined, and what remained would otherwise have been wasted. The novel is careful to establish this before anything goes wrong, so that when the accusations start flying the reader knows exactly where the fault lies. Note the small piece of tonal machinery in passing: 不中吃 takes 中 as zhòng, "fit for," while 房中 two lines later takes the same character as zhōng, "within" — a minimal pair inside three lines, with the 不 correctly rising to bú before the fourth tone.