第四十四回 · 名坑起號 A Style-Name for the Cesspit — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

名坑起號 A Style-Name for the Cesspit

這zhè獃dāi子zi有yǒu些xiē夯hāng力lì量liàng，跳tiào下xià來lái，把bǎ三sān個gè聖shèng像xiàng拿ná在zài肩jiān膊bó上shàng，扛káng將jiāng出chū來lái。到dào那nà廂xiāng，用yòng腳jiǎo登dēng開kāi門mén看kàn時shí，原yuán來lái是shì個gè大dà東dōng廁cè。笑xiào道dào：「這zhè個gè弼bì馬mǎ溫wēn著zhuó然rán會huì弄nòng嘴zuǐ弄nòng舌shé，把bǎ個gè毛máo坑kēng也yě與yǔ他tā起qǐ個gè道dào號hào，叫jiào做zuò甚shén麼me『五wǔ穀gǔ輪lún迴huí之zhī所suǒ』。」这zhè呆dāi子zi有yǒu些xiē夯hāng力lì量liàng，跳tiào下xià来lái，把bǎ三sān个gè圣shèng像xiàng拿ná在zài肩jiān膊bó上shàng，扛káng将jiāng出chū来lái。到dào那nà厢xiāng，用yòng脚jiǎo登dēng开kāi门mén看kàn时shí，原yuán来lái是shì个gè大dà东dōng厕cè。笑xiào道dào：「这zhè个gè弼bì马mǎ温wēn着zhuó然rán会huì弄nòng嘴zuǐ弄nòng舌shé，把bǎ个gè毛máo坑kēng也yě与yǔ他tā起qǐ个gè道dào号hào，叫jiào做zuò甚shén么me『五wǔ谷gǔ轮lún回huí之zhī所suǒ』。」

逐句解 Line by line

這zhè獃dāi子zi有yǒu些xiē夯hāng力lì量liàng，跳tiào下xià來lái，把bǎ三sān個gè聖shèng像xiàng拿ná在zài肩jiān膊bó上shàng，扛káng將jiāng出chū來lái。这zhè呆dāi子zi有yǒu些xiē夯hāng力lì量liàng，跳tiào下xià来lái，把bǎ三sān个gè圣shèng像xiàng拿ná在zài肩jiān膊bó上shàng，扛káng将jiāng出chū来lái。

This idiot, having some brute strength, sprang down, hoisted the three sacred images onto his shoulders, and carried them out.

夯力量, brute strength — the kind that goes with being slow, and the only quality anyone credits Bajie with. 將 in 扛將出來 is jiāng, carrying direction; 子 is the light zi.

到dào那nà廂xiāng，用yòng腳jiǎo登dēng開kāi門mén看kàn時shí，原yuán來lái是shì個gè大dà東dōng廁cè。到dào那nà厢xiāng，用yòng脚jiǎo登dēng开kāi门mén看kàn时shí，原yuán来lái是shì个gè大dà东dōng厕cè。

Getting over there and kicking the door open to look, he found it was a great eastern privy.

He kicks the door open with a god on each shoulder and finds out what it is. 東廁, the eastern privy — by convention it stood on that side of a courtyard. 那廂: 那 is nà, over there.

笑xiào道dào：「這zhè個gè弼bì馬mǎ溫wēn著zhuó然rán會huì弄nòng嘴zuǐ弄nòng舌shé，把bǎ個gè毛máo坑kēng也yě與yǔ他tā起qǐ個gè道dào號hào，叫jiào做zuò甚shén麼me『五wǔ穀gǔ輪lún迴huí之zhī所suǒ』。」笑xiào道dào：「这zhè个gè弼bì马mǎ温wēn着zhuó然rán会huì弄nòng嘴zuǐ弄nòng舌shé，把bǎ个gè毛máo坑kēng也yě与yǔ他tā起qǐ个gè道dào号hào，叫jiào做zuò甚shén么me『五wǔ谷gǔ轮lún回huí之zhī所suǒ』。」

He laughed: "This Protector of Horses truly has a gift for wagging his tongue — giving even a cesspit a Daoist style-name, calling it some 'place for the cycling of the Five Grains.'"

Bajie's laugh is a piece of literary criticism. Wukong called a cesspit "the place where the five grains turn their wheel," and giving a latrine a 道號 — a Daoist style-name, the elevated title an adept takes on initiation — is exactly the sort of thing his brother would do. And the insult he picks is the perfect one: 弼馬溫, Protector of Horses, the joke office Heaven fobbed Wukong off with, and the name that has enraged him more than any other since. The trickster who dignifies a privy is himself a god the heavens once named as a stablehand. 著 in 著然 is zhuó, meaning truly or downright, as in 著實; 甚 is shén; 毛坑, a cesspit.

總評 Commentary

Bajie hauls the three images to the door his brother marked, kicks it open with a god on each shoulder, and finds a privy. Then he laughs, and the laugh is a piece of criticism: only Wukong would give a cesspit a 道號, the elevated style-name an adept takes at initiation.

The insult he reaches for is the perfect one. 弼馬溫, Protector of Horses, is the joke office Heaven fobbed Wukong off with in the opening chapters, and no name has enraged him more since. So the trickster who dignifies a latrine is himself a god the heavens once named as a stablehand — and it takes a pig to point it out.