第七十一回 · 想是懼內 The Bells Are Henpecked — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

想是懼內 The Bells Are Henpecked

那nà妖yāo王wáng真zhēn個gè將jiāng頭tóu一yī個gè鈴líng兒ér幌huǎng了le三sān幌huǎng，不bú見jiàn火huǒ出chū；第dì二èr個gè幌huǎng了le三sān幌huǎng，不bú見jiàn煙yān出chū；第dì三sān個gè幌huǎng了le三sān幌huǎng，也yě不bú見jiàn沙shā出chū。妖yāo王wáng慌huāng了le手shǒu腳jiǎo道dào：「怪guài哉zāi，怪guài哉zāi！世shì情qíng變biàn了le，這zhè鈴líng兒ér想xiǎng是shì懼jù內nèi，雄xióng見jiàn了le雌cí，所suǒ以yǐ不bù出chū來lái了le。」那nà妖yāo王wáng真zhēn个gè将jiāng头tóu一yī个gè铃líng儿ér幌huǎng了le三sān幌huǎng，不bú见jiàn火huǒ出chū；第dì二èr个gè幌huǎng了le三sān幌huǎng，不bú见jiàn烟yān出chū；第dì三sān个gè幌huǎng了le三sān幌huǎng，也yě不bú见jiàn沙shā出chū。妖yāo王wáng慌huāng了le手shǒu脚jiǎo道dào：「怪guài哉zāi，怪guài哉zāi！世shì情qíng变biàn了le，这zhè铃líng儿ér想xiǎng是shì惧jù内nèi，雄xióng见jiàn了le雌cí，所suǒ以yǐ不bù出chū来lái了le。」

逐句解 Line by line

那nà妖yāo王wáng真zhēn個gè將jiāng頭tóu一yī個gè鈴líng兒ér幌huǎng了le三sān幌huǎng，不bú見jiàn火huǒ出chū；第dì二èr個gè幌huǎng了le三sān幌huǎng，不bú見jiàn煙yān出chū；第dì三sān個gè幌huǎng了le三sān幌huǎng，也yě不bú見jiàn沙shā出chū。那nà妖yāo王wáng真zhēn个gè将jiāng头tóu一yī个gè铃líng儿ér幌huǎng了le三sān幌huǎng，不bú见jiàn火huǒ出chū；第dì二èr个gè幌huǎng了le三sān幌huǎng，不bú见jiàn烟yān出chū；第dì三sān个gè幌huǎng了le三sān幌huǎng，也yě不bú见jiàn沙shā出chū。

The fiend king really did shake the first bell three times — no fire came out; the second, three times — no smoke came out; the third, three times — and no sand came out either.

One sentence in three matching parts, cut in the source at two semicolons and carried whole here. Only the first names him; the other two simply count on. 一 keeps yī — 頭一個 is the first of a set, an ordinal, and ordinals do not take the usual tone change. 幌 is huǎng, to shake or wave.

妖yāo王wáng慌huāng了le手shǒu腳jiǎo道dào：「怪guài哉zāi，怪guài哉zāi！妖yāo王wáng慌huāng了le手shǒu脚jiǎo道dào：「怪guài哉zāi，怪guài哉zāi！

The fiend king lost his head and his hands and said, "Extraordinary! Extraordinary!

慌了手腳 for the third and last time in the chapter — Wukong when he dropped the bells, the fiend at the first swing of the cudgel, and now the fiend again. 哉 is the classical exclamatory particle.

世shì情qíng變biàn了le，這zhè鈴líng兒ér想xiǎng是shì懼jù內nèi，世shì情qíng变biàn了le，这zhè铃líng儿ér想xiǎng是shì惧jù内nèi，

"The way of the world has changed. These bells must be henpecked —

懼內 is the standard term for a man afraid of his wife: literally to fear the inner quarters. It is applied here to three metal bells. 了 is the neutral le.

雄xióng見jiàn了le雌cí，所suǒ以yǐ不bù出chū來lái了le。」雄xióng见jiàn了le雌cí，所suǒ以yǐ不bù出chū来lái了le。」

"the cocks have seen the hens, and so they will not come out."

Ten characters, and the explanation is that the fire is too shy to emerge in front of a female bell. 不 keeps bù before the level tone of 出.

總評 Commentary

Three shakes, three shakes, three shakes, and nothing at all. The sentence is built as a triple with the same phrasing each time, so the reader gets the failure three times in the same words — the prose equivalent of watching somebody press a dead button.

Then the fiend explains it, and his explanation is the funniest thing he says in the chapter. 懼內 is the ordinary term for a henpecked husband, literally to fear the inner apartments, and he applies it to his own bells. The cocks have seen the hens and are too intimidated to come out.

世情變了 — the way of the world has changed — is what a man says when reality has stopped behaving. He is standing in front of somebody holding an identical set of bells, having just been told a nonsense rhyme about cocks and hens, and he has decided the problem is with the world.