第三十回 · 獃子散火 Bajie Would Disband — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

獃子散火 Bajie Would Disband

八bā戒jiè聞wén言yán道dào：「真zhēn個gè有yǒu這zhè樣yàng事shì？」小xiǎo龍lóng道dào：「莫mò成chéng我wǒ哄hǒng你nǐ了le？」八bā戒jiè道dào：「怎zěn的de好hǎo？怎zěn的de好hǎo？你nǐ可kě掙zhēng得dé動dòng麼me？」小xiǎo龍lóng道dào：「我wǒ掙zhēng得dé動dòng便biàn怎zěn的de？」八bā戒jiè道dào：「你nǐ掙zhēng得dé動dòng，便biàn掙zhēng下xià海hǎi去qù罷bà。把bǎ行xíng李lǐ等děng老lǎo豬zhū挑tiāo去qù高gāo老lǎo莊zhuāng上shàng，回huí爐lú做zuò女nǚ婿xù去qù呀ya。」八bā戒jiè闻wén言yán道dào：「真zhēn个gè有yǒu这zhè样yàng事shì？」小xiǎo龙lóng道dào：「莫mò成chéng我wǒ哄hǒng你nǐ了le？」八bā戒jiè道dào：「怎zěn的de好hǎo？怎zěn的de好hǎo？你nǐ可kě挣zhēng得dé动dòng么me？」小xiǎo龙lóng道dào：「我wǒ挣zhēng得dé动dòng便biàn怎zěn的de？」八bā戒jiè道dào：「你nǐ挣zhēng得dé动dòng，便biàn挣zhēng下xià海hǎi去qù罢bà。把bǎ行xíng李lǐ等děng老lǎo猪zhū挑tiāo去qù高gāo老lǎo庄zhuāng上shàng，回huí炉lú做zuò女nǚ婿xù去qù呀ya。」

逐句解 Line by line

八bā戒jiè聞wén言yán道dào：「真zhēn個gè有yǒu這zhè樣yàng事shì？」八bā戒jiè闻wén言yán道dào：「真zhēn个gè有yǒu这zhè样yàng事shì？」

Hearing this, Bajie said: "Can such a thing really be so?"

His first reaction is not resolve but doubt that any of it happened.

小xiǎo龍lóng道dào：「莫mò成chéng我wǒ哄hǒng你nǐ了le？」小xiǎo龙lóng道dào：「莫mò成chéng我wǒ哄hǒng你nǐ了le？」

The little dragon said: "Would I be deceiving you, then?"

莫成, "surely it cannot be that…", is a rhetorical opener; 哄 is to deceive, to hoodwink. The horse is being asked whether it is lying about its own injuries.

八bā戒jiè道dào：「怎zěn的de好hǎo？怎zěn的de好hǎo？你nǐ可kě掙zhēng得dé動dòng麼me？」八bā戒jiè道dào：「怎zěn的de好hǎo？怎zěn的de好hǎo？你nǐ可kě挣zhēng得dé动dòng么me？」

Bajie said: "What's to be done? What's to be done? Can you even struggle to your feet?"

掙得動, to manage to move, to struggle up, takes 得 as dé. The question sounds like concern. It is not.

小xiǎo龍lóng道dào：「我wǒ掙zhēng得dé動dòng便biàn怎zěn的de？」小xiǎo龙lóng道dào：「我wǒ挣zhēng得dé动dòng便biàn怎zěn的de？」

The little dragon said: "And if I can rise, what then?"

Again 掙得動, with 得 as dé. The horse hears where this is going.

八bā戒jiè道dào：「你nǐ掙zhēng得dé動dòng，便biàn掙zhēng下xià海hǎi去qù罷bà。把bǎ行xíng李lǐ等děng老lǎo豬zhū挑tiāo去qù高gāo老lǎo莊zhuāng上shàng，回huí爐lú做zuò女nǚ婿xù去qù呀ya。」八bā戒jiè道dào：「你nǐ挣zhēng得dé动dòng，便biàn挣zhēng下xià海hǎi去qù罢bà。把bǎ行xíng李lǐ等děng老lǎo猪zhū挑tiāo去qù高gāo老lǎo庄zhuāng上shàng，回huí炉lú做zuò女nǚ婿xù去qù呀ya。」

Bajie said: "If you can rise, then struggle off into the sea and be gone. Let old Pig carry the baggage back to Gao Village and take up being a son-in-law again."

And there it is. 掙得動 takes 得 as dé; 行李, baggage, takes 行 as xíng. 高老莊 is Gao Village, where Bajie was married and settled before the pilgrimage collected him; 回爐做女婿, "back to the furnace to be a son-in-law," is his standing daydream of going home — and the furnace image is his own, as though a marriage were something you could put back in and re-melt.

總評 Commentary

Bajie's instinct at the first real setback is to wind the company up and go home — take the baggage, return to Gao Village, resume married life. This impulse to quit is his recurring note throughout the novel: he is the least committed of the pilgrims, permanently half-turned back toward the comforts he left. Overcoming exactly this is what the horse now has to do, from the floor, with a broken leg.