碎屍萬段之仇 The Great Sage Roused to Vengeance
行者聞言，就氣得抓耳撓腮，暴躁亂跳道：「是那個敢這等罵我？」八戒道：「哥哥息怒，是那黃袍怪這等罵來，我故學與你聽也。」行者道：「賢弟，你起來。不是我去不成，既是妖精敢罵我，我就不能不降他，我和你去。老孫五百年前大鬧天宮，普天的神將看見我，一個個控背躬身，口口稱呼大聖。這妖怪無禮，他敢背前面後罵我。我這去，把他拿住，碎屍萬段，以報罵我之仇！報畢，我即回來。」八戒道：「哥哥，正是。你只去拿了妖精，報了你仇，那時來與不來，任從尊意。」行者闻言，就气得抓耳挠腮，暴躁乱跳道：「是那个敢这等骂我？」八戒道：「哥哥息怒，是那黄袍怪这等骂来，我故学与你听也。」行者道：「贤弟，你起来。不是我去不成，既是妖精敢骂我，我就不能不降他，我和你去。老孙五百年前大闹天宫，普天的神将看见我，一个个控背躬身，口口称呼大圣。这妖怪无礼，他敢背前面后骂我。我这去，把他拿住，碎尸万段，以报骂我之仇！报毕，我即回来。」八戒道：「哥哥，正是。你只去拿了妖精，报了你仇，那时来与不来，任从尊意。」
逐句解 Line by line
At these words Pilgrim was so enraged that he clawed at his ears and scratched his cheeks, and springing about in a fury cried, "Who is it that dares to revile me thus?"
抓耳撓腮, zhuā ěr náo sāi, "to claw the ears and scratch the cheeks," is the set phrase Chinese still reaches for when somebody is beside themselves with agitation — and here it is being applied to an actual ape, which is where the phrase always wanted to go. (那個 is the questioning "who," so 那 reads nǎ.)
Bajie said, "Calm your wrath, brother; it was that Yellow-Robe fiend who reviled you so, and I have but repeated it for you to hear."
故學, gù xué, deliberately repeated in mimicry — Bajie is careful to establish that he is only doing an impression. (那黃袍怪 takes the pointing nà.)
Pilgrim said, "Worthy brother, get to your feet.
Watch the address change. 賢弟, xián dì, "worthy younger brother," is courteous where a moment ago it was "blockhead" and "good-for-nothing." One insult from a stranger has done what every appeal to duty could not.
It is not that I would not have gone; but since the fiend dares to revile me, I cannot but subdue him — I will go with you.
不能不降, bù néng bù xiáng, "cannot but subdue him." Because 降 is read xiáng, a rising tone, the 不 in front of it stays bù.
Five hundred years ago, when old Sun made his great uproar in Heaven, every divine general under the sky, at the sight of me, bent his back and bowed low, and with one voice hailed me Great Sage.
He reaches straight for his own legend. 大鬧天宮, dà nào tiān gōng, the "great uproar in Heaven" of the opening chapters, is the phrase by which the whole episode is known in Chinese to this day. 神將, shén jiàng, divine generals — here 將 is the rank, jiàng. 控背躬身, kòng bèi gōng shēn, to bow with arched back and bent body.
This fiend is past all decency, that he dares revile me behind my back and before my face alike.
背前面後, bèi qián miàn hòu, "behind the back and before the face" — that is, both ways at once. The complaint is not that the demon insulted him privately but that he did it comprehensively.
This time I go to take him, to hack his corpse into ten thousand pieces, and so avenge the insult he has done me!
碎屍萬段, suì shī wàn duàn, "to smash the corpse into ten thousand pieces," is the formula for a vow of absolute vengeance — an oath in general circulation, not a considered plan.
That vengeance done, I shall return at once."
報畢, bào bì, "the vengeance accomplished"; 即, jí, straightway. He is still insisting he will not stay.
Bajie said, "Just so, brother.
正是, zhèng shì: "just so, exactly."
You have only to go and seize the fiend and avenge your wrong; whether you come back then or no, that is as your honour pleases."
The manipulator's last light touch. 任從尊意, rèn cóng zūn yì, "entirely at your honoured discretion" — Bajie grants a freedom he knows perfectly well will not be used.
The goad finds its mark. The demon's reported contempt accomplishes in a heartbeat what appeals to duty could not, and the Great Sage's frenzy — the clawing, the leaping, the demand to know who dares — is rendered with the novel's usual relish for his volatility. His pivot from flat refusal to a courteous "worthy brother" lays bare the true hinge of his will: not the master's peril, but his own affronted name.
He then justifies himself by rehearsing his old glory, the uproar in Heaven and the generals bowing to the Great Sage, so that vengeance can be dressed as vindication. Bajie's closing concession — come back afterwards or not, as you please — grants a freedom that pride has already spent. The exchange completes the chapter's opening movement and sends the reunited pair toward the demon's cave.