第三十回 · 小猴獻果 The Monkeys' Fruit — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

小猴獻果 The Monkeys' Fruit

二èr人rén談tán笑xiào多duō時shí，下xià了le山shān。只zhǐ見jiàn路lù傍páng有yǒu幾jǐ個gè小xiǎo猴hóu，捧pěng著zhe紫zǐ巍wēi巍wēi的de葡pú萄táo，香xiāng噴pēn噴pēn的de梨lí棗zǎo，黃huáng森sēn森sēn的de枇pí杷pá，紅hóng艷yàn艷yàn的de楊yáng梅méi，跪guì在zài路lù傍páng，叫jiào道dào：「大dà聖shèng爺yé爺ye，請qǐng進jìn早zǎo膳shàn。」行xíng者zhě笑xiào道dào：「我wǒ豬zhū弟dì食shí腸cháng大dà，卻què不bú是shì以yǐ果guǒ子zi作zuò膳shàn的de。也yě罷bà，也yě罷bà，莫mò嫌xián菲fěi薄bó，將jiāng就jiù吃chī個gè兒er當dāng點diǎn心xīn罷bà。」八bā戒jiè道dào：「我wǒ雖suī食shí腸cháng大dà，卻què也yě隨suí鄉xiāng入rù鄉xiāng是shì。拿ná來lái，拿ná來lái，我wǒ也yě吃chī幾jǐ個gè兒er嘗cháng新xīn。」二èr人rén谈tán笑xiào多duō时shí，下xià了le山shān。只zhǐ见jiàn路lù傍páng有yǒu几jǐ个gè小xiǎo猴hóu，捧pěng着zhe紫zǐ巍wēi巍wēi的de葡pú萄táo，香xiāng喷pēn喷pēn的de梨lí枣zǎo，黄huáng森sēn森sēn的de枇pí杷pá，红hóng艳yàn艳yàn的de杨yáng梅méi，跪guì在zài路lù傍páng，叫jiào道dào：「大dà圣shèng爷yé爷ye，请qǐng进jìn早zǎo膳shàn。」行xíng者zhě笑xiào道dào：「我wǒ猪zhū弟dì食shí肠cháng大dà，却què不bú是shì以yǐ果guǒ子zi作zuò膳shàn的de。也yě罢bà，也yě罢bà，莫mò嫌xián菲fěi薄bó，将jiāng就jiù吃chī个gè儿er当dāng点diǎn心xīn罢bà。」八bā戒jiè道dào：「我wǒ虽suī食shí肠cháng大dà，却què也yě随suí乡xiāng入rù乡xiāng是shì。拿ná来lái，拿ná来lái，我wǒ也yě吃chī几jǐ个gè儿er尝cháng新xīn。」

逐句解 Line by line

二èr人rén談tán笑xiào多duō時shí，下xià了le山shān。二èr人rén谈tán笑xiào多duō时shí，下xià了le山shān。

The two talked and laughed a good while, then came down the mountain.

Talk and laughter. The plot is being held comfortably in suspension, and Bajie is the only one who minds.

只zhǐ見jiàn路lù傍páng有yǒu幾jǐ個gè小xiǎo猴hóu，捧pěng著zhe紫zǐ巍wēi巍wēi的de葡pú萄táo，香xiāng噴pēn噴pēn的de梨lí棗zǎo，黃huáng森sēn森sēn的de枇pí杷pá，紅hóng艷yàn艷yàn的de楊yáng梅méi，跪guì在zài路lù傍páng，叫jiào道dào：「大dà聖shèng爺yé爺ye，請qǐng進jìn早zǎo膳shàn。」只zhǐ见jiàn路lù傍páng有yǒu几jǐ个gè小xiǎo猴hóu，捧pěng着zhe紫zǐ巍wēi巍wēi的de葡pú萄táo，香xiāng喷pēn喷pēn的de梨lí枣zǎo，黄huáng森sēn森sēn的de枇pí杷pá，红hóng艳yàn艳yàn的de杨yáng梅méi，跪guì在zài路lù傍páng，叫jiào道dào：「大dà圣shèng爷yé爷ye，请qǐng进jìn早zǎo膳shàn。」

By the roadside were a few little monkeys, holding up richly purple grapes, fragrant pears and jujubes, golden loquats, and bright-red bayberries, who knelt by the way and called: "Great Sage, our Lord — pray take your morning meal."

In 捧著 the 著 is zhe. The colour words are the point here: 紫巍巍, 香噴噴, 黃森森, 紅艷艷 — each doubles its second syllable, a vernacular trick for making a thing vivid and sensuous that English can only approximate ("deep deep purple," "sweet-smelling"). Reduplicated adjectives like these are still everywhere in spoken Chinese. 枇杷 is the loquat, 楊梅 the bayberry.

行xíng者zhě笑xiào道dào：「我wǒ豬zhū弟dì食shí腸cháng大dà，卻què不bú是shì以yǐ果guǒ子zi作zuò膳shàn的de。也yě罷bà，也yě罷bà，莫mò嫌xián菲fěi薄bó，將jiāng就jiù吃chī個gè兒er當dāng點diǎn心xīn罷bà。」行xíng者zhě笑xiào道dào：「我wǒ猪zhū弟dì食shí肠cháng大dà，却què不bú是shì以yǐ果guǒ子zi作zuò膳shàn的de。也yě罢bà，也yě罢bà，莫mò嫌xián菲fěi薄bó，将jiāng就jiù吃chī个gè儿er当dāng点diǎn心xīn罢bà。」

The Pilgrim laughed: "My brother Pig has a great belly — fruit will hardly serve him for a meal. Well, well — don't scorn the meager fare; make do with a bite or two as a snack."

食腸大, "a great food-gut," jokes at Bajie's legendary appetite; 菲薄, meagre, takes 薄 as bó; 將就, to make do, takes 將 as jiāng; in 吃個兒 the colloquial 兒 is er. 果子 takes 子 as the suffix zi.

八bā戒jiè道dào：「我wǒ雖suī食shí腸cháng大dà，卻què也yě隨suí鄉xiāng入rù鄉xiāng是shì。拿ná來lái，拿ná來lái，我wǒ也yě吃chī幾jǐ個gè兒er嘗cháng新xīn。」八bā戒jiè道dào：「我wǒ虽suī食shí肠cháng大dà，却què也yě随suí乡xiāng入rù乡xiāng是shì。拿ná来lái，拿ná来lái，我wǒ也yě吃chī几jǐ个gè儿er尝cháng新xīn。」

Bajie said: "Big-bellied I may be, but I'll do as they do in this country. Bring them, bring them — I'll eat a few and try the fresh ones."

隨鄉入鄉 — "entering a district, follow the district" — is the Chinese form of "when in Rome," and Bajie deploys it to justify eating fruit he was just told was beneath him. In 幾個兒 the colloquial 兒 is er; 嘗新 is to taste the new crop. The appetite reasserts itself inside two lines.

總評 Commentary

The fruit-offering paints the monkey kingdom's easy plenty — grapes, pears, loquats, bayberries held up by kneeling monkeys — and gives the two comrades a moment of unhurried fellowship before the plot resumes. The banter about Bajie's appetite is affectionate, and the scene extends the tableau of paradise, the better to set off the refusal that follows. Even here the pull of the errand is felt only through Bajie, who is the one person on the mountain unable to relax.