第八十三回 · 茶滾就回 Rice Cooked And Tea Boiled — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

茶滾就回 Rice Cooked And Tea Boiled

行xíng者zhě低dī頭tóu想xiǎng道dào：「是shì啊a，我wǒ離lí八bā戒jiè、沙shā僧sēng，只zhǐ說shuō多duō時shí飯fàn熟shú、少shǎo時shí茶chá滾gǔn就jiù回huí，今jīn已yǐ弄nòng了le這zhè半bàn會huì，卻què不bù遲chí了le？老lǎo官guān兒ér，既jì依yī你nǐ說shuō，這zhè旨zhǐ意yì如rú何hé回huí繳jiǎo？」行xíng者zhě低dī头tóu想xiǎng道dào：「是shì啊a，我wǒ离lí八bā戒jiè、沙shā僧sēng，只zhǐ说shuō多duō时shí饭fàn熟shú、少shǎo时shí茶chá滚gǔn就jiù回huí，今jīn已yǐ弄nòng了le这zhè半bàn会huì，却què不bù迟chí了le？老lǎo官guān儿ér，既jì依yī你nǐ说shuō，这zhè旨zhǐ意yì如rú何hé回huí缴jiǎo？」

逐句解 Line by line

行xíng者zhě低dī頭tóu想xiǎng道dào：「是shì啊a，我wǒ離lí八bā戒jiè、沙shā僧sēng，只zhǐ說shuō多duō時shí飯fàn熟shú、少shǎo時shí茶chá滾gǔn就jiù回huí，今jīn已yǐ弄nòng了le這zhè半bàn會huì，卻què不bù遲chí了le？行xíng者zhě低dī头tóu想xiǎng道dào：「是shì啊a，我wǒ离lí八bā戒jiè、沙shā僧sēng，只zhǐ说shuō多duō时shí饭fàn熟shú、少shǎo时shí茶chá滚gǔn就jiù回huí，今jīn已yǐ弄nòng了le这zhè半bàn会huì，却què不bù迟chí了le？

Pilgrim lowered his head and thought. "That is so. When I left Bajie and Sha Monk I only said that in the time it takes rice to cook or tea to boil I should be back, and I have been messing about here half the day — is that not late already?

And there it is: the promise from before he ever left the road, quoted back at him by himself. 多時飯熟 and 少時茶滾 were a boast about speed; they are now a measure of how far behind he is. 低頭想 — he lowers his head and thinks, which is not something this character often has to do.

老lǎo官guān兒ér，既jì依yī你nǐ說shuō，這zhè旨zhǐ意yì如rú何hé回huí繳jiǎo？」老lǎo官guān儿ér，既jì依yī你nǐ说shuō，这zhè旨zhǐ意yì如rú何hé回huí缴jiǎo？」

Old sir, if I am to do as you say, how is this edict to be answered for?"

回繳 is to report back and hand in — an edict issued has to be accounted for, and Pilgrim's practical objection is bureaucratic. He has learned the system well enough to worry about its paperwork.

總評 Commentary

The surrender takes one sentence and he makes it himself. Nobody has to persuade him further; he simply works out what the year costs and stops.

The rice and the tea have been waiting since the first third of the chapter to do exactly this. A boast about being quick becomes, without a word changed, the measure of a disaster.