第七十五回 · 打個頭仗 Who Will Take The First Round — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

打個頭仗 Who Will Take The First Round

老lǎo魔mó道dào：「那nà行xíng者zhě早zǎo間jiān變biàn小xiǎo鑽zuān風fēng混hùn進jìn來lái，我wǒ等děng不bù能néng相xiāng識shí，幸xìng三sān賢xián弟dì認rèn得dé，把bǎ他tā裝zhuāng在zài瓶píng裡lǐ，他tā弄nòng本běn事shì，鑽zuān破pò瓶píng兒ér，卻què又yòu攝shè去qù衣yī服fú走zǒu了le。如rú今jīn在zài外wài叫jiào戰zhàn，誰shuí敢gǎn與yǔ他tā打dǎ個gè頭tóu仗zhàng？」老lǎo魔mó道dào：「那nà行xíng者zhě早zǎo间jiān变biàn小xiǎo钻zuān风fēng混hùn进jìn来lái，我wǒ等děng不bù能néng相xiāng识shí，幸xìng三sān贤xián弟dì认rèn得dé，把bǎ他tā装zhuāng在zài瓶píng里lǐ，他tā弄nòng本běn事shì，钻zuān破pò瓶píng儿ér，却què又yòu摄shè去qù衣yī服fú走zǒu了le。如rú今jīn在zài外wài叫jiào战zhàn，谁shuí敢gǎn与yǔ他tā打dǎ个gè头tóu仗zhàng？」

逐句解 Line by line

老lǎo魔mó道dào：「那nà行xíng者zhě早zǎo間jiān變biàn小xiǎo鑽zuān風fēng混hùn進jìn來lái，我wǒ等děng不bù能néng相xiāng識shí，幸xìng三sān賢xián弟dì認rèn得dé，把bǎ他tā裝zhuāng在zài瓶píng裡lǐ，他tā弄nòng本běn事shì，鑽zuān破pò瓶píng兒ér，卻què又yòu攝shè去qù衣yī服fú走zǒu了le。老lǎo魔mó道dào：「那nà行xíng者zhě早zǎo间jiān变biàn小xiǎo钻zuān风fēng混hùn进jìn来lái，我wǒ等děng不bù能néng相xiāng识shí，幸xìng三sān贤xián弟dì认rèn得dé，把bǎ他tā装zhuāng在zài瓶píng里lǐ，他tā弄nòng本běn事shì，钻zuān破pò瓶píng儿ér，却què又yòu摄shè去qù衣yī服fú走zǒu了le。

The old fiend said, "That Wukong turned himself into Little Bore-Wind this morning and got in among us, and we could not tell. Luckily our worthy third brother knew him, and we put him in the bottle. Then he worked his arts, bored the bottle through, and made off with his clothes into the bargain."

相 is xiāng, mutually — 不能相識, could not know one another. 認得 keeps the full dé, as it does at eleven of its twelve sealed sites. The old fiend's summary is scrupulously fair: he credits his brother and blames nobody.

如rú今jīn在zài外wài叫jiào戰zhàn，誰shuí敢gǎn與yǔ他tā打dǎ個gè頭tóu仗zhàng？」如rú今jīn在zài外wài叫jiào战zhàn，谁shuí敢gǎn与yǔ他tā打dǎ个gè头tóu仗zhàng？」

"Now he is outside calling for a fight. Who dares take the first round with him?"

頭仗 is the opening engagement, the first bout of a battle. He is asking for a volunteer, which is a thing a commander does only when he does not want to name anybody.

總評 Commentary

The retelling is worth comparing with the one Wukong gave Xuanzang a few passages back. Both are summaries of the same afternoon; both are accurate; and each man puts the credit somewhere that suits him. Wukong credited karma, merit and his own arts. The old fiend credits his third brother and passes over his own contribution entirely.

The detail he cannot let go of is the clothes. Being bored out of is a defeat; having your prisoner stop on the way out to collect his laundry is an embarrassment, and it is the last thing in his sentence.