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

不知好歹
模式 Mode Read Study
拼音 Pinyin Off
字體 Script 繁
原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

不知好歹 You Do Not Know Better

那nà老lǎo兒ér笑xiào道dào:「你nǐ這zhè小xiǎo和hé尚shàng年nián幼yòu,不bù知zhī好hǎo歹dǎi,言yán不bù幫bāng襯chèn。那nà妖yāo魔mó神shén通tōng廣guǎng大dà得de緊jǐn,怎zěn敢gǎn就jiù說shuō貶biǎn解jiè他tā起qǐ身shēn?」那nà老lǎo儿ér笑xiào道dào:「你nǐ这zhè小xiǎo和hé尚shàng年nián幼yòu,不bù知zhī好hǎo歹dǎi,言yán不bù帮bāng衬chèn。那nà妖yāo魔mó神shén通tōng广guǎng大dà得de紧jǐn,怎zěn敢gǎn就jiù说shuō贬biǎn解jiè他tā起qǐ身shēn?」


逐句解 Line by line

那nà老lǎo兒ér笑xiào道dào:「你nǐ這zhè小xiǎo和hé尚shàng年nián幼yòu,不bù知zhī好hǎo歹dǎi,言yán不bù幫bāng襯chèn。 那nà老lǎo儿ér笑xiào道dào:「你nǐ这zhè小xiǎo和hé尚shàng年nián幼yòu,不bù知zhī好hǎo歹dǎi,言yán不bù帮bāng衬chèn。

The old fellow laughed. "You are a young little monk who cannot tell good from bad, and your talk does you no good at all.

不知好歹 is still current and still an insult — not knowing what is good for you, unable to tell a kindness from an injury. 幫襯 is a fine old word for backing somebody up: 襯 is the lining of a garment, the layer underneath that holds the shape, so to 幫襯 somebody is to be that for them. 言不幫襯 therefore means roughly that your words are doing nothing to hold you up.

那nà妖yāo魔mó神shén通tōng廣guǎng大dà得de緊jǐn,怎zěn敢gǎn就jiù說shuō貶biǎn解jiè他tā起qǐ身shēn?」 那nà妖yāo魔mó神shén通tōng广guǎng大dà得de紧jǐn,怎zěn敢gǎn就jiù说shuō贬biǎn解jiè他tā起qǐ身shēn?」

That demon's powers are enormously great. How dare you talk about banishing him and packing him off?"

神通 is a Buddhist technical term before it is a compliment: the supernatural faculties a practitioner acquires, six of them in the standard list. 得緊 is the degree complement — great, and how great? — very — with 得 going unstressed as de, exactly as it did in 生得俊雅 a moment ago.


總評 Commentary

The old man's rebuke is aimed squarely at the disguise, which means the disguise is still working. He is not saying you are a monkey. He is saying you are a child who has no idea what he is talking about.

And he is right about the substance while being entirely wrong about the speaker. The demon's powers are enormous; talking about banishment is absurd. The one thing he cannot know is that the pretty boy in front of him is the only creature on the mountain for whom it is not absurd at all.