Canonical Classics ← 第六十回
第六十回
牛niú魔mó王wáng罷bà戰zhàn赴fù華huá筵yán
孫sūn行xíng者zhě二èr調tiáo芭bā蕉jiāo扇shàn

The Bull Demon King Breaks Off the Fight for a Splendid Banquet · Sun the Pilgrim Contrives the Second Fetching of the Banana-Leaf Fan

三合敵得
模式 Mode Read Study
拼音 Pinyin Off
字體 Script 繁
原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

三合敵得 If You Can Match Me

大dà聖shèng道dào:「哥gē要yào說shuō打dǎ,弟dì也yě不bú懼jù。但dàn求qiú寶bǎo貝bèi,是shì我wǒ真zhēn心xīn,萬wàn乞qǐ借jiè我wǒ使shǐ使shǐ。」牛niú王wáng道dào:「你nǐ若ruò三sān合hé敵dí得de我wǒ,我wǒ著zhuó山shān妻qī借jiè你nǐ;如rú敵dí不bú過guò,打dǎ死sǐ你nǐ,與yǔ我wǒ雪xuě恨hèn。」大dà圣shèng道dào:「哥gē要yào说shuō打dǎ,弟dì也yě不bú惧jù。但dàn求qiú宝bǎo贝bèi,是shì我wǒ真zhēn心xīn,万wàn乞qǐ借jiè我wǒ使shǐ使shǐ。」牛niú王wáng道dào:「你nǐ若ruò三sān合hé敌dí得de我wǒ,我wǒ着zhuó山shān妻qī借jiè你nǐ;如rú敌dí不bú过guò,打dǎ死sǐ你nǐ,与yǔ我wǒ雪xuě恨hèn。」


逐句解 Line by line

大dà聖shèng道dào:「哥gē要yào說shuō打dǎ,弟dì也yě不bú懼jù。 大dà圣shèng道dào:「哥gē要yào说shuō打dǎ,弟dì也yě不bú惧jù。

The Great Sage said, "If my elder brother will talk of fighting, his younger brother is not afraid."

要 is yào here, the modal — if you are going to talk about fighting. 不 takes bú before the falling tone of 懼.

但dàn求qiú寶bǎo貝bèi,是shì我wǒ真zhēn心xīn,萬wàn乞qǐ借jiè我wǒ使shǐ使shǐ。」 但dàn求qiú宝bǎo贝bèi,是shì我wǒ真zhēn心xīn,万wàn乞qǐ借jiè我wǒ使shǐ使shǐ。」

"But it is in all sincerity that I ask for the treasure. I beg you ten thousand times to lend it me for a use."

使使 doubles the verb in the vernacular manner of 寬恕寬恕 and 周濟周濟 earlier in the chapter — but this doubling shrinks rather than intensifies, making the request sound like a small thing: just let me have a little use of it.

牛niú王wáng道dào:「你nǐ若ruò三sān合hé敵dí得de我wǒ,我wǒ著zhuó山shān妻qī借jiè你nǐ;如rú敵dí不bú過guò,打dǎ死sǐ你nǐ,與yǔ我wǒ雪xuě恨hèn。」 牛niú王wáng道dào:「你nǐ若ruò三sān合hé敌dí得de我wǒ,我wǒ着zhuó山shān妻qī借jiè你nǐ;如rú敌dí不bú过guò,打dǎ死sǐ你nǐ,与yǔ我wǒ雪xuě恨hèn。」

The Bull King said, "If in three bouts you can match me, I will have my mountain wife lend it to you; if you cannot match me, I shall beat you to death and wipe out my grudge."

著 is zhuó, the reading that means to send or make somebody do something — he will have his wife lend it, not lend it himself. 敵得 is the can-do shape and takes the toneless de.


總評 Commentary

The Bull King's terms convert the whole negotiation into a wager, and in doing so hand the Great Sage exactly what he came for. Until this moment the fan was in the keeping of a wife who had refused it; now the husband has undertaken, on a stated condition, to make her hand it over. The condition is three bouts, and three bouts against this opponent is not a serious obstacle.

The word carrying the promise is 著 in its causative sense — I will have my mountain wife lend it. It is the first time in two chapters that anybody has claimed authority over the Rākṣasī, and the claim is made by a man who has not been home in two years. Whether he still has that authority is the question the rest of the story will answer.