原文 Original text
繁體 Traditional
Reader's edition
指示指示 Point The Way For Me
此處果是甚山？甚洞？洞裡果是甚妖精？那裡是西去大路？煩公公指示指示。」此处果是甚山？甚洞？洞里果是甚妖精？那里是西去大路？烦公公指示指示。」
逐句解 Line by line
此處果是甚山？
此处果是甚山？
What mountain is this, in fact?
甚 here is shèn, against the shén of the two-character form the master used earlier. Same character, same question, two readings, a few passages apart.
甚洞？
甚洞？
What cave?
Two characters. The shortest segment in the chapter.
洞裡果是甚妖精？
洞里果是甚妖精？
What demons are in the cave, in fact?
Bajie is going down Tripitaka's list in order, which is more than his brother managed.
那裡是西去大路？煩公公指示指示。」
那里是西去大路？烦公公指示指示。」
Which is the high road west? Take the trouble to point it out for me, sir."
那 is nǎ again, the interrogative — which road, not that road. And 指示指示 doubles the verb into a request: just point it out, would you. The doubling is what makes it polite rather than peremptory.
This is the same set of four questions Tripitaka asked, delivered in the same order, by the disciple who was standing there when he asked them. Bajie has done the one thing Pilgrim did not: he listened.
The segments get shorter and shorter — six characters, then two, then seven — which on the page reads exactly like somebody ticking items off. The novel is letting the rhythm do the characterisation.
And he closes with a courtesy. Having established his rank, apologised for his brother and asked his four questions, he asks for the favour rather than demanding the answer.