第九十四回 · 丟個眼色 He Gave Him a Look — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

丟個眼色 He Gave Him a Look

行xíng者zhě把bǎ手shǒu捏niē著zhe三sān藏zàng手shǒu掌zhǎng，丟diū個gè眼yǎn色sè道dào：「你nǐ在zài這zhè裡lǐ寬kuān懷huái歡huān會huì，我wǒ等děng取qǔ了le經jīng，回huí來lái看kàn你nǐ。」那nà長zhǎng老lǎo似sì信xìn不bú信xìn的de，不bù肯kěn放fàng手shǒu。多duō官guān都dōu看kàn見jiàn，以yǐ為wéi實shí是shì相xiāng別bié而ér去qù。早zǎo見jiàn國guó王wáng又yòu請qǐng駙fù馬mǎ上shàng殿diàn，著zhuó多duō官guān送sòng三sān位wèi出chū城chéng。長zhǎng老lǎo只zhǐ得dé放fàng了le手shǒu上shàng殿diàn。行xíng者zhě三sān人rén同tóng眾zhòng出chū了le朝cháo門mén，各gè自zì相xiāng別bié。八bā戒jiè道dào：「我wǒ們men當dàng真zhēn的de走zǒu哩li？」行xíng者zhě把bǎ手shǒu捏niē着zhe三sān藏zàng手shǒu掌zhǎng，丢diū个gè眼yǎn色sè道dào：「你nǐ在zài这zhè里lǐ宽kuān怀huái欢huān会huì，我wǒ等děng取qǔ了le经jīng，回huí来lái看kàn你nǐ。」那nà长zhǎng老lǎo似sì信xìn不bú信xìn的de，不bù肯kěn放fàng手shǒu。多duō官guān都dōu看kàn见jiàn，以yǐ为wéi实shí是shì相xiāng别bié而ér去qù。早zǎo见jiàn国guó王wáng又yòu请qǐng驸fù马mǎ上shàng殿diàn，着zhuó多duō官guān送sòng三sān位wèi出chū城chéng。长zhǎng老lǎo只zhǐ得dé放fàng了le手shǒu上shàng殿diàn。行xíng者zhě三sān人rén同tóng众zhòng出chū了le朝cháo门mén，各gè自zì相xiāng别bié。八bā戒jiè道dào：「我wǒ们men当dàng真zhēn的de走zǒu哩li？」

逐句解 Line by line

行xíng者zhě把bǎ手shǒu捏niē著zhe三sān藏zàng手shǒu掌zhǎng，丟diū個gè眼yǎn色sè道dào：「你nǐ在zài這zhè裡lǐ寬kuān懷huái歡huān會huì，我wǒ等děng取qǔ了le經jīng，回huí來lái看kàn你nǐ。」那nà長zhǎng老lǎo似sì信xìn不bú信xìn的de，不bù肯kěn放fàng手shǒu。行xíng者zhě把bǎ手shǒu捏niē着zhe三sān藏zàng手shǒu掌zhǎng，丢diū个gè眼yǎn色sè道dào：「你nǐ在zài这zhè里lǐ宽kuān怀huái欢huān会huì，我wǒ等děng取qǔ了le经jīng，回huí来lái看kàn你nǐ。」那nà长zhǎng老lǎo似sì信xìn不bú信xìn的de，不bù肯kěn放fàng手shǒu。

Pilgrim took Tripitaka's palm and pressed it in his hand, gave him a look, and said, "Stay here at your ease and enjoy the wedding. When we have fetched the scriptures we will come back and see you." The elder, half believing and half not, would not let go.

A squeeze and a glance carry the whole plan, in front of a hall full of officials, while Pilgrim says out loud the opposite of what he means. 丟個眼色 — throwing a look — is still the ordinary Chinese for giving somebody a signal with the eyes. 似信不信, half believing and half not, is exactly right and slightly sad. After all these years he still cannot quite tell when his disciple is working.

多duō官guān都dōu看kàn見jiàn，以yǐ為wéi實shí是shì相xiāng別bié而ér去qù。早zǎo見jiàn國guó王wáng又yòu請qǐng駙fù馬mǎ上shàng殿diàn，著zhuó多duō官guān送sòng三sān位wèi出chū城chéng。長zhǎng老lǎo只zhǐ得dé放fàng了le手shǒu上shàng殿diàn。多duō官guān都dōu看kàn见jiàn，以yǐ为wéi实shí是shì相xiāng别bié而ér去qù。早zǎo见jiàn国guó王wáng又yòu请qǐng驸fù马mǎ上shàng殿diàn，着zhuó多duō官guān送sòng三sān位wèi出chū城chéng。长zhǎng老lǎo只zhǐ得dé放fàng了le手shǒu上shàng殿diàn。

The officials all saw it and took it for a real parting. Presently the king again asked the Prince Consort up into the hall, and had his officers see the three of them out of the city. The elder had no choice but to let go of his hand and go up.

The novel says outright that the audience has been fooled — 以為實是相別而去, they took it for a real parting — which is the only way it can let the reader know that Pilgrim's performance worked. 相別 here is xiāng, parting from one another. The same two characters a few lines further on read the same way; the bake splits them against each other and one of the three sites needed a ruling.

行xíng者zhě三sān人rén同tóng眾zhòng出chū了le朝cháo門mén，各gè自zì相xiāng別bié。八bā戒jiè道dào：「我wǒ們men當dàng真zhēn的de走zǒu哩li？」行xíng者zhě三sān人rén同tóng众zhòng出chū了le朝cháo门mén，各gè自zì相xiāng别bié。八bā戒jiè道dào：「我wǒ们men当dàng真zhēn的de走zǒu哩li？」

Pilgrim and the other two went out of the palace gate with the crowd and took their several farewells. Eight Rules said, "Are we really going, then?"

Eight Rules asks the question the whole scene has been avoiding, out loud, in the street. 當真 takes the departing tone on the first character and means in earnest, for real. He has watched the hand squeeze and the wink and the speech and understood none of it, and he is the only one who says the obvious thing.

總評 Commentary

A scene played twice at once. On the surface: three monks are paid, thanked and escorted out of the city, and a fourth stays behind to be married. Underneath: a plan is passed hand to hand and nobody in the hall sees it.

The novel is careful to tell us the deception worked, because otherwise there is no way to know. The officials took it for a real parting. That sentence is doing the same job a stage direction does — it tells us how the room read the performance.

And it ends on Eight Rules, who is inside the plan and still does not know there is one. His question is the reader's, and Pilgrim's answer, in the next passage, is not to answer.