第六十三回 · 半個不字 Half A Single Word Of Refusal — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

半個不字 Half A Single Word Of Refusal

卻què說shuō孫sūn大dà聖shèng與yǔ八bā戒jiè駕jià著zhe狂kuáng風fēng，把bǎ兩liǎng個gè小xiǎo妖yāo攝shè到dào亂luàn石shí山shān碧bì波bō潭tán，住zhù定dìng雲yún頭tóu。將jiāng金jīn箍gū棒bàng吹chuī了le一yì口kǒu仙xiān氣qì，叫jiào：「變biàn！」變biàn作zuò一yì把bǎ戒jiè刀dāo，將jiāng一yí個gè黑hēi魚yú怪guài割gē了le耳ěr朵duǒ，鮎nián魚yú精jīng割gē了le下xià唇chún，撇piē在zài水shuǐ裡lǐ，喝hè道dào：「快kuài早zǎo去qù對duì那nà萬wàn聖shèng龍lóng王wáng報bào知zhī，說shuō我wǒ齊qí天tiān大dà聖shèng孫sūn爺yé爺ye在zài此cǐ，著zhuó他tā即jí送sòng祭jì賽sài國guó金jīn光guāng寺sì塔tǎ上shàng的de原yuán寶bǎo出chū來lái，免miǎn他tā一yì家jiā性xìng命mìng；若ruò迸bèng半bàn個gè『不bú』字zì，我wǒ將jiāng這zhè潭tán水shuǐ攪jiǎo淨jìng，教jiào他tā一yì門mén兒er老lǎo幼yòu遭zāo誅zhū。」却què说shuō孙sūn大dà圣shèng与yǔ八bā戒jiè驾jià着zhe狂kuáng风fēng，把bǎ两liǎng个gè小xiǎo妖yāo摄shè到dào乱luàn石shí山shān碧bì波bō潭tán，住zhù定dìng云yún头tóu。将jiāng金jīn箍gū棒bàng吹chuī了le一yì口kǒu仙xiān气qì，叫jiào：「变biàn！」变biàn作zuò一yì把bǎ戒jiè刀dāo，将jiāng一yí个gè黑hēi鱼yú怪guài割gē了le耳ěr朵duǒ，鲇nián鱼yú精jīng割gē了le下xià唇chún，撇piē在zài水shuǐ里lǐ，喝hè道dào：「快kuài早zǎo去qù对duì那nà万wàn圣shèng龙lóng王wáng报bào知zhī，说shuō我wǒ齐qí天tiān大dà圣shèng孙sūn爷yé爷ye在zài此cǐ，着zhuó他tā即jí送sòng祭jì赛sài国guó金jīn光guāng寺sì塔tǎ上shàng的de原yuán宝bǎo出chū来lái，免miǎn他tā一yì家jiā性xìng命mìng；若ruò迸bèng半bàn个gè『不bú』字zì，我wǒ将jiāng这zhè潭tán水shuǐ搅jiǎo净jìng，教jiào他tā一yì门mén儿er老lǎo幼yòu遭zāo诛zhū。」

逐句解 Line by line

卻què說shuō孫sūn大dà聖shèng與yǔ八bā戒jiè駕jià著zhe狂kuáng風fēng，把bǎ兩liǎng個gè小xiǎo妖yāo攝shè到dào亂luàn石shí山shān碧bì波bō潭tán，住zhù定dìng雲yún頭tóu。却què说shuō孙sūn大dà圣shèng与yǔ八bā戒jiè驾jià着zhe狂kuáng风fēng，把bǎ两liǎng个gè小xiǎo妖yāo摄shè到dào乱luàn石shí山shān碧bì波bō潭tán，住zhù定dìng云yún头tóu。

We tell now how the Great Sage Sun and Eight Rules rode a wild wind, carried the two lesser fiends off to the Green Wave Pool on the Mountain of Tumbled Rocks, and brought their cloud to a stand.

The second 卻說 of the chapter, opening a fresh thread in the same manner as the first; the chapter carries four in all. 駕著 takes the durative 著 zhe. 亂石山碧波潭 is the fiends' home, named by them in the deposition taken in the chapter before this one, and 石 stands at shí by the corpus-wide ruling. 住定 is to bring a thing to a halt and hold it there.

將jiāng金jīn箍gū棒bàng吹chuī了le一yì口kǒu仙xiān氣qì，叫jiào：「變biàn！」将jiāng金jīn箍gū棒bàng吹chuī了le一yì口kǒu仙xiān气qì，叫jiào：「变biàn！」

He breathed a mouthful of immortal breath upon the gold-banded cudgel and cried, "Change!"

