第七十五回 · 哭喪棒 What Kind Of Mourning Stick — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

哭喪棒 What Kind Of Mourning Stick

好hǎo大dà聖shèng，就jiù把bǎ身shēn摟lǒu上shàng來lái，打dǎ個gè滾gǔn，依yī然rán一yí個gè身shēn子zi，掣chè棒bàng劈pī頭tóu就jiù打dǎ。那nà老lǎo魔mó舉jǔ刀dāo架jià住zhù道dào：「潑pō猴hóu無wú禮lǐ，甚shén麼me樣yàng個gè哭kū喪sāng棒bàng，敢gǎn上shàng門mén打dǎ人rén？」大dà聖shèng喝hè道dào：「你nǐ若ruò問wèn我wǒ這zhè條tiáo棍gùn，天tiān上shàng地dì下xià都dōu有yǒu名míng聲shēng。」老lǎo魔mó道dào：「怎zěn見jiàn名míng聲shēng？」好hǎo大dà圣shèng，就jiù把bǎ身shēn搂lǒu上shàng来lái，打dǎ个gè滚gǔn，依yī然rán一yí个gè身shēn子zi，掣chè棒bàng劈pī头tóu就jiù打dǎ。那nà老lǎo魔mó举jǔ刀dāo架jià住zhù道dào：「泼pō猴hóu无wú礼lǐ，甚shén么me样yàng个gè哭kū丧sāng棒bàng，敢gǎn上shàng门mén打dǎ人rén？」大dà圣shèng喝hè道dào：「你nǐ若ruò问wèn我wǒ这zhè条tiáo棍gùn，天tiān上shàng地dì下xià都dōu有yǒu名míng声shēng。」老lǎo魔mó道dào：「怎zěn见jiàn名míng声shēng？」

逐句解 Line by line

好hǎo大dà聖shèng，就jiù把bǎ身shēn摟lǒu上shàng來lái，打dǎ個gè滾gǔn，依yī然rán一yí個gè身shēn子zi，掣chè棒bàng劈pī頭tóu就jiù打dǎ。好hǎo大dà圣shèng，就jiù把bǎ身shēn搂lǒu上shàng来lái，打dǎ个gè滚gǔn，依yī然rán一yí个gè身shēn子zi，掣chè棒bàng劈pī头tóu就jiù打dǎ。

Good Great Sage — he gathered himself in, rolled once, was one body again, and whipped out the cudgel to strike straight at the head.

摟 is lǒu, to gather in with the arms. The reassembly gets the same eleven characters the division got, and no more: rolled, one body, cudgel out.

那nà老lǎo魔mó舉jǔ刀dāo架jià住zhù道dào：「潑pō猴hóu無wú禮lǐ，甚shén麼me樣yàng個gè哭kū喪sāng棒bàng，敢gǎn上shàng門mén打dǎ人rén？」那nà老lǎo魔mó举jǔ刀dāo架jià住zhù道dào：「泼pō猴hóu无wú礼lǐ，甚shén么me样yàng个gè哭kū丧sāng棒bàng，敢gǎn上shàng门mén打dǎ人rén？」

The old fiend threw the sabre up to block it: "Insolent ape! What sort of mourning-stick is that, to come to a man's door and strike him with?"

哭喪棒 is the staff a son leans on while wailing at his parent's funeral, and using it as an insult for someone's weapon is about as rude as Chinese gets. He is calling the cudgel a prop for professional mourners.

大dà聖shèng喝hè道dào：「你nǐ若ruò問wèn我wǒ這zhè條tiáo棍gùn，天tiān上shàng地dì下xià都dōu有yǒu名míng聲shēng。」大dà圣shèng喝hè道dào：「你nǐ若ruò问wèn我wǒ这zhè条tiáo棍gùn，天tiān上shàng地dì下xià都dōu有yǒu名míng声shēng。」

The Great Sage shouted, "If you ask about this rod of mine — in heaven and on earth alike it has a name."

喝 is hè, the shout. And the cue has been given: somebody has asked about the equipment, which in this chapter means a poem is coming.

老lǎo魔mó道dào：「怎zěn見jiàn名míng聲shēng？」老lǎo魔mó道dào：「怎zěn见jiàn名míng声shēng？」

The old fiend said, "How does it have a name?"

Five characters, and he has asked for it. What follows is the longest single piece of verse in the chapter.

總評 Commentary

The insult is the trigger and it is well chosen. A funeral staff is deliberately crude — an unplaned length of bamboo or paulownia — and calling the gold-banded cudgel one is a way of saying it looks like a stick. Wukong has been waiting the whole chapter for somebody to ask about that stick.

Note the shape of the scene. The demon parries the blow he invited, insults the weapon, and then asks a question that guarantees a recitation. Both of these creatures would rather perform than fight, and the book has now let each of them do it twice.