第二十七回 · 八戒奪食 Bajie Grabs the Food — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

八戒奪食 Bajie Grabs the Food

旁páng邊biān卻què惱nǎo壞huài了le八bā戒jiè，那nà獃dāi子zi努nǔ著zhe嘴zuǐ，口kǒu裡lǐ埋mán怨yuàn道dào：「天tiān下xià和hé尚shàng也yě無wú數shù，不bù曾céng像xiàng我wǒ這zhè個gè老lǎo和hé尚shàng罷bà軟ruǎn。現xiàn成chéng的de飯fàn，三sān分fēn兒er倒dào不bù吃chī，只zhǐ等děng那nà猴hóu子zi來lái，做zuò四sì分fēn才cái吃chī。」他tā不bù容róng分fēn說shuō，一yì嘴zuǐ把bǎ個gè罐guàn子zi拱gǒng倒dǎo，就jiù要yào動dòng口kǒu。旁páng边biān却què恼nǎo坏huài了le八bā戒jiè，那nà呆dāi子zi努nǔ著zhe嘴zuǐ，口kǒu里lǐ埋mán怨yuàn道dào：「天tiān下xià和hé尚shàng也yě无wú数shù，不bù曾céng像xiàng我wǒ这zhè个gè老lǎo和hé尚shàng罢bà软ruǎn。现xiàn成chéng的de饭fàn，三sān分fēn儿er倒dào不bù吃chī，只zhǐ等děng那nà猴hóu子zi来lái，做zuò四sì分fēn才cái吃chī。」他tā不bù容róng分fēn说shuō，一yì嘴zuǐ把bǎ个gè罐guàn子zi拱gǒng倒dǎo，就jiù要yào动dòng口kǒu。

逐句解 Line by line

旁páng邊biān卻què惱nǎo壞huài了le八bā戒jiè，那nà獃dāi子zi努nǔ著zhe嘴zuǐ，口kǒu裡lǐ埋mán怨yuàn道dào：「天tiān下xià和hé尚shàng也yě無wú數shù，不bù曾céng像xiàng我wǒ這zhè個gè老lǎo和hé尚shàng罷bà軟ruǎn。旁páng边biān却què恼nǎo坏huài了le八bā戒jiè，那nà呆dāi子zi努nǔ著zhe嘴zuǐ，口kǒu里lǐ埋mán怨yuàn道dào：「天tiān下xià和hé尚shàng也yě无wú数shù，不bù曾céng像xiàng我wǒ这zhè个gè老lǎo和hé尚shàng罢bà软ruǎn。

Off to the side, meanwhile, Eight Rules was fit to burst with vexation; the idiot thrust out his snout and grumbled: "There's no counting the monks in this world, but not one is as spineless as this old monk of mine!

惱壞了 (nǎo huài le) "vexed to bursting." 那獃子 "that idiot," 那 (nà), 子 (zi); 努著嘴 (nǔ zhe zuǐ) "thrusting out the lips, pouting," the aspect-marker 著 (zhe). 無數 "numberless," 數 (shù). 罷軟 (bà ruǎn) "weak, spineless, feckless." Bajie's resentment — the master won't let anyone eat until Wukong returns — is the petty engine that keeps him agitating against his rival.

現xiàn成chéng的de飯fàn，三sān分fēn兒er倒dào不bù吃chī，只zhǐ等děng那nà猴hóu子zi來lái，做zuò四sì分fēn才cái吃chī。」现xiàn成chéng的de饭fàn，三sān分fēn儿er倒dào不bù吃chī，只zhǐ等děng那nà猴hóu子zi来lái，做zuò四sì分fēn才cái吃chī。」

"Here's food ready and waiting, and he won't take even a third-share of it, but must hold out for that monkey to come and make it a quarter-share before he'll eat!"

三分兒 (sān fēn er) "a third portion," the object-suffix 兒 (er). 倒不吃 (dào bù chī) "won't eat, if you please" — 倒 (dào) the adversative adverb "on the contrary, instead." 那猴子 "that monkey," 那 (nà), 子 (zi). Bajie's arithmetic of shares (a third among three, a quarter among four) is pure comic gluttony — his grievance is that Wukong's return will shrink his portion.

他tā不bù容róng分fēn說shuō，一yì嘴zuǐ把bǎ個gè罐guàn子zi拱gǒng倒dǎo，就jiù要yào動dòng口kǒu。他tā不bù容róng分fēn说shuō，一yì嘴zuǐ把bǎ个gè罐guàn子zi拱gǒng倒dǎo，就jiù要yào动dòng口kǒu。

And without another word he shoved the jar over with a thrust of his snout and was about to fall to.

不容分說 (bù róng fēn shuō) "allowing no explanation, without more ado." 罐子 (guàn zi) "jar," 子 (zi); 拱倒 (gǒng dǎo) "to shove over, topple" — here 倒 (dǎo) "to topple, fall over" (contrast the adverbial 倒 (dào) of the line above). Bajie's greed is about to spoil the demon's own gambit, until Wukong's arrival overtakes them both.

總評 Commentary

The passage is comic relief pitched at exactly the wrong moment — and that is its point. While a fiend stands disguised before the party and the master hesitates, Bajie's whole concern is the division of the rice: a third-share, a quarter-share, the shrinking of his portion should Wukong return. His gluttony is petty, but it is also the low, human motive that keeps him needling against his rival, and so it feeds the larger rupture to come.

There is grim irony in Bajie nearly upsetting the demon's plan by his very greed — shoving the jar over, about to eat — for the jar holds not rice but (as we will shortly see) maggots and toads. The scene is poised on the edge of accidental discovery when Wukong drops from the sky and takes the matter out of everyone's hands.