第三十二回 · 看師父 Minding the Master — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

看師父 Minding the Master

八bā戒jiè道dào：「看kàn師shī父fù是shì坐zuò，巡xún山shān去qù是shì走zǒu。終zhōng不bù然rán教jiào我wǒ坐zuò一yí會huì又yòu走zǒu，走zǒu一yí會huì又yòu坐zuò？兩liǎng處chù怎zěn麼me顧gù盼pàn得de來lái？」行xíng者zhě道dào：「不bú是shì教jiào你nǐ兩liǎng件jiàn齊qí幹gàn，只zhǐ是shì領lǐng了le一yí件jiàn便biàn罷bà。」八bā戒jiè又yòu笑xiào道dào：「這zhè等děng也yě好hǎo計jì較jiào。但dàn不bù知zhī看kàn師shī父fù是shì怎zěn樣yàng，巡xún山shān是shì怎zěn樣yàng？你nǐ先xiān與yǔ我wǒ講jiǎng講jiǎng，等děng我wǒ依yī個gè相xiāng應yìng些xiē兒er的de去qù幹gàn罷bà。」行xíng者zhě道dào：「看kàn師shī父fù啊a，師shī父fù去qù出chū恭gōng，你nǐ伺cì候hòu；師shī父fù要yào走zǒu路lù，你nǐ扶fú持chí；師shī父fù要yào吃chī齋zhāi，你nǐ化huà齋zhāi。若ruò他tā餓è了le些xiē兒er，你nǐ該gāi打dǎ；黃huáng了le些xiē兒er臉liǎn皮pí，你nǐ該gāi打dǎ；瘦shòu了le些xiē兒er形xíng骸hái，你nǐ該gāi打dǎ。」八bā戒jiè道dào：「看kàn师shī父fù是shì坐zuò，巡xún山shān去qù是shì走zǒu。终zhōng不bù然rán教jiào我wǒ坐zuò一yí会huì又yòu走zǒu，走zǒu一yí会huì又yòu坐zuò？两liǎng处chù怎zěn么me顾gù盼pàn得de来lái？」行xíng者zhě道dào：「不bú是shì教jiào你nǐ两liǎng件jiàn齐qí干gàn，只zhǐ是shì领lǐng了le一yí件jiàn便biàn罢bà。」八bā戒jiè又yòu笑xiào道dào：「这zhè等děng也yě好hǎo计jì较jiào。但dàn不bù知zhī看kàn师shī父fù是shì怎zěn样yàng，巡xún山shān是shì怎zěn样yàng？你nǐ先xiān与yǔ我wǒ讲jiǎng讲jiǎng，等děng我wǒ依yī个gè相xiāng应yìng些xiē儿er的de去qù干gàn罢bà。」行xíng者zhě道dào：「看kàn师shī父fù啊a，师shī父fù去qù出chū恭gōng，你nǐ伺cì候hòu；师shī父fù要yào走zǒu路lù，你nǐ扶fú持chí；师shī父fù要yào吃chī斋zhāi，你nǐ化huà斋zhāi。若ruò他tā饿è了le些xiē儿er，你nǐ该gāi打dǎ；黄huáng了le些xiē儿er脸liǎn皮pí，你nǐ该gāi打dǎ；瘦shòu了le些xiē儿er形xíng骸hái，你nǐ该gāi打dǎ。」

逐句解 Line by line

八bā戒jiè道dào：「看kàn師shī父fù是shì坐zuò，巡xún山shān去qù是shì走zǒu。終zhōng不bù然rán教jiào我wǒ坐zuò一yí會huì又yòu走zǒu，走zǒu一yí會huì又yòu坐zuò？兩liǎng處chù怎zěn麼me顧gù盼pàn得de來lái？」八bā戒jiè道dào：「看kàn师shī父fù是shì坐zuò，巡xún山shān去qù是shì走zǒu。终zhōng不bù然rán教jiào我wǒ坐zuò一yí会huì又yòu走zǒu，走zǒu一yí会huì又yòu坐zuò？两liǎng处chù怎zěn么me顾gù盼pàn得de来lái？」

Said Eight Rules: "To mind the Master is to sit; to go patrol the mountain is to walk. Surely you would not have me sit a while, then walk, walk a while, then sit? How could I attend to both at once?"

Eight Rules, a literalist to his bones, spots what he takes to be a flaw in the design. 顧盼, gù pàn, "to look after, to keep an eye on"; 得來 takes 得 as the de of ability. One job is sitting and the other is walking, so how is a pig to do both?

