第七十四回 · 貧僧問訊 The Little Monk Bows — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

貧僧問訊 The Little Monk Bows

好hǎo大dà聖shèng，躲duǒ離lí了le他tā們men，徑jìng直zhí近jìn前qián，對duì那nà老lǎo者zhě躬gōng身shēn道dào：「老lǎo公gōng公gong，貧pín僧sēng問wèn訊xùn了le。」那nà老lǎo兒ér見jiàn他tā生shēng得de俊jùn雅yǎ，年nián少shào身shēn輕qīng，待dài答dá不bù答dá的de，還huán了le他tā個gè禮lǐ，用yòng手shǒu摸mō著zhe他tā頭tóu兒ér，笑xiào嘻xī嘻xī問wèn道dào：「小xiǎo和hé尚shàng，你nǐ是shì那nǎ裡lǐ來lái的de？」好hǎo大dà圣shèng，躲duǒ离lí了le他tā们men，径jìng直zhí近jìn前qián，对duì那nà老lǎo者zhě躬gōng身shēn道dào：「老lǎo公gōng公gong，贫pín僧sēng问wèn讯xùn了le。」那nà老lǎo儿ér见jiàn他tā生shēng得de俊jùn雅yǎ，年nián少shào身shēn轻qīng，待dài答dá不bù答dá的de，还huán了le他tā个gè礼lǐ，用yòng手shǒu摸mō着zhe他tā头tóu儿ér，笑xiào嘻xī嘻xī问wèn道dào：「小xiǎo和hé尚shàng，你nǐ是shì那nǎ里lǐ来lái的de？」

逐句解 Line by line

好hǎo大dà聖shèng，躲duǒ離lí了le他tā們men，徑jìng直zhí近jìn前qián，對duì那nà老lǎo者zhě躬gōng身shēn道dào：「老lǎo公gōng公gong，貧pín僧sēng問wèn訊xùn了le。」好hǎo大dà圣shèng，躲duǒ离lí了le他tā们men，径jìng直zhí近jìn前qián，对duì那nà老lǎo者zhě躬gōng身shēn道dào：「老lǎo公gōng公gong，贫pín僧sēng问wèn讯xùn了le。」

Splendid Great Sage! He slipped away from the others, went straight up, bowed from the waist to the old man and said, "Venerable sir, this poor monk salutes you."

問訊 is the specific Buddhist greeting — palms together, a bow from the waist — and 貧僧, this poor monk, is the standard way a monk refers to himself: humble in form and not remotely humble in effect. Pilgrim has the register exactly right. 公公 takes an unstressed second syllable, the pattern this project uses for doubled terms of address, and here it means simply grandfather, venerable sir.

那nà老lǎo兒ér見jiàn他tā生shēng得de俊jùn雅yǎ，年nián少shào身shēn輕qīng，待dài答dá不bù答dá的de，還huán了le他tā個gè禮lǐ，用yòng手shǒu摸mō著zhe他tā頭tóu兒ér，笑xiào嘻xī嘻xī問wèn道dào：「小xiǎo和hé尚shàng，你nǐ是shì那nǎ裡lǐ來lái的de？」那nà老lǎo儿ér见jiàn他tā生shēng得de俊jùn雅yǎ，年nián少shào身shēn轻qīng，待dài答dá不bù答dá的de，还huán了le他tā个gè礼lǐ，用yòng手shǒu摸mō着zhe他tā头tóu儿ér，笑xiào嘻xī嘻xī问wèn道dào：「小xiǎo和hé尚shàng，你nǐ是shì那nǎ里lǐ来lái的de？」

The old fellow saw that he was handsome and refined, young and light of build; half answering and half not, he returned the bow, laid a hand on the boy's head and asked with a broad smile, "Little monk, where have you come from?"

Four characters change value in one sentence. 得 in 生得俊雅 is the unstressed de that hangs a description on a verb, exactly as it does at the sealed 生得 of an earlier chapter. 還 is huán, to give back — he returns the salute — and not the hái of still or yet, which is how the character reads at forty-five of its fifty-one sealed occurrences. 著 is zhe, the held state, the hand resting there. And 那 is nǎ, the interrogative. 待答不答的 is the sharpest observation in the sentence — about to answer and not answering — the precise body language of a man who has decided you are a child.

總評 Commentary

Pilgrim's disguise is not being tested on its looks. It is being tested on its manners, and it passes: the bow, the self-abasing pronoun, the formal greeting all land correctly. Nothing about the performance gives him away.

What gives the scene its edge is that the disguise works too well. The old man takes one look and files the visitor as a pretty boy, too young to be told anything serious — and then puts a hand on his head, which is about as condescending as a gesture gets, and is being made to the Great Sage Equal to Heaven.

The novel does not comment. It simply records the hand and the broad smile and leaves the reader holding the joke, which is that the old man is patronising something that once fought the armies of heaven to a standstill.