Canonical Classics ← 第七十四回
第七十四回
chánggēngchuánbàotóuhěn
xíngzhěshīwéibiànhuànéng

Long Geng Brings Word of a Fierce Demon Chief · Pilgrim Works His Powers of Transformation

可疑可疑
模式 Mode Read Study
拼音 Pinyin Off
字體 Script
原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

可疑可疑 Suspicious Very Suspicious

xiǎoyāodào:「gāngcáishìjiānzuǐzěnmeróuróujiùjiānlehuòrénzihǎorènshìjiādeshǎohuìshǎohuìxiǎoyāodào:「gāngcáishìjiānzuǐzěnmeróuróujiùjiānlehuòrénzihǎorènshìjiādeshǎohuìshǎohuì


逐句解 Line by line

xiǎoyāodào:「gāngcáishìjiānzuǐzěnmeróuróujiùjiānle xiǎoyāodào:「gāngcáishìjiānzuǐzěnmeróuróujiùjiānle

The little demon said, "A moment ago you had a pointed snout, and how is it that one rub and it is not pointed?

The question is unanswerable and the little demon asks it plainly. He has watched a face change and is not frightened, only puzzled — which tells you what sort of mountain this is.

huòrénzihǎorènshìjiāde huòrénzihǎorènshìjiāde

You are a doubtful sort of person, very hard to make out, and not one of our household.

疑惑人子 is a doubtful character, and 大不好認 is very hard to place. He has moved from I do not know you to you are not one of us, which is a different and more dangerous claim.

shǎohuìshǎohuì shǎohuìshǎohuì

Little acquainted, little acquainted; suspicious, suspicious."

Two doubled pairs in eight characters, muttered rather than said. This is a man talking himself into an accusation.


總評 Commentary

The little demon is the most competent character in the chapter. He has noticed the unfamiliar face, tested the story, caught the snout changing shape, and drawn the right conclusion, all without raising his voice.

His procedure is bureaucratic to the last. Not this is a monster but this is not one of ours — the objection of a man checking a stranger against a staff list.

And his rhythm gives him away as much as his reasoning. Four doubled phrases in three sentences: little acquainted, little acquainted, suspicious, suspicious. He is working himself up to doing something about it.