第六十回 · 滴淚告道 She Tells It Weeping — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

滴淚告道 She Tells It Weeping

羅luó剎chà聞wén言yán，滴dī淚lèi告gào道dào：「大dà王wáng，常cháng言yán說shuō：『男nán兒ér無wú婦fù財cái無wú主zhǔ，女nǚ子zǐ無wú夫fū身shēn無wú主zhǔ。』我wǒ的de性xìng命mìng，險xiǎn些xiē兒er被bèi這zhè猢hú猻sūn害hài了le。」大dà聖shèng聽tīng得dé，故gù意yì發fā怒nù，罵mà道dào：「那nà潑pō猴hóu幾jǐ時shí過guò去qù了le？」罗luó刹chà闻wén言yán，滴dī泪lèi告gào道dào：「大dà王wáng，常cháng言yán说shuō：『男nán儿ér无wú妇fù财cái无wú主zhǔ，女nǚ子zǐ无wú夫fū身shēn无wú主zhǔ。』我wǒ的de性xìng命mìng，险xiǎn些xiē儿er被bèi这zhè猢hú狲sūn害hài了le。」大dà圣shèng听tīng得dé，故gù意yì发fā怒nù，骂mà道dào：「那nà泼pō猴hóu几jǐ时shí过guò去qù了le？」

逐句解 Line by line

羅luó剎chà聞wén言yán，滴dī淚lèi告gào道dào：「大dà王wáng，常cháng言yán說shuō：『男nán兒ér無wú婦fù財cái無wú主zhǔ，女nǚ子zǐ無wú夫fū身shēn無wú主zhǔ。』罗luó刹chà闻wén言yán，滴dī泪lèi告gào道dào：「大dà王wáng，常cháng言yán说shuō：『男nán儿ér无wú妇fù财cái无wú主zhǔ，女nǚ子zǐ无wú夫fū身shēn无wú主zhǔ。』

The Rākṣasī, hearing this, told him with falling tears, "My lord, the common saying has it: a man without a wife has no master for his goods; a woman without a husband has no master for her person."

兒 in 男兒 is the full ér, and 子 in 女子 the full zǐ — both are meaning-bearing syllables here rather than the swallowed suffixes that crowd the passages either side. The proverb is quoted in its own marks, and its two halves are exactly parallel, which is why the source does not cut them apart.

我wǒ的de性xìng命mìng，險xiǎn些xiē兒er被bèi這zhè猢hú猻sūn害hài了le。」我wǒ的de性xìng命mìng，险xiǎn些xiē儿er被bèi这zhè猢hú狲sūn害hài了le。」

"My life was very near being taken by that ape."

兒 in 險些兒 — very nearly — is the swallowed suffix er, against the full ér of 男兒 one sentence earlier. Two readings of the same character, twenty characters apart.

大dà聖shèng聽tīng得dé，故gù意yì發fā怒nù，罵mà道dào：「那nà潑pō猴hóu幾jǐ時shí過guò去qù了le？」大dà圣shèng听tīng得dé，故gù意yì发fā怒nù，骂mà道dào：「那nà泼pō猴hóu几jǐ时shí过guò去qù了le？」

The Great Sage, hearing this, put on a show of rage and railed, "When did that foul monkey pass this way?"

聽得 takes dé. And 故意發怒 tells us the anger is manufactured: the narration refuses to let the performance pass unlabelled.

總評 Commentary

Her proverb is the hinge of the scene and she has no idea what she is saying. A man without a wife has no master for his goods; a woman without a husband has no master for her person. She offers it as a reproach to a husband who has been away, and we hear it as a flat description of her actual position: she has no husband, she is about to be robbed, and the man she is confiding in is the thief.

The counterfeit rage is the technique of the whole imposture. He does not invent details; he supplies emotions. Told that the ape nearly killed her, he produces indignation on cue, and the indignation is what keeps her talking. Everything he learns over the next two passages, he learns by pretending to be angry on her behalf about himself.