第七十二回 · 滾湯潑老鼠 Boiling Water On Rats — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

滾湯潑老鼠 Boiling Water On Rats

那nà女nǚ子zǐ都dōu跳tiào下xià水shuǐ去qù，一yí個gè個gè躍yuè浪làng翻fān波bō，負fù水shuǐ頑wán耍shuǎ。行xíng者zhě道dào：「我wǒ若ruò打dǎ他tā啊a，只zhǐ消xiāo把bǎ這zhè棍gùn子zi往wǎng池chí中zhōng一yì攪jiǎo，就jiù叫jiào做zuò滾gǔn湯tāng潑pō老lǎo鼠shǔ──一yì窩wō兒ér都dōu是shì死sǐ。可kě憐lián，可kě憐lián！打dǎ便biàn打dǎ死sǐ他tā，只zhǐ是shì低dī了le老lǎo孫sūn的de名míng頭tóu。常cháng言yán道dào：『男nán不bù與yǔ女nǚ鬥dòu。』那nà女nǚ子zǐ都dōu跳tiào下xià水shuǐ去qù，一yí个gè个gè跃yuè浪làng翻fān波bō，负fù水shuǐ顽wán耍shuǎ。行xíng者zhě道dào：「我wǒ若ruò打dǎ他tā啊a，只zhǐ消xiāo把bǎ这zhè棍gùn子zi往wǎng池chí中zhōng一yì搅jiǎo，就jiù叫jiào做zuò滚gǔn汤tāng泼pō老lǎo鼠shǔ──一yì窝wō儿ér都dōu是shì死sǐ。可kě怜lián，可kě怜lián！打dǎ便biàn打dǎ死sǐ他tā，只zhǐ是shì低dī了le老lǎo孙sūn的de名míng头tóu。常cháng言yán道dào：『男nán不bù与yǔ女nǚ斗dòu。』

逐句解 Line by line

那nà女nǚ子zǐ都dōu跳tiào下xià水shuǐ去qù，一yí個gè個gè躍yuè浪làng翻fān波bō，負fù水shuǐ頑wán耍shuǎ。那nà女nǚ子zǐ都dōu跳tiào下xià水shuǐ去qù，一yí个gè个gè跃yuè浪làng翻fān波bō，负fù水shuǐ顽wán耍shuǎ。

The women all jumped down into the water, leaping through the waves and turning in them, ducking and playing about.

頑耍 is playing, larking about — the same 頑 that called Pilgrim a restless child a few passages ago. They are enjoying themselves.

行xíng者zhě道dào：「我wǒ若ruò打dǎ他tā啊a，只zhǐ消xiāo把bǎ這zhè棍gùn子zi往wǎng池chí中zhōng一yì攪jiǎo，就jiù叫jiào做zuò滾gǔn湯tāng潑pō老lǎo鼠shǔ──一yì窩wō兒ér都dōu是shì死sǐ。行xíng者zhě道dào：「我wǒ若ruò打dǎ他tā啊a，只zhǐ消xiāo把bǎ这zhè棍gùn子zi往wǎng池chí中zhōng一yì搅jiǎo，就jiù叫jiào做zuò滚gǔn汤tāng泼pō老lǎo鼠shǔ──一yì窝wō儿ér都dōu是shì死sǐ。

Pilgrim said, "If I were to hit them, I need only take this cudgel and give the pool one stir — it would be what they call scalding rats with boiling broth: a whole nestful dead at once."

滾湯潑老鼠──一窩兒都是死 is a xiēhòuyǔ, a two-part saying where the first half is the picture and the second the point, like saying shooting fish in a barrel and then explaining it. 子 takes the light zi in 棍子; 兒 takes the full ér in 窩兒.

可kě憐lián，可kě憐lián！可kě怜lián，可kě怜lián！

"A pity, a pity!"

Four characters, doubled. He has just described killing seven creatures in one stroke and the next thing he says is that it would be a shame.

打dǎ便biàn打dǎ死sǐ他tā，只zhǐ是shì低dī了le老lǎo孫sūn的de名míng頭tóu。打dǎ便biàn打dǎ死sǐ他tā，只zhǐ是shì低dī了le老lǎo孙sūn的de名míng头tóu。

"Strike and I would strike them dead — only it would bring old Sun's name down."

名頭 is reputation, the name you have. He is not worried about the killing. He is worried about how it would look.

常cháng言yán道dào：『男nán不bù與yǔ女nǚ鬥dòu。』常cháng言yán道dào：『男nán不bù与yǔ女nǚ斗dòu。』

"As the common word goes: a man does not fight with a woman."

男不與女鬥 — eight characters, and it is the whole of his reasoning. The saying is real and the chapter has been walking toward it since the local god said the monsters were female.

總評 Commentary

He works out that he could kill all seven with one stir of the cudgel, says so, and then declines — and the reason he gives has nothing to do with mercy.

The saying about boiling water is a two-part expression, the kind Chinese is full of: a picture, then the point. Scald a nest of rats and the whole nest dies at once. He is describing seven creatures in a hot pool and the image is exact, which is what makes it unpleasant.

And then the objection: it would look bad. A man does not fight a woman, so a monkey who did would have his name lowered. The question of whether they deserve to die does not arise, and the question of whether they are women in any sense that the saying covers does not arise either.