第七十七回 · 苦歷千山 A Thousand Hills Of Hardship — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

苦歷千山 A Thousand Hills Of Hardship

只zhǐ是shì捨shě不bù得de送sòng去qù，卻què教jiào我wǒ等děng來lái取qǔ。怎zěn知zhī道dào苦kǔ歷lì千qiān山shān，今jīn朝zhāo到dào此cǐ喪sàng命mìng？罷bà罷bà罷bà，老lǎo孫sūn且qiě駕jià個gè觔jīn斗dǒu雲yún，去qù見jiàn如rú來lái，備bèi言yán前qián事shì。若ruò肯kěn把bǎ經jīng與yǔ我wǒ送sòng上shàng東dōng土tǔ，一yī則zé傳chuán揚yáng善shàn果guǒ，二èr則zé了liǎo我wǒ等děng心xīn願yuàn；只zhǐ是shì舍shě不bù得de送sòng去qù，却què教jiào我wǒ等děng来lái取qǔ。怎zěn知zhī道dào苦kǔ历lì千qiān山shān，今jīn朝zhāo到dào此cǐ丧sàng命mìng？罢bà罢bà罢bà，老lǎo孙sūn且qiě驾jià个gè觔jīn斗dǒu云yún，去qù见jiàn如rú来lái，备bèi言yán前qián事shì。若ruò肯kěn把bǎ经jīng与yǔ我wǒ送sòng上shàng东dōng土tǔ，一yī则zé传chuán扬yáng善shàn果guǒ，二èr则zé了liǎo我wǒ等děng心xīn愿yuàn；

逐句解 Line by line

只zhǐ是shì捨shě不bù得de送sòng去qù，卻què教jiào我wǒ等děng來lái取qǔ。只zhǐ是shì舍shě不bù得de送sòng去qù，却què教jiào我wǒ等děng来lái取qǔ。

But no, he could not bear to send them, and made us come and fetch them instead.

捨不得, cannot bear to part with, takes de. It is the ordinary phrase for stinginess, and Wukong is applying it to the Buddha's handling of the canon.

怎zěn知zhī道dào苦kǔ歷lì千qiān山shān，今jīn朝zhāo到dào此cǐ喪sàng命mìng？怎zěn知zhī道dào苦kǔ历lì千qiān山shān，今jīn朝zhāo到dào此cǐ丧sàng命mìng？

How was he to know that after a thousand hills of hardship we should come to this today and lose a life?

苦歷千山, bitterly passing a thousand hills, is the journey compressed into four characters. 朝 in 今朝 is zhāo, this morning.

罷bà罷bà罷bà，老lǎo孫sūn且qiě駕jià個gè觔jīn斗dǒu雲yún，去qù見jiàn如rú來lái，備bèi言yán前qián事shì。罢bà罢bà罢bà，老lǎo孙sūn且qiě驾jià个gè觔jīn斗dǒu云yún，去qù见jiàn如rú来lái，备bèi言yán前qián事shì。

Enough, enough, enough! Old Sun will just ride a somersault cloud and go and see the Tathagata, and lay the whole business before him.

罷罷罷, three times, is the sound of a man giving up on an argument and reaching for action. 斗 in 觔斗 is dǒu, a somersault.

若ruò肯kěn把bǎ經jīng與yǔ我wǒ送sòng上shàng東dōng土tǔ，一yī則zé傳chuán揚yáng善shàn果guǒ，二èr則zé了liǎo我wǒ等děng心xīn願yuàn；若ruò肯kěn把bǎ经jīng与yǔ我wǒ送sòng上shàng东dōng土tǔ，一yī则zé传chuán扬yáng善shàn果guǒ，二èr则zé了liǎo我wǒ等děng心xīn愿yuàn；

If he is willing to let me carry the scriptures east, then first it will spread abroad the fruits of goodness, and second it will settle what we have wanted;

Two things here. 一 in 一則 is yī, the citation reading held against the mechanical sandhi, because this is the enumerative frame — firstly and secondly. And 了 is liǎo, the verb to settle or complete, not the perfective particle: it sits where 傳揚 sits in the matching clause.

總評 Commentary

The complaint has a structure and this is the second half of it. The Buddha could have sent the scriptures, chose not to, and the cost of that choice is now being itemised.

Then the three-fold enough, and the argument becomes a plan. Wukong does not stay to grieve. Within four characters of giving up he has decided to fly to Vulture Peak and put the case in person, which is exactly what he did to Heaven in the early chapters when a job disappointed him.

And the offer he intends to make is reasonable, which is the joke. Let me take the scriptures east and everybody wins: the world gets the teaching, we get our wish. He is going to the Buddha with a proposal.