第七十七回 · 無言語哼嗔 Not A Groan From Inside — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

無言語哼嗔 Not A Groan From Inside

行xíng者zhě在zài雲yún端duān裡lǐ明míng明míng聽tīng著zhe這zhè等děng吩fēn咐fu，卻què低dī下xià雲yún頭tóu，不bù聽tīng見jiàn籠lóng裡lǐ人rén聲shēng。他tā想xiǎng著zhe：「火huǒ氣qì上shàng騰téng，必bì然rán也yě熱rè，他tā們men怎zěn麼me不bú怕pà，又yòu無wú言yán語yǔ哼hēng嗔chēn？莫mò敢gǎn是shì蒸zhēng死sǐ了le？等děng我wǒ近jìn前qián再zài聽tīng。」行xíng者zhě在zài云yún端duān里lǐ明míng明míng听tīng着zhe这zhè等děng吩fēn咐fu，却què低dī下xià云yún头tóu，不bù听tīng见jiàn笼lóng里lǐ人rén声shēng。他tā想xiǎng着zhe：「火huǒ气qì上shàng腾téng，必bì然rán也yě热rè，他tā们men怎zěn么me不bú怕pà，又yòu无wú言yán语yǔ哼hēng嗔chēn？莫mò敢gǎn是shì蒸zhēng死sǐ了le？等děng我wǒ近jìn前qián再zài听tīng。」

逐句解 Line by line

行xíng者zhě在zài雲yún端duān裡lǐ明míng明míng聽tīng著zhe這zhè等děng吩fēn咐fu，卻què低dī下xià雲yún頭tóu，不bù聽tīng見jiàn籠lóng裡lǐ人rén聲shēng。行xíng者zhě在zài云yún端duān里lǐ明míng明míng听tīng着zhe这zhè等děng吩fēn咐fu，却què低dī下xià云yún头tóu，不bù听tīng见jiàn笼lóng里lǐ人rén声shēng。

Pilgrim, up in the cloudland, heard these orders given plain, and dropped his cloud lower; but he could hear no human sound out of the steamer.

The whole passage turns on this. 明明聽著 — he heard the orders clearly — set against hearing nothing at all from the people he came to save.

他tā想xiǎng著zhe：「火huǒ氣qì上shàng騰téng，必bì然rán也yě熱rè，他tā們men怎zěn麼me不bú怕pà，又yòu無wú言yán語yǔ哼hēng嗔chēn？他tā想xiǎng着zhe：「火huǒ气qì上shàng腾téng，必bì然rán也yě热rè，他tā们men怎zěn么me不bú怕pà，又yòu无wú言yán语yǔ哼hēng嗔chēn？

He thought to himself, "The heat goes upward, so it must be hot in there. How is it they are not afraid, and not a word or a groan out of them?

哼嗔 is a grunt or a moan of complaint, and it is the sound he is listening for. The reasoning is a physicist's: heat rises, therefore the upper trays are hot, therefore there should be noise.

莫mò敢gǎn是shì蒸zhēng死sǐ了le？等děng我wǒ近jìn前qián再zài聽tīng。」莫mò敢gǎn是shì蒸zhēng死sǐ了le？等děng我wǒ近jìn前qián再zài听tīng。」

Can they have been steamed to death? Let me go closer and listen again."

莫敢是, can it be that, is the phrase for a fear you are talking yourself into. He has arranged the rescue himself and he still cannot believe the silence.

總評 Commentary

This is the best-observed moment in the chapter, and what makes it good is that Wukong is wrong for entirely sound reasons. He knows heat rises. He knows the steamer is lit. He does not know that a dragon is coiled under the pot, because he has not gone to look.

So the silence he cannot explain is the silence of his own rescue working. The sequence is a small machine: he arranges salvation, hears nothing, and concludes from the nothing that everyone is dead.

And it is characterisation by inference. Wukong deduces rather than looks — he reasons from heat to noise to death without descending — and the correction, when it comes, will arrive through his ears and not his argument.