第三十二回 · 五件寶貝 Five Treasures — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

五件寶貝 Five Treasures

樵qiáo子zi道dào：「和hé尚shàng，他tā那nǎ裡lǐ有yǒu這zhè許xǔ多duō工gōng夫fu，只zhǐ是shì把bǎ你nǐ拿ná住zhù，綑kǔn在zài籠lóng裡lǐ，囫hú圇lún蒸zhēng吃chī了le。」行xíng者zhě笑xiào道dào：「這zhè個gè更gèng好hǎo，更gèng好hǎo。疼téng倒dào不bù忍rěn疼téng，只zhǐ是shì受shòu些xiē悶mèn氣qì罷bà了le。」樵qiáo子zi道dào：「和hé尚shàng不bú要yào調tiáo嘴zuǐ。那nà妖yāo怪guài隨suí身shēn有yǒu五wǔ件jiàn寶bǎo貝bèi，神shén通tōng極jí大dà極jí廣guǎng。就jiù是shì擎qíng天tiān的de玉yù柱zhù，架jià海hǎi的de金jīn梁liáng，若ruò保bǎo得de唐táng朝cháo和hé尚shàng去qù，也yě須xū要yào發fā發fā昏hūn是shì。」行xíng者zhě道dào：「發fā幾jǐ個gè昏hūn麼me？」樵qiáo子zi道dào：「要yào發fā三sān四sì個gè昏hūn是shì。」行xíng者zhě道dào：「不bù打dǎ緊jǐn，不bù打dǎ緊jǐn。我wǒ們men一yì年nián，常cháng發fā七qī八bā百bǎi個gè昏hūn兒er，這zhè三sān四sì個gè昏hūn兒er易yì得de發fā，發fā發fā兒er就jiù過guò去qù了le。」樵qiáo子zi道dào：「和hé尚shàng，他tā那nǎ里lǐ有yǒu这zhè许xǔ多duō工gōng夫fu，只zhǐ是shì把bǎ你nǐ拿ná住zhù，捆kǔn在zài笼lóng里lǐ，囫hú囵lún蒸zhēng吃chī了le。」行xíng者zhě笑xiào道dào：「这zhè个gè更gèng好hǎo，更gèng好hǎo。疼téng倒dào不bù忍rěn疼téng，只zhǐ是shì受shòu些xiē闷mèn气qì罢bà了le。」樵qiáo子zi道dào：「和hé尚shàng不bú要yào调tiáo嘴zuǐ。那nà妖yāo怪guài随suí身shēn有yǒu五wǔ件jiàn宝bǎo贝bèi，神shén通tōng极jí大dà极jí广guǎng。就jiù是shì擎qíng天tiān的de玉yù柱zhù，架jià海hǎi的de金jīn梁liáng，若ruò保bǎo得de唐táng朝cháo和hé尚shàng去qù，也yě须xū要yào发fā发fā昏hūn是shì。」行xíng者zhě道dào：「发fā几jǐ个gè昏hūn么me？」樵qiáo子zi道dào：「要yào发fā三sān四sì个gè昏hūn是shì。」行xíng者zhě道dào：「不bù打dǎ紧jǐn，不bù打dǎ紧jǐn。我wǒ们men一yì年nián，常cháng发fā七qī八bā百bǎi个gè昏hūn儿er，这zhè三sān四sì个gè昏hūn儿er易yì得de发fā，发fā发fā儿er就jiù过guò去qù了le。」

逐句解 Line by line

樵qiáo子zi道dào：「和hé尚shàng，他tā那nǎ裡lǐ有yǒu這zhè許xǔ多duō工gōng夫fu，只zhǐ是shì把bǎ你nǐ拿ná住zhù，綑kǔn在zài籠lóng裡lǐ，囫hú圇lún蒸zhēng吃chī了le。」樵qiáo子zi道dào：「和hé尚shàng，他tā那nǎ里lǐ有yǒu这zhè许xǔ多duō工gōng夫fu，只zhǐ是shì把bǎ你nǐ拿ná住zhù，捆kǔn在zài笼lóng里lǐ，囫hú囵lún蒸zhēng吃chī了le。」

Said the woodcutter: "Monk, where would they find so much leisure? They will simply take you, bind you in a basket, and steam you whole to eat."

The woodcutter corrects the menu. 囫圇, hú lún, "whole, in one piece" — the word survives in 囫圇吞棗, swallowing a date whole, which is what Chinese says about reading a book without understanding a word of it. 籠 is a steamer basket. And 他那裡有 is not "where does he have" but "where would he find the time?" — a rhetorical question, so 那 is nǎ.

行xíng者zhě笑xiào道dào：「這zhè個gè更gèng好hǎo，更gèng好hǎo。疼téng倒dào不bù忍rěn疼téng，只zhǐ是shì受shòu些xiē悶mèn氣qì罷bà了le。」行xíng者zhě笑xiào道dào：「这zhè个gè更gèng好hǎo，更gèng好hǎo。疼téng倒dào不bù忍rěn疼téng，只zhǐ是shì受shòu些xiē闷mèn气qì罢bà了le。」

Pilgrim laughed: "That is better still, better still. As for pain, there would be no pain to bear — only a little stuffiness to put up with."

