第八十回 · 勞而無功 Labour Without Result — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

勞而無功 Labour Without Result

若ruò是shì解jiě了le繩shéng，放fàng我wǒ下xià來lái，隨suí手shǒu捉zhuō將jiāng去qù，卻què不bú是shì我wǒ的de人rén兒ér也yě？今jīn被bèi他tā一yì篇piān散sǎn言yán碎suì語yǔ帶dài去qù，卻què又yòu不bú是shì勞láo而ér無wú功gōng？等děng我wǒ再zài叫jiào他tā兩liǎng聲shēng，看kàn是shì如rú何hé。」若ruò是shì解jiě了le绳shéng，放fàng我wǒ下xià来lái，随suí手shǒu捉zhuō将jiāng去qù，却què不bú是shì我wǒ的de人rén儿ér也yě？今jīn被bèi他tā一yì篇piān散sǎn言yán碎suì语yǔ带dài去qù，却què又yòu不bú是shì劳láo而ér无wú功gōng？等děng我wǒ再zài叫jiào他tā两liǎng声shēng，看kàn是shì如rú何hé。」

逐句解 Line by line

若ruò是shì解jiě了le繩shéng，放fàng我wǒ下xià來lái，隨suí手shǒu捉zhuō將jiāng去qù，卻què不bú是shì我wǒ的de人rén兒ér也yě？若ruò是shì解jiě了le绳shéng，放fàng我wǒ下xià来lái，随suí手shǒu捉zhuō将jiāng去qù，却què不bú是shì我wǒ的de人rén儿ér也yě？

"If he had only untied the rope and let me down, I could have seized him there and then, and would he not have been mine?

The plan required only that somebody free her hands. Bajie was seconds away from doing it.

今jīn被bèi他tā一yì篇piān散sǎn言yán碎suì語yǔ帶dài去qù，卻què又yòu不bú是shì勞láo而ér無wú功gōng？今jīn被bèi他tā一yì篇piān散sǎn言yán碎suì语yǔ带dài去qù，却què又yòu不bú是shì劳láo而ér无wú功gōng？

Now he has taken him off with a heap of loose talk and scraps of argument — is that not all my work for nothing?

Here 散 is sǎn, scattered and loose, not the sàn of dispersing a crowd. 勞而無功, toil without result, is still the standard Chinese phrase for wasted effort.

等děng我wǒ再zài叫jiào他tā兩liǎng聲shēng，看kàn是shì如rú何hé。」等děng我wǒ再zài叫jiào他tā两liǎng声shēng，看kàn是shì如rú何hé。」

Let me call to him twice more and see how that goes."

Two more calls, and she frames it as a trial. She is not certain it will work either, which makes what follows worse rather than better.

總評 Commentary

Her assessment of what happened is exact and slightly contemptuous. Pilgrim did not defeat her; he talked. A heap of loose words carried the monk off, and she is irritated at losing to rhetoric.

What she does next is the most dangerous thing in the chapter. She does not follow, or transform, or fight. She decides to call again, because she has correctly identified that the argument is not over and that she does not need to win it herself.