第七十七回 · 猜枚耍子 Won At Guess Fingers Long Ago — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

猜枚耍子 Won At Guess Fingers Long Ago

假jiǎ如rú現xiàn了le，這zhè十shí個gè燒shāo火huǒ的de看kàn見jiàn，一yì齊qí亂luàn喊hǎn，驚jīng動dòng老lǎo怪guài，卻què不bú又yòu費fèi事shì？等děng我wǒ先xiān送sòng他tā個gè法fǎ兒ér。」忽hū想xiǎng起qǐ：「我wǒ當dāng初chū做zuò大dà聖shèng時shí，曾céng在zài北běi天tiān門mén與yǔ護hù國guó天tiān王wáng猜cāi枚méi耍shuǎ子zi，贏yíng得dé他tā瞌kē睡shuì蟲chóng兒ér，還hái有yǒu幾jǐ個gè，送sòng了le他tā罷bà。」假jiǎ如rú现xiàn了le，这zhè十shí个gè烧shāo火huǒ的de看kàn见jiàn，一yì齐qí乱luàn喊hǎn，惊jīng动dòng老lǎo怪guài，却què不bú又yòu费fèi事shì？等děng我wǒ先xiān送sòng他tā个gè法fǎ儿ér。」忽hū想xiǎng起qǐ：「我wǒ当dāng初chū做zuò大dà圣shèng时shí，曾céng在zài北běi天tiān门mén与yǔ护hù国guó天tiān王wáng猜cāi枚méi耍shuǎ子zi，赢yíng得dé他tā瞌kē睡shuì虫chóng儿ér，还hái有yǒu几jǐ个gè，送sòng了le他tā罢bà。」

逐句解 Line by line

假jiǎ如rú現xiàn了le，這zhè十shí個gè燒shāo火huǒ的de看kàn見jiàn，一yì齊qí亂luàn喊hǎn，驚jīng動dòng老lǎo怪guài，卻què不bú又yòu費fèi事shì？假jiǎ如rú现xiàn了le，这zhè十shí个gè烧shāo火huǒ的de看kàn见jiàn，一yì齐qí乱luàn喊hǎn，惊jīng动dòng老lǎo怪guài，却què不bú又yòu费fèi事shì？

If I do show myself, these ten men tending the fire will see me and set up a shout together, and rouse the old fiend, and shall we not be in the same trouble all over again?

費事, troublesome, is the mildest possible word for what would happen. Wukong is talking himself through a risk assessment.

等děng我wǒ先xiān送sòng他tā個gè法fǎ兒ér。」等děng我wǒ先xiān送sòng他tā个gè法fǎ儿ér。」

Let me send them a little something first."

Eight characters, and the tone is that of a man reaching for his pocket. 法兒 is a trick or a dodge, the diminutive of method.

忽hū想xiǎng起qǐ：「我wǒ當dāng初chū做zuò大dà聖shèng時shí，曾céng在zài北běi天tiān門mén與yǔ護hù國guó天tiān王wáng猜cāi枚méi耍shuǎ子zi，贏yíng得dé他tā瞌kē睡shuì蟲chóng兒ér，還hái有yǒu幾jǐ個gè，送sòng了le他tā罷bà。」忽hū想xiǎng起qǐ：「我wǒ当dāng初chū做zuò大dà圣shèng时shí，曾céng在zài北běi天tiān门mén与yǔ护hù国guó天tiān王wáng猜cāi枚méi耍shuǎ子zi，赢yíng得dé他tā瞌kē睡shuì虫chóng儿ér，还hái有yǒu几jǐ个gè，送sòng了le他tā罢bà。」

Then he remembered: "When I was Great Sage in the old days, I once played at guess-fingers with the Kingdom-Guarding Heavenly King at the North Gate of Heaven, and won his sleep-insects off him. I have some left. I shall let him have them."

猜枚 is a drinking game: one player hides small objects in a closed fist and the other guesses the number, and the loser drinks. 當 in 當初 is dāng, back then. The 瞌睡蟲, sleep-insect, is exactly what it sounds like — a bug that makes whoever it enters fall asleep.

總評 Commentary

The solution to the problem is a gambling debt from several hundred years ago, and this is one of the novel's most reliable pleasures. Wukong's past is a junk drawer, and the plot regularly reaches into it.

Consider what the memory actually contains. The Great Sage Equal to Heaven, in the days when the entire celestial bureaucracy was trying to arrest him, playing a drinking game with the guard on the gate. The rebellion had a social life.

And the sleep-insect is a beautifully cheap solution. Ten armed guards, and the answer is a bug won at cards. Wukong beats them without a blow, without being seen, and without spending anything he had to work for.