第七十四回 · 各自顧命 Every Man For Himself — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

各自顧命 Every Man For Himself

那nà獃dāi子zi聞wén得dé此cǐ言yán，戰zhàn兢jīng兢jīng跑pǎo將jiāng轉zhuǎn來lái，相xiāng近jìn唐táng僧sēng，且qiě不bù回huí話huà，放fàng下xià鈀pá，在zài那nà裡lǐ出chū恭gōng。行xíng者zhě見jiàn了le，喝hè道dào：「你nǐ不bù回huí話huà，卻què蹲dūn在zài那nà裡lǐ怎zěn的de？」八bā戒jiè道dào：「諕xià出chū屎shǐ來lái了le。如rú今jīn也yě不bù消xiāo說shuō，趕gǎn早zǎo兒ér各gè自zì顧gù命mìng去qù罷bà。」那nà呆dāi子zi闻wén得dé此cǐ言yán，战zhàn兢jīng兢jīng跑pǎo将jiāng转zhuǎn来lái，相xiāng近jìn唐táng僧sēng，且qiě不bù回huí话huà，放fàng下xià钯pá，在zài那nà里lǐ出chū恭gōng。行xíng者zhě见jiàn了le，喝hè道dào：「你nǐ不bù回huí话huà，却què蹲dūn在zài那nà里lǐ怎zěn的de？」八bā戒jiè道dào：「諕xià出chū屎shǐ来lái了le。如rú今jīn也yě不bù消xiāo说shuō，赶gǎn早zǎo儿ér各gè自zì顾gù命mìng去qù罢bà。」

逐句解 Line by line

那nà獃dāi子zi聞wén得dé此cǐ言yán，戰zhàn兢jīng兢jīng跑pǎo將jiāng轉zhuǎn來lái，相xiāng近jìn唐táng僧sēng，且qiě不bù回huí話huà，放fàng下xià鈀pá，在zài那nà裡lǐ出chū恭gōng。那nà呆dāi子zi闻wén得dé此cǐ言yán，战zhàn兢jīng兢jīng跑pǎo将jiāng转zhuǎn来lái，相xiāng近jìn唐táng僧sēng，且qiě不bù回huí话huà，放fàng下xià钯pá，在zài那nà里lǐ出chū恭gōng。

When the idiot heard this he came running back trembling, and drawing near the Tang Monk did not report at all, but set down his rake and relieved himself where he stood.

戰兢兢 is shaking — the same doubling used of the old man twice already. 且不回話 is the detail that matters: he does not speak first. 出恭 is a wonderfully genteel euphemism for going to the lavatory, borrowed from the examination hall, where a candidate needing to leave collected a tablet marked with the word.

行xíng者zhě見jiàn了le，喝hè道dào：「你nǐ不bù回huí話huà，卻què蹲dūn在zài那nà裡lǐ怎zěn的de？」行xíng者zhě见jiàn了le，喝hè道dào：「你nǐ不bù回huí话huà，却què蹲dūn在zài那nà里lǐ怎zěn的de？」

Pilgrim saw him and shouted, "Why are you not reporting? What are you squatting there for?"

喝 is hè, to shout, never the hē of drinking — a ruling this project applies throughout. 蹲在那裡 has 那 as the locative nà, over there, which is the reading the character does not take three sentences later.

八bā戒jiè道dào：「諕xià出chū屎shǐ來lái了le。八bā戒jiè道dào：「諕xià出chū屎shǐ来lái了le。

Bajie said, "It frightened the dung out of me.

諕 is xià, to frighten, and the base gives an entirely different word — this is one of the small set in this chapter that only the invariant check catches. The line is exactly as coarse as it looks.

如rú今jīn也yě不bù消xiāo說shuō，趕gǎn早zǎo兒ér各gè自zì顧gù命mìng去qù罷bà。」如rú今jīn也yě不bù消xiāo说shuō，赶gǎn早zǎo儿ér各gè自zì顾gù命mìng去qù罢bà。」

There is no use talking about it now — best get away early and every man look to his own life."

趕早兒 is to be quick about it, get in early. 各自顧命 is each look to his own life, and it is a proposal to abandon the pilgrimage — made by the disciple who two passages ago had the demons killed one apiece.

總評 Commentary

The reversal is total and it takes four sentences. Bajie went up the slope with a plan for killing three demons and comes back proposing that everybody run away.

The novel refuses to dignify it. He does not report, he does not explain — he puts the rake down and squats, and the narrator uses the polite examination-hall word for what he is doing, which makes it funnier rather than less coarse.

And the proposal at the end is serious. Every man for himself is not a joke about fear; it is a suggestion that the journey stop here, and it is the first time in the chapter anybody has said so out loud.