第三十一回 · 擒獲雙孩 The Two Children Seized — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

擒獲雙孩 The Two Children Seized

只zhǐ見jiàn有yǒu兩liǎng個gè小xiǎo孩hái子zi，在zài那nà裡lǐ使shǐ彎wān頭tóu棍gùn，打dǎ毛máo毬qiú，搶qiǎng窩wō耍shuǎ子zi哩li。一yí個gè有yǒu十shí來lái歲suì，一yí個gè有yǒu八bā九jiǔ歲suì了le。正zhèng戲xì處chù，被bèi行xíng者zhě趕gǎn上shàng前qián，也yě不bù管guǎn他tā是shì張zhāng家jiā李lǐ家jiā的de，一yì把bǎ抓zhuā著zháo頂dǐng搭dā子zi，提tí將jiāng過guò來lái。那nà孩hái子zi吃chī了le諕xià，口kǒu裡lǐ夾jiā罵mà帶dài哭kū的de亂luàn嚷rǎng。驚jīng動dòng那nà波bō月yuè洞dòng的de小xiǎo妖yāo，急jí報bào與yǔ公gōng主zhǔ道dào：「奶nǎi奶nai，不bù知zhī甚shén人rén把bǎ二èr位wèi公gōng子zǐ搶qiǎng去qù也yě。」原yuán來lái那nà兩liǎng個gè孩hái子zi是shì公gōng主zhǔ與yǔ那nà怪guài生shēng的de。只zhǐ见jiàn有yǒu两liǎng个gè小xiǎo孩hái子zi，在zài那nà里lǐ使shǐ弯wān头tóu棍gùn，打dǎ毛máo毬qiú，抢qiǎng窝wō耍shuǎ子zi哩li。一yí个gè有yǒu十shí来lái岁suì，一yí个gè有yǒu八bā九jiǔ岁suì了le。正zhèng戏xì处chù，被bèi行xíng者zhě赶gǎn上shàng前qián，也yě不bù管guǎn他tā是shì张zhāng家jiā李lǐ家jiā的de，一yì把bǎ抓zhuā着zháo顶dǐng搭dā子zi，提tí将jiāng过guò来lái。那nà孩hái子zi吃chī了le諕xià，口kǒu里lǐ夹jiā骂mà带dài哭kū的de乱luàn嚷rǎng。惊jīng动dòng那nà波bō月yuè洞dòng的de小xiǎo妖yāo，急jí报bào与yǔ公gōng主zhǔ道dào：「奶nǎi奶nai，不bù知zhī甚shén人rén把bǎ二èr位wèi公gōng子zǐ抢qiǎng去qù也yě。」原yuán来lái那nà两liǎng个gè孩hái子zi是shì公gōng主zhǔ与yǔ那nà怪guài生shēng的de。

逐句解 Line by line

只zhǐ見jiàn有yǒu兩liǎng個gè小xiǎo孩hái子zi，在zài那nà裡lǐ使shǐ彎wān頭tóu棍gùn，打dǎ毛máo毬qiú，搶qiǎng窩wō耍shuǎ子zi哩li。只zhǐ见jiàn有yǒu两liǎng个gè小xiǎo孩hái子zi，在zài那nà里lǐ使shǐ弯wān头tóu棍gùn，打dǎ毛máo毬qiú，抢qiǎng窝wō耍shuǎ子zi哩li。

There he saw two little children, wielding crook-headed sticks, driving a fur ball and scrambling at the holes, at their play.

A children's game, described with the precision of somebody who has watched it. 彎頭棍, wān tóu gùn, crook-headed sticks; 打毛毬, dǎ máo qiú, to drive a hair-stuffed ball — something between polo on foot and golf, with holes to knock the ball into. (那裡 here is simply "there," so nà.)

一yí個gè有yǒu十shí來lái歲suì，一yí個gè有yǒu八bā九jiǔ歲suì了le。一yí个gè有yǒu十shí来lái岁suì，一yí个gè有yǒu八bā九jiǔ岁suì了le。

One was some ten years old, the other eight or nine.

十來歲, shí lái suì: about ten years old.

