Canonical Classics ← 第七十七回
第七十七回
群qún魔mó欺qī本běn性xìng
一yì體tǐ拜bài真zhēn如rú

The Host of Fiends Imposes on the Original Nature · Of One Body They Bow to the True Thus-Come

都是這等說
模式 Mode Read Study
拼音 Pinyin Off
字體 Script 繁
原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

都是這等說 Everyone Is Saying The Same

滿mǎn城chéng裡lǐ俱jù道dào：唐táng僧sēng被bèi大dà王wáng夾jiā生shēng兒ér連lián夜yè吃chī了le。前qián前qián後hòu後hòu，都dōu是shì這zhè等děng說shuō。行xíng者zhě著zhuó實shí心xīn焦jiāo。满mǎn城chéng里lǐ俱jù道dào：唐táng僧sēng被bèi大dà王wáng夹jiā生shēng儿ér连lián夜yè吃chī了le。前qián前qián后hòu后hòu，都dōu是shì这zhè等děng说shuō。行xíng者zhě着zhuó实shí心xīn焦jiāo。

逐句解 Line by line

滿mǎn城chéng裡lǐ俱jù道dào：唐táng僧sēng被bèi大dà王wáng夾jiā生shēng兒ér連lián夜yè吃chī了le。 满mǎn城chéng里lǐ俱jù道dào：唐táng僧sēng被bèi大dà王wáng夹jiā生shēng儿ér连lián夜yè吃chī了le。

All over the city they were saying that the Tang Monk had been eaten raw by the Great King in the night.

夾生, half-raw, is the word the story has now used three ways: of Bajie fearing to be badly cooked, of the fiends planning to skip the cooking, and now as the content of a lie.

前qián前qián後hòu後hòu，都dōu是shì這zhè等děng說shuō。 前qián前qián后hòu后hòu，都dōu是shì这zhè等děng说shuō。

Front and back, it was the same everywhere.

Nine characters, and the doubling of front and back is the same device used for the demon crowd at the gate. Here it measures how thoroughly a rumour has been seeded.

行xíng者zhě著zhuó實shí心xīn焦jiāo。 行xíng者zhě着zhuó实shí心xīn焦jiāo。

Pilgrim was really sick at heart.

著實, in good earnest, takes zhuó — the lexical band of this character rather than the durative one. Six characters, and they are the first admission of what the news is doing to him.

總評 Commentary

The third fiend's plan is working, and the passage shows it working the way it would actually work: not through one convincing informant but through everyone saying the same thing everywhere.

Wukong is doing the right thing and it is defeating him. He checks the story in several places and gets consistent answers, which is exactly the test a careful person applies — and exactly the test a seeded rumour is built to pass.

Six characters for his reaction, against fifty for the guards' hats and staves in the next passage. The book is not going to dwell on his feelings yet.