認他一認 Let Us Look At Him
八戒、沙僧也都要躲,被行者左右手扯住他兩個道:「兄弟們不要怕得,我和你認他一認,看是個甚麼妖精?」八戒道:「可是扯淡,認他怎的?眾官躲了,師父藏了,國王避了,我們不去了罷,衒的是那家世?」八戒、沙僧也都要躲,被行者左右手扯住他两个道:「兄弟们不要怕得,我和你认他一认,看是个甚么妖精?」八戒道:「可是扯淡,认他怎的?众官躲了,师父藏了,国王避了,我们不去了罢,衒的是那家世?」
逐句解 Line by line
Eight Rules and Sha the monk wanted to hide as well, but Pilgrim caught hold of the two of them, one with each hand. "Brothers, no need to be afraid. Let you and me take a look at him and see what sort of monster he is."
One in each hand — the image is exact, and it is the only thing keeping this party above ground. 認他一認, the verb repeated around 一, is the everyday way of saying "give it one good look". 和 is hé, "and". 怕得 takes the light de.
Eight Rules said, "What nonsense. What is the good of looking at him?
扯淡 is street language for talking rubbish, and it is being said to the Great Sage by a pig who wants to get into a hole.
"The officials have hidden, the master has hidden, the king has got out of the way. Let us not go either — whose family are we showing off for?"
Three parallel clauses do the argument by themselves: everyone who matters is already underground. 藏 is cáng, to hide — the verb, not the zàng of Tripitaka's own name. 罷 is the light ba of a proposal, and 那 is nǎ.
Everyone has gone underground and the two disciples want to follow. Pilgrim catches them one in each hand — the image is exact, and it is the only thing keeping this party above ground.
Eight Rules argues from precedent, and on its own terms the precedent is unanswerable: the officials have hidden, the master has hidden, the king has got out of the way. Three parallel clauses, and then — whose family are we showing off for? He has correctly worked out that standing in the open is now a performance, and drawn the wrong conclusion from it.