第九十五回 · 把腰一扭 One Twist of His Waist — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

把腰一扭 One Twist of His Waist

你nǐ看kàn那nà行xíng者zhě就jiù跳tiào在zài空kōng中zhōng，把bǎ腰yāo一yì扭niǔ，先xiān到dào了le寺sì裡lǐ。眾zhòng僧sēng慌huāng忙máng跪guì接jiē道dào：「老lǎo爺yé去qù時shí，與yǔ眾zhòng步bù行xíng，今jīn日rì何hé從cóng天tiān上shàng下xià來lái？」行xíng者zhě笑xiào道dào：「你nǐ那nà老lǎo師shī在zài於yú何hé處chù？快kuài叫jiào他tā出chū來lái，排pái設shè香xiāng案àn接jiē駕jià，天tiān竺zhú國guó王wáng、皇huáng后hòu、多duō官guān與yǔ我wǒ師shī都dōu來lái了le。」眾zhòng僧sēng不bù解jiě其qí意yì，即jí請qǐng出chū那nà老lǎo僧sēng。老lǎo僧sēng見jiàn了le行xíng者zhě，倒dǎo身shēn下xià拜bài道dào：「老lǎo爺yé，公gōng主zhǔ之zhī事shì如rú何hé？」你nǐ看kàn那nà行xíng者zhě就jiù跳tiào在zài空kōng中zhōng，把bǎ腰yāo一yì扭niǔ，先xiān到dào了le寺sì里lǐ。众zhòng僧sēng慌huāng忙máng跪guì接jiē道dào：「老lǎo爷yé去qù时shí，与yǔ众zhòng步bù行xíng，今jīn日rì何hé从cóng天tiān上shàng下xià来lái？」行xíng者zhě笑xiào道dào：「你nǐ那nà老lǎo师shī在zài于yú何hé处chù？快kuài叫jiào他tā出chū来lái，排pái设shè香xiāng案àn接jiē驾jià，天tiān竺zhú国guó王wáng、皇huáng后hòu、多duō官guān与yǔ我wǒ师shī都dōu来lái了le。」众zhòng僧sēng不bù解jiě其qí意yì，即jí请qǐng出chū那nà老lǎo僧sēng。老lǎo僧sēng见jiàn了le行xíng者zhě，倒dǎo身shēn下xià拜bài道dào：「老lǎo爷yé，公gōng主zhǔ之zhī事shì如rú何hé？」

逐句解 Line by line

你nǐ看kàn那nà行xíng者zhě就jiù跳tiào在zài空kōng中zhōng，把bǎ腰yāo一yì扭niǔ，先xiān到dào了le寺sì裡lǐ。眾zhòng僧sēng慌huāng忙máng跪guì接jiē道dào：「老lǎo爺yé去qù時shí，與yǔ眾zhòng步bù行xíng，今jīn日rì何hé從cóng天tiān上shàng下xià來lái？」你nǐ看kàn那nà行xíng者zhě就jiù跳tiào在zài空kōng中zhōng，把bǎ腰yāo一yì扭niǔ，先xiān到dào了le寺sì里lǐ。众zhòng僧sēng慌huāng忙máng跪guì接jiē道dào：「老lǎo爷yé去qù时shí，与yǔ众zhòng步bù行xíng，今jīn日rì何hé从cóng天tiān上shàng下xià来lái？」

Now look at Pilgrim: he sprang up into the air, gave his waist a twist and got to the monastery first. The monks came hurrying to kneel and receive him, saying: "Your reverence went away on foot with the rest — how is it that you come down out of the sky today?"

The monks ask the obvious question and it is a good one. They have known these four for two nights and had no idea. 把腰一扭 — gave his waist a twist — is Wukong's least ceremonious description of his own travel. He has a cloud that covers a hundred and eight thousand li in a leap and he describes using it as wriggling. 跪接, kneeling to receive, is what you do for an official arrival. They are treating him as a visiting dignitary because he came out of the air, which is fair.

行xíng者zhě笑xiào道dào：「你nǐ那nà老lǎo師shī在zài於yú何hé處chù？快kuài叫jiào他tā出chū來lái，排pái設shè香xiāng案àn接jiē駕jià，天tiān竺zhú國guó王wáng、皇huáng后hòu、多duō官guān與yǔ我wǒ師shī都dōu來lái了le。」眾zhòng僧sēng不bù解jiě其qí意yì，即jí請qǐng出chū那nà老lǎo僧sēng。行xíng者zhě笑xiào道dào：「你nǐ那nà老lǎo师shī在zài于yú何hé处chù？快kuài叫jiào他tā出chū来lái，排pái设shè香xiāng案àn接jiē驾jià，天tiān竺zhú国guó王wáng、皇huáng后hòu、多duō官guān与yǔ我wǒ师shī都dōu来lái了le。」众zhòng僧sēng不bù解jiě其qí意yì，即jí请qǐng出chū那nà老lǎo僧sēng。

Pilgrim laughed and said: "Where is that old master of yours? Call him out quickly and have an incense table set to receive the imperial carriage — the king of India, the queen, the officers and my master are all coming." The monks could not make out what he meant, but they invited the old monk out.

He gives orders in a monastery he stayed in once and they obey him, though they have no idea why. ⚠ 那 in 你那老師 is the pointing nà, that old master of yours. The question in the sentence sits in 何處 at the end of it, not in this word — which is exactly the trap that makes this band worth reading site by site. The incense table is the same equipment the whole city set out when the moon came down. Here it is being got ready for a king, which is a step down.

老lǎo僧sēng見jiàn了le行xíng者zhě，倒dǎo身shēn下xià拜bài道dào：「老lǎo爺yé，公gōng主zhǔ之zhī事shì如rú何hé？」老lǎo僧sēng见jiàn了le行xíng者zhě，倒dǎo身shēn下xià拜bài道dào：「老lǎo爷yé，公gōng主zhǔ之zhī事shì如rú何hé？」

The old monk, seeing Pilgrim, threw himself down and bowed, saying: "Your reverence, how has the business of the princess gone?"

The first thing he says. Not a greeting, not a question about the visit — the girl. ⚠ 倒 in 倒身下拜 is dǎo, to lay the body down — not the dào of going backwards, which this chapter also uses. He is not bowing; he is throwing himself flat. He has been waiting a year for somebody to be able to answer this question, and he asks it of a monkey standing in his courtyard before anybody has explained anything.

總評 Commentary

Wukong goes ahead, and the reason he gives is protocol — somebody must warn the monastery that a king is coming — but the reason the book sends him is that the old monk deserves to hear it first.

The two questions in this passage are worth setting beside each other. The ordinary monks ask how he came out of the sky, which is the interesting question and the wrong one. The old monk throws himself flat on the ground and asks how it went with the princess. He has not seen the cloud and does not care about it.

And it is his first sentence. No greeting, no astonishment, no question about why the king of India is on the road to his gate. A year of not being able to speak, and the moment somebody arrives who might know, he is face down in the dirt asking.