童子詬罵 The Boys Rail at the Monk
兩個出了園門，徑來殿上，指著唐僧，禿前禿後，穢語污言，不絕口的亂罵；賊頭鼠腦，臭短臊長，沒好氣的胡嚷。唐僧聽不過道：「仙童啊，你鬧的是甚麼？消停些兒，有話慢說不妨，不要胡說散道的。」清風說：「你的耳聾？我是蠻話，你不省得？你偷吃了人參果，怎麼不容我說？」唐僧道：「人參果怎麼模樣？」明月道：「才拿來與你吃，你說像孩童的不是？」唐僧道：「阿彌陀佛！那東西一見，我就心驚膽戰，還敢偷他吃哩？就是害了饞痞，也不敢幹這賊事。不要錯怪了人。」清風道：「你雖不曾吃，還有手下人要偷吃的哩。」两个出了园门，径来殿上，指著唐僧，秃前秃后，秽语污言，不绝口的乱骂；贼头鼠脑，臭短臊长，没好气的胡嚷。唐僧听不过道：「仙童啊，你闹的是甚么？消停些儿，有话慢说不妨，不要胡说散道的。」清风说：「你的耳聋？我是蛮话，你不省得？你偷吃了人参果，怎么不容我说？」唐僧道：「人参果怎么模样？」明月道：「才拿来与你吃，你说像孩童的不是？」唐僧道：「阿弥陀佛！那东西一见，我就心惊胆战，还敢偷他吃哩？就是害了馋痞，也不敢干这贼事。不要错怪了人。」清风道：「你虽不曾吃，还有手下人要偷吃的哩。」
逐句解 Line by line
The two came out of the garden and up to the hall, and pointing at the Tang Monk — ‘bald this’ and ‘bald that’ — reviled him without stop in filthy, foul language; ‘thief-head, rat-brain,’ ‘stinking-short and reeking-long,’ they raged and railed with no good temper.
出了 (chū le), 了 (le); 指著 (zhǐ·zhe), durative 著 (zhe); 禿前禿後 (tū qián tū hòu) = ‘bald-before, bald-after’ (mocking his shaven head); 賊頭鼠腦 (zéi tóu shǔ nǎo) = thief-head and rat-brain; 臭短臊長 (chòu duǎn sāo cháng), 長 (cháng) (a rhyming abuse-pair); 胡嚷 (hú rǎng) = to bawl.
The Tang Monk, unable to bear it, said, “Immortal boys — what is this uproar you make?
聽不過 (tīng bú guò) = could not bear to hear; 甚麼 (shénme), 甚 (shén).
Calm yourselves a little; if you have something to say, say it slowly — no harm in that — but do not talk such loose nonsense.”
消停 (xiāo tíng) = to calm down; 些兒 (xiē·er), 兒 (er); 胡說散道 (hú shuō sàn dào), 散 (sàn) ‘loose, scattered (talk)’; 不妨 (bù fáng) = no harm.
Pure-Wind said, “Are your ears deaf?
耳聾 (ěr lóng) = deaf.
Am I speaking some barbarian tongue you don’t understand?
蠻話 (mán huà) = a rough / barbarian dialect; 省得 (xǐng·de), 省 (xǐng) ‘aware,’ with 得 (de) (‘understand’).
You stole and ate the ginseng-fruit — how can you not let me speak of it?”
吃了 (chī le), 了 (le); 人參 (rénshēn), 參 (shēn); 不容 (bù róng) = to not allow.
The Tang Monk said, “And what does a ginseng-fruit look like?”
人參 (rénshēn), 參 (shēn); 模樣 (múyàng) = appearance.
Bright-Moon said, “The very thing just brought for you to eat — did you not say it was like a child?”
孩童 (hái tóng) = a small child; 的不是 (de bú shì) = is it not.
The Tang Monk said, “Amitābha!
阿彌陀佛 (Ēmítuó Fó), 佛 (fó) = ‘Amitābha Buddha,’ a pious exclamation.
At the mere sight of that thing my heart quailed — how should I dare steal and eat it?
那東西 (nà dōngxi), 那 (nà); 心驚膽戰 (xīn jīng dǎn zhàn) = heart-struck and gall-trembling; 還敢 (hái gǎn), 還 (hái).
Even were I sick with gluttony, I would not dare do so thievish a thing.
害了饞痞 (hài le chán pǐ), 了 (le) = afflicted with a craving-ailment; 賊事 (zéi shì) = a thief’s deed.
Do not wrongly blame a man.”
錯怪了 (cuò guài le), 了 (le) = to blame wrongly.
Pure-Wind said, “Even if you did not eat it, there are your underlings who would.”
雖不曾吃 (suī bù céng chī) = though [you] did not eat; 還有 (hái yǒu), 還 (hái); 手下人 (shǒu xià rén) = the servants/disciples.
The boys storm the hall and let loose a torrent of vernacular abuse — mocking the monk’s bald head, calling him thief-head and rat-brain in rhyming invective. The passage is a small showcase of Ming colloquial cursing (禿前禿後, 賊頭鼠腦, 臭短臊長), and the gentle Tang Monk’s bewildered plea to ‘say it slowly’ only sharpens the comedy.
The accusation, once stated plainly (‘you stole and ate the ginseng-fruit’), draws from him a sincere and rather touching defence: he had recoiled in horror at the very sight of the fruit (mistaking it for an infant, as P16 showed), and ‘even sick with gluttony’ would never do so thievish a deed. His invocation of Amitābha and his refusal even to imagine theft are entirely in character — he is, as ever, the one innocent in the party.
Pure-Wind’s rejoinder shifts the ground exactly where the truth lies: ‘even if you did not eat it, there are your underlings who would.’ Readings: 指著 著 = zhe (durative), 臭短臊長 長 = cháng (the rhyming abuse-pair), 省得 得 = de (with 省 = xǐng), and 甚麼 甚 = shén.