第三十一回 · 抱孩激怪 The Children Borne Off to Provoke the Fiend — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

抱孩激怪 The Children Borne Off to Provoke the Fiend

卻què說shuō那nà八bā戒jiè停tíng立lì空kōng中zhōng，看kàn見jiàn沙shā僧sēng出chū洞dòng，即jí按àn下xià雲yún頭tóu，叫jiào聲shēng：「沙shā兄xiōng弟dì，心xīn忍rěn，心xīn忍rěn。」沙shā僧sēng見jiàn身shēn道dào：「二èr哥gē，你nǐ從cóng那nǎ裡lǐ來lái？」八bā戒jiè道dào：「我wǒ昨zuó日rì敗bài陣zhèn，夜yè間jiān進jìn城chéng，會huì了le白bái馬mǎ，知zhī師shī父fù有yǒu難nàn，被bèi黃huáng袍páo使shǐ法fǎ，變biàn做zuò個gè老lǎo虎hǔ。那nà白bái馬mǎ與yǔ我wǒ商shāng議yì，請qǐng師shī兄xiōng來lái的de。」行xíng者zhě道dào：「獃dāi子zi，且qiě休xiū敘xù闊kuò。把bǎ這zhè兩liǎng個gè孩hái子zi，各gè抱bào著zhe一yí個gè，先xiān進jìn那nà寶bǎo象xiàng城chéng去qù激jī那nà怪guài來lái，等děng我wǒ在zài這zhè裡lǐ打dǎ他tā。」却què说shuō那nà八bā戒jiè停tíng立lì空kōng中zhōng，看kàn见jiàn沙shā僧sēng出chū洞dòng，即jí按àn下xià云yún头tóu，叫jiào声shēng：「沙shā兄xiōng弟dì，心xīn忍rěn，心xīn忍rěn。」沙shā僧sēng见jiàn身shēn道dào：「二èr哥gē，你nǐ从cóng那nǎ里lǐ来lái？」八bā戒jiè道dào：「我wǒ昨zuó日rì败bài阵zhèn，夜yè间jiān进jìn城chéng，会huì了le白bái马mǎ，知zhī师shī父fù有yǒu难nàn，被bèi黄huáng袍páo使shǐ法fǎ，变biàn做zuò个gè老lǎo虎hǔ。那nà白bái马mǎ与yǔ我wǒ商shāng议yì，请qǐng师shī兄xiōng来lái的de。」行xíng者zhě道dào：「呆dāi子zi，且qiě休xiū叙xù阔kuò。把bǎ这zhè两liǎng个gè孩hái子zi，各gè抱bào着zhe一yí个gè，先xiān进jìn那nà宝bǎo象xiàng城chéng去qù激jī那nà怪guài来lái，等děng我wǒ在zài这zhè里lǐ打dǎ他tā。」

逐句解 Line by line

卻què說shuō那nà八bā戒jiè停tíng立lì空kōng中zhōng，看kàn見jiàn沙shā僧sēng出chū洞dòng，即jí按àn下xià雲yún頭tóu，叫jiào聲shēng：「沙shā兄xiōng弟dì，心xīn忍rěn，心xīn忍rěn。」却què说shuō那nà八bā戒jiè停tíng立lì空kōng中zhōng，看kàn见jiàn沙shā僧sēng出chū洞dòng，即jí按àn下xià云yún头tóu，叫jiào声shēng：「沙shā兄xiōng弟dì，心xīn忍rěn，心xīn忍rěn。」

Now Bajie, hovering aloft, saw Sha Seng come out of the cave, and at once pressed down the head of his cloud, calling, "Brother Sha, bear up, bear up."

停立空中, tíng lì kōng zhōng, to hover in the air; 心忍, xīn rěn, "bear up, hold on" — a word of encouragement shouted down from a cloud.