正zhèng戲xì處chù，被bèi行xíng者zhě趕gǎn上shàng前qián，也yě不bù管guǎn他tā是shì張zhāng家jiā李lǐ家jiā的de，一yì把bǎ抓zhuā著zháo頂dǐng搭dā子zi，提tí將jiāng過guò來lái。正zhèng戏xì处chù，被bèi行xíng者zhě赶gǎn上shàng前qián，也yě不bù管guǎn他tā是shì张zhāng家jiā李lǐ家jiā的de，一yì把bǎ抓zhuā着zháo顶dǐng搭dā子zi，提tí将jiāng过guò来lái。

In the thick of their game, Pilgrim rushed upon them, and caring nothing whose sons they might be, with one grasp seized a topknot and hauled the child over.

張家李家, Zhāng jiā Lǐ jiā, "the Zhangs' or the Lis'," is the Chinese for "Tom, Dick or Harry" — Zhang and Li being the two commonest surnames in the country. The narrator uses it to say Wukong did not care whose children these were. 頂搭子, dǐng dā zi, is the tuft of hair left long on a small child's crown, and it is what he grabs. (抓著 takes 著 as zháo, the got-hold-of sense; 提將過來 takes 將 as jiāng.)

那nà孩hái子zi吃chī了le諕xià，口kǒu裡lǐ夾jiā罵mà帶dài哭kū的de亂luàn嚷rǎng。那nà孩hái子zi吃chī了le諕xià，口kǒu里lǐ夹jiā骂mà带dài哭kū的de乱luàn嚷rǎng。

The child, taking fright, set up a wild clamour, cursing and weeping together.

吃諕, chī xià, to take fright — 諕 is a variant shape for 嚇, read xià. 夾罵帶哭, jiā mà dài kū, cursing mixed with crying, which is exactly what a terrified ten-year-old does.

驚jīng動dòng那nà波bō月yuè洞dòng的de小xiǎo妖yāo，急jí報bào與yǔ公gōng主zhǔ道dào：「奶nǎi奶nai，不bù知zhī甚shén人rén把bǎ二èr位wèi公gōng子zǐ搶qiǎng去qù也yě。」惊jīng动dòng那nà波bō月yuè洞dòng的de小xiǎo妖yāo，急jí报bào与yǔ公gōng主zhǔ道dào：「奶nǎi奶nai，不bù知zhī甚shén人rén把bǎ二èr位wèi公gōng子zǐ抢qiǎng去qù也yě。」

The commotion startled the lesser imps of the Wave-Moon Cave, who ran in haste to report to the princess: "Mistress, some unknown person has carried off the two young masters."

波月洞, Bōyuè Dòng, the Wave-Moon Cave, is the demon's lair. 奶奶, nǎi nai, is how the imps address the princess — mistress, my lady; the second syllable of these doubled family words goes light. 二位公子, èr wèi gōng zǐ, the two young masters. (甚人 takes 甚 as shén.)

原yuán來lái那nà兩liǎng個gè孩hái子zi是shì公gōng主zhǔ與yǔ那nà怪guài生shēng的de。原yuán来lái那nà两liǎng个gè孩hái子zi是shì公gōng主zhǔ与yǔ那nà怪guài生shēng的de。

Now these two children were, it appeared, those the princess had borne to the fiend.

原來, yuán lái, "as it turns out" — the storyteller's own word for a disclosure, and this one changes the temperature of the scene entirely. The two children Wukong is dangling over a cliff are the princess's own.

總評 Commentary

The seizure is Wukong's method at its most characteristic — direct, unsentimental and coldly useful. The children are taken not for themselves but as leverage against their father, and the narrator's aside that Pilgrim "cared nothing whose sons they might be" registers the chill of the tactic without apology. The child's clamour, cursing and weeping at once, gives the scene its uneasy edge.

The disclosure that the two are the princess's own offspring complicates the moral field the chapter has been laying out. The captive princess of Baoxiang is not simply a victim waiting to be rescued but a mother of the demon's children, and the hostages Wukong holds are her sons; the revelation sets up the fraught bargain of the next passage, in which her love for them buys Sha Seng his freedom.