第七十七回 · 師父不曾吃 The Master Was Never Eaten — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

師父不曾吃 The Master Was Never Eaten

行xíng者zhě才cái解jiě救jiù了le八bā戒jiè、沙shā僧sēng，尋xún著zháo行xíng李lǐ、馬mǎ匹pǐ，與yǔ他tā二èr人rén說shuō：「師shī父fù不bù曾céng吃chī，都dōu跟gēn我wǒ來lái。」引yǐn他tā兩liǎng個gè徑jìng入rù內nèi院yuàn，找zhǎo著zháo錦jǐn香xiāng亭tíng，打dǎ開kāi門mén看kàn，內nèi有yǒu一yí個gè鐵tiě櫃guì，只zhǐ聽tīng得dé三sān藏zàng有yǒu啼tí哭kū之zhī聲shēng。行xíng者zhě才cái解jiě救jiù了le八bā戒jiè、沙shā僧sēng，寻xún着zháo行xíng李lǐ、马mǎ匹pǐ，与yǔ他tā二èr人rén说shuō：「师shī父fù不bù曾céng吃chī，都dōu跟gēn我wǒ来lái。」引yǐn他tā两liǎng个gè径jìng入rù内nèi院yuàn，找zhǎo着zháo锦jǐn香xiāng亭tíng，打dǎ开kāi门mén看kàn，内nèi有yǒu一yí个gè铁tiě柜guì，只zhǐ听tīng得dé三sān藏zàng有yǒu啼tí哭kū之zhī声shēng。

逐句解 Line by line

行xíng者zhě才cái解jiě救jiù了le八bā戒jiè、沙shā僧sēng，尋xún著zháo行xíng李lǐ、馬mǎ匹pǐ，與yǔ他tā二èr人rén說shuō：「師shī父fù不bù曾céng吃chī，都dōu跟gēn我wǒ來lái。」行xíng者zhě才cái解jiě救jiù了le八bā戒jiè、沙shā僧sēng，寻xún着zháo行xíng李lǐ、马mǎ匹pǐ，与yǔ他tā二èr人rén说shuō：「师shī父fù不bù曾céng吃chī，都dōu跟gēn我wǒ来lái。」

Pilgrim then freed Bajie and Sha Monk, found the luggage and the horse, and said to the two of them, "The master was never eaten. Come along with me, both of you."

著 in 尋著 is zháo, the reading that marks a thing sought and got. And that is the whole correction in five characters: the master was never eaten. No apology, no explanation of the rumour — just the fact, handed to two men who have spent a day and a night believing him dead.

引yǐn他tā兩liǎng個gè徑jìng入rù內nèi院yuàn，找zhǎo著zháo錦jǐn香xiāng亭tíng，打dǎ開kāi門mén看kàn，內nèi有yǒu一yí個gè鐵tiě櫃guì，只zhǐ聽tīng得dé三sān藏zàng有yǒu啼tí哭kū之zhī聲shēng。引yǐn他tā两liǎng个gè径jìng入rù内nèi院yuàn，找zhǎo着zháo锦jǐn香xiāng亭tíng，打dǎ开kāi门mén看kàn，内nèi有yǒu一yí个gè铁tiě柜guì，只zhǐ听tīng得dé三sān藏zàng有yǒu啼tí哭kū之zhī声shēng。

He led the two of them straight into the inner court, found the Pavilion of Brocade Fragrance, opened the door and looked, and inside was an iron chest, and out of it came the sound of Tripitaka weeping.

找著 takes zháo as well. The sentence is built as a series of small discoveries — court, pavilion, door, chest — and then withholds the sight and gives you a sound instead. 啼哭之聲 is the noise of weeping, heard through iron.

總評 Commentary

Six characters undo a hundred and eighty of grief. The master was never eaten, and Pilgrim does not stop to soften it or explain where the story came from.

The approach to the chest is beautifully staged. Court, pavilion, door, chest — four containers opened one after another, exactly the nest the third fiend described when he proposed the plan, now being undone in the reverse order.

And what is inside is not shown. The reader is given the sound of crying coming out of a locked iron box, and that is more than enough. Tripitaka has been in there since the middle of the night with no idea whether anyone was left alive to look for him.