第六十六回 · 又熟又甜 Ripe And Sweet — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

又熟又甜 Ripe And Sweet

行xíng者zhě見jiàn有yǒu瓜guā田tián，打dǎ個gè滾gǔn，鑽zuān入rù裡lǐ面miàn，即jí變biàn做zuò一yí個gè大dà熟shú瓜guā，又yòu熟shú又yòu甜tián。那nà妖yāo精jīng停tíng身shēn四sì望wàng，不bù知zhī行xíng者zhě那nǎ方fāng去qù了le。他tā卻què趕gǎn至zhì庵ān邊biān叫jiào道dào：「瓜guā是shì誰shuí人rén種zhòng的de？」彌mí勒lè變biàn作zuò一yí個gè種zhòng瓜guā叟sǒu，出chū草cǎo庵ān答dá道dào：「大dà王wáng，瓜guā是shì小xiǎo人rén種zhòng的de。」行xíng者zhě见jiàn有yǒu瓜guā田tián，打dǎ个gè滚gǔn，钻zuān入rù里lǐ面miàn，即jí变biàn做zuò一yí个gè大dà熟shú瓜guā，又yòu熟shú又yòu甜tián。那nà妖yāo精jīng停tíng身shēn四sì望wàng，不bù知zhī行xíng者zhě那nǎ方fāng去qù了le。他tā却què赶gǎn至zhì庵ān边biān叫jiào道dào：「瓜guā是shì谁shuí人rén种zhòng的de？」弥mí勒lè变biàn作zuò一yí个gè种zhòng瓜guā叟sǒu，出chū草cǎo庵ān答dá道dào：「大dà王wáng，瓜guā是shì小xiǎo人rén种zhòng的de。」

逐句解 Line by line

行xíng者zhě見jiàn有yǒu瓜guā田tián，打dǎ個gè滾gǔn，鑽zuān入rù裡lǐ面miàn，即jí變biàn做zuò一yí個gè大dà熟shú瓜guā，又yòu熟shú又yòu甜tián。行xíng者zhě见jiàn有yǒu瓜guā田tián，打dǎ个gè滚gǔn，钻zuān入rù里lǐ面miàn，即jí变biàn做zuò一yí个gè大dà熟shú瓜guā，又yòu熟shú又yòu甜tián。

Pilgrim saw the melon field, turned a somersault, slipped inside it, and changed himself at once into one big ripe melon, ripe and sweet.

又熟又甜 — ripe and sweet — is the narrator vouching for the disguise. Nothing in the sentence suggests difficulty; the hardest transformation in the chapter gets four verbs and no comment.

那nà妖yāo精jīng停tíng身shēn四sì望wàng，不bù知zhī行xíng者zhě那nǎ方fāng去qù了le。那nà妖yāo精jīng停tíng身shēn四sì望wàng，不bù知zhī行xíng者zhě那nǎ方fāng去qù了le。

The fiend halted and looked about him on all sides, not knowing which way Pilgrim had gone.

The two 那 take different readings four characters apart: nà for that fiend, pointing, and nǎ for which way, asking.

他tā卻què趕gǎn至zhì庵ān邊biān叫jiào道dào：「瓜guā是shì誰shuí人rén種zhòng的de？」他tā却què赶gǎn至zhì庵ān边biān叫jiào道dào：「瓜guā是shì谁shuí人rén种zhòng的de？」

He came up to the hut and called, "Who planted these melons?"

種 is zhòng, to plant — the falling tone, not the zhǒng of seed that the same character took in the name of the bag.

彌mí勒lè變biàn作zuò一yí個gè種zhòng瓜guā叟sǒu，出chū草cǎo庵ān答dá道dào：「大dà王wáng，瓜guā是shì小xiǎo人rén種zhòng的de。」弥mí勒lè变biàn作zuò一yí个gè种zhòng瓜guā叟sǒu，出chū草cǎo庵ān答dá道dào：「大dà王wáng，瓜guā是shì小xiǎo人rén种zhòng的de。」

Maitreya had changed himself into an old melon-grower, and came out of the thatched hut to answer, "Great King, the melons are of my planting."

Both 種 are zhòng. 小人 is the self-deprecating pronoun a commoner uses before a lord — your humble servant — and a Buddha is using it to a runaway page.

總評 Commentary

Both parties to this scene are in disguise and each knows what the other is. The fiend does not: he sees a melon patch and an old gardener where there is a Buddha and the Great Sage Equal to Heaven.

The chapter has been full of counterfeits and this is the third kind. The fiend counterfeited a Buddha and was believed; Monkey and Maitreya counterfeit a melon and a farmer and are believed too. The difference the novel is drawing is between a disguise that traps the devout and one that traps the greedy.