原文 Original text
繁體 Traditional
Reader's edition
爭功之詰 The Question of Credit
國王道：「你才說龍王不在家，不曾有雨；他走上去，以靜功祈禱，就雨下來，怎麼又與他爭功，何也？」国王道：「你才说龙王不在家，不曾有雨；他走上去，以静功祈祷，就雨下来，怎么又与他争功，何也？」
逐句解 Line by line
國王道：「你才說龍王不在家，不曾有雨；
国王道：「你才说龙王不在家，不曾有雨；
The king said, “You said just now that the Dragon Kings were not at home and there was no rain;
不在家: the falling tone of 在 pulls 不 to bú. 不曾有雨: the rising tone of 曾 keeps 不 at bù. The king is quoting the excuse back at them, which is the sharpest thing he does in the chapter.
他走上去，以靜功祈禱，就雨下來，怎麼又與他爭功，何也？」
他走上去，以静功祈祷，就雨下来，怎么又与他争功，何也？」
he went up, prayed by the practice of stillness, and the rain came down at once — how is it you again vie with him for the credit? Why is that?”
以靜功祈禱 "prayed by the discipline of stillness." 爭功 "to contend for the credit" -- and the word for credit here is the same one the Daoists used when they first wanted the holy water, which keeps the whole chapter on one theme.
The king asks the obvious question and asks it well. You told me the dragon gods were out. He sat down, prayed in silence, and it rained. So why are you now claiming it?
It is his best moment. Muddled, biddable and easily frightened, he can still see a contradiction when it is placed directly in front of him -- and by insisting on an answer he forces Tiger-Power into the elaborate piece of reasoning that follows.