第八十五回 · 扮俗人 Dressed as Ordinary Men — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

扮俗人 Dressed as Ordinary Men

三sān藏zàng道dào：「貧pín僧sēng知zhī陛bì下xià有yǒu願yuàn心xīn殺shā和hé尚shàng，不bù敢gǎn明míng投tóu上shàng國guó，扮bàn俗sú人rén，夜yè至zhì寶bǎo方fāng飯fàn店diàn裡lǐ借jiè宿sù。因yīn怕pà人rén識shí破pò原yuán身shēn，故gù此cǐ在zài櫃guì中zhōng安ān歇xiē。不bú幸xìng被bèi賊zéi偷tōu出chū，被bèi總zǒng兵bīng捉zhuō獲huò擡tái來lái。三sān藏zàng道dào：「贫pín僧sēng知zhī陛bì下xià有yǒu愿yuàn心xīn杀shā和hé尚shàng，不bù敢gǎn明míng投tóu上shàng国guó，扮bàn俗sú人rén，夜yè至zhì宝bǎo方fāng饭fàn店diàn里lǐ借jiè宿sù。因yīn怕pà人rén识shí破pò原yuán身shēn，故gù此cǐ在zài柜guì中zhōng安ān歇xiē。不bú幸xìng被bèi贼zéi偷tōu出chū，被bèi总zǒng兵bīng捉zhuō获huò抬tái来lái。

逐句解 Line by line

三sān藏zàng道dào：「貧pín僧sēng知zhī陛bì下xià有yǒu願yuàn心xīn殺shā和hé尚shàng，不bù敢gǎn明míng投tóu上shàng國guó，扮bàn俗sú人rén，夜yè至zhì寶bǎo方fāng飯fàn店diàn裡lǐ借jiè宿sù。三sān藏zàng道dào：「贫pín僧sēng知zhī陛bì下xià有yǒu愿yuàn心xīn杀shā和hé尚shàng，不bù敢gǎn明míng投tóu上shàng国guó，扮bàn俗sú人rén，夜yè至zhì宝bǎo方fāng饭fàn店diàn里lǐ借jiè宿sù。

Tripitaka said, "This poor monk knew that Your Majesty had vowed to kill monks, and dared not enter your kingdom openly. We dressed as ordinary men and came by night to take lodging at an inn in your fair land.

He tells the truth, to the man who made the vow, in the man's own throne room. 貧僧 — this poor monk — is the standard self-effacing first person of a Buddhist cleric, the counterpart of the official's 微臣. 願心 is a vow pledged to Heaven, and 寶方, your precious region, is the courteous way to name somebody else's country while explaining that you crept into it in disguise.

因yīn怕pà人rén識shí破pò原yuán身shēn，故gù此cǐ在zài櫃guì中zhōng安ān歇xiē。因yīn怕pà人rén识shí破pò原yuán身shēn，故gù此cǐ在zài柜guì中zhōng安ān歇xiē。

Fearing that someone would see through to our true forms, we slept in the chest.

原身 is the original body — what a creature actually is beneath whatever shape it is currently wearing. For this party the phrase is not figurative: three of the four have forms that would empty a room.

不bú幸xìng被bèi賊zéi偷tōu出chū，被bèi總zǒng兵bīng捉zhuō獲huò擡tái來lái。不bú幸xìng被bèi贼zéi偷tōu出chū，被bèi总zǒng兵bīng捉zhuō获huò抬tái来lái。

Then, as ill luck had it, thieves carried it off, and the commander seized it and brought it here.

The plot of the last chapter and a half, compressed into thirteen characters and two flat passives. Tripitaka is not dramatising; he is finishing a statement.

總評 Commentary

The confession is the gamble of the scene. He could have lied and did not, and the reason he can afford the truth is standing beside him having already shaved the kingdom into submission.

There is a nice reversal working underneath. The monks disguised themselves as laymen to survive a kingdom that killed monks; overnight that kingdom turned itself into monks. The disguise stopped being necessary while they were asleep in the box.