悶氣, mèn qì, "stifling air, stuffiness." Told he will be steamed alive in a basket, Pilgrim's only complaint is that it will be close in there. 倒 in 疼倒 is the adversative dào, "as for pain, on the contrary."

樵qiáo子zi道dào：「和hé尚shàng不bú要yào調tiáo嘴zuǐ。那nà妖yāo怪guài隨suí身shēn有yǒu五wǔ件jiàn寶bǎo貝bèi，神shén通tōng極jí大dà極jí廣guǎng。就jiù是shì擎qíng天tiān的de玉yù柱zhù，架jià海hǎi的de金jīn梁liáng，若ruò保bǎo得de唐táng朝cháo和hé尚shàng去qù，也yě須xū要yào發fā發fā昏hūn是shì。」樵qiáo子zi道dào：「和hé尚shàng不bú要yào调tiáo嘴zuǐ。那nà妖yāo怪guài随suí身shēn有yǒu五wǔ件jiàn宝bǎo贝bèi，神shén通tōng极jí大dà极jí广guǎng。就jiù是shì擎qíng天tiān的de玉yù柱zhù，架jià海hǎi的de金jīn梁liáng，若ruò保bǎo得de唐táng朝cháo和hé尚shàng去qù，也yě须xū要yào发fā发fā昏hūn是shì。」

Said the woodcutter: "Monk, do not wag your tongue. Those fiends carry five treasures upon them, and their powers are vast beyond measure. Were you the very jade pillar that props up the sky, the golden beam that spans the sea, to see a monk of Tang through safely you would still have to swoon a good few times."

The real warning at last. 調嘴, tiáo zuǐ, "to wisecrack" — 調 read tiáo. Then the number that matters: five treasures. 擎天玉柱 and 架海金梁, "the jade pillar propping up the sky" and "the golden beam spanning the sea," are a matched pair of stock phrases for a man who single-handedly holds everything together — the Ming equivalent of calling someone the load-bearing wall. Even such a man, says the woodcutter, would need a few fainting fits. 那 is nà; 保得 takes 得 as de.

行xíng者zhě道dào：「發fā幾jǐ個gè昏hūn麼me？」行xíng者zhě道dào：「发fā几jǐ个gè昏hūn么me？」

Said Pilgrim: "Swoon how many times?"

發昏, fā hūn, "to faint, to black out." Pilgrim takes the figure of speech literally and asks for a number, which is how he wins most arguments.

樵qiáo子zi道dào：「要yào發fā三sān四sì個gè昏hūn是shì。」樵qiáo子zi道dào：「要yào发fā三sān四sì个gè昏hūn是shì。」

Said the woodcutter: "You would have to swoon three or four times."

And he gets one. 三四個昏, sān sì gè hūn, "three or four faints" — the woodcutter has been drawn into counting swoons as if they were items.

行xíng者zhě道dào：「不bù打dǎ緊jǐn，不bù打dǎ緊jǐn。我wǒ們men一yì年nián，常cháng發fā七qī八bā百bǎi個gè昏hūn兒er，這zhè三sān四sì個gè昏hūn兒er易yì得de發fā，發fā發fā兒er就jiù過guò去qù了le。」行xíng者zhě道dào：「不bù打dǎ紧jǐn，不bù打dǎ紧jǐn。我wǒ们men一yì年nián，常cháng发fā七qī八bā百bǎi个gè昏hūn儿er，这zhè三sān四sì个gè昏hūn儿er易yì得de发fā，发fā发fā儿er就jiù过guò去qù了le。」

Said Pilgrim: "No matter, no matter. In a single year we commonly swoon some seven or eight hundred times; these three or four are easily had — a swoon or two and it will all be over."

不打緊, bù dǎ jǐn, "no matter, nothing to it." Seven or eight hundred a year, says Pilgrim, so what are three or four? The 兒 in 昏兒 is the light ending er, three times over; 易得發 takes 得 as de.

總評 Commentary

Told that the demons will skip the cookery and just steam him whole in a basket, Pilgrim pronounces this an improvement — no pain, merely stuffy. But the woodcutter's next line is the one that matters, and it is the reason the whole comic exchange has been running: the demons carry five treasures, and their powers are so great that even the sky-propping pillar and the sea-spanning beam would be knocked out cold a few times over before getting a Tang monk through.

The fainting-count that follows is comic deflation of a high order. Told he must black out three or four times, Pilgrim replies that the party blacks out seven or eight hundred times a year, so these will be easy ones. The banter buries the warning — but the number five has been planted, and those five treasures will drive the entire Gold-Horn and Silver-Horn episode across the chapters to come.