第八十回 · 親從何來 Where Would Kin Come From — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

親從何來 Where Would Kin Come From

沙shā僧sēng笑xiào道dào：「二èr哥gē胡hú纏chán，我wǒ們men走zǒu了le這zhè些xiē時shí，好hǎo人rén也yě不bù曾céng撞zhuàng見jiàn一yí個gè，親qīn從cóng何hé來lái？」八bā戒jiè道dào：「不bú是shì親qīn，師shī父fù那nǎ裡lǐ與yǔ人rén哭kū麼me？我wǒ和hé你nǐ去qù看kàn來lái。」沙shā僧sēng笑xiào道dào：「二èr哥gē胡hú缠chán，我wǒ们men走zǒu了le这zhè些xiē时shí，好hǎo人rén也yě不bù曾céng撞zhuàng见jiàn一yí个gè，亲qīn从cóng何hé来lái？」八bā戒jiè道dào：「不bú是shì亲qīn，师shī父fù那nǎ里lǐ与yǔ人rén哭kū么me？我wǒ和hé你nǐ去qù看kàn来lái。」

逐句解 Line by line

沙shā僧sēng笑xiào道dào：「二èr哥gē胡hú纏chán，我wǒ們men走zǒu了le這zhè些xiē時shí，好hǎo人rén也yě不bù曾céng撞zhuàng見jiàn一yí個gè，親qīn從cóng何hé來lái？」沙shā僧sēng笑xiào道dào：「二èr哥gē胡hú缠chán，我wǒ们men走zǒu了le这zhè些xiē时shí，好hǎo人rén也yě不bù曾céng撞zhuàng见jiàn一yí个gè，亲qīn从cóng何hé来lái？」

Sha Monk laughed and said, "Second brother, you are talking nonsense. We have travelled all this time and never once run into a decent person — where would relations come from?"

Sha Monk's joke is drier than anything Bajie manages. In all this walking they have not met one good person, so the odds against meeting a relative are poor.

八bā戒jiè道dào：「不bú是shì親qīn，師shī父fù那nǎ裡lǐ與yǔ人rén哭kū麼me？八bā戒jiè道dào：「不bú是shì亲qīn，师shī父fù那nǎ里lǐ与yǔ人rén哭kū么me？

Bajie said, "If they are not relations, how would our master be standing there crying with somebody?

Another question-word 那, read nǎ — "how would he be," not "over there." Chapter 80 splits its twelve uses of 那裡 eight to four between the question and the plain pointing word, and this is one of the eight.

我wǒ和hé你nǐ去qù看kàn來lái。」我wǒ和hé你nǐ去qù看kàn来lái。」

You and I had better go and see."

Six characters, and the pair of them set off. Neither has thought to wonder why their master called for disciples rather than simply untying whatever it is himself.

總評 Commentary

The two of them argue about it like colleagues, which is exactly the register the scene needs before it turns. Neither has any idea what is waiting, and the book spends a passage on their banter while a demon sits tied to a tree a little way off.

Bajie's reasoning is sound, incidentally. His master is crying with a stranger, and the only explanation he can construct is kinship. Everyone in this chapter reasons correctly from the evidence they have, and only one of them has the evidence that matters.