Canonical Classics ← 第二十七回
第二十七回
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The Corpse-Fiend Thrice Mocks Tang Tripitaka · The Holy Monk in Wrath Banishes the Handsome Monkey King

囑咐沙僧
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原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

囑咐沙僧 Parting Words to Sha Monk

shèngtiàoláishēndǒushōushàngháomáoquèyòufēnfushāsēngdào:「xiánshìhǎorénquèzhǐyàoliúxīnfángzhejièzhānyánzhānzhōnggèngyàotǎngshíyǒuyāojīngzhùshījiùshuōlǎosūnshì西fāngmáoguàiwéndeshǒuduàngǎnshāngshī。」tángsēngdào:「shìhǎoshàngzhèdǎiréndemínghuí。」shèngtiàoláishēndǒushōushàngháomáoquèyòufēnfushāsēngdào:「xiánshìhǎorénquèzhǐyàoliúxīnfángzhejièzhānyánzhānzhōnggèngyàotǎngshíyǒuyāojīngzhùshījiùshuōlǎosūnshì西fāngmáoguàiwéndeshǒuduàngǎnshāngshī。」tángsēngdào:「shìhǎoshàngzhèdǎiréndemínghuí。」


逐句解 Line by line

shèngtiàoláishēndǒushōushàngháomáoquèyòufēnfushāsēngdào:「xiánshìhǎorénquèzhǐyàoliúxīnfángzhejièzhānyánzhānzhōnggèngyào shèngtiàoláishēndǒushōushàngháomáoquèyòufēnfushāsēngdào:「xiánshìhǎorénquèzhǐyàoliúxīnfángzhejièzhānyánzhānzhōnggèngyào

The Great Sage sprang up, gave his body a shake, gathered back the hairs, and then charged Sha Monk: "Worthy brother, you are a good man — only take care to guard against Eight Rules' slanderous, nagging tongue, and be doubly careful along the way.

He shakes the doubles back into his skin, and then, before going, gives Sha Monk a briefing. 詀言詀語 (zhān) is a rare character for insinuating, muttering talk — names precisely the thing that has just destroyed him, and he names it to the one member of the party who has kept his mouth shut all day. Watch him. Be careful on the road. ( is zhe; is zhōng; is , as in the master's 仔細仔細 at the top of the chapter.)

tǎngshíyǒuyāojīngzhùshījiùshuōlǎosūnshì西fāngmáoguàiwéndeshǒuduàngǎnshāngshī。」 tǎngshíyǒuyāojīngzhùshījiùshuōlǎosūnshì西fāngmáoguàiwéndeshǒuduàngǎnshāngshī。」

"Should a fiend ever seize the master, just tell them old Sun is his senior disciple: the vermin-monsters of the West, hearing of my powers, won't dare harm our master."

And then he leaves them the only thing he has left to give: his name. Tell them whose disciple he is, and the local monsters will not dare touch him. 毛怪, hairy fiends, is a faintly contemptuous word for the general run of demons. He is handing over his reputation as a piece of protective equipment, to a party that has just discharged him in writing.

tángsēngdào:「shìhǎoshàngzhèdǎiréndemínghuí。」 tángsēngdào:「shìhǎoshàngzhèdǎiréndemínghuí。」

The Tang Monk said, "I am a good monk — I'll not so much as speak the name of a wicked man like you. Off with you."

And it is refused. He will not so much as say the name. This is the fourth time in the chapter that the elder has told Wukong to go, and the third in these exact words. There is nothing left to take away from him now except the going itself.


總評 Commentary

Wukong's parting charge to Sha Monk crystallises the chapter's moral. Both his instructions are acts of care for the party that has expelled him: guard against Bajie's muttering, the slander that engineered his downfall, and — should a demon ever take the master — invoke his name, because the western fiends are afraid of him. He leaves behind a warning and a shield, thinking of nothing but Tripitaka's safety as he is driven off.

The advice about the name is quietly prophetic and quietly generous. Wukong knows his reputation alone can protect the master, and he offers it freely, asking nothing, guarding a man who has just sworn never to see him again. It is loyalty in its purest form, given with no hope of gratitude or return.

The elder's response is the last and coldest of his repudiations. He will not even mention Wukong's name — refusing the very protection he is being offered, rejecting his disciple so completely that he will not speak of him at all. The rupture is total. Wukong has given everything and the master has refused everything, and only the departure itself is left.