第七十三回 · 這媽媽兒 That Old Lady Is Formidable — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

這媽媽兒 That Old Lady Is Formidable

八bā戒jiè打dǎ仰yǎng道dào：「這zhè媽mā媽ma兒ér卻què也yě利lì害hài，怎zěn麼me就jiù降xiáng這zhè般bān惡è物wù？」行xíng者zhě笑xiào道dào：「我wǒ問wèn他tā有yǒu甚shén兵bīng器qì破pò他tā金jīn光guāng，他tā道dào有yǒu個gè繡xiù花huā針zhēn兒ér，是shì他tā兒ér子zi在zài日rì眼yǎn裡lǐ煉liàn的de。八bā戒jiè打dǎ仰yǎng道dào：「这zhè妈mā妈ma儿ér却què也yě利lì害hài，怎zěn么me就jiù降xiáng这zhè般bān恶è物wù？」行xíng者zhě笑xiào道dào：「我wǒ问wèn他tā有yǒu甚shén兵bīng器qì破pò他tā金jīn光guāng，他tā道dào有yǒu个gè绣xiù花huā针zhēn儿ér，是shì他tā儿ér子zi在zài日rì眼yǎn里lǐ炼liàn的de。

逐句解 Line by line

八bā戒jiè打dǎ仰yǎng道dào：「這zhè媽mā媽ma兒ér卻què也yě利lì害hài，怎zěn麼me就jiù降xiáng這zhè般bān惡è物wù？」八bā戒jiè打dǎ仰yǎng道dào：「这zhè妈mā妈ma儿ér却què也yě利lì害hài，怎zěn么me就jiù降xiáng这zhè般bān恶è物wù？」

Eight Rules gaped up after her. "That old lady is formidable! How did she subdue such a vile creature so easily?"

打仰 is to tip the head back and stare upward — a whole gesture in two characters. 媽媽 reduces its second syllable, as every doubled kinship word does, and the 兒 on the end is a familiar diminutive. Calling a bodhisattva 媽媽兒 — the old lady — is Eight Rules being himself. 降 is xiáng, to subdue: the seventh of the chapter's eight, of which only 降階, coming down a flight of steps, is the other band.

行xíng者zhě笑xiào道dào：「我wǒ問wèn他tā有yǒu甚shén兵bīng器qì破pò他tā金jīn光guāng，他tā道dào有yǒu個gè繡xiù花huā針zhēn兒ér，是shì他tā兒ér子zi在zài日rì眼yǎn裡lǐ煉liàn的de。行xíng者zhě笑xiào道dào：「我wǒ问wèn他tā有yǒu甚shén兵bīng器qì破pò他tā金jīn光guāng，他tā道dào有yǒu个gè绣xiù花huā针zhēn儿ér，是shì他tā儿ér子zi在zài日rì眼yǎn里lǐ炼liàn的de。

Pilgrim laughed. "I asked her what weapon she had to break his golden light, and she said she had an embroidery needle, refined by her son inside the eye of the sun."

⚠ 甚 is shén, what — and this is the sixth and last of the chapter's six interrogative ones, against two adverbial shèn. Nothing in the writing distinguishes them; the sense does it every time. 兒 keeps its full tone at both occurrences here, as at all thirty-three in the chapter.

總評 Commentary

Eight Rules stares upward and calls a bodhisattva "the old lady", and the book lets him. 這媽媽兒 is affectionate, familiar and completely improper, and it is exactly what he would say. He is the character who never adjusts his register for anybody, which is why he is funny and why he keeps getting into trouble.

His question is a good one, though. How did she do that so easily? Pilgrim fought the thing for sixty bouts, was trapped, cooked, concussed and driven twenty li underground. She pointed at it.

And the answer Pilgrim is about to give is the best joke in the chapter, because it is not magic at all. It is natural history.