第七十七回 · 苦不可言 Hardship Past All Telling — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

苦不可言 Hardship Past All Telling

行xíng者zhě道dào：「弟dì子zǐ屢lǚ蒙méng教jiào訓xùn之zhī恩ēn，託tuō庇bì在zài佛fó爺yé爺ye之zhī門mén下xià。自zì歸guī正zhèng果guǒ，保bǎo護hù唐táng僧sēng，拜bài為wéi師shī範fàn，一yí路lù上shàng苦kǔ不bù可kě言yán。今jīn至zhì獅shī駝tuó山shān獅shī駝tuó洞dòng、獅shī駝tuó城chéng，有yǒu三sān個gè毒dú魔mó，乃nǎi獅shī王wáng、象xiàng王wáng、大dà鵬péng，把bǎ我wǒ師shī父fù捉zhuō將jiāng去qù，連lián弟dì子zǐ一yí概gài遭zāo迍zhūn，都dōu綑kǔn在zài蒸zhēng籠lóng裡lǐ，受shòu湯tāng火huǒ之zhī災zāi。行xíng者zhě道dào：「弟dì子zǐ屡lǚ蒙méng教jiào训xùn之zhī恩ēn，托tuō庇bì在zài佛fó爷yé爷ye之zhī门mén下xià。自zì归guī正zhèng果guǒ，保bǎo护hù唐táng僧sēng，拜bài为wéi师shī范fàn，一yí路lù上shàng苦kǔ不bù可kě言yán。今jīn至zhì狮shī驼tuó山shān狮shī驼tuó洞dòng、狮shī驼tuó城chéng，有yǒu三sān个gè毒dú魔mó，乃nǎi狮shī王wáng、象xiàng王wáng、大dà鹏péng，把bǎ我wǒ师shī父fù捉zhuō将jiāng去qù，连lián弟dì子zǐ一yí概gài遭zāo迍zhūn，都dōu捆kǔn在zài蒸zhēng笼lóng里lǐ，受shòu汤tāng火huǒ之zhī灾zāi。

逐句解 Line by line

行xíng者zhě道dào：「弟dì子zǐ屢lǚ蒙méng教jiào訓xùn之zhī恩ēn，託tuō庇bì在zài佛fó爺yé爺ye之zhī門mén下xià。行xíng者zhě道dào：「弟dì子zǐ屡lǚ蒙méng教jiào训xùn之zhī恩ēn，托tuō庇bì在zài佛fó爷yé爷ye之zhī门mén下xià。

Pilgrim said, "Your disciple has again and again received the kindness of your teaching, and has taken shelter under the Buddha-father's gate.

弟子, disciple, takes zǐ and not the neutral zi of an ordinary noun suffix. He uses it six times in this speech. 佛爺爺, Buddha-grandfather, is a warmly colloquial way to address the highest being in the cosmos.

自zì歸guī正zhèng果guǒ，保bǎo護hù唐táng僧sēng，拜bài為wéi師shī範fàn，一yí路lù上shàng苦kǔ不bù可kě言yán。自zì归guī正zhèng果guǒ，保bǎo护hù唐táng僧sēng，拜bài为wéi师shī范fàn，一yí路lù上shàng苦kǔ不bù可kě言yán。

Since I turned to the true fruit and guarded the Tang Monk, taking him as my master and teacher, the road has been hard past all telling.

為 in 拜為師範 is wéi, bowed to him as master. 苦不可言 is a set phrase: bitter beyond speech.

今jīn至zhì獅shī駝tuó山shān獅shī駝tuó洞dòng、獅shī駝tuó城chéng，有yǒu三sān個gè毒dú魔mó，乃nǎi獅shī王wáng、象xiàng王wáng、大dà鵬péng，把bǎ我wǒ師shī父fù捉zhuō將jiāng去qù，連lián弟dì子zǐ一yí概gài遭zāo迍zhūn，都dōu綑kǔn在zài蒸zhēng籠lóng裡lǐ，受shòu湯tāng火huǒ之zhī災zāi。今jīn至zhì狮shī驼tuó山shān狮shī驼tuó洞dòng、狮shī驼tuó城chéng，有yǒu三sān个gè毒dú魔mó，乃nǎi狮shī王wáng、象xiàng王wáng、大dà鹏péng，把bǎ我wǒ师shī父fù捉zhuō将jiāng去qù，连lián弟dì子zǐ一yí概gài遭zāo迍zhūn，都dōu捆kǔn在zài蒸zhēng笼lóng里lǐ，受shòu汤tāng火huǒ之zhī灾zāi。

Now we have come to Lion Camel Mountain, the Lion Camel Cave and the Lion Camel City, where there are three poisonous fiends, namely the Lion King, the Elephant King and the Roc, and they carried my master off, and your disciple with him, all bound in a steamer and given over to fire and boiling water.

The place name is repeated three times over — mountain, cave, city — which is how the story has named this territory since it was first reached. Wukong is reporting to a superior and reporting precisely.

總評 Commentary

The speech is a formal report and it is structured like one: my standing, my assignment, the incident, the loss, the request. Wukong has flown to the top of the cosmos and he files properly.

The vocabulary swings between two registers in a way that is very characteristic of him. Your disciple, the true fruit, kindness of teaching — and then Buddha-grandfather, which is what a child would call a village elder. He is being reverent in the only voice he has.

And the naming of the three demons in a row is the first time the chapter has said what they actually are: a lion, an elephant, a roc. The reader has watched them for four chapters and gets the taxonomy here, in evidence, from Wukong.