第七十七回 · 著五個打水 Five To Draw The Water — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

著五個打水 Five To Draw The Water

師shī徒tú們men正zhèng說shuō處chù，只zhǐ聞wén得dé那nà老lǎo魔mó道dào：「三sān賢xián弟dì有yǒu力lì量liàng，有yǒu智zhì謀móu，果guǒ成chéng妙miào計jì，拿ná將jiāng唐táng僧sēng來lái了le。」叫jiào：「小xiǎo的de們men，著zhuó五wǔ個gè打dǎ水shuǐ，七qī個gè刷shuā鍋guō，十shí個gè燒shāo火huǒ，二èr十shí個gè擡tái出chū鐵tiě籠lóng來lái，把bǎ那nà四sì個gè和hé尚shàng蒸zhēng熟shú，我wǒ兄xiōng弟dì們men受shòu用yòng；各gè散sàn一yí塊kuài兒ér與yǔ小xiǎo的de們men吃chī，也yě教jiào他tā個gè個gè長cháng生shēng。」师shī徒tú们men正zhèng说shuō处chù，只zhǐ闻wén得dé那nà老lǎo魔mó道dào：「三sān贤xián弟dì有yǒu力lì量liàng，有yǒu智zhì谋móu，果guǒ成chéng妙miào计jì，拿ná将jiāng唐táng僧sēng来lái了le。」叫jiào：「小xiǎo的de们men，着zhuó五wǔ个gè打dǎ水shuǐ，七qī个gè刷shuā锅guō，十shí个gè烧shāo火huǒ，二èr十shí个gè抬tái出chū铁tiě笼lóng来lái，把bǎ那nà四sì个gè和hé尚shàng蒸zhēng熟shú，我wǒ兄xiōng弟dì们men受shòu用yòng；各gè散sàn一yí块kuài儿ér与yǔ小xiǎo的de们men吃chī，也yě教jiào他tā个gè个gè长cháng生shēng。」

逐句解 Line by line

師shī徒tú們men正zhèng說shuō處chù，只zhǐ聞wén得dé那nà老lǎo魔mó道dào：「三sān賢xián弟dì有yǒu力lì量liàng，有yǒu智zhì謀móu，果guǒ成chéng妙miào計jì，拿ná將jiāng唐táng僧sēng來lái了le。」师shī徒tú们men正zhèng说shuō处chù，只zhǐ闻wén得dé那nà老lǎo魔mó道dào：「三sān贤xián弟dì有yǒu力lì量liàng，有yǒu智zhì谋móu，果guǒ成chéng妙miào计jì，拿ná将jiāng唐táng僧sēng来lái了le。」

While master and disciples were talking, they heard the old fiend say, "Third worthy brother, you have strength and you have cunning; your fine scheme has come off, and the Tang Monk is taken."

賢弟, worthy younger brother, is the courteous form between sworn brothers, and the three fiends use it throughout. They have the manners of a gentry household and the diet of a slaughterhouse, which is a joke the chapter never stops making.

叫jiào：「小xiǎo的de們men，著zhuó五wǔ個gè打dǎ水shuǐ，七qī個gè刷shuā鍋guō，十shí個gè燒shāo火huǒ，二èr十shí個gè擡tái出chū鐵tiě籠lóng來lái，把bǎ那nà四sì個gè和hé尚shàng蒸zhēng熟shú，我wǒ兄xiōng弟dì們men受shòu用yòng；叫jiào：「小xiǎo的de们men，着zhuó五wǔ个gè打dǎ水shuǐ，七qī个gè刷shuā锅guō，十shí个gè烧shāo火huǒ，二èr十shí个gè抬tái出chū铁tiě笼lóng来lái，把bǎ那nà四sì个gè和hé尚shàng蒸zhēng熟shú，我wǒ兄xiōng弟dì们men受shòu用yòng；

He called out, "Little ones! Have five of you draw water, seven scrub the pot, ten light the fire, and twenty carry out the iron steamer, and steam these four monks through, for my brothers and me to enjoy;

著 is zhuó here, the sense of setting someone to a task — have five men do this. It is one of four distinct readings this character carries in the book, and elsewhere the dispatching sense takes zhuó. Count the numbers as they come: five, seven, ten, twenty.

各gè散sàn一yí塊kuài兒ér與yǔ小xiǎo的de們men吃chī，也yě教jiào他tā個gè個gè長cháng生shēng。」各gè散sàn一yí块kuài儿ér与yǔ小xiǎo的de们men吃chī，也yě教jiào他tā个gè个gè长cháng生shēng。」

and share out a piece each to the little ones as well, so that every one of them may have long life."

長 is cháng, long, not zhǎng — 長生 is long life, the standard Daoist goal. The belief that eating the Tang Monk's flesh confers immortality is the engine of roughly a third of this novel's plots.

總評 Commentary

The order is the horror, and it is horrible because it is so well organised. Five to draw, seven to scrub, ten to tend the fire, twenty to shift the steamer: forty-two demons on a rota. This is not a monster's rage, it is a kitchen roster.

Then comes the line that turns it. The chief will share the meat with the rank and file so that they too can live forever. He is not a tyrant hoarding the prize; he is a good employer distributing a bonus. The generosity is real and it is being spent on cannibalism.

It is worth noticing what has happened to the arithmetic of this chapter. It opened with three against three, an even match. Forty-two demons and a steamer later, the count has stopped being a fight and started being a catering problem.