Canonical Classics ← 第七十四回
第七十四回
長cháng庚gēng傳chuán報bào魔mó頭tóu狠hěn
行xíng者zhě施shī為wéi變biàn化huà能néng

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

家法甚嚴
模式 Mode Read Study
拼音 Pinyin Off
字體 Script 繁
原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

家法甚嚴 The Rules Here Are Strict

我wǒ那nà大dà王wáng家jiā法fǎ甚shèn嚴yán,燒shāo火huǒ的de只zhǐ管guǎn燒shāo火huǒ,巡xún山shān的de只zhǐ管guǎn巡xún山shān。終zhōng不bù然rán教jiào你nǐ燒shāo火huǒ,又yòu教jiào你nǐ來lái巡xún山shān?」我wǒ那nà大dà王wáng家jiā法fǎ甚shèn严yán,烧shāo火huǒ的de只zhǐ管guǎn烧shāo火huǒ,巡xún山shān的de只zhǐ管guǎn巡xún山shān。终zhōng不bù然rán教jiào你nǐ烧shāo火huǒ,又yòu教jiào你nǐ来lái巡xún山shān?」


逐句解 Line by line

我wǒ那nà大dà王wáng家jiā法fǎ甚shèn嚴yán,燒shāo火huǒ的de只zhǐ管guǎn燒shāo火huǒ,巡xún山shān的de只zhǐ管guǎn巡xún山shān。 我wǒ那nà大dà王wáng家jiā法fǎ甚shèn严yán,烧shāo火huǒ的de只zhǐ管guǎn烧shāo火huǒ,巡xún山shān的de只zhǐ管guǎn巡xún山shān。

"The rules in my king's house are very strict. Firelighters do nothing but light fires and mountain patrols do nothing but patrol the mountain.

家法甚嚴 is house discipline, strict — 甚 here as shèn, very, against the shén it takes inside the two-character question word. 只管 doubled across the two clauses is the whole objection: each post does its own work and nothing else.

終zhōng不bù然rán教jiào你nǐ燒shāo火huǒ,又yòu教jiào你nǐ來lái巡xún山shān?」 终zhōng不bù然rán教jiào你nǐ烧shāo火huǒ,又yòu教jiào你nǐ来lái巡xún山shān?」

It is not to be thought of that they would set you to light fires and then send you to patrol the mountain as well."

終不然 is a strong rhetorical after all, surely not. And 教 twice is jiào, the causative — make you, set you to. The little demon has found the flaw in the cover story, and it is a personnel flaw rather than a magical one.


總評 Commentary

The demon's clinching argument is a job description. You cannot be a firelighter and a patrolman, because the establishment does not work that way.

It is the best possible objection and it comes from the least likely source. A creature on a lonely round with a clapper has just caught the Great Sage out on a point of internal administration.

And it is the third time this chapter that paperwork has done what violence could not. The kings of hell signed; the demons carry tallies; and now a cover story is collapsing on the duty roster.