將 is the disposal marker jiāng, taking the cudgel as the thing acted upon. 了 is the perfective particle le, not the liǎo of finishing. 一口 takes 一 at yì before the dipping 口 kǒu.

變biàn作zuò一yì把bǎ戒jiè刀dāo，將jiāng一yí個gè黑hēi魚yú怪guài割gē了le耳ěr朵duǒ，鮎nián魚yú精jīng割gē了le下xià唇chún，撇piē在zài水shuǐ裡lǐ，喝hè道dào：「快kuài早zǎo去qù對duì那nà萬wàn聖shèng龍lóng王wáng報bào知zhī，說shuō我wǒ齊qí天tiān大dà聖shèng孫sūn爺yé爺ye在zài此cǐ，著zhuó他tā即jí送sòng祭jì賽sài國guó金jīn光guāng寺sì塔tǎ上shàng的de原yuán寶bǎo出chū來lái，免miǎn他tā一yì家jiā性xìng命mìng；变biàn作zuò一yì把bǎ戒jiè刀dāo，将jiāng一yí个gè黑hēi鱼yú怪guài割gē了le耳ěr朵duǒ，鲇nián鱼yú精jīng割gē了le下xià唇chún，撇piē在zài水shuǐ里lǐ，喝hè道dào：「快kuài早zǎo去qù对duì那nà万wàn圣shèng龙lóng王wáng报bào知zhī，说shuō我wǒ齐qí天tiān大dà圣shèng孙sūn爷yé爷ye在zài此cǐ，着zhuó他tā即jí送sòng祭jì赛sài国guó金jīn光guāng寺sì塔tǎ上shàng的de原yuán宝bǎo出chū来lái，免miǎn他tā一yì家jiā性xìng命mìng；

It changed into a precept knife, with which he sliced the ears from the black-fish fiend and the lower lip from the sheatfish sprite; then he flung them into the water and shouted, "Off with you, and quickly — report to that Myriad Sage Dragon King. Tell him the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, Grandfather Sun, is here, and let him send out at once the original treasure from the pagoda of the Temple of Golden Light in Jisai, and I will spare the lives of his household;

著他即送 takes 著 at zhuó, the causative reading that dispatches another to act. 喝道 is one of the few frames in which pypinyin supplies 喝 at hè correctly. 爺爺 is set by the registered kinship reading, with a neutral second syllable. One textual point: the chapter before this one names the pair 鮎魚怪 and 黑魚精, while this passage prints 黑魚怪 and 鮎魚精 — the species stay put and the labels 怪 and 精 change places. Encoded exactly as printed.

若ruò迸bèng半bàn個gè『不bú』字zì，我wǒ將jiāng這zhè潭tán水shuǐ攪jiǎo淨jìng，教jiào他tā一yì門mén兒er老lǎo幼yòu遭zāo誅zhū。」若ruò迸bèng半bàn个gè『不bú』字zì，我wǒ将jiāng这zhè潭tán水shuǐ搅jiǎo净jìng，教jiào他tā一yì门mén儿er老lǎo幼yòu遭zāo诛zhū。」

but if he lets out so much as half a 'no,' I will churn this pool dry and see his whole house, old and young alike, put to the sword."

『不』字 cites the graph itself as an object, and by the corpus policy for such citations the sandhi still runs mechanically: 不 falls to bú before the falling 字 zì. 一門兒 carries the chapter's first 兒, and it is a true retroflex suffix, so it takes the neutral er rather than the ér of an animate noun-morpheme; 一 takes yì before the rising 門 mén. 教 stands at jiào by the corpus-wide ruling, here in the causative sense of having a thing done.

總評 Commentary

Pilgrim's method here is characteristic and not pleasant. He does not kill the two fiends; he mutilates them and sends them home as a message, which is more useful than corpses, since a corpse cannot deliver terms. The cudgel becomes a 戒刀, the small precept knife a monk is permitted to carry for cutting cloth and hair, and the choice of instrument is not accidental.

The terms themselves are a clean pair of alternatives: send the treasure out and the household lives, refuse and the pool is churned dry and the family destroyed. The unit of refusal is 半個不字, half a single 'no' — the graph named as a thing that might be let slip, which is why the text prints it inside its own quotation marks.

The passage also carries a textual oddity worth recording. The chapter before this one names the pair consistently as 鮎魚怪 and 黑魚精; here they are 黑魚怪 and 鮎魚精. The fish do not change — one is a snakehead, the other a sheatfish — but the two labels for a demon swap places between the chapters. The reading is encoded as printed and the divergence left visible.