原文 Original text
繁體 Traditional
Reader's edition
淌出血來 Use The Handle Instead
行者道：「不好，不好。那鈀齒兒尖，恐築破皮，淌出血來，師父看見，又說我們傷生。只調柄子來打罷。」行者道：「不好，不好。那钯齿儿尖，恐筑破皮，淌出血来，师父看见，又说我们伤生。只调柄子来打罢。」
逐句解 Line by line
行者道：「不好，不好。
行者道：「不好，不好。
Wukong said: "No, no.
不好 doubled — the same two characters he used to himself inside the first fiend's throat, and again the sound of a plan being abandoned.
那鈀齒兒尖，恐築破皮，淌出血來，師父看見，又說我們傷生。
那钯齿儿尖，恐筑破皮，淌出血来，师父看见，又说我们伤生。
The teeth of that rake are sharp. I am afraid you will break the skin and bring the blood out, and when the master sees it he will say again that we are taking life.
血 keeps xuè throughout this edition, rather than the colloquial xiě heard in everyday speech. 傷生 — to harm living things, the Buddhist charge.
只調柄子來打罷。」
只调柄子来打罢。」
Use the handle on him instead."
調 reads diào — to switch one thing for another. 罷 keeps bà.
This is the funniest piece of moral reasoning in the chapter and it is delivered completely straight. Wukong has just killed small demons past counting on his way out of the cave. He now stops his brother from drawing blood on the grounds that the master might see it and object.
The concern is not with the harm; it is with the evidence. Do not break the skin, because blood shows. Turn the rake round and use the handle, and the same beating leaves no mark. Anyone who has worked for a scrupulous employer will recognise the distinction being drawn.
Underneath the joke is a real feature of the pilgrimage. Tripitaka's rule against taking life is absolute and he enforces it with the headband spell, which is the one thing that can hurt Wukong. So his disciples do not stop killing; they become expert at managing what the master is in a position to notice.