第六十七回 · 好打死蛇 Beating Dead Snakes — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

好打死蛇 Beating Dead Snakes

八bā戒jiè隨suí後hòu趕gǎn上shàng來lái，又yòu舉jǔ鈀pá亂luàn築zhù。行xíng者zhě把bǎ那nà物wù穿chuān了le一yí個gè大dà洞dòng，鑽zuān將jiāng出chū來lái道dào：「獃dāi子zi，他tā死sǐ也yě死sǐ了le，你nǐ還hái築zhù他tā怎zěn的de？」八bā戒jiè道dào：「哥gē啊a，你nǐ不bù知zhī我wǒ老lǎo豬zhū一yì生shēng好hào打dǎ死sǐ蛇shé？」遂suì此cǐ收shōu了le兵bīng器qì，抓zhuā著zhe尾wěi巴ba，倒dào拉lā將jiāng來lái。八bā戒jiè随suí后hòu赶gǎn上shàng来lái，又yòu举jǔ钯pá乱luàn筑zhù。行xíng者zhě把bǎ那nà物wù穿chuān了le一yí个gè大dà洞dòng，钻zuān将jiāng出chū来lái道dào：「呆dāi子zi，他tā死sǐ也yě死sǐ了le，你nǐ还hái筑zhù他tā怎zěn的de？」八bā戒jiè道dào：「哥gē啊a，你nǐ不bù知zhī我wǒ老lǎo猪zhū一yì生shēng好hào打dǎ死sǐ蛇shé？」遂suì此cǐ收shōu了le兵bīng器qì，抓zhuā着zhe尾wěi巴ba，倒dào拉lā将jiāng来lái。

逐句解 Line by line

八bā戒jiè隨suí後hòu趕gǎn上shàng來lái，又yòu舉jǔ鈀pá亂luàn築zhù。八bā戒jiè随suí后hòu赶gǎn上shàng来lái，又yòu举jǔ钯pá乱luàn筑zhù。

Eight Rules came up behind and raised his rake to strike at it again.

又 marks this as a repetition — of what he was doing when the creature was alive, and of what he was doing at the burrow after it had already gone.

行xíng者zhě把bǎ那nà物wù穿chuān了le一yí個gè大dà洞dòng，鑽zuān將jiāng出chū來lái道dào：「獃dāi子zi，他tā死sǐ也yě死sǐ了le，你nǐ還hái築zhù他tā怎zěn的de？」行xíng者zhě把bǎ那nà物wù穿chuān了le一yí个gè大dà洞dòng，钻zuān将jiāng出chū来lái道dào：「呆dāi子zi，他tā死sǐ也yě死sǐ了le，你nǐ还hái筑zhù他tā怎zěn的de？」

Pilgrim bored a great hole through the thing and came out of it, saying, "Idiot, he is dead and done with. What are you striking him for?"

將 is the directional syllable jiāng again. The question is the one he asked at the burrow, in almost the same words.

八bā戒jiè道dào：「哥gē啊a，你nǐ不bù知zhī我wǒ老lǎo豬zhū一yì生shēng好hào打dǎ死sǐ蛇shé？」八bā戒jiè道dào：「哥gē啊a，你nǐ不bù知zhī我wǒ老lǎo猪zhū一yì生shēng好hào打dǎ死sǐ蛇shé？」

Eight Rules said, "Brother, don't you know that old Pig has liked beating dead snakes all his life?"

好 is hào here — the verb, "to be fond of." Of the chapter's twenty-one appearances of this character this is the only verbal one; the other twenty are adjective or adverb and take hǎo, which is also what automatic transcription supplies at every single site, this one included. It is his answer to a question he has now been asked twice.

遂suì此cǐ收shōu了le兵bīng器qì，抓zhuā著zhe尾wěi巴ba，倒dào拉lā將jiāng來lái。遂suì此cǐ收shōu了le兵bīng器qì，抓zhuā着zhe尾wěi巴ba，倒dào拉lā将jiāng来lái。

So they put up their weapons, took hold of the tail and hauled it back behind them.

倒 is the adverb dào, backwards — the opposite reading to the dǎo two segments earlier, and the very backwards-hauling Pilgrim told him not to do at the burrow. 著 is the marker zhe.

總評 Commentary

Twice in this chapter Eight Rules is asked the same question — what are you hitting? — once when the creature had already escaped down its burrow, and once now, when it is dead. The first time he claimed strategy and produced a proverb. This time he claims temperament.

The second answer is the better one. He does not pretend the beating achieves anything. He says he enjoys it, has always enjoyed it, and offers that as sufficient reason — and nobody in the chapter has given a plainer account of why they do what they do.

The last clause quietly cancels an earlier instruction. At the burrow Pilgrim told him to stop standing there hauling a snake backwards, and hauling the snake backwards is precisely how the pair of them leave.