第六十七回 · 未曾得勝 He Did Not Prevail — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

未曾得勝 He Did Not Prevail

老lǎo者zhě道dào：「若ruò論lùn說shuō使shǐ錢qián，好hǎo道dào也yě羞xiū殺shā人rén，我wǒ們men那nǎ家jiā不bù花huā費fèi三sān五wǔ兩liǎng銀yín子zi？前qián年nián曾céng訪fǎng著zháo山shān南nán裡lǐ有yǒu個gè和hé尚shàng，請qǐng他tā到dào此cǐ拿ná妖yāo，未wèi曾céng得dé勝shèng。」行xíng者zhě道dào：「那nà和hé尚shàng怎zěn的de拿ná來lái？」老lǎo者zhě道dào：「若ruò论lùn说shuō使shǐ钱qián，好hǎo道dào也yě羞xiū杀shā人rén，我wǒ们men那nǎ家jiā不bù花huā费fèi三sān五wǔ两liǎng银yín子zi？前qián年nián曾céng访fǎng着zháo山shān南nán里lǐ有yǒu个gè和hé尚shàng，请qǐng他tā到dào此cǐ拿ná妖yāo，未wèi曾céng得dé胜shèng。」行xíng者zhě道dào：「那nà和hé尚shàng怎zěn的de拿ná来lái？」

逐句解 Line by line

老lǎo者zhě道dào：「若ruò論lùn說shuō使shǐ錢qián，好hǎo道dào也yě羞xiū殺shā人rén，我wǒ們men那nǎ家jiā不bù花huā費fèi三sān五wǔ兩liǎng銀yín子zi？老lǎo者zhě道dào：「若ruò论lùn说shuō使shǐ钱qián，好hǎo道dào也yě羞xiū杀shā人rén，我wǒ们men那nǎ家jiā不bù花huā费fèi三sān五wǔ两liǎng银yín子zi？

The old man said, "If it is a question of spending money, that is shame enough to kill a man. Which household of ours has not laid out three or five taels?

那 is the question-word nǎ again, inside a rhetorical question: which household has not? 羞殺人 is ordinary vernacular hyperbole — shame enough to be the death of a man.

前qián年nián曾céng訪fǎng著zháo山shān南nán裡lǐ有yǒu個gè和hé尚shàng，請qǐng他tā到dào此cǐ拿ná妖yāo，未wèi曾céng得dé勝shèng。」前qián年nián曾céng访fǎng着zháo山shān南nán里lǐ有yǒu个gè和hé尚shàng，请qǐng他tā到dào此cǐ拿ná妖yāo，未wèi曾céng得dé胜shèng。」

"Two years ago we sought out a monk in the hills to the south and asked him here to take the demon. He did not prevail."

著 in 訪著 is zháo, the reading that marks contact actually made: they looked and they found. 得 in 得勝 is the full verb dé, "to gain."

行xíng者zhě道dào：「那nà和hé尚shàng怎zěn的de拿ná來lái？」行xíng者zhě道dào：「那nà和hé尚shàng怎zěn的de拿ná来lái？」

Pilgrim said, "And how did that monk go about catching it?"

那 is nà, "that" — the monk just named — where the same character two segments back was the question-word.

總評 Commentary

The costing gets answered with a reckoning of its own. The village has been spending all along, three or five taels a household, which is more than the one tael apiece Pilgrim proposed. The old man is not defending inaction; he is reporting failure.

Four characters and the account is closed: he did not prevail. Not a word of detail. The detail is what Pilgrim asks for next, and what comes back is not a report at all but a performance.