Canonical Classics ← 第四十一回
第四十一回
心xīn猿yuán遭zāo火huǒ敗bài
木mù母mǔ被bèi魔mó擒qín

The Mind-Ape Suffers Defeat by Fire · The Wood-Mother Is Seized by the Demon

賢姪莫弄虛頭
模式 Mode Read Study
拼音 Pinyin Off
字體 Script 繁
原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

賢姪莫弄虛頭 Worthy Nephew, No Tricks

那nà紅hóng孩hái兒ér怪guài出chū得de門mén來lái,高gāo叫jiào道dào:「是shì甚shén麼me人rén在zài我wǒ這zhè裡lǐ吆yāo喝hè!」行xíng者zhě近jìn前qián笑xiào道dào:「我wǒ賢xián姪zhí莫mò弄nòng虛xū頭tóu。你nǐ今jīn早zǎo在zài山shān路lù傍páng高gāo吊diào在zài松sōng樹shù梢shāo頭tóu,是shì那nà般bān一yí個gè瘦shòu怯qiè怯qiè的de黃huáng病bìng孩hái兒ér,哄hǒng了le我wǒ師shī父fù。我wǒ倒dào好hǎo意yì馱tuó著zhe你nǐ,你nǐ就jiù弄nòng風fēng兒er把bǎ我wǒ師shī父fù攝shè將jiāng來lái。你nǐ如rú今jīn又yòu弄nòng這zhè個gè樣yàng子zi,我wǒ豈qǐ不bú認rèn得dé你nǐ?趁chèn早zǎo送sòng出chū我wǒ師shī父fù,不bú要yào白bái了le面miàn皮pí,失shī了le親qīn情qíng,恐kǒng你nǐ令lìng尊zūn知zhī道dào,怪guài我wǒ老lǎo孫sūn以yǐ長zhǎng欺qī幼yòu,不bú象xiàng模mú樣yàng。」那nà红hóng孩hái儿ér怪guài出chū得de门mén来lái,高gāo叫jiào道dào:「是shì甚shén么me人rén在zài我wǒ这zhè里lǐ吆yāo喝hè!」行xíng者zhě近jìn前qián笑xiào道dào:「我wǒ贤xián姪zhí莫mò弄nòng虚xū头tóu。你nǐ今jīn早zǎo在zài山shān路lù傍páng高gāo吊diào在zài松sōng树shù梢shāo头tóu,是shì那nà般bān一yí个gè瘦shòu怯qiè怯qiè的de黄huáng病bìng孩hái儿ér,哄hǒng了le我wǒ师shī父fù。我wǒ倒dào好hǎo意yì驮tuó着zhe你nǐ,你nǐ就jiù弄nòng风fēng儿er把bǎ我wǒ师shī父fù摄shè将jiāng来lái。你nǐ如rú今jīn又yòu弄nòng这zhè个gè样yàng子zi,我wǒ岂qǐ不bú认rèn得dé你nǐ?趁chèn早zǎo送sòng出chū我wǒ师shī父fù,不bú要yào白bái了le面miàn皮pí,失shī了le亲qīn情qíng,恐kǒng你nǐ令lìng尊zūn知zhī道dào,怪guài我wǒ老lǎo孙sūn以yǐ长zhǎng欺qī幼yòu,不bú象xiàng模mú样yàng。」


逐句解 Line by line

那nà紅hóng孩hái兒ér怪guài出chū得de門mén來lái,高gāo叫jiào道dào:「是shì甚shén麼me人rén在zài我wǒ這zhè裡lǐ吆yāo喝hè!」 那nà红hóng孩hái儿ér怪guài出chū得de门mén来lái,高gāo叫jiào道dào:「是shì甚shén么me人rén在zài我wǒ这zhè里lǐ吆yāo喝hè!」

The Red Boy demon came out at the gate and cried aloud: ‘Who is it bawling here at my door?’

紅孩兒: the 兒 here is a full syllable, ér, because 孩兒 is simply the word for "child" -- not the light unstressed ending that turns other nouns into diminutives. 出得門來 uses 得 in its light linking sound de, joining the verb to where it got to. 吆喝 is to bawl or holler; the demon has come out to find who is making the racket.

行xíng者zhě近jìn前qián笑xiào道dào:「我wǒ賢xián姪zhí莫mò弄nòng虛xū頭tóu。 行xíng者zhě近jìn前qián笑xiào道dào:「我wǒ贤xián姪zhí莫mò弄nòng虚xū头tóu。

The Pilgrim stepped up and said with a smile: ‘Worthy nephew, play me no tricks.

The whole scene turns on this word. 賢姪 means "worthy nephew" -- Wukong greeting a demon he has never met as family, on the strength of an old sworn brotherhood with the boy's father. 弄虛頭 is to put on a false front, to try it on. He is smiling as he says it, which makes it worse.

