第四十五回 · 歷數其罪 The Charges Laid — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

歷數其罪 The Charges Laid

道dào士shì笑xiào云yún：「陛bì下xià不bù知zhī。他tā昨zuó日rì來lái的de，在zài東dōng門mén外wài打dǎ殺shā了le我wǒ兩liǎng個gè徒tú弟dì，放fàng了le五wǔ百bǎi個gè囚qiú僧sēng，捽zuó碎suì車chē輛liàng；夜yè間jiān闖chuǎng進jìn觀guàn來lái，把bǎ三sān清qīng聖shèng像xiàng毀huǐ壞huài，偷tōu吃chī了le御yù賜cì供gòng養yǎng。道dào士shì笑xiào云yún：「陛bì下xià不bù知zhī。他tā昨zuó日rì来lái的de，在zài东dōng门mén外wài打dǎ杀shā了le我wǒ两liǎng个gè徒tú弟dì，放fàng了le五wǔ百bǎi个gè囚qiú僧sēng，捽zuó碎suì车chē辆liàng；夜yè间jiān闯chuǎng进jìn观guàn来lái，把bǎ三sān清qīng圣shèng像xiàng毁huǐ坏huài，偷tōu吃chī了le御yù赐cì供gòng养yǎng。

逐句解 Line by line

道dào士shì笑xiào云yún：「陛bì下xià不bù知zhī。道dào士shì笑xiào云yún：「陛bì下xià不bù知zhī。

The Daoist said with a laugh, “Your Majesty does not know.

笑云 "said with a laugh." 陛下不知: the level tone of 知 keeps 不 at bù.

他tā昨zuó日rì來lái的de，在zài東dōng門mén外wài打dǎ殺shā了le我wǒ兩liǎng個gè徒tú弟dì，放fàng了le五wǔ百bǎi個gè囚qiú僧sēng，捽zuó碎suì車chē輛liàng；他tā昨zuó日rì来lái的de，在zài东dōng门mén外wài打dǎ杀shā了le我wǒ两liǎng个gè徒tú弟dì，放fàng了le五wǔ百bǎi个gè囚qiú僧sēng，捽zuó碎suì车chē辆liàng；

He came yesterday, and outside the East Gate beat two of our disciples to death, set free five hundred imprisoned monks, and smashed the carts to pieces;

打殺了: 了 = le. 五百個囚僧 "five hundred imprisoned monks" -- the Buddhist clergy of this kingdom, enslaved on the cart-hauling gangs, whom Wukong freed in the previous chapter. 捽碎車輛 (zuó suì) "to wrench the carts apart."

夜yè間jiān闖chuǎng進jìn觀guàn來lái，把bǎ三sān清qīng聖shèng像xiàng毀huǐ壞huài，偷tōu吃chī了le御yù賜cì供gòng養yǎng。夜yè间jiān闯chuǎng进jìn观guàn来lái，把bǎ三sān清qīng圣shèng像xiàng毁huǐ坏huài，偷tōu吃chī了le御yù赐cì供gòng养yǎng。

then in the night he broke into the abbey, ruined the sacred images of the Three Pure Ones, and stole and ate the offerings your Majesty had bestowed.

闖進觀來: 觀 = guàn here, a Daoist abbey -- not guān, to observe. 御賜供養: 供 = gòng, offerings given by the king himself, which makes eating them a slight to the throne as well. 聖像毀壞 "the holy images ruined."

總評 Commentary

The charge sheet is read out, and every item on it is true. Two disciples killed outside the East Gate; five hundred prisoners freed; the carts destroyed; the abbey broken into by night; the images of the Three Pure Ones wrecked; the king's own offerings eaten.

The novel is doing something quite bold here. It lets the villains state the case accurately, and it lets that case sound bad. The reader knows the five hundred prisoners were monks in chains and that the images went down a privy, but the indictment does not mention either, and it does not have to lie.

What it leaves out is why. That gap -- true facts, missing context -- is exactly the ground Wukong will fight on, and he will not deny a single item.