第七十四回 · 有何難哉 Where Is The Difficulty — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

有何難哉 Where Is The Difficulty

八bā戒jiè道dào：「不bù瞞mán你nǐ說shuō，這zhè三sān個gè妖yāo魔mó，我wǒ師shī兄xiōng一yí棍gùn就jiù打dǎ死sǐ一yí個gè；我wǒ一yì鈀pá就jiù築zhù死sǐ一yí個gè。我wǒ還hái有yǒu個gè師shī弟dì，他tā一yì降xiáng妖yāo杖zhàng又yòu打dǎ死sǐ一yí個gè：三sān個gè都dōu打dǎ死sǐ，我wǒ師shī父fù就jiù過guò去qù了le，有yǒu何hé難nán哉zāi？」八bā戒jiè道dào：「不bù瞒mán你nǐ说shuō，这zhè三sān个gè妖yāo魔mó，我wǒ师shī兄xiōng一yí棍gùn就jiù打dǎ死sǐ一yí个gè；我wǒ一yì钯pá就jiù筑zhù死sǐ一yí个gè。我wǒ还hái有yǒu个gè师shī弟dì，他tā一yì降xiáng妖yāo杖zhàng又yòu打dǎ死sǐ一yí个gè：三sān个gè都dōu打dǎ死sǐ，我wǒ师shī父fù就jiù过guò去qù了le，有yǒu何hé难nán哉zāi？」

逐句解 Line by line

八bā戒jiè道dào：「不bù瞞mán你nǐ說shuō，這zhè三sān個gè妖yāo魔mó，我wǒ師shī兄xiōng一yí棍gùn就jiù打dǎ死sǐ一yí個gè；八bā戒jiè道dào：「不bù瞒mán你nǐ说shuō，这zhè三sān个gè妖yāo魔mó，我wǒ师shī兄xiōng一yí棍gùn就jiù打dǎ死sǐ一yí个gè；

Bajie said, "I will not deceive you. Of these three demons, my elder brother will kill one with a single blow of his cudgel;

不瞞你說 is the same set opener his brother used before naming himself. The arithmetic that follows is the joke: three demons, three disciples, one each.

我wǒ一yì鈀pá就jiù築zhù死sǐ一yí個gè。我wǒ一yì钯pá就jiù筑zhù死sǐ一yí个gè。

I will kill one with a single stroke of my rake.

一鈀 is the site the chapter's opening survey singled out: the rake's character is one this project raises everywhere, and the raising happens to leave the 一 in front of it untouched, because both readings sit in the same tone class. 築 is to tamp or ram, the verb for pounding earth — which is what a nine-toothed rake does to a head.

我wǒ還hái有yǒu個gè師shī弟dì，他tā一yì降xiáng妖yāo杖zhàng又yòu打dǎ死sǐ一yí個gè：三sān個gè都dōu打dǎ死sǐ，我wǒ師shī父fù就jiù過guò去qù了le，有yǒu何hé難nán哉zāi？」我wǒ还hái有yǒu个gè师shī弟dì，他tā一yì降xiáng妖yāo杖zhàng又yòu打dǎ死sǐ一yí个gè：三sān个gè都dōu打dǎ死sǐ，我wǒ师shī父fù就jiù过guò去qù了le，有yǒu何hé难nán哉zāi？」

And I have another younger brother who will kill one with his demon-quelling staff. All three dead, my master goes through — where is the difficulty?"

降妖杖 is Sha Monk's weapon, and 降 is xiáng, to subdue, not the jiàng of coming down. 有何難哉 is deliberately literary — a classical flourish, the kind of thing a man says when he has just done some very simple sums.

總評 Commentary

Bajie's plan is arithmetic. Three demons, three armed disciples, one apiece, and the road is clear. Laid out like that it is unanswerable, which is exactly what is wrong with it.

The classical flourish at the end gives him away. Where is the difficulty is not how anybody talks on a hillside; it is how you talk when you are pleased with your own reasoning and want it to sound inevitable.

And the reader can already see the flaw, because the old man has not finished. Bajie has counted the chiefs and forgotten to ask about anybody else.