原文 Original text
繁體 Traditional
Reader's edition
敲個木魚 The Wooden Fish and the Copybook
手裡敲個木魚，口裡哼阿哼的，又不會念經，只哼的是「上大人」。手里敲个木鱼，口里哼阿哼的，又不会念经，只哼的是「上大人」。
逐句解 Line by line
手裡敲個木魚，口裡哼阿哼的，又不會念經，只哼的是「上大人」。
手里敲个木鱼，口里哼阿哼的，又不会念经，只哼的是「上大人」。
In his hand he tapped a wooden fish, and in his mouth he droned and hummed. He does not know any scripture, so what he was droning was the copybook.
木魚 is the hollow wooden block a monk taps to keep time while chanting, still used today. 上大人 is the opening of the copybook every Chinese child learned to write from, a string of easy characters with barely any meaning — the equivalent of a monk in disguise humming the alphabet because he does not know a single hymn.
One segment, and it is the best joke in the run. The disguise is perfect down to the instrument, and the moment he opens his mouth what comes out is the first page of an infant's writing primer.
It is funny and it is a real fact about him. Bajie has been on a scripture pilgrimage for years and cannot chant a line of scripture. The novel has been quietly keeping that score since he joined.