第八十九回 · 物見主 A Thing Sees Its Master — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

物見主 A Thing Sees Its Master

噫yī！這zhè正zhèng是shì：物wù見jiàn主zhǔ，必bì定dìng取qǔ。那nà八bā戒jiè一yì生shēng是shì個gè魯lǔ夯hāng的de人rén，他tā見jiàn了le釘dīng鈀pá，那nǎ裡lǐ與yǔ他tā敘xù甚shén麼me情qíng節jié，跑pǎo上shàng去qù，拿ná下xià來lái，掄lūn在zài手shǒu中zhōng，現xiàn了le本běn相xiàng，丟diū了le解xiè數shù，望wàng妖yāo精jīng劈pī臉liǎn就jiù築zhù。這zhè行xíng者zhě、沙shā僧sēng也yě奔bèn至zhì兩liǎng山shān頭tóu各gè拿ná器qì械xiè，現xiàn了le原yuán身shēn，三sān兄xiōng弟dì一yì齊qí亂luàn打dǎ。噫yī！这zhè正zhèng是shì：物wù见jiàn主zhǔ，必bì定dìng取qǔ。那nà八bā戒jiè一yì生shēng是shì个gè鲁lǔ夯hāng的de人rén，他tā见jiàn了le钉dīng钯pá，那nǎ里lǐ与yǔ他tā叙xù甚shén么me情qíng节jié，跑pǎo上shàng去qù，拿ná下xià来lái，抡lūn在zài手shǒu中zhōng，现xiàn了le本běn相xiàng，丢diū了le解xiè数shù，望wàng妖yāo精jīng劈pī脸liǎn就jiù筑zhù。这zhè行xíng者zhě、沙shā僧sēng也yě奔bèn至zhì两liǎng山shān头tóu各gè拿ná器qì械xiè，现xiàn了le原yuán身shēn，三sān兄xiōng弟dì一yì齐qí乱luàn打dǎ。

逐句解 Line by line

噫yī！噫yī！

Ah!

One graph, standing alone. It is the storyteller clearing his throat before the turn, and the novel uses it at exactly this kind of hinge.

這zhè正zhèng是shì：物wù見jiàn主zhǔ，必bì定dìng取qǔ。这zhè正zhèng是shì：物wù见jiàn主zhǔ，必bì定dìng取qǔ。

This is just the case of it: let a thing see its master, and it will surely be taken up.

A proverb, and the chapter has been building to it since the first passage. The idea is that property recognises its owner — put a man beside what belongs to him and the reunion happens by itself, whatever anybody planned.

那nà八bā戒jiè一yì生shēng是shì個gè魯lǔ夯hāng的de人rén，他tā見jiàn了le釘dīng鈀pá，那nǎ裡lǐ與yǔ他tā敘xù甚shén麼me情qíng節jié，跑pǎo上shàng去qù，拿ná下xià來lái，掄lūn在zài手shǒu中zhōng，現xiàn了le本běn相xiàng，丟diū了le解xiè數shù，望wàng妖yāo精jīng劈pī臉liǎn就jiù築zhù。那nà八bā戒jiè一yì生shēng是shì个gè鲁lǔ夯hāng的de人rén，他tā见jiàn了le钉dīng钯pá，那nǎ里lǐ与yǔ他tā叙xù甚shén么me情qíng节jié，跑pǎo上shàng去qù，拿ná下xià来lái，抡lūn在zài手shǒu中zhōng，现xiàn了le本běn相xiàng，丢diū了le解xiè数shù，望wàng妖yāo精jīng劈pī脸liǎn就jiù筑zhù。

Now Eight Rules had been a blunt, blundering fellow all his life. The moment he saw the rake, where was he going to stop and exchange pleasantries with anyone? He ran up, took it down, whirled it in his hands, showed his true form, let fly a set of moves, and struck straight at the fiend's face.

Seven verbs in a row with nothing between them, which is how the sentence makes him move. 解 is xiè here — 解數 is a set of martial moves, a fighter's repertoire, and the phrase is still alive today in the idiom for using every trick one has. 那 is nǎ here — where would he stop, a question that expects no answer — not the pointing reading it takes at the start of the line. And there goes the whole careful plan, thrown away by the one member of the party who could not be expected to keep it.

這zhè行xíng者zhě、沙shā僧sēng也yě奔bèn至zhì兩liǎng山shān頭tóu各gè拿ná器qì械xiè，現xiàn了le原yuán身shēn，三sān兄xiōng弟dì一yì齊qí亂luàn打dǎ。这zhè行xíng者zhě、沙shā僧sēng也yě奔bèn至zhì两liǎng山shān头tóu各gè拿ná器qì械xiè，现xiàn了le原yuán身shēn，三sān兄xiōng弟dì一yì齐qí乱luàn打dǎ。

At this Pilgrim and Sha Monk also rushed to the two ends of the hall and took up their weapons, showed their original bodies, and the three brothers laid about them all together.

奔 is bèn, the hurrying-towards reading before a destination. The two of them do not hesitate for a line — the plan is gone and they simply go with it.

總評 Commentary

The plan called for waiting until they saw their chance. Eight Rules sees his rake instead, and that is the end of the plan. The novel does not treat this as a failure — the proverb it puts in front of the moment says the opposite, that an object and its owner will find each other whatever anybody intended.

It is worth noticing how the sentence is built. Once Eight Rules starts moving there are no conjunctions at all: ran up, took down, whirled, showed, let fly, struck. Chinese can stack verbs like that far more comfortably than English can, and the effect is of a man who has stopped deciding and started doing.

His brothers back him without a word of argument. Pilgrim has spent the whole chapter planning, negotiating and lying, and when his brother wrecks it he simply crosses the room for his rod. That is the loyalty the book keeps underneath the bickering.