Canonical Classics ← 第七十三回
第七十三回
情qíng因yīn舊jiù恨hèn生shēng災zāi毒dú
心xīn主zhǔ遭zāo魔mó幸xìng破pò光guāng

Passion from an Old Grudge Breeds a Venomous Calamity · The Mind-Lord Meets a Demon and Is Saved by the Breaking Light

兩個黑棗兒
模式 Mode Read Study
拼音 Pinyin Off
字體 Script 繁
原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

兩個黑棗兒 Two Black Dates

又yòu將jiāng兩liǎng個gè黑hēi棗zǎo兒ér做zuò一yí個gè茶chá鍾zhōng,著zhuó一yí個gè托tuō盤pán安ān了le對duì眾zhòng女nǚ說shuō:「等děng我wǒ去qù問wèn他tā,不bú是shì唐táng朝cháo的de便biàn罷bà;若ruò是shì唐táng朝cháo來lái的de,就jiù教jiào換huàn茶chá,你nǐ卻què將jiāng此cǐ茶chá令lìng童tóng兒ér拿ná出chū。但dàn吃chī了le,個gè個gè身shēn亡wáng,就jiù與yǔ你nǐ報bào了le此cǐ讎chóu,解jiě了le煩fán惱nǎo也yě。」七qī女nǚ感gǎn激jī不bú盡jìn。又yòu将jiāng两liǎng个gè黑hēi枣zǎo儿ér做zuò一yí个gè茶chá钟zhōng,着zhuó一yí个gè托tuō盘pán安ān了le对duì众zhòng女nǚ说shuō:「等děng我wǒ去qù问wèn他tā,不bú是shì唐táng朝cháo的de便biàn罢bà;若ruò是shì唐táng朝cháo来lái的de,就jiù教jiào换huàn茶chá,你nǐ却què将jiāng此cǐ茶chá令lìng童tóng儿ér拿ná出chū。但dàn吃chī了le,个gè个gè身shēn亡wáng,就jiù与yǔ你nǐ报bào了le此cǐ雠chóu,解jiě了le烦fán恼nǎo也yě。」七qī女nǚ感gǎn激jī不bú尽jìn。


逐句解 Line by line

又yòu將jiāng兩liǎng個gè黑hēi棗zǎo兒ér做zuò一yí個gè茶chá鍾zhōng,著zhuó一yí個gè托tuō盤pán安ān了le對duì眾zhòng女nǚ說shuō:「等děng我wǒ去qù問wèn他tā,不bú是shì唐táng朝cháo的de便biàn罷bà; 又yòu将jiāng两liǎng个gè黑hēi枣zǎo儿ér做zuò一yí个gè茶chá钟zhōng,着zhuó一yí个gè托tuō盘pán安ān了le对duì众zhòng女nǚ说shuō:「等děng我wǒ去qù问wèn他tā,不bú是shì唐táng朝cháo的de便biàn罢bà;

With two black dates he made up another cup, set the whole lot out on a tray, and said to the women, "Let me go and question them. If they are not from the Tang, we let it be;"

The fifth cup. Four poisoned with red dates and one clean with black, which is his own — and the black dates are the flaw in an otherwise perfect plan, because they look different. 著 is zhuó here, the lexical-verb band of a character with four readings: to take, to use. Not the zhe that keeps an action running. And 便罷 is "then let it drop", with 罷 as the verb, to have done.

若ruò是shì唐táng朝cháo來lái的de,就jiù教jiào換huàn茶chá,你nǐ卻què將jiāng此cǐ茶chá令lìng童tóng兒ér拿ná出chū。 若ruò是shì唐táng朝cháo来lái的de,就jiù教jiào换huàn茶chá,你nǐ却què将jiāng此cǐ茶chá令lìng童tóng儿ér拿ná出chū。

"but if they are from the Tang, I shall call for the tea to be changed, and you are to have the boys carry this tea out."

教 is jiào, to have something done — he will call for a change of tea, which is an entirely ordinary hospitable gesture and also the signal. 令, to order, does the same job in the second clause. The plan runs on two words that any host might use on any afternoon.

但dàn吃chī了le,個gè個gè身shēn亡wáng,就jiù與yǔ你nǐ報bào了le此cǐ讎chóu,解jiě了le煩fán惱nǎo也yě。」 但dàn吃chī了le,个gè个gè身shēn亡wáng,就jiù与yǔ你nǐ报bào了le此cǐ雠chóu,解jiě了le烦fán恼nǎo也yě。」

"One drink and every one of them dies, your grievance is avenged and your vexation resolved."

但 here is not "but" — in early vernacular it means "only", "as soon as": one has only to drink. 個個, every single one. And 報讎 is to requite a wrong, the word the women used when they asked him for a 報冤之人 416 characters ago. He is quoting their request back at them as a delivery note.

七qī女nǚ感gǎn激jī不bú盡jìn。 七qī女nǚ感gǎn激jī不bú尽jìn。

The seven women were grateful beyond measure.

A small mechanical point with a real consequence. 不盡 means without end, and 盡 is raised to jìn, a falling tone — which means the 不 before it must shift to bú. The automatic tone rule runs on the reading 盡 starts with, not the one it ends with, so it has to be corrected by hand. This is the first of four such places in the chapter, and all four were predicted before a word of it was written.


總評 Commentary

The fifth cup is the plan's one weakness and he builds it in himself. He needs a cup to drink from, so he makes one up with black dates instead of red — and now there is a tray on which one cup does not match. Everything else about this scheme is meticulous. That is the loose thread.

Notice how little of the plan is violent. Ask a question, call for fresh tea, have the boys bring it out. Every step is something a host does, and the poison is carried in on the same tray as the hospitality. The Daoist quoted a proverb about the indignity of throwing a punch 309 characters ago; he has been entirely consistent since.

And then 感激不盡 — grateful beyond measure — and the scene ends on seven women thanking a man for agreeing to poison four people at tea. The narrator adds nothing. He has been withholding comment for six passages and he is not going to start now.