第五十八回 · 手癢認看 Eight Rules Flies Up — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

手癢認看 Eight Rules Flies Up

正zhèng說shuō間jiān，只zhǐ聽tīng半bàn空kōng中zhōng喧xuān嘩huá亂luàn嚷rǎng。慌huāng得de都dōu出chū來lái看kàn，卻què是shì兩liǎng個gè行xíng者zhě打dǎ將jiāng來lái。八bā戒jiè見jiàn了le，忍rěn不bú住zhù手shǒu癢yǎng道dào：「等děng我wǒ去qù認rèn認rèn看kàn。」好hǎo獃dāi子zi，急jí縱zòng身shēn跳tiào起qǐ，望wàng空kōng高gāo叫jiào道dào：「師shī兄xiōng莫mò嚷rǎng，我wǒ老lǎo豬zhū來lái也yě！」那nà兩liǎng個gè一yì齊qí應yìng道dào：「兄xiōng弟dì，來lái打dǎ妖yāo精jīng，來lái打dǎ妖yāo精jīng。」正zhèng说shuō间jiān，只zhǐ听tīng半bàn空kōng中zhōng喧xuān哗huá乱luàn嚷rǎng。慌huāng得de都dōu出chū来lái看kàn，却què是shì两liǎng个gè行xíng者zhě打dǎ将jiāng来lái。八bā戒jiè见jiàn了le，忍rěn不bú住zhù手shǒu痒yǎng道dào：「等děng我wǒ去qù认rèn认rèn看kàn。」好hǎo呆dāi子zi，急jí纵zòng身shēn跳tiào起qǐ，望wàng空kōng高gāo叫jiào道dào：「师shī兄xiōng莫mò嚷rǎng，我wǒ老lǎo猪zhū来lái也yě！」那nà两liǎng个gè一yì齐qí应yìng道dào：「兄xiōng弟dì，来lái打dǎ妖yāo精jīng，来lái打dǎ妖yāo精jīng。」

逐句解 Line by line

正zhèng說shuō間jiān，只zhǐ聽tīng半bàn空kōng中zhōng喧xuān嘩huá亂luàn嚷rǎng。正zhèng说shuō间jiān，只zhǐ听tīng半bàn空kōng中zhōng喧xuān哗huá乱luàn嚷rǎng。

Just as they were speaking, they heard a clamour and wild brawling in mid-air.

正說間 takes jiān, in the middle of speaking. 喧嘩 takes huá; the automatic reading gives huā, and the character is held at huá across the project.

慌huāng得de都dōu出chū來lái看kàn，卻què是shì兩liǎng個gè行xíng者zhě打dǎ將jiāng來lái。慌huāng得de都dōu出chū来lái看kàn，却què是shì两liǎng个gè行xíng者zhě打dǎ将jiāng来lái。

In alarm they all came out to look, and it was the two Pilgrims come fighting hither.

打將來 again, with the same 將 as jiāng marking motion this way. 慌得 takes the light de.

八bā戒jiè見jiàn了le，忍rěn不bú住zhù手shǒu癢yǎng道dào：「等děng我wǒ去qù認rèn認rèn看kàn。」八bā戒jiè见jiàn了le，忍rěn不bú住zhù手shǒu痒yǎng道dào：「等děng我wǒ去qù认rèn认rèn看kàn。」

Eight Rules saw them, and could not contain the itching of his hands: "Let me go and have a try at telling them apart."

手癢, itching hands, is the idiom for wanting to pile into a fight — and it is still what Chinese says of somebody who cannot keep out of things. 認認看 doubles the verb and adds 看, and see: have a go and see how it turns out.

好hǎo獃dāi子zi，急jí縱zòng身shēn跳tiào起qǐ，望wàng空kōng高gāo叫jiào道dào：「師shī兄xiōng莫mò嚷rǎng，我wǒ老lǎo豬zhū來lái也yě！」好hǎo呆dāi子zi，急jí纵zòng身shēn跳tiào起qǐ，望wàng空kōng高gāo叫jiào道dào：「师shī兄xiōng莫mò嚷rǎng，我wǒ老lǎo猪zhū来lái也yě！」

Good idiot! He sprang up in haste, leapt aloft, and called out high into the air: "Elder brother, stop your brawling — old Hog is here!"

好獃子 — good idiot! — is the narrator's fond epithet for Eight Rules, brought out whenever he is about to do something energetic. 獃子 takes the flat zi.

那nà兩liǎng個gè一yì齊qí應yìng道dào：「兄xiōng弟dì，來lái打dǎ妖yāo精jīng，來lái打dǎ妖yāo精jīng。」那nà两liǎng个gè一yì齐qí应yìng道dào：「兄xiōng弟dì，来lái打dǎ妖yāo精jīng，来lái打dǎ妖yāo精jīng。」

The two of them answered together: "Brother, come and fight the fiend! Come and fight the fiend!"

應 takes yìng, to answer; the automatic reading gives yīng. The invitation is printed twice because two mouths issue it, the same device as at 我和你見師父去.

總評 Commentary

Eight Rules arrives at the problem last and tackles it with perfect confidence, which is exactly his job in the novel. 等我去認認看 — let me go and have a try at telling them apart — is offered after the Bodhisattva, the celestial host, the Jade Emperor and a demon-revealing mirror have all failed at precisely this task.

The answer he gets is the joke and also the point. He calls up 師兄莫嚷, addressing one elder brother, and two voices come back with 兄弟 in unison, both inviting him to come and fight the fiend. Each is asking him to help kill the other. The invitation is identical from both sides, which leaves Eight Rules with exactly the problem Sha Monk had at the Water-Curtain Cave, and no better equipment for solving it.