第三十回 · 夜歸見馬 Bajie Finds the Wounded Horse — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

夜歸見馬 Bajie Finds the Wounded Horse

那nà獃dāi子zi急jí縱zòng雲yún頭tóu，徑jìng回huí城chéng裡lǐ。半bàn霎shà時shí，到dào了le館guǎn驛yì。此cǐ時shí人rén靜jìng月yuè明míng。兩liǎng廊láng下xià尋xún不bú見jiàn師shī父fù，只zhǐ見jiàn白bái馬mǎ睡shuì在zài那nà廂xiāng，渾hún身shēn水shuǐ濕shī，後hòu腿tuǐ有yǒu盤pán子zi大dà小xiǎo一yì點diǎn青qīng痕hén。八bā戒jiè失shī驚jīng道dào：「雙shuāng晦huì氣qì了le。這zhè亡wáng人rén又yòu不bù曾céng走zǒu路lù，怎zěn麼me身shēn上shàng有yǒu汗hàn，腿tuǐ有yǒu青qīng痕hén？想xiǎng是shì歹dǎi人rén打dǎ劫jié師shī父fù，把bǎ馬mǎ打dǎ壞huài了le。」那nà呆dāi子zi急jí纵zòng云yún头tóu，径jìng回huí城chéng里lǐ。半bàn霎shà时shí，到dào了le馆guǎn驿yì。此cǐ时shí人rén静jìng月yuè明míng。两liǎng廊láng下xià寻xún不bú见jiàn师shī父fù，只zhǐ见jiàn白bái马mǎ睡shuì在zài那nà厢xiāng，浑hún身shēn水shuǐ湿shī，后hòu腿tuǐ有yǒu盘pán子zi大dà小xiǎo一yì点diǎn青qīng痕hén。八bā戒jiè失shī惊jīng道dào：「双shuāng晦huì气qì了le。这zhè亡wáng人rén又yòu不bù曾céng走zǒu路lù，怎zěn么me身shēn上shàng有yǒu汗hàn，腿tuǐ有yǒu青qīng痕hén？想xiǎng是shì歹dǎi人rén打dǎ劫jié师shī父fù，把bǎ马mǎ打dǎ坏huài了le。」

逐句解 Line by line

那nà獃dāi子zi急jí縱zòng雲yún頭tóu，徑jìng回huí城chéng裡lǐ。那nà呆dāi子zi急jí纵zòng云yún头tóu，径jìng回huí城chéng里lǐ。

The blockhead leapt hastily onto a cloud-head and made straight back to the city.

獃子, blockhead or dolt, is Bajie's standing epithet throughout the novel — the narrator calls him this more often than he uses his name — with 子 as the neutral suffix, zi. 那 is pointing nà.

半bàn霎shà時shí，到dào了le館guǎn驛yì。半bàn霎shà时shí，到dào了le馆guǎn驿yì。

In half a moment he reached the hostel.

半霎時 is the blink of an eye.

此cǐ時shí人rén靜jìng月yuè明míng。此cǐ时shí人rén静jìng月yuè明míng。

At that hour all was still and the moon was bright.

Three characters of quiet before he finds what he finds.

兩liǎng廊láng下xià尋xún不bú見jiàn師shī父fù，只zhǐ見jiàn白bái馬mǎ睡shuì在zài那nà廂xiāng，渾hún身shēn水shuǐ濕shī，後hòu腿tuǐ有yǒu盤pán子zi大dà小xiǎo一yì點diǎn青qīng痕hén。两liǎng廊láng下xià寻xún不bú见jiàn师shī父fù，只zhǐ见jiàn白bái马mǎ睡shuì在zài那nà厢xiāng，浑hún身shēn水shuǐ湿shī，后hòu腿tuǐ有yǒu盘pán子zi大dà小xiǎo一yì点diǎn青qīng痕hén。

Under the two galleries he sought his master and found him not; he saw only the white horse lying over yonder, its whole body soaked, and on its hind leg a bruise the size of a plate.

那廂, over there, takes 那 as pointing nà; 盤子大小, plate-sized, takes 子 as the suffix zi. A soaked coat and a bruise the size of a dinner plate: the whole night's battle, written on an animal, waiting to be read.

八bā戒jiè失shī驚jīng道dào：「雙shuāng晦huì氣qì了le。這zhè亡wáng人rén又yòu不bù曾céng走zǒu路lù，怎zěn麼me身shēn上shàng有yǒu汗hàn，腿tuǐ有yǒu青qīng痕hén？想xiǎng是shì歹dǎi人rén打dǎ劫jié師shī父fù，把bǎ馬mǎ打dǎ壞huài了le。」八bā戒jiè失shī惊jīng道dào：「双shuāng晦huì气qì了le。这zhè亡wáng人rén又yòu不bù曾céng走zǒu路lù，怎zěn么me身shēn上shàng有yǒu汗hàn，腿tuǐ有yǒu青qīng痕hén？想xiǎng是shì歹dǎi人rén打dǎ劫jié师shī父fù，把bǎ马mǎ打dǎ坏huài了le。」

Bajie started in alarm: "Double ill-luck! This wretched thing hasn't been on the road — how comes it lathered with sweat, and bruised on the leg? Some robber must have set upon the master and beaten the horse."

雙晦氣 is double misfortune; 亡人, "dead thing," is a mild curse of the sort one aims at an inanimate object that has let one down; 歹人 is a villain or robber. Presented with the evidence of a supernatural disaster, Bajie concludes: burglars.

總評 Commentary

The discovery is played, as usual with Bajie, for comic obtuseness. Faced with a horse soaked and bruised inside a locked hostel in the middle of the night, he reaches instantly for the most ordinary explanation available. The gap between what the reader knows and what Bajie guesses is the source of both the humour and the suspense.

The soaked coat and the plate-sized bruise are the night's events made visible. The reader, who watched the dragon-horse fight and flee into the moat, can read the whole hidden battle in these two marks. Bajie cannot read them at all.