Canonical Classics ← 第三十回
第三十回
邪xié魔mó侵qīn正zhèng法fǎ
意yì馬mǎ憶yì心xīn猿yuán

The Evil Demon Assaults the True Dharma · The Horse of the Will Recalls the Monkey of the Heart

叮嚀仔細
模式 Mode Read Study
拼音 Pinyin Off
字體 Script 繁
原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

叮嚀仔細 The Princess Coaches the Demon

公gōng主zhǔ見jiàn了le,十shí分fēn歡huān喜xǐ。那nà妖yāo笑xiào道dào:「渾hún家jiā,可kě是shì變biàn得de好hǎo麼me?」公gōng主zhǔ道dào:「變biàn得de好hǎo,變biàn得de好hǎo。你nǐ這zhè一yí進jìn朝cháo啊a,我wǒ父fù王wáng是shì親qīn不bú滅miè,一yí定dìng著zhuó文wén武wǔ多duō官guān留liú你nǐ飲yǐn宴yàn。倘tǎng吃chī酒jiǔ中zhōng間jiān,千qiān千qiān仔zǐ細xì,萬wàn萬wàn個gè小xiǎo心xīn;卻què莫mò要yào現xiàn出chū原yuán嘴zuǐ臉liǎn來lái,露lù出chū馬mǎ腳jiǎo,走zǒu了le風fēng汛xùn,就jiù不bù斯sī文wén了le。」老lǎo妖yāo道dào:「不bù消xiāo吩fēn咐fu,自zì有yǒu道dào理lǐ。」公gōng主zhǔ见jiàn了le,十shí分fēn欢huān喜xǐ。那nà妖yāo笑xiào道dào:「浑hún家jiā,可kě是shì变biàn得de好hǎo么me?」公gōng主zhǔ道dào:「变biàn得de好hǎo,变biàn得de好hǎo。你nǐ这zhè一yí进jìn朝cháo啊a,我wǒ父fù王wáng是shì亲qīn不bú灭miè,一yí定dìng着zhuó文wén武wǔ多duō官guān留liú你nǐ饮yǐn宴yàn。倘tǎng吃chī酒jiǔ中zhōng间jiān,千qiān千qiān仔zǐ细xì,万wàn万wàn个gè小xiǎo心xīn;却què莫mò要yào现xiàn出chū原yuán嘴zuǐ脸liǎn来lái,露lù出chū马mǎ脚jiǎo,走zǒu了le风fēng汛xùn,就jiù不bù斯sī文wén了le。」老lǎo妖yāo道dào:「不bù消xiāo吩fēn咐fu,自zì有yǒu道dào理lǐ。」


逐句解 Line by line

公gōng主zhǔ見jiàn了le,十shí分fēn歡huān喜xǐ。 公gōng主zhǔ见jiàn了le,十shí分fēn欢huān喜xǐ。

Seeing this, the princess was greatly pleased.

十分, "fully, entirely." What delights her is how complete the disguise is — which is to say, how thoroughly her husband can stop looking like himself.

那nà妖yāo笑xiào道dào:「渾hún家jiā,可kě是shì變biàn得de好hǎo麼me?」 那nà妖yāo笑xiào道dào:「浑hún家jiā,可kě是shì变biàn得de好hǎo么me?」

The demon laughed: "Well, wife — is the change not well done?"

He wants to be told. 變得好 takes the structural 得 as de; 渾家 is once more the homely everyday "wife."

公gōng主zhǔ道dào:「變biàn得de好hǎo,變biàn得de好hǎo。 公gōng主zhǔ道dào:「变biàn得de好hǎo,变biàn得de好hǎo。

The princess said: "Well done, well done.

The doubled 變得好 — both instances of 得 read de — is her hurrying to reassure him.

你nǐ這zhè一yí進jìn朝cháo啊a,我wǒ父fù王wáng是shì親qīn不bú滅miè,一yí定dìng著zhuó文wén武wǔ多duō官guān留liú你nǐ飲yǐn宴yàn。 你nǐ这zhè一yí进jìn朝cháo啊a,我wǒ父fù王wáng是shì亲qīn不bú灭miè,一yí定dìng着zhuó文wén武wǔ多duō官guān留liú你nǐ饮yǐn宴yàn。

Once you have gone in to court — for a father's kinship is never extinguished — my royal father will surely have the civil and military officials keep you for a feast.

進朝, to go in to court, takes 朝 as cháo. In 一定著文武多官 the causative 著 is zhuó, "will have them do it." 親不滅: the bond of kin is never extinguished. She is briefing him on her own father's likely behaviour, which is a strange thing to be doing.

倘tǎng吃chī酒jiǔ中zhōng間jiān,千qiān千qiān仔zǐ細xì,萬wàn萬wàn個gè小xiǎo心xīn; 倘tǎng吃chī酒jiǔ中zhōng间jiān,千qiān千qiān仔zǐ细xì,万wàn万wàn个gè小xiǎo心xīn;

But in the midst of the drinking, be a thousand times careful and ten thousand times on your guard;

中間 takes 中 as zhōng; 仔細, careful, attentive, takes 仔 as zǐ. The paired 千千 and 萬萬, a thousand thousand and ten thousand ten thousand, pile the caution up.

卻què莫mò要yào現xiàn出chū原yuán嘴zuǐ臉liǎn來lái,露lù出chū馬mǎ腳jiǎo,走zǒu了le風fēng汛xùn,就jiù不bù斯sī文wén了le。」 却què莫mò要yào现xiàn出chū原yuán嘴zuǐ脸liǎn来lái,露lù出chū马mǎ脚jiǎo,走zǒu了le风fēng汛xùn,就jiù不bù斯sī文wén了le。」

do not let your true face show, do not let the horse's hoof slip out and give the game away, or all your refinement is undone."

Here is the chapter forecasting its own turn, in the form of wifely advice. 露出馬腳 — "to let the horse's leg show" — is one of the most durable idioms in the language for giving yourself away, and it is still in daily use; the picture behind it is a stage horse with a real foot poking out from under the costume. 走了風汛 is the chapter's leak idiom, back for the second of its three appearances. 斯文 is cultivated refinement. She has just listed, in order, every way the disguise is going to fail.

老lǎo妖yāo道dào:「不bù消xiāo吩fēn咐fu,自zì有yǒu道dào理lǐ。」 老lǎo妖yāo道dào:「不bù消xiāo吩fēn咐fu,自zì有yǒu道dào理lǐ。」

The old fiend said: "No need to instruct me — I have my own way of it."

不消吩咐: "no need to give me instructions." The last line before a fall usually sounds like this.


總評 Commentary

The coaching cuts both ways. Out of self-preservation, and some remnant of marital feeling, she helps him perfect the disguise — and her warnings, 現出原嘴臉, 露出馬腳, 走了風汛, catalogue precisely how it will come apart. The chapter's leakage theme returns here disguised as advice.

露出馬腳 is worth knowing on its own account: it is what Chinese still reaches for when somebody's cover slips, and its literal image will be answered with some grimness when the demon, deep in drink, stops being able to hold his shape. His breezy 不消吩咐 is the overconfidence that goes before it.