第七十一回 · 大王才睡著 The King Has Just Fallen Asleep — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

大王才睡著 The King Has Just Fallen Asleep

即jí忙máng掌zhǎng燈dēng尋xún鎖suǒ，把bǎ門mén兒ér依yī然rán鎖suǒ上shàng。著zhuó幾jǐ個gè跑pǎo入rù裡lǐ邊biān去qù報bào道dào：「大dà王wáng，有yǒu人rén在zài大dà門mén外wài呼hū喚huàn大dà王wáng尊zūn號hào，要yào金jīn聖shèng娘niáng娘niang哩li。」那nà裡lǐ邊biān侍shì婢bì即jí出chū宮gōng門mén，悄qiǎo悄qiǎo的de傳chuán言yán道dào：「莫mò吆yāo喝hè，大dà王wáng才cái睡shuì著zháo了le。」即jí忙máng掌zhǎng灯dēng寻xún锁suǒ，把bǎ门mén儿ér依yī然rán锁suǒ上shàng。着zhuó几jǐ个gè跑pǎo入rù里lǐ边biān去qù报bào道dào：「大dà王wáng，有yǒu人rén在zài大dà门mén外wài呼hū唤huàn大dà王wáng尊zūn号hào，要yào金jīn圣shèng娘niáng娘niang哩li。」那nà里lǐ边biān侍shì婢bì即jí出chū宫gōng门mén，悄qiǎo悄qiǎo的de传chuán言yán道dào：「莫mò吆yāo喝hè，大dà王wáng才cái睡shuì着zháo了le。」

逐句解 Line by line

即jí忙máng掌zhǎng燈dēng尋xún鎖suǒ，把bǎ門mén兒ér依yī然rán鎖suǒ上shàng。即jí忙máng掌zhǎng灯dēng寻xún锁suǒ，把bǎ门mén儿ér依yī然rán锁suǒ上shàng。

They hurriedly brought lamps, found the lock and shut the door up again as before.

Their first instinct is tidiness. 兒 is ér; 依然 is just as it was, which is the word doing the comedy — they put the door back exactly the way the thief found it.

著zhuó幾jǐ個gè跑pǎo入rù裡lǐ邊biān去qù報bào道dào：「大dà王wáng，着zhuó几jǐ个gè跑pǎo入rù里lǐ边biān去qù报bào道dào：「大dà王wáng，

Several were sent running inside to report: "Great King,

著 is zhuó here, the reading for ordering or dispatching somebody — a fourth job for a character that has already been zhe, zháo and zhe in this chapter.

有yǒu人rén在zài大dà門mén外wài呼hū喚huàn大dà王wáng尊zūn號hào，要yào金jīn聖shèng娘niáng娘niang哩li。」有yǒu人rén在zài大dà门mén外wài呼hū唤huàn大dà王wáng尊zūn号hào，要yào金jīn圣shèng娘niáng娘niang哩li。」

"there is somebody outside the main gate calling out the Great King's title and demanding the Golden Sage Queen."

尊號 is an honorific title, the formal name of a ruler — and shouting it in the street is an insult in itself. 哩 is the light sentence-final li.

那nà裡lǐ邊biān侍shì婢bì即jí出chū宮gōng門mén，悄qiǎo悄qiǎo的de傳chuán言yán道dào：「莫mò吆yāo喝hè，大dà王wáng才cái睡shuì著zháo了le。」那nà里lǐ边biān侍shì婢bì即jí出chū宫gōng门mén，悄qiǎo悄qiǎo的de传chuán言yán道dào：「莫mò吆yāo喝hè，大dà王wáng才cái睡shuì着zháo了le。」

The maids inside came straight out of the palace door and passed the word quietly: "Don't shout. The Great King has only just got to sleep."

Three readings settled in one sentence. 悄 is qiǎo, twice — the dictionary knows this character only in oblique tones. 喝 is hè, to shout, by the pair 吆喝. And 著 is zháo: 睡著 is sleep actually attained, not sleeping in progress.

總評 Commentary

The household reacts to a break-in by locking the door again. Nobody looks for the thief, nobody counts the treasures, nobody wakes the king. They find the lock, they put it back, and they send runners.

And the runners are stopped by the servants. 莫吆喝，大王才睡著了 — don't shout, he's only just dropped off — is the sentence that costs the fiend his bells for good. It is not treachery or cowardice. It is a household that has learned not to wake the master, and it is the last, smallest link in the chain the queen started by asking for wine.

One character does an unusual amount of work in this passage. 著 appears as 著幾個, meaning to order somebody, and again in 睡著了, meaning to have fallen asleep — two entirely different words 51 characters apart, sharing a character.