第七十四回 · 各自散一散 Let Us All Scatter — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

各自散一散 Let Us All Scatter

行xíng者zhě又yòu道dào：「列liè位wèi，那nà唐táng僧sēng的de肉ròu也yě不bù多duō幾jǐ斤jīn，也yě分fēn不bú到dào我wǒ處chù，我wǒ們men替tì他tā頂dǐng這zhè個gè缸gāng怎zěn的de？不bù如rú我wǒ們men各gè自zì散sàn一yí散sàn罷bà。」行xíng者zhě又yòu道dào：「列liè位wèi，那nà唐táng僧sēng的de肉ròu也yě不bù多duō几jǐ斤jīn，也yě分fēn不bú到dào我wǒ处chù，我wǒ们men替tì他tā顶dǐng这zhè个gè缸gāng怎zěn的de？不bù如rú我wǒ们men各gè自zì散sàn一yí散sàn罢bà。」

逐句解 Line by line

行xíng者zhě又yòu道dào：「列liè位wèi，那nà唐táng僧sēng的de肉ròu也yě不bù多duō幾jǐ斤jīn，也yě分fēn不bú到dào我wǒ處chù，我wǒ們men替tì他tā頂dǐng這zhè個gè缸gāng怎zěn的de？行xíng者zhě又yòu道dào：「列liè位wèi，那nà唐táng僧sēng的de肉ròu也yě不bù多duō几jǐ斤jīn，也yě分fēn不bú到dào我wǒ处chù，我wǒ们men替tì他tā顶dǐng这zhè个gè缸gāng怎zěn的de？

Pilgrim spoke again. "Gentlemen — there are not so many catties of meat on that Tang Monk, and none of it will come round as far as me. Why should we carry the jar for him?

列位 is gentlemen, all of you — he is addressing them as colleagues. 幾斤 is a few catties, a 斤 being about six hundred grams. And 頂這個缸 is to carry the jar, which is still the ordinary Chinese for taking the blame or carrying the risk on somebody else's behalf.

不bù如rú我wǒ們men各gè自zì散sàn一yí散sàn罷bà。」不bù如rú我wǒ们men各gè自zì散sàn一yí散sàn罢bà。」

Better that we all scatter and be off."

各自散一散 is each of us take ourselves off — the numeral inside the doubled verb one last time. 罷 keeps its full bà.

總評 Commentary

Having frightened them, Pilgrim does not order them away. He argues them away, and the argument is about fairness.

Every clause is calculated for the audience. The monk is small; the meat will not reach the ranks; the risk falls on us and the reward on the kings. It is a grievance about distribution, put to a body of underpaid staff.

And the phrase for it is the one everybody knows. Why are we carrying the jar? — which is what a Chinese speaker still says today about being left holding somebody else's trouble.