第三十八回 · 拿賊拿贓 To Catch a Thief, Catch the Loot — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

拿賊拿贓 To Catch a Thief, Catch the Loot

常cháng言yán道dào：『拿ná賊zéi拿ná贓zāng。』那nà怪guài物wù做zuò了le三sān年nián皇huáng帝dì，又yòu不bù曾céng走zǒu了le馬mǎ腳jiǎo，漏lòu了le風fēng聲shēng。他tā與yǔ三sān宮gōng妃fēi后hòu同tóng眠mián，又yòu和hé兩liǎng班bān文wén武wǔ共gòng樂lè，我wǒ老lǎo孫sūn就jiù有yǒu本běn事shì拿ná住zhù他tā，也yě不bù好hǎo定dìng個gè罪zuì名míng。」唐táng僧sēng道dào：「怎zěn麼me不bù好hǎo定dìng罪zuì？」行xíng者zhě道dào：「他tā就jiù是shì個gè沒méi嘴zuǐ的de葫hú蘆lú，也yě與yǔ你nǐ滾gǔn上shàng幾jǐ滾gǔn。他tā敢gǎn道dào：『我wǒ是shì烏wū雞jī國guó王wáng，有yǒu甚shén逆nì天tiān之zhī事shì，你nǐ來lái拿ná我wǒ？』將jiāng甚shén執zhí照zhào與yǔ他tā折zhé辯biàn？」常cháng言yán道dào：『拿ná贼zéi拿ná赃zāng。』那nà怪guài物wù做zuò了le三sān年nián皇huáng帝dì，又yòu不bù曾céng走zǒu了le马mǎ脚jiǎo，漏lòu了le风fēng声shēng。他tā与yǔ三sān宫gōng妃fēi后hòu同tóng眠mián，又yòu和hé两liǎng班bān文wén武wǔ共gòng乐lè，我wǒ老lǎo孙sūn就jiù有yǒu本běn事shì拿ná住zhù他tā，也yě不bù好hǎo定dìng个gè罪zuì名míng。」唐táng僧sēng道dào：「怎zěn么me不bù好hǎo定dìng罪zuì？」行xíng者zhě道dào：「他tā就jiù是shì个gè没méi嘴zuǐ的de葫hú芦lú，也yě与yǔ你nǐ滚gǔn上shàng几jǐ滚gǔn。他tā敢gǎn道dào：『我wǒ是shì乌wū鸡jī国guó王wáng，有yǒu甚shén逆nì天tiān之zhī事shì，你nǐ来lái拿ná我wǒ？』将jiāng甚shén执zhí照zhào与yǔ他tā折zhé辩biàn？」

逐句解 Line by line

常cháng言yán道dào：『拿ná賊zéi拿ná贓zāng。』常cháng言yán道dào：『拿ná贼zéi拿ná赃zāng。』

As the common saying goes: 'To catch a thief, catch him with the loot.'

拿賊拿贓 — 'catch the thief, catch the goods.' It is a proverb about procedure and it is still current: an accusation needs material proof behind it. The edition marks it as a quotation, which is why it stays prose however neatly it scans.

那nà怪guài物wù做zuò了le三sān年nián皇huáng帝dì，又yòu不bù曾céng走zǒu了le馬mǎ腳jiǎo，漏lòu了le風fēng聲shēng。那nà怪guài物wù做zuò了le三sān年nián皇huáng帝dì，又yòu不bù曾céng走zǒu了le马mǎ脚jiǎo，漏lòu了le风fēng声shēng。

That fiend has played emperor for three years now, and has never once shown a horse's hoof or let slip a whisper of the truth.

走了馬腳: to 'show a horse's hoof' is a variant of the commoner 露馬腳 — to let the horse's foot show from under the costume, and so give the game away. It is exactly the English 'let the cat out of the bag,' and it is alive in Chinese today. 漏了風聲: to let word leak out on the wind. 那 = nà. Three years and not a single slip.