行xíng者zhě道dào：「不bú是shì教jiào你nǐ兩liǎng件jiàn齊qí幹gàn，只zhǐ是shì領lǐng了le一yí件jiàn便biàn罷bà。」行xíng者zhě道dào：「不bú是shì教jiào你nǐ两liǎng件jiàn齐qí干gàn，只zhǐ是shì领lǐng了le一yí件jiàn便biàn罢bà。」

Said Pilgrim: "I am not asking you to do both together — only to take on the one and be done."

齊幹, qí gàn, "to do together, at once"; 領, "to take on, to accept a job." Only one, says Pilgrim, and be done with it.

八bā戒jiè又yòu笑xiào道dào：「這zhè等děng也yě好hǎo計jì較jiào。但dàn不bù知zhī看kàn師shī父fù是shì怎zěn樣yàng，巡xún山shān是shì怎zěn樣yàng？你nǐ先xiān與yǔ我wǒ講jiǎng講jiǎng，等děng我wǒ依yī個gè相xiāng應yìng些xiē兒er的de去qù幹gàn罷bà。」八bā戒jiè又yòu笑xiào道dào：「这zhè等děng也yě好hǎo计jì较jiào。但dàn不bù知zhī看kàn师shī父fù是shì怎zěn样yàng，巡xún山shān是shì怎zěn样yàng？你nǐ先xiān与yǔ我wǒ讲jiǎng讲jiǎng，等děng我wǒ依yī个gè相xiāng应yìng些xiē儿er的de去qù干gàn罢bà。」

Eight Rules laughed again: "That's a fair reckoning too. But I don't yet know what minding the Master involves, or what patrolling the mountain involves. Explain them to me first, and let me pick whichever suits me better to go and do."

And here Eight Rules makes his mistake: he asks for the details before choosing. 相應, xiāng yìng, "matching, suitable" — 相 is xiāng, 應 is yìng. The 兒 of 些兒 is the light er.

行xíng者zhě道dào：「看kàn師shī父fù啊a，師shī父fù去qù出chū恭gōng，你nǐ伺cì候hòu；師shī父fù要yào走zǒu路lù，你nǐ扶fú持chí；師shī父fù要yào吃chī齋zhāi，你nǐ化huà齋zhāi。若ruò他tā餓è了le些xiē兒er，你nǐ該gāi打dǎ；黃huáng了le些xiē兒er臉liǎn皮pí，你nǐ該gāi打dǎ；瘦shòu了le些xiē兒er形xíng骸hái，你nǐ該gāi打dǎ。」行xíng者zhě道dào：「看kàn师shī父fù啊a，师shī父fù去qù出chū恭gōng，你nǐ伺cì候hòu；师shī父fù要yào走zǒu路lù，你nǐ扶fú持chí；师shī父fù要yào吃chī斋zhāi，你nǐ化huà斋zhāi。若ruò他tā饿è了le些xiē儿er，你nǐ该gāi打dǎ；黄huáng了le些xiē儿er脸liǎn皮pí，你nǐ该gāi打dǎ；瘦shòu了le些xiē儿er形xíng骸hái，你nǐ该gāi打dǎ。」

Said Pilgrim: "As for minding the Master — when the Master goes to relieve himself, you attend him; when the Master would walk, you support him; when the Master would take his fast-meal, you go beg it. And if he grows the least bit hungry, you are to be beaten; if his face yellows the least bit, you are to be beaten; if his frame wastes the least bit, you are to be beaten."

Pilgrim obliges, at length. 出恭, chū gōng, "to go and be respectful" — one of Chinese's great euphemisms for going to the lavatory, apparently from the wooden tablet marked 出恭 that examination candidates had to collect before leaving the hall. 化齋, huà zhāi, "to beg a meal," the alms-round that is a monk's ordinary means of eating. 形骸, "the frame, the body." The 兒 of 些兒 is the light er, three times. Then the sting: beatings for the master going hungry, for his face yellowing, for his frame thinning — none of which a servant can control.

總評 Commentary

Eight Rules objects on grounds of logistics: minding the master is a sitting job, patrolling is a walking job, and you cannot do both at once. He is told he need only pick one — and then, fatally, he asks for a description of each before choosing. Pilgrim has been waiting for precisely this question.

What follows is a job advertisement written to repel. Attend the master to the lavatory, hold him up when he walks, go out and beg his meals; and then be beaten if he gets hungry, beaten if his face loses colour, beaten if he loses weight. The last three are the joke: they are outcomes no servant could possibly guarantee, so the post carries unlimited liability. Pilgrim is not describing a duty. He is pricing one option out of the market.