你nǐ今jīn早zǎo在zài山shān路lù傍páng高gāo吊diào在zài松sōng樹shù梢shāo頭tóu,是shì那nà般bān一yí個gè瘦shòu怯qiè怯qiè的de黃huáng病bìng孩hái兒ér,哄hǒng了le我wǒ師shī父fù。 你nǐ今jīn早zǎo在zài山shān路lù傍páng高gāo吊diào在zài松sōng树shù梢shāo头tóu,是shì那nà般bān一yí个gè瘦shòu怯qiè怯qiè的de黄huáng病bìng孩hái儿ér,哄hǒng了le我wǒ师shī父fù。

This morning, beside the mountain path, you hung high in the top of a pine — just such a scrawny, sickly, jaundiced-looking child — and so you gulled my master.

Wukong throws the morning's trick back in the demon's face. Chapter 40 had Red Boy hanging from a pine in the guise of a kidnapped child, and Tripitaka, who never learns, insisted on rescuing him. 傍 is páng, beside. 那般 is "that sort of," 那 pointing rather than asking. The string of adjectives -- 瘦怯怯, scrawny and timid, 黃病, jaundiced -- is Wukong doing an impression of the performance.

我wǒ倒dào好hǎo意yì馱tuó著zhe你nǐ,你nǐ就jiù弄nòng風fēng兒er把bǎ我wǒ師shī父fù攝shè將jiāng來lái。 我wǒ倒dào好hǎo意yì驮tuó着zhe你nǐ,你nǐ就jiù弄nòng风fēng儿er把bǎ我wǒ师shī父fù摄shè将jiāng来lái。

I, out of pure goodwill, carried you on my back; and you straightway raised a wind and snatched my master clean away.

我倒好意: 倒 is dào, the "and yet, on the contrary" sound, not the dǎo that means to topple over. 馱著 is carrying on the back, with 著 as zhe showing it going on. Then 弄風兒 -- and here the 兒 is the light diminutive ending, a little puff of wind, in contrast with the full ér two lines above. Same character, two jobs, close enough together to compare.

你nǐ如rú今jīn又yòu弄nòng這zhè個gè樣yàng子zi,我wǒ豈qǐ不bú認rèn得dé你nǐ? 你nǐ如rú今jīn又yòu弄nòng这zhè个gè样yàng子zi,我wǒ岂qǐ不bú认rèn得dé你nǐ?

Now here you are got up in this guise again — do you suppose I would not know you?

認得 is to recognise, and its 得 is dé, the full sound meaning to attain or manage -- recognising is something you succeed at. That puts it with 記得, "remember," rather than with the light de of 出得門來 a moment ago. 豈不 takes bú before the falling tone of 認.

趁chèn早zǎo送sòng出chū我wǒ師shī父fù,不bú要yào白bái了le面miàn皮pí,失shī了le親qīn情qíng,恐kǒng你nǐ令lìng尊zūn知zhī道dào,怪guài我wǒ老lǎo孫sūn以yǐ長zhǎng欺qī幼yòu,不bú象xiàng模mú樣yàng。」 趁chèn早zǎo送sòng出chū我wǒ师shī父fù,不bú要yào白bái了le面miàn皮pí,失shī了le亲qīn情qíng,恐kǒng你nǐ令lìng尊zūn知zhī道dào,怪guài我wǒ老lǎo孙sūn以yǐ长zhǎng欺qī幼yòu,不bú象xiàng模mú样yàng。」

Send out my master at once; do not lose face and forfeit the family bond, lest your honoured father hear of it and blame old Sun for bullying the young from seniority — an unseemly business.’

The threat, dressed as concern for the family reputation. Send my master out, do not lose face over it, and think what your father would say. 以長欺幼 is bullying the young from the strength of seniority, with 長 as zhǎn, elder. 令尊 is the courteous way to say "your father," and the father in question is 牛魔王, the Bull Demon King. 不象模樣 means unseemly, not the proper look of a thing.


總評 Commentary

Wukong's entire tactic is the kinship claim. He calls the child-demon 賢姪, worthy nephew, because he once swore brotherhood with the boy's father. The claim is true as far as it goes, and it is also a manoeuvre: if the demon accepts the relationship, he cannot decently keep the hostage, and if he refuses it, he looks like a boy disowning his father's friends.

Folded into the speech is a recap of Chapter 40 -- the child hanging in the pine, the wind, the vanished master. Wukong is not just claiming family, he is pointing out that he has already seen through one disguise today. Neither argument is going to work, and some of the pleasure of the scene is watching him spend so much charm on a target that has no intention of being charmed.