第三十回 · 白馬人言 The Horse Speaks — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

白馬人言 The Horse Speaks

那nà白bái馬mǎ認rèn得dé是shì八bā戒jiè，忽hū然rán口kǒu吐tǔ人rén言yán，叫jiào聲shēng：「師shī兄xiōng。」這zhè獃dāi子zi嚇xià了le一yì跌diē，扒bā起qǐ來lái，往wǎng外wài要yào走zǒu。被bèi白bái馬mǎ探tàn探tàn身shēn，一yì口kǒu咬yǎo住zhù皂zào衣yī，道dào：「哥gē啊a，你nǐ莫mò怕pà我wǒ。」八bā戒jiè戰zhàn兢jīng兢jīng的de道dào：「兄xiōng弟dì，你nǐ怎zěn麼me今jīn日rì說shuō起qǐ話huà來lái了le？你nǐ但dàn說shuō話huà，必bì有yǒu大dà不bù祥xiáng之zhī事shì。」那nà白bái马mǎ认rèn得dé是shì八bā戒jiè，忽hū然rán口kǒu吐tǔ人rén言yán，叫jiào声shēng：「师shī兄xiōng。」这zhè呆dāi子zi吓xià了le一yì跌diē，扒bā起qǐ来lái，往wǎng外wài要yào走zǒu。被bèi白bái马mǎ探tàn探tàn身shēn，一yì口kǒu咬yǎo住zhù皂zào衣yī，道dào：「哥gē啊a，你nǐ莫mò怕pà我wǒ。」八bā戒jiè战zhàn兢jīng兢jīng的de道dào：「兄xiōng弟dì，你nǐ怎zěn么me今jīn日rì说shuō起qǐ话huà来lái了le？你nǐ但dàn说shuō话huà，必bì有yǒu大dà不bù祥xiáng之zhī事shì。」

逐句解 Line by line

那nà白bái馬mǎ認rèn得dé是shì八bā戒jiè，忽hū然rán口kǒu吐tǔ人rén言yán，叫jiào聲shēng：「師shī兄xiōng。」那nà白bái马mǎ认rèn得dé是shì八bā戒jiè，忽hū然rán口kǒu吐tǔ人rén言yán，叫jiào声shēng：「师shī兄xiōng。」

The white horse, knowing him for Bajie, suddenly uttered human speech and cried: "Brother!"

The horse talks, and that is a genuine event. 認得, to recognise, takes 得 as de; 口吐人言 is literally "the mouth spits forth human words." 那 is pointing nà. Across the journey this animal is essentially silent; he carries Tripitaka chapter after chapter and says almost nothing. Tonight he speaks.

這zhè獃dāi子zi嚇xià了le一yì跌diē，扒bā起qǐ來lái，往wǎng外wài要yào走zǒu。这zhè呆dāi子zi吓xià了le一yì跌diē，扒bā起qǐ来lái，往wǎng外wài要yào走zǒu。

The blockhead started so he fell in a heap, scrambled up, and made to bolt outside.

嚇了一跌 is to be startled clean over, and 扒起來 to scramble back up. Even at the moment of wonder, Bajie falls down.

被bèi白bái馬mǎ探tàn探tàn身shēn，一yì口kǒu咬yǎo住zhù皂zào衣yī，道dào：「哥gē啊a，你nǐ莫mò怕pà我wǒ。」被bèi白bái马mǎ探tàn探tàn身shēn，一yì口kǒu咬yǎo住zhù皂zào衣yī，道dào：「哥gē啊a，你nǐ莫mò怕pà我wǒ。」

But the white horse stretched forward and with one bite caught his black robe: "Brother, do not be afraid of me."

皂衣 is a black robe; 探探身 is craning the body forward. The horse has to physically take hold of him with its teeth to stop him running away, which tells you everything about the state of the rescue party.

八bā戒jiè戰zhàn兢jīng兢jīng的de道dào：「兄xiōng弟dì，你nǐ怎zěn麼me今jīn日rì說shuō起qǐ話huà來lái了le？你nǐ但dàn說shuō話huà，必bì有yǒu大dà不bù祥xiáng之zhī事shì。」八bā戒jiè战zhàn兢jīng兢jīng的de道dào：「兄xiōng弟dì，你nǐ怎zěn么me今jīn日rì说shuō起qǐ话huà来lái了le？你nǐ但dàn说shuō话huà，必bì有yǒu大dà不bù祥xiáng之zhī事shì。」

Trembling, Bajie said: "Little brother, how is it you've begun to talk today? If you speak, there must be some great calamity afoot."

戰兢兢, trembling and shaking. Note that Bajie's instinct is entirely sound even while his nerve fails: a horse that starts talking can only mean catastrophe.

總評 Commentary

The breaking of silence is a marked moment. Through nearly the whole journey the dragon-prince serves mutely as Tripitaka's mount; here, forced by the crisis, he speaks for the first time, and the bare fact of his speech carries the weight of the emergency. Bajie's terror registers how unnatural, and how serious, it is.

Comedy and urgency are finely balanced. Bajie tumbles over and bolts; the horse has to catch his robe in its teeth to hold him; and Bajie's frightened guess — that a speaking horse means "some great calamity" — is exactly right. Vernacular fiction routinely lets its clown blunder into the truth.