第五十九回 · 紅瓦紅牆 A House All In Red — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

紅瓦紅牆 A House All In Red

大dà聖shèng聽tīng說shuō，忍rěn不bú住zhù笑xiào道dào：「獃dāi子zi莫mò亂luàn談tán。若ruò論lùn斯sī哈hā哩lī國guó，正zhèng好hǎo早zǎo哩li。似sì師shī父fù朝zhāo三sān暮mù二èr的de這zhè等děng擔dān閣gé，就jiù從cóng小xiǎo至zhì老lǎo，老lǎo了le又yòu小xiǎo，老lǎo小xiǎo三sān生shēng，也yě還hái不bú到dào。」八bā戒jiè道dào：「哥gē啊a！據jù你nǐ說shuō，不bú是shì日rì落luò之zhī處chù，為wèi何hé這zhè等děng酷kù熱rè？」沙shā僧sēng道dào：「想xiǎng是shì天tiān時shí不bú正zhèng，秋qiū行xíng夏xià令lìng故gù也yě。」他tā三sān個gè正zhèng都dōu爭zhēng講jiǎng，只zhǐ見jiàn那nà路lù傍bàng有yǒu座zuò莊zhuāng院yuàn，乃nǎi是shì紅hóng瓦wǎ蓋gài的de房fáng舍shè，紅hóng磚zhuān砌qì的de垣yuán牆qiáng，紅hóng油yóu門mén扇shàn，紅hóng漆qī板bǎn榻tà，一yí片piàn都dōu是shì紅hóng的de。三sān藏zàng下xià馬mǎ道dào：「悟wù空kōng，你nǐ去qù那nà人rén家jiā問wèn個gè消xiāo息xī，看kàn那nà炎yán熱rè之zhī故gù何hé也yě？」大dà圣shèng听tīng说shuō，忍rěn不bú住zhù笑xiào道dào：「呆dāi子zi莫mò乱luàn谈tán。若ruò论lùn斯sī哈hā哩lī国guó，正zhèng好hǎo早zǎo哩li。似sì师shī父fù朝zhāo三sān暮mù二èr的de这zhè等děng担dān阁gé，就jiù从cóng小xiǎo至zhì老lǎo，老lǎo了le又yòu小xiǎo，老lǎo小xiǎo三sān生shēng，也yě还hái不bú到dào。」八bā戒jiè道dào：「哥gē啊a！据jù你nǐ说shuō，不bú是shì日rì落luò之zhī处chù，为wèi何hé这zhè等děng酷kù热rè？」沙shā僧sēng道dào：「想xiǎng是shì天tiān时shí不bú正zhèng，秋qiū行xíng夏xià令lìng故gù也yě。」他tā三sān个gè正zhèng都dōu争zhēng讲jiǎng，只zhǐ见jiàn那nà路lù傍bàng有yǒu座zuò庄zhuāng院yuàn，乃nǎi是shì红hóng瓦wǎ盖gài的de房fáng舍shè，红hóng砖zhuān砌qì的de垣yuán墙qiáng，红hóng油yóu门mén扇shàn，红hóng漆qī板bǎn榻tà，一yí片piàn都dōu是shì红hóng的de。三sān藏zàng下xià马mǎ道dào：「悟wù空kōng，你nǐ去qù那nà人rén家jiā问wèn个gè消xiāo息xī，看kàn那nà炎yán热rè之zhī故gù何hé也yě？」

逐句解 Line by line

大dà聖shèng聽tīng說shuō，忍rěn不bú住zhù笑xiào道dào：「獃dāi子zi莫mò亂luàn談tán。大dà圣shèng听tīng说shuō，忍rěn不bú住zhù笑xiào道dào：「呆dāi子zi莫mò乱luàn谈tán。

When the Great Sage heard this he could not hold in his laughter. 'Idiot, don't talk nonsense.'

獃子, "Idiot," is what the Great Sage has always called Eight Rules; the 子 is the light unstressed zi that just rounds off a noun, not the dignified zǐ of 弟子, "disciple."

若ruò論lùn斯sī哈hā哩lī國guó，正zhèng好hǎo早zǎo哩li。若ruò论lùn斯sī哈hā哩lī国guó，正zhèng好hǎo早zǎo哩li。

'As for the kingdom of Sihali — we are a very long way too early for that.'

A flat piece of sarcasm: not "early" but "nowhere near." Two 哩 sit in this one short line and they are read differently — the first belongs to the place name and keeps its full tone, the second is the weightless sentence-closer.

似sì師shī父fù朝zhāo三sān暮mù二èr的de這zhè等děng擔dān閣gé，就jiù從cóng小xiǎo至zhì老lǎo，老lǎo了le又yòu小xiǎo，老lǎo小xiǎo三sān生shēng，也yě還hái不bú到dào。」似sì师shī父fù朝zhāo三sān暮mù二èr的de这zhè等děng担dān阁gé，就jiù从cóng小xiǎo至zhì老lǎo，老lǎo了le又yòu小xiǎo，老lǎo小xiǎo三sān生shēng，也yě还hái不bú到dào。」

'At the rate Master dawdles — three things by morning and two by dusk — we could go from young to old, and from old to young again, three lifetimes of it, and still not arrive.'

