第五十三回 · 沙僧提桶 Sha Monk Takes the Bucket — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

沙僧提桶 Sha Monk Takes the Bucket

沙shā僧sēng接jiē了le桶tǒng索suǒ，即jí隨suí大dà聖shèng出chū了le村cūn舍shè，一yì同tóng駕jià雲yún而ér去qù，那nǎ消xiāo半bàn個gè時shí辰chén，卻què到dào解jiě陽yáng山shān界jiè。按àn下xià雲yún頭tóu，徑jìng至zhì庵ān外wài。大dà聖shèng吩fēn咐fu沙shā僧sēng道dào：「你nǐ將jiāng桶tǒng索suǒ拿ná了le，且qiě在zài一yì邊biān躲duǒ著zhe，等děng老lǎo孫sūn出chū頭tóu索suǒ戰zhàn。你nǐ待dài我wǒ兩liǎng人rén交jiāo戰zhàn正zhèng濃nóng之zhī時shí，你nǐ乘chéng機jī進jìn去qù，取qǔ水shuǐ就jiù走zǒu。」沙shā僧sēng謹jǐn依yī言yán命mìng。沙shā僧sēng接jiē了le桶tǒng索suǒ，即jí随suí大dà圣shèng出chū了le村cūn舍shè，一yì同tóng驾jià云yún而ér去qù，那nǎ消xiāo半bàn个gè时shí辰chén，却què到dào解jiě阳yáng山shān界jiè。按àn下xià云yún头tóu，径jìng至zhì庵ān外wài。大dà圣shèng吩fēn咐fu沙shā僧sēng道dào：「你nǐ将jiāng桶tǒng索suǒ拿ná了le，且qiě在zài一yì边biān躲duǒ着zhe，等děng老lǎo孙sūn出chū头tóu索suǒ战zhàn。你nǐ待dài我wǒ两liǎng人rén交jiāo战zhàn正zhèng浓nóng之zhī时shí，你nǐ乘chéng机jī进jìn去qù，取qǔ水shuǐ就jiù走zǒu。」沙shā僧sēng谨jǐn依yī言yán命mìng。

逐句解 Line by line

沙shā僧sēng接jiē了le桶tǒng索suǒ，即jí隨suí大dà聖shèng出chū了le村cūn舍shè，一yì同tóng駕jià雲yún而ér去qù，那nǎ消xiāo半bàn個gè時shí辰chén，卻què到dào解jiě陽yáng山shān界jiè。沙shā僧sēng接jiē了le桶tǒng索suǒ，即jí随suí大dà圣shèng出chū了le村cūn舍shè，一yì同tóng驾jià云yún而ér去qù，那nǎ消xiāo半bàn个gè时shí辰chén，却què到dào解jiě阳yáng山shān界jiè。

Sha Monk took the bucket and rope, went out of the village cottage after the Great Sage, and the two of them rode a cloud away together; in less than half a double-hour they reached the borders of Mount Dissolving-Yang.

那消 takes 那 as the rhetorical nǎ — what need of half a double hour? — on the same pattern as 那容分說. 村舍 takes 舍 as shè. Thirty lǐ and a mountain, dispatched in one clause.

按àn下xià雲yún頭tóu，徑jìng至zhì庵ān外wài。按àn下xià云yún头tóu，径jìng至zhì庵ān外wài。

They pressed the cloud down and came straight to the outside of the convent.

Eight characters. The narrative is moving briskly now; the descriptive set-pieces belonged to the first approach only.

大dà聖shèng吩fēn咐fu沙shā僧sēng道dào：「你nǐ將jiāng桶tǒng索suǒ拿ná了le，且qiě在zài一yì邊biān躲duǒ著zhe，等děng老lǎo孫sūn出chū頭tóu索suǒ戰zhàn。大dà圣shèng吩fēn咐fu沙shā僧sēng道dào：「你nǐ将jiāng桶tǒng索suǒ拿ná了le，且qiě在zài一yì边biān躲duǒ着zhe，等děng老lǎo孙sūn出chū头tóu索suǒ战zhàn。

The Great Sage gave Sha Monk his orders: "You take the bucket and rope, keep hidden to one side, and let Old Sun go out and offer battle.

將 is jiāng, shoving the object in front of the verb — take the bucket and rope; 躲著 has 著 as zhe, keep hidden and stay hidden. 索戰 is to challenge, literally to demand a fight.

你nǐ待dài我wǒ兩liǎng人rén交jiāo戰zhàn正zhèng濃nóng之zhī時shí，你nǐ乘chéng機jī進jìn去qù，取qǔ水shuǐ就jiù走zǒu。」你nǐ待dài我wǒ两liǎng人rén交jiāo战zhàn正zhèng浓nóng之zhī时shí，你nǐ乘chéng机jī进jìn去qù，取qǔ水shuǐ就jiù走zǒu。」

Wait till the two of us are hot in the fight, then take your chance and go in, draw the water and be off."

乘機 takes 乘 as chéng, to seize an opening. 取水就走 — draw and go — forbids any heroics, and that is precisely why the plan will work.

沙shā僧sēng謹jǐn依yī言yán命mìng。沙shā僧sēng谨jǐn依yī言yán命mìng。

Sha Monk respectfully assented to his instructions.

謹依言命 is a shade more formal than the plain 依命 of the earlier errand. Six characters, and the party's least conspicuous member has just been handed the decisive part.

總評 Commentary

Ninety-two characters of pure logistics, and the shortest passage but one in the chapter. The journey that earned two descriptions on the outward trip is now a single clause; the arrival is eight characters; and the rest is Wukong stating a plan in two sentences.

The plan is worth noting for its plainness. There is no transformation, no borrowed army, none of the tricks the novel usually supplies — only a division of labour between a fighter and a man with a bucket. Wukong's instruction to Sha Monk is explicitly to avoid the fight and leave the moment he has what he came for: 取水就走. After three failures at the well by force, the remedy turns out to be that somebody else does the drawing.