第六十七回 · 拱開舊路 Rooting The Old Road Open — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

拱開舊路 Rooting The Old Road Open

李lǐ老lǎo兒ér道dào：「長zhǎng老lǎo說shuō那nǎ裡lǐ話huà，憑píng你nǐ四sì位wèi擔dān擱gē多duō少shǎo時shí，我wǒ等děng俱jù養yǎng得de起qǐ，怎zěn麼me說shuō無wú人rén管guǎn飯fàn。」行xíng者zhě道dào：「既jì如rú此cǐ，你nǐ們men去qù辦bàn得de兩liǎng石shí米mǐ的de乾gān飯fàn，再zài做zuò些xiē蒸zhēng餅bǐng、饝mó饝mó來lái。等děng我wǒ那nà長cháng嘴zuǐ和hé尚shàng吃chī飽bǎo了le，變biàn了le大dà豬zhū，拱gǒng開kāi舊jiù路lù，我wǒ師shī父fù騎qí在zài馬mǎ上shàng，我wǒ等děng扶fú持chí著zhe，管guǎn情qíng過guò去qù了le。」李lǐ老lǎo儿ér道dào：「长zhǎng老lǎo说shuō那nǎ里lǐ话huà，凭píng你nǐ四sì位wèi担dān搁gē多duō少shǎo时shí，我wǒ等děng俱jù养yǎng得de起qǐ，怎zěn么me说shuō无wú人rén管guǎn饭fàn。」行xíng者zhě道dào：「既jì如rú此cǐ，你nǐ们men去qù办bàn得de两liǎng石shí米mǐ的de干gān饭fàn，再zài做zuò些xiē蒸zhēng饼bǐng、饝mó饝mó来lái。等děng我wǒ那nà长cháng嘴zuǐ和hé尚shàng吃chī饱bǎo了le，变biàn了le大dà猪zhū，拱gǒng开kāi旧jiù路lù，我wǒ师shī父fù骑qí在zài马mǎ上shàng，我wǒ等děng扶fú持chí着zhe，管guǎn情qíng过guò去qù了le。」

逐句解 Line by line

李lǐ老lǎo兒ér道dào：「長zhǎng老lǎo說shuō那nǎ裡lǐ話huà，憑píng你nǐ四sì位wèi擔dān擱gē多duō少shǎo時shí，我wǒ等děng俱jù養yǎng得de起qǐ，怎zěn麼me說shuō無wú人rén管guǎn飯fàn。」李lǐ老lǎo儿ér道dào：「长zhǎng老lǎo说shuō那nǎ里lǐ话huà，凭píng你nǐ四sì位wèi担dān搁gē多duō少shǎo时shí，我wǒ等děng俱jù养yǎng得de起qǐ，怎zěn么me说shuō无wú人rén管guǎn饭fàn。」

Old Li said, "Elder, what a thing to say! However long the four of you delay, we can all keep you. How can you talk of there being nobody to feed you?"

那裡話 is a set exclamation — "what a thing to say!" — with 那 at the open-ended nǎ. 擔 is dān in 擔擱, to delay, and 得 is the light particle in 養得起, "can afford to keep."

行xíng者zhě道dào：「既jì如rú此cǐ，你nǐ們men去qù辦bàn得de兩liǎng石shí米mǐ的de乾gān飯fàn，再zài做zuò些xiē蒸zhēng餅bǐng、饝mó饝mó來lái。行xíng者zhě道dào：「既jì如rú此cǐ，你nǐ们men去qù办bàn得de两liǎng石shí米mǐ的de干gān饭fàn，再zài做zuò些xiē蒸zhēng饼bǐng、饝mó饝mó来lái。

Pilgrim said, "In that case, go and get two shí of rice cooked dry, and make some steamed cakes and buns besides.

A shí is the top rung of the Chinese grain ladder — ten dǒu, and a dǒu is ten shēng. The 1716 dictionary puts every measuring sense of this character under a single spelling, including "ten dǒu make a shí," and records no separate reading for it, which settles a question modern dictionaries answer differently. 乾 is gān, dry, and 得 the light particle.

等děng我wǒ那nà長cháng嘴zuǐ和hé尚shàng吃chī飽bǎo了le，變biàn了le大dà豬zhū，拱gǒng開kāi舊jiù路lù，我wǒ師shī父fù騎qí在zài馬mǎ上shàng，我wǒ等děng扶fú持chí著zhe，管guǎn情qíng過guò去qù了le。」等děng我wǒ那nà长cháng嘴zuǐ和hé尚shàng吃chī饱bǎo了le，变biàn了le大dà猪zhū，拱gǒng开kāi旧jiù路lù，我wǒ师shī父fù骑qí在zài马mǎ上shàng，我wǒ等děng扶fú持chí着zhe，管guǎn情qíng过guò去qù了le。」

"When that long-snouted monk of mine has eaten his fill, he shall turn into a great pig and root the old road open. My master will ride, we shall hold him up, and I warrant we get across."

長 is cháng, the size sense. 拱 is what a pig does with its snout — the same verb used when Eight Rules buried himself in the dirt to hide from the wind. 管情 is a vernacular guarantee: "I warrant it."

總評 Commentary

The plan arrives at last, and it is not a feat of power but a feat of appetite. Two shí of rice, cakes and buns, and a pig with a full stomach: the entire solution to eight hundred li of blocked road is catering.

It also settles what all the earlier refusals were for. Pilgrim would not take silver, land or labour, and what he wanted the whole time was the one thing the village could supply in bulk — food, and a great deal more of it than a meal.

The verb is the one that matters. 拱 is what Eight Rules did with his snout when he buried himself in the ground to get away from the wind. The chapter has been showing us that action since long before anyone thought of using it.