Here is a joke with a pedigree. 朝三暮二 plays on 朝三暮四, "three in the morning, four at dusk," which comes from Zhuangzi's monkey-keeper who offered his monkeys three chestnuts at dawn and four at dusk, met with outrage, and then offered four at dawn and three at dusk, to universal delight. Zhuangzi's point was that the total never changed. In everyday speech the phrase drifted away from that and now means simply dithering and delay, which is the sense Pilgrim wants. 擔閣 is a written form of 耽擱, to hold things up.

八bā戒jiè道dào：「哥gē啊a！據jù你nǐ說shuō，不bú是shì日rì落luò之zhī處chù，為wèi何hé這zhè等děng酷kù熱rè？」八bā戒jiè道dào：「哥gē啊a！据jù你nǐ说shuō，不bú是shì日rì落luò之zhī处chù，为wèi何hé这zhè等děng酷kù热rè？」

Eight Rules said, 'Brother! By your account this is not the place where the sun sets — then why should it be so fiercely hot?'

為何 takes wèi, the "for what purpose" reading, against the linking wéi of 俗呼為 a few lines back. The same character, two readings, a few seconds apart in the same conversation.

沙shā僧sēng道dào：「想xiǎng是shì天tiān時shí不bú正zhèng，秋qiū行xíng夏xià令lìng故gù也yě。」沙shā僧sēng道dào：「想xiǎng是shì天tiān时shí不bú正zhèng，秋qiū行xíng夏xià令lìng故gù也yě。」

Sha Monk said, 'It must be that the seasons are out of joint — autumn keeping summer's ordinance.'

Sha Monk reaches for the textbook. 秋行夏令 — autumn keeping summer's ordinances — comes out of the 月令, the ritual calendar in the Book of Rites, where a season behaving like the wrong season is a sign that something has gone wrong in the government of the realm. 令 is lìng, the ordinance. It is the learned answer and it is wrong: the cause here is local and personal.

他tā三sān個gè正zhèng都dōu爭zhēng講jiǎng，只zhǐ見jiàn那nà路lù傍bàng有yǒu座zuò莊zhuāng院yuàn，乃nǎi是shì紅hóng瓦wǎ蓋gài的de房fáng舍shè，紅hóng磚zhuān砌qì的de垣yuán牆qiáng，紅hóng油yóu門mén扇shàn，紅hóng漆qī板bǎn榻tà，一yí片piàn都dōu是shì紅hóng的de。他tā三sān个gè正zhèng都dōu争zhēng讲jiǎng，只zhǐ见jiàn那nà路lù傍bàng有yǒu座zuò庄zhuāng院yuàn，乃nǎi是shì红hóng瓦wǎ盖gài的de房fáng舍shè，红hóng砖zhuān砌qì的de垣yuán墙qiáng，红hóng油yóu门mén扇shàn，红hóng漆qī板bǎn榻tà，一yí片piàn都dōu是shì红hóng的de。

While the three of them were still disputing, they saw beside the road a farmstead: a house roofed in red tile, a wall laid up in red brick, door-leaves oiled red, plank benches lacquered red — a whole stretch of it, and every part red.

Five clauses, and every one of them contains 紅. The hammering repetition is the source's own device, not something the English has added. 傍 is bàng, "beside." In 門扇 the character 扇 is the noun shàn, a door-leaf — the same character that will shortly name the fan the whole chapter is about.

三sān藏zàng下xià馬mǎ道dào：「悟wù空kōng，你nǐ去qù那nà人rén家jiā問wèn個gè消xiāo息xī，看kàn那nà炎yán熱rè之zhī故gù何hé也yě？」三sān藏zàng下xià马mǎ道dào：「悟wù空kōng，你nǐ去qù那nà人rén家jiā问wèn个gè消xiāo息xī，看kàn那nà炎yán热rè之zhī故gù何hé也yě？」

Tripitaka dismounted and said, 'Wukong, go over to that house and ask for news — find out what the cause of this burning heat may be.'

The errand that starts everything. Both 那 here are the pointing nà, "that one over there," fixed by their position in the sentence.

總評 Commentary

The Great Sage's rebuttal is about distance, not about facts. He does not deny that Sihali exists; he says they are nowhere near it, and then turns immediately to mocking his master's slowness. The line about going from young to old and back again for three lifetimes is affectionate and insubordinate in the usual proportions, and it is also the only moment in the passage when anyone mentions how long this journey has been taking.

Sha Monk gives the orthodox answer. 秋行夏令 belongs to the ritual-calendar tradition, where a season behaving like the wrong season is read upward as a portent — bad weather means bad government. It is the educated reply, and the chapter will throw it away as completely as it throws away Eight Rules'. The cause is a private grudge held by one demon against one monkey.

Then the argument is interrupted by the thing itself. The farmstead comes in five clauses and every single one contains 紅: red tile, red brick, red-oiled doors, red-lacquered benches, and then the flat summary that the whole stretch of it was red. After two men have reasoned about the heat from first principles, the narrator simply shows it, soaked into the local architecture.

Tripitaka's response is entirely in character and, for once, exactly right: stop theorising, go and ask somebody who lives here. The errand he hands Wukong is what actually moves the plot, and it does so by the least heroic method on offer.