第七十六回 · 藍旗手 The Blue Flag Herald — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

藍旗手 The Blue Flag Herald

那nà二èr魔mó即jí點diǎn三sān千qiān小xiǎo妖yāo，徑jìng到dào大dà路lù傍páng擺bǎi開kāi，著zhuó一yí個gè藍lán旗qí手shǒu往wǎng來lái傳chuán報bào道dào：「孫sūn行xíng者zhě趕gǎn早zǎo出chū來lái，與yǔ我wǒ二èr大dà王wáng爺yé爺ye交jiāo戰zhàn。」八bā戒jiè聽tīng見jiàn，笑xiào道dào：「哥gē啊a，常cháng言yán道dào：『說shuō謊huǎng不bù瞞mán當dāng鄉xiāng人rén。』那nà二èr魔mó即jí点diǎn三sān千qiān小xiǎo妖yāo，径jìng到dào大dà路lù傍páng摆bǎi开kāi，着zhuó一yí个gè蓝lán旗qí手shǒu往wǎng来lái传chuán报bào道dào：「孙sūn行xíng者zhě赶gǎn早zǎo出chū来lái，与yǔ我wǒ二èr大dà王wáng爷yé爷ye交jiāo战zhàn。」八bā戒jiè听tīng见jiàn，笑xiào道dào：「哥gē啊a，常cháng言yán道dào：『说shuō谎huǎng不bù瞒mán当dāng乡xiāng人rén。』

逐句解 Line by line

那nà二èr魔mó即jí點diǎn三sān千qiān小xiǎo妖yāo，徑jìng到dào大dà路lù傍páng擺bǎi開kāi，著zhuó一yí個gè藍lán旗qí手shǒu往wǎng來lái傳chuán報bào道dào：「孫sūn行xíng者zhě趕gǎn早zǎo出chū來lái，與yǔ我wǒ二èr大dà王wáng爺yé爺ye交jiāo戰zhàn。」那nà二èr魔mó即jí点diǎn三sān千qiān小xiǎo妖yāo，径jìng到dào大dà路lù傍páng摆bǎi开kāi，着zhuó一yí个gè蓝lán旗qí手shǒu往wǎng来lái传chuán报bào道dào：「孙sūn行xíng者zhě赶gǎn早zǎo出chū来lái，与yǔ我wǒ二èr大dà王wáng爷yé爷ye交jiāo战zhàn。」

The second fiend at once told off three thousand lesser demons, went straight to the roadside and drew them up, and set a blue-flag man to carry the word back and forth: "Sun Wukong, come out early and fight our Second Great King!"

傍 reads páng here — the side of the road, the locative sense. 著 reads zhuó, to set someone to a task: the band that means to have a thing done rather than to be doing it.

八bā戒jiè聽tīng見jiàn，笑xiào道dào：「哥gē啊a，常cháng言yán道dào：『說shuō謊huǎng不bù瞞mán當dāng鄉xiāng人rén。』八bā戒jiè听tīng见jiàn，笑xiào道dào：「哥gē啊a，常cháng言yán道dào：『说shuō谎huǎng不bù瞒mán当dāng乡xiāng人rén。』

Bajie heard it and laughed: "Brother, there is a saying: do not tell your lies to a man from your own village."

當鄉人 takes dāng — the local people, the ones from this same place.

總評 Commentary

A blue-flag man is a runner carrying a signal flag, the field telephone of a Ming army, and using one to shout a challenge is a small piece of military furniture that makes the demons look properly organised. This is not a mob any more; it is a force with a chain of communication.

Bajie's proverb is the best line he gets in the chapter and it is aimed straight at Wukong. Do not tell your lies to a man from your own village: your neighbours know what you did. He has just been slapped and called a bag of pus for getting the facts wrong, and he now points out that the story of the surrendered demons is not holding up either.

That is the shape of these two throughout the novel. Bajie is lazy, greedy and cowardly, and he is also frequently the one who says the obvious true thing that nobody else will. The narrator lets him score the point and then, a few lines later, walks him into a trap.