沙shā僧sēng見jiàn身shēn道dào：「二èr哥gē，你nǐ從cóng那nǎ裡lǐ來lái？」沙shā僧sēng见jiàn身shēn道dào：「二èr哥gē，你nǐ从cóng那nǎ里lǐ来lái？」

Sha Seng, seeing him, said, "Second brother, whence do you come?"

那裡來, nǎ lǐ lái, "where have you come from," with the questioning 那. The printed form 見身 is unusual; the plain sense is that Sha Seng caught sight of him and spoke.

八bā戒jiè道dào：「我wǒ昨zuó日rì敗bài陣zhèn，夜yè間jiān進jìn城chéng，會huì了le白bái馬mǎ，知zhī師shī父fù有yǒu難nàn，被bèi黃huáng袍páo使shǐ法fǎ，變biàn做zuò個gè老lǎo虎hǔ。八bā戒jiè道dào：「我wǒ昨zuó日rì败bài阵zhèn，夜yè间jiān进jìn城chéng，会huì了le白bái马mǎ，知zhī师shī父fù有yǒu难nàn，被bèi黄huáng袍páo使shǐ法fǎ，变biàn做zuò个gè老lǎo虎hǔ。

Bajie said, "After my rout yesterday, I entered the city by night and met the White Horse, and learned that the master was in peril — that Yellow Robe, by his arts, had changed him into a tiger.

夜間, yè jiān, by night; 有難, yǒu nàn, to be in peril, with 難 as the noun nàn; 使法, shǐ fǎ, to work a spell.

那nà白bái馬mǎ與yǔ我wǒ商shāng議yì，請qǐng師shī兄xiōng來lái的de。」那nà白bái马mǎ与yǔ我wǒ商shāng议yì，请qǐng师shī兄xiōng来lái的de。」

It was the White Horse who took counsel with me and had me go to entreat our elder brother."

商議, shāng yì, to take counsel together. Bajie is careful to credit the horse with the idea, having spent the last hour insisting to Wukong that it was his own.

行xíng者zhě道dào：「獃dāi子zi，且qiě休xiū敘xù闊kuò。行xíng者zhě道dào：「呆dāi子zi，且qiě休xiū叙xù阔kuò。

Pilgrim said, "Blockhead, leave off this catching-up for now.

敘闊, xù kuò, to catch up after a separation, to talk over the time apart. Wukong cuts it off in four words: sentiment deferred, objective pressed.

把bǎ這zhè兩liǎng個gè孩hái子zi，各gè抱bào著zhe一yí個gè，先xiān進jìn那nà寶bǎo象xiàng城chéng去qù激jī那nà怪guài來lái，等děng我wǒ在zài這zhè裡lǐ打dǎ他tā。」把bǎ这zhè两liǎng个gè孩hái子zi，各gè抱bào着zhe一yí个gè，先xiān进jìn那nà宝bǎo象xiàng城chéng去qù激jī那nà怪guài来lái，等děng我wǒ在zài这zhè里lǐ打dǎ他tā。」

Take these two children, one held by each of you, and go first into the city of Baoxiang to provoke the fiend forth, while I wait here to give him battle."

各抱著一個, gè bào zhe yī gè, each with one held in his arms — the "-ing" form, the child carried rather than dropped. And there is the chapter's key verb again: 激, jī, to provoke, to goad forth. It was used of Wukong an hour ago; it is used of the demon now.

總評 Commentary

The three disciples are reunited in mid-air, and Bajie's hurried recap — the night in the city, the counsel of the White Horse, the master turned into a tiger — folds the reader back into the main danger while Wukong, impatient of reminiscence, cuts the reunion short to lay his plan. The brusque "leave off this catching-up" is the Great Sage entire.

The stratagem itself turns the hostages to tactical account: carry the demon's own children into the Baoxiang court, announce them publicly, and draw the fiend out to open ground where Wukong can fight him without wrecking a city. The instruction that each brother hold a child sets up the grim comedy of the next passage, where Bajie objects to the errand in his own inimitable idiom.