第八十四回 · 害殺我也 You Have Been the Death of Me — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

害殺我也 You Have Been the Death of Me

卻què說shuō唐táng長zhǎng老lǎo在zài櫃guì裡lǐ埋mán怨yuàn行xíng者zhě道dào：「你nǐ這zhè個gè猴hóu頭tóu，害hài殺shā我wǒ也yě。若ruò在zài外wài邊biān，被bèi人rén拿ná住zhù，送sòng與yǔ滅miè法fǎ國guó王wáng，還hái好hǎo折zhé辨biàn；却què说shuō唐táng长zhǎng老lǎo在zài柜guì里lǐ埋mán怨yuàn行xíng者zhě道dào：「你nǐ这zhè个gè猴hóu头tóu，害hài杀shā我wǒ也yě。若ruò在zài外wài边biān，被bèi人rén拿ná住zhù，送sòng与yǔ灭miè法fǎ国guó王wáng，还hái好hǎo折zhé辨biàn；

逐句解 Line by line

卻què說shuō唐táng長zhǎng老lǎo在zài櫃guì裡lǐ埋mán怨yuàn行xíng者zhě道dào：「你nǐ這zhè個gè猴hóu頭tóu，害hài殺shā我wǒ也yě。却què说shuō唐táng长zhǎng老lǎo在zài柜guì里lǐ埋mán怨yuàn行xíng者zhě道dào：「你nǐ这zhè个gè猴hóu头tóu，害hài杀shā我wǒ也yě。

Now the Tang elder in the chest was reproaching Pilgrim: "You monkey-head, you have been the death of me.

猴頭 is monkey-head, and it is what Tripitaka calls Wukong when he is angry — not affectionate, and not quite an insult either. 害殺 is to have done for somebody, to have finished them.

若ruò在zài外wài邊biān，被bèi人rén拿ná住zhù，送sòng與yǔ滅miè法fǎ國guó王wáng，還hái好hǎo折zhé辨biàn；若ruò在zài外wài边biān，被bèi人rén拿ná住zhù，送sòng与yǔ灭miè法fǎ国guó王wáng，还hái好hǎo折zhé辨biàn；

If we were outside and somebody laid hold of us and handed us to the Dharma-Destroying King, there would still be room to argue;

折辨 is to argue a case, to plead — the same word Pilgrim used at the hollow when he set out the cover story about being envoys from a superior court. Tripitaka is quoting the plan back at him.

總評 Commentary

The reproach is the reverse of the usual one. Tripitaka is not complaining that they are in danger; he is complaining that they are in the one kind of danger Pilgrim's talents cannot get them out of.

And he is right, which is what makes it sting. The whole scheme rested on being able to talk their way through a challenge. Locked in a banded box they cannot be challenged, only opened.