第九十七回 · 扯破分之 Tear It Up and Divide It — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

扯破分之 Tear It Up and Divide It

禁jìn子zi們men跪guì道dào：「老lǎo爹diē，才cái子zi提tí審shěn，送sòng下xià四sì個gè和hé尚shàng，乃nǎi是shì大dà夥huǒ強qiáng盜dào。他tā見jiàn我wǒ們men打dǎ了le他tā幾jǐ下xià，把bǎ這zhè兩liǎng個gè包bāo袱fú與yǔ我wǒ。我wǒ們men打dǎ開kāi看kàn時shí，見jiàn有yǒu此cǐ物wù，無wú可kě處chǔ置zhì：若ruò眾zhòng人rén扯chě破pò分fēn之zhī，其qí實shí可kě惜xī；若ruò獨dú歸guī一yì人rén，眾zhòng人rén無wú利lì。幸xìng老lǎo爹diē來lái，憑píng老lǎo爹diē做zuò個gè劈pī著zhāo。」獄yù官guān見jiàn了le，乃nǎi是shì一yí件jiàn袈jiā裟shā；又yòu將jiāng別bié項xiàng衣yī服fú，並bìng引yǐn袋dài兒ér通tōng檢jiǎn看kàn了le。禁jìn子zi们men跪guì道dào：「老lǎo爹diē，才cái子zi提tí审shěn，送sòng下xià四sì个gè和hé尚shàng，乃nǎi是shì大dà伙huǒ强qiáng盗dào。他tā见jiàn我wǒ们men打dǎ了le他tā几jǐ下xià，把bǎ这zhè两liǎng个gè包bāo袱fú与yǔ我wǒ。我wǒ们men打dǎ开kāi看kàn时shí，见jiàn有yǒu此cǐ物wù，无wú可kě处chǔ置zhì：若ruò众zhòng人rén扯chě破pò分fēn之zhī，其qí实shí可kě惜xī；若ruò独dú归guī一yì人rén，众zhòng人rén无wú利lì。幸xìng老lǎo爹diē来lái，凭píng老lǎo爹diē做zuò个gè劈pī着zhāo。」狱yù官guān见jiàn了le，乃nǎi是shì一yí件jiàn袈jiā裟shā；又yòu将jiāng别bié项xiàng衣yī服fú，并bìng引yǐn袋dài儿ér通tōng检jiǎn看kàn了le。

逐句解 Line by line

禁jìn子zi們men跪guì道dào：「老lǎo爹diē，才cái子zi提tí審shěn，送sòng下xià四sì個gè和hé尚shàng，乃nǎi是shì大dà夥huǒ強qiáng盜dào。他tā見jiàn我wǒ們men打dǎ了le他tā幾jǐ下xià，把bǎ這zhè兩liǎng個gè包bāo袱fú與yǔ我wǒ。禁jìn子zi们men跪guì道dào：「老lǎo爹diē，才cái子zi提tí审shěn，送sòng下xià四sì个gè和hé尚shàng，乃nǎi是shì大dà伙huǒ强qiáng盗dào。他tā见jiàn我wǒ们men打dǎ了le他tā几jǐ下xià，把bǎ这zhè两liǎng个gè包bāo袱fú与yǔ我wǒ。

The turnkeys knelt and said, "Sir, a hearing was held just now and four monks were sent down, a whole gang of robbers. They saw us give them a few blows and handed us these two bundles."

才子 — just now. It looks like the word for a talented man and is not: here the two characters together are an adverb of time, and the second has gone weightless. 提審 — held a hearing, brought up for examination. The gaolers describe the trial in its technical term. Their account is honest as far as it goes. They admit the beating without embarrassment — it is not something they need to hide — and they report that the bundles were handed over rather than seized.

我wǒ們men打dǎ開kāi看kàn時shí，見jiàn有yǒu此cǐ物wù，無wú可kě處chǔ置zhì：若ruò眾zhòng人rén扯chě破pò分fēn之zhī，其qí實shí可kě惜xī；若ruò獨dú歸guī一yì人rén，眾zhòng人rén無wú利lì。我wǒ们men打dǎ开kāi看kàn时shí，见jiàn有yǒu此cǐ物wù，无wú可kě处chǔ置zhì：若ruò众zhòng人rén扯chě破pò分fēn之zhī，其qí实shí可kě惜xī；若ruò独dú归guī一yì人rén，众zhòng人rén无wú利lì。

"When we opened them up to look, we found this thing, and there was no way of dealing with it. If we all tear it up and divide it, that is a real shame; and if it goes to one man alone, the rest of us get nothing."

無可處置 — no way of dealing with it. The first character of those middle two is the verb, to handle or dispose of, not the noun meaning a place — which is what the same character means at six other points in this chapter. 扯破分之 — tear it up and divide it. They are seriously considering cutting a sacred robe into shares, and the only thing stopping them is that it would be a waste. The problem they have is a real one and they state it clearly: an indivisible asset and a group of claimants. It is a fair description of why loot causes trouble.

幸xìng老lǎo爹diē來lái，憑píng老lǎo爹diē做zuò個gè劈pī著zhāo。」獄yù官guān見jiàn了le，乃nǎi是shì一yí件jiàn袈jiā裟shā；幸xìng老lǎo爹diē来lái，凭píng老lǎo爹diē做zuò个gè劈pī着zhāo。」狱yù官guān见jiàn了le，乃nǎi是shì一yí件jiàn袈jiā裟shā；

"Luckily your honour has come. Let your honour make the split." The warden looked, and it was a cassock;

劈著 — the split, the ruling. The last character here is a noun: a move, a stroke, a way of settling a thing, the same word behind a clever move at chess. It is the rarest of this character's four jobs and this is the only place in the chapter it turns up. The gaolers are asking their superior to arbitrate a division of stolen goods, openly, as though it were routine. It evidently is.

又yòu將jiāng別bié項xiàng衣yī服fú，並bìng引yǐn袋dài兒ér通tōng檢jiǎn看kàn了le。又yòu将jiāng别bié项xiàng衣yī服fú，并bìng引yǐn袋dài儿ér通tōng检jiǎn看kàn了le。

and he went through the other clothes and the satchel as well, checking everything.

通檢看了 — went through and checked the lot. The warden is not appraising; he is doing an inventory, which is his job. This is the sentence the chapter turns on, and it is a piece of routine administration. He looks at everything because an officer taking custody of property looks at everything. Nobody asked him to.

總評 Commentary

The gaolers' problem is a genuine one and they put it plainly: a valuable thing that cannot be divided and a room full of men with equal claims. Tear it and it is worth nothing; give it to one and the rest are cheated. So they ask an officer to arbitrate, and he agrees to, and none of it strikes anybody as irregular.

That casualness is the point. This is not a corrupt prison in a story about a corrupt prison. It is an ordinary one, where new arrivals are beaten until they pay and confiscated goods are shared among the staff, and everybody from the turnkeys to the warden treats both as normal procedure.

And it saves them. The warden checks the satchel because taking custody of property means listing it, not because anyone suspects a miscarriage of justice. An inventory is about to rescue them.