第五十九回 · 歷過苦楚 What I Have Suffered — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

歷過苦楚 What I Have Suffered

行xíng者zhě道dào：「自zì上shàng年nián蒙méng盛shèng情qíng降xiáng了le黃huáng風fēng怪guài，一yí路lù上shàng不bù知zhī歷lì過guò多duō少shǎo苦kǔ楚chǔ。今jīn到dào火huǒ焰yàn山shān，不bù能néng前qián進jìn，詢xún問wèn土tǔ人rén，說shuō有yǒu個gè鐵tiě扇shàn仙xiān，芭bā蕉jiāo扇shàn搧shān得de火huǒ滅miè，老lǎo孫sūn特tè去qù尋xún訪fǎng。原yuán來lái那nà仙xiān是shì牛niú魔mó王wáng的de妻qī，紅hóng孩hái兒ér的de母mǔ。他tā說shuō我wǒ把bǎ他tā兒ér子zi做zuò了le觀guān音yīn菩pú薩sà的de童tóng子zǐ，不bù得dé常cháng見jiàn，恨hèn我wǒ為wèi仇chóu，不bù肯kěn借jiè扇shàn，與yǔ我wǒ爭zhēng鬥dòu。行xíng者zhě道dào：「自zì上shàng年nián蒙méng盛shèng情qíng降xiáng了le黄huáng风fēng怪guài，一yí路lù上shàng不bù知zhī历lì过guò多duō少shǎo苦kǔ楚chǔ。今jīn到dào火huǒ焰yàn山shān，不bù能néng前qián进jìn，询xún问wèn土tǔ人rén，说shuō有yǒu个gè铁tiě扇shàn仙xiān，芭bā蕉jiāo扇shàn扇shān得de火huǒ灭miè，老lǎo孙sūn特tè去qù寻xún访fǎng。原yuán来lái那nà仙xiān是shì牛niú魔mó王wáng的de妻qī，红hóng孩hái儿ér的de母mǔ。他tā说shuō我wǒ把bǎ他tā儿ér子zi做zuò了le观guān音yīn菩pú萨sà的de童tóng子zǐ，不bù得dé常cháng见jiàn，恨hèn我wǒ为wèi仇chóu，不bù肯kěn借jiè扇shàn，与yǔ我wǒ争zhēng斗dòu。

逐句解 Line by line

行xíng者zhě道dào：「自zì上shàng年nián蒙méng盛shèng情qíng降xiáng了le黃huáng風fēng怪guài，一yí路lù上shàng不bù知zhī歷lì過guò多duō少shǎo苦kǔ楚chǔ。行xíng者zhě道dào：「自zì上shàng年nián蒙méng盛shèng情qíng降xiáng了le黄huáng风fēng怪guài，一yí路lù上shàng不bù知zhī历lì过guò多duō少shǎo苦kǔ楚chǔ。

Pilgrim said, 'Since last year, when by your generous kindness the Yellow Wind Fiend was subdued, there is no telling how many hardships we have been through along the road.'

盛情, "generous feeling," is a courtesy. 降 is again xiáng. And 不知歷過多少苦楚 uses the same 不知…多少 frame the narrator used of the passage of time near the start of the chapter, now in Pilgrim's mouth and about suffering.

今jīn到dào火huǒ焰yàn山shān，不bù能néng前qián進jìn，詢xún問wèn土tǔ人rén，說shuō有yǒu個gè鐵tiě扇shàn仙xiān，芭bā蕉jiāo扇shàn搧shān得de火huǒ滅miè，老lǎo孫sūn特tè去qù尋xún訪fǎng。今jīn到dào火huǒ焰yàn山shān，不bù能néng前qián进jìn，询xún问wèn土tǔ人rén，说shuō有yǒu个gè铁tiě扇shàn仙xiān，芭bā蕉jiāo扇shàn扇shān得de火huǒ灭miè，老lǎo孙sūn特tè去qù寻xún访fǎng。

'Now we have come to the Mountain of Flames and can go no further. I asked the local people, and they said there is an Iron-Fan Immortal whose banana-leaf fan can fan the fire out, so old Sun went expressly to seek her.'

搧得火滅 uses the verb 搧 for fanning and takes 得 as the dé that links an action to its result. Both 扇 in this sentence are the noun shàn — 鐵扇仙 and 芭蕉扇 — while the act of fanning uses the other character, as the chapter does throughout.

原yuán來lái那nà仙xiān是shì牛niú魔mó王wáng的de妻qī，紅hóng孩hái兒ér的de母mǔ。原yuán来lái那nà仙xiān是shì牛niú魔mó王wáng的de妻qī，红hóng孩hái儿ér的de母mǔ。

'It turns out this immortal is the wife of the Bull Demon King, and the mother of the Red Boy.'

Pilgrim states the relationship flatly, in fifteen characters, with none of the alarm the discovery caused him at the time. The 兒 of 紅孩兒 is a full syllable meaning child.

他tā說shuō我wǒ把bǎ他tā兒ér子zi做zuò了le觀guān音yīn菩pú薩sà的de童tóng子zǐ，不bù得dé常cháng見jiàn，恨hèn我wǒ為wèi仇chóu，不bù肯kěn借jiè扇shàn，與yǔ我wǒ爭zhēng鬥dòu。他tā说shuō我wǒ把bǎ他tā儿ér子zi做zuò了le观guān音yīn菩pú萨sà的de童tóng子zǐ，不bù得dé常cháng见jiàn，恨hèn我wǒ为wèi仇chóu，不bù肯kěn借jiè扇shàn，与yǔ我wǒ争zhēng斗dòu。

'She says I made her son into the Bodhisattva Guanyin's attendant boy, so that she cannot see him often; she hates me for an enemy, will not lend me the fan, and fought with me.'

不得常見 takes 得 as the dé of achieving something, "cannot get to see him often." 為 is wèi in 恨我為仇. This is Pilgrim's own summary of her case, and it is notably accurate — he does not misrepresent her at all.

總評 Commentary

Pilgrim's account of himself is scrupulously fair, which is worth noticing after the performance he gave the Rākṣasī. He states her case as she would state it: I made her son into Guanyin's attendant, she cannot see him often, she hates me for it. No mention of the true fruit, of deathlessness, of the promotion he pressed on her so hard.

The difference is the audience. Arguing with a bereaved mother he reached for scripture and the language of merit; reporting to a Bodhisattva he simply says what happened. The novel does not comment on the contrast, and it does not need to.

The telling is also efficient exposition. Everything we have watched over four long scenes — the farmer, the vendor, the woodcutter, the correction of the name, the fight — is compressed into four sentences, and the compression itself characterises him: Pilgrim tells a story in the order of cause and effect, without ornament, and gets to his question quickly.