他tā與yǔ三sān宮gōng妃fēi后hòu同tóng眠mián，又yòu和hé兩liǎng班bān文wén武wǔ共gòng樂lè，我wǒ老lǎo孫sūn就jiù有yǒu本běn事shì拿ná住zhù他tā，也yě不bù好hǎo定dìng個gè罪zuì名míng。」他tā与yǔ三sān宫gōng妃fēi后hòu同tóng眠mián，又yòu和hé两liǎng班bān文wén武wǔ共gòng乐lè，我wǒ老lǎo孙sūn就jiù有yǒu本běn事shì拿ná住zhù他tā，也yě不bù好hǎo定dìng个gè罪zuì名míng。」

He shares his bed with the consorts of the three palaces and takes his pleasure with the two files of civil and military officers; even if old Sun had the skill to seize him, it would be no easy thing to fix a charge on him.'

The demon is not merely on the throne, he is woven into every relation in the kingdom. 三宮妃后 are the consorts of the three palaces; 兩班文武, the two files of civil and military officers who stand facing each other at court. He sleeps with the one and drinks with the other. 和 = hé; 共樂 keeps 樂 at lè, 'pleasure,' not yuè, 'music'; 不好 here means 'not easy.'

唐táng僧sēng道dào：「怎zěn麼me不bù好hǎo定dìng罪zuì？」唐táng僧sēng道dào：「怎zěn么me不bù好hǎo定dìng罪zuì？」

The Tang Monk said: 'Why should it be hard to charge him with a crime?'

Tripitaka's challenge again: the crime is obvious, so what is the problem?

行xíng者zhě道dào：「他tā就jiù是shì個gè沒méi嘴zuǐ的de葫hú蘆lú，也yě與yǔ你nǐ滾gǔn上shàng幾jǐ滾gǔn。行xíng者zhě道dào：「他tā就jiù是shì个gè没méi嘴zuǐ的de葫hú芦lú，也yě与yǔ你nǐ滚gǔn上shàng几jǐ滚gǔn。

The Pilgrim said: 'Even were he a mouthless gourd, he would still roll a few rolls against you.'

沒嘴的葫蘆, 'a mouthless gourd,' is proverbially someone with nothing to say for themselves. Even so, Wukong warns, this one would 滾上幾滾 — roll about a few turns, wriggle, put up a defense. The image is of trying to pin down a gourd that will not stay still.

他tā敢gǎn道dào：『我wǒ是shì烏wū雞jī國guó王wáng，有yǒu甚shén逆nì天tiān之zhī事shì，你nǐ來lái拿ná我wǒ？』他tā敢gǎn道dào：『我wǒ是shì乌wū鸡jī国guó王wáng，有yǒu甚shén逆nì天tiān之zhī事shì，你nǐ来lái拿ná我wǒ？』

He would dare to say: "I am the king of Wuji — what crime against Heaven have I committed, that you come to seize me?"

The imagined cross-examination. Sitting on the throne, the demon simply asks what he is charged with — and he has a point. 有甚: 甚 = shén, 'what.'

將jiāng甚shén執zhí照zhào與yǔ他tā折zhé辯biàn？」将jiāng甚shén执zhí照zhào与yǔ他tā折zhé辩biàn？」

And with what warrant would you argue him down?'

執照 is a warrant or licence — a document with authority behind it. 將甚執照: with what warrant? (將 = jiāng, 'with'; 甚 = shén). 折辯 is to argue an opponent down. Wukong can win the fight and still lose the case.

總評 Commentary

Here the legal scruple is argued out in full. Wukong's premise is the proverb 拿賊拿贓 — a thief must be caught with the goods — and his difficulty is that three years of successful rule have left no seam anywhere. No betraying horse's hoof, no whisper leaked, and a place at the center of every relationship in the kingdom, from the royal bed to the ranks of the court.

The comedy is in the imagined cross-examination. Though 'a mouthless gourd,' the demon would still roll a few rolls and put up a defense, and would ask, from the throne, exactly what he is accused of. Without a warrant or a body of evidence, Wukong foresees the whole seizure collapsing into an argument he cannot win.

The passage crystallizes the chapter's turn from force to proof. The demon cannot simply be overpowered and denounced; the usurpation has to be documented. That is why the drowned king's body must come out of the well — it is the one piece of evidence that converts Wukong's certainty into a case — and the plan he unfolds next follows straight from this need.