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

悟能八戒
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拼音 Pinyin Off
字體 Script
原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

悟能八戒 The Second Disciple Speaks

jièdào:「shìtángsēngèrmíngjiàozuònéngjiècáixiānwèndejiàozuòkōngxíngzhěshìshīxiōngshīguàichōngzhuànglegōnggongcéngwènshíxìnsuǒzhuóláibàiwènjièdào:「shìtángsēngèrmíngjiàozuònéngjiècáixiānwèndejiàozuòkōngxíngzhěshìshīxiōngshīguàichōngzhuànglegōnggongcéngwènshíxìnsuǒzhuóláibàiwèn


逐句解 Line by line

jièdào:「shìtángsēngèrmíngjiàozuònéngjiè jièdào:「shìtángsēngèrmíngjiàozuònéngjiè

Bajie said, "I am the Tang Monk's second disciple. My religious name is Wuneng Bajie.

法名 is the name taken in religion, as against the name a family gives. 悟能 is Awakened to Ability and 八戒 is the Eight Prohibitions — the lay precepts. A pig named after the rules he is worst at keeping.

cáixiānwèndejiàozuòkōngxíngzhěshìshīxiōng cáixiānwèndejiàozuòkōngxíngzhěshìshīxiōng

The one who asked before, called Wukong the Pilgrim, is my elder brother.

才自 is just now, a moment ago. Bajie is establishing that he knows about the first interview, which is his way of getting ahead of the old man's obvious question.

shīguàichōngzhuànglegōnggongcéngwènshíxìnsuǒzhuóláibàiwèn shīguàichōngzhuànglegōnggongcéngwènshíxìnsuǒzhuóláibàiwèn

Our master was annoyed with him for giving offence to you, sir, and for not getting a straight answer, so he has sent me particularly to ask.

不曾 takes céng unaided — the base gets there by itself, unlike the near-identical form with a different first character a few passages back. is zhuó, the causative, for the fourth time in this chapter: he sent me. And note the diplomacy: the master was annoyed, the brother gave offence, and Bajie arrives as the apology.


總評 Commentary

Bajie's self-introduction is a small masterpiece of positioning. He gives his rank, names his brother, concedes his brother's rudeness, and presents himself as sent to repair it — all before asking anything.

It is also, strictly, a lie. Tripitaka was not annoyed with Pilgrim; Bajie volunteered, having spent a passage explaining that he is the honest one. The invented grievance is doing diplomatic work.

The names are worth keeping. Awakened to Ability is what the Bodhisattva called him; the Eight Prohibitions are the precepts a lay Buddhist takes, including the ones about food and drink. He has been named, permanently, after his weaknesses.