第五十三回 · 頃刻過河 Crossing the River — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

頃刻過河 Crossing the River

行xíng者zhě近jìn於yú船chuán邊biān道dào：「你nǐ是shì擺bǎi渡dù的de？」那nà婦fù人rén道dào：「是shì。」行xíng者zhě道dào：「梢shāo公gōng如rú何hé不bú在zài，卻què著zhuó梢shāo婆pó撐chēng船chuán？」婦fù人rén微wēi笑xiào不bù答dá，用yòng手shǒu拖tuō上shàng跳tiào板bǎn。沙shā和hé尚shàng將jiāng行xíng李lǐ挑tiāo上shàng去qù，行xíng者zhě扶fú著zhe師shī父fù上shàng跳tiào，然rán後hòu順shùn過guò船chuán來lái，八bā戒jiè牽qiān上shàng白bái馬mǎ，收shōu了le跳tiào板bǎn。那nà婦fù人rén撐chēng開kāi船chuán，搖yáo動dòng槳jiǎng，頃qǐng刻kè間jiān過guò了le河hé。身shēn登dēng西xī岸àn，長zhǎng老lǎo教jiào沙shā僧sēng解jiě開kāi包bāo，取qǔ幾jǐ文wén錢qián鈔chāo與yǔ他tā。婦fù人rén更gèng不bù爭zhēng多duō寡guǎ，將jiāng纜lǎn拴shuān在zài傍bàng水shuǐ的de樁zhuāng上shàng，笑xiào嘻xī嘻xī徑jìng入rù莊zhuāng屋wū裡lǐ去qù了le。行xíng者zhě近jìn于yú船chuán边biān道dào：「你nǐ是shì摆bǎi渡dù的de？」那nà妇fù人rén道dào：「是shì。」行xíng者zhě道dào：「梢shāo公gōng如rú何hé不bú在zài，却què着zhuó梢shāo婆pó撑chēng船chuán？」妇fù人rén微wēi笑xiào不bù答dá，用yòng手shǒu拖tuō上shàng跳tiào板bǎn。沙shā和hé尚shàng将jiāng行xíng李lǐ挑tiāo上shàng去qù，行xíng者zhě扶fú着zhe师shī父fù上shàng跳tiào，然rán后hòu顺shùn过guò船chuán来lái，八bā戒jiè牵qiān上shàng白bái马mǎ，收shōu了le跳tiào板bǎn。那nà妇fù人rén撑chēng开kāi船chuán，摇yáo动dòng桨jiǎng，顷qǐng刻kè间jiān过guò了le河hé。身shēn登dēng西xī岸àn，长zhǎng老lǎo教jiào沙shā僧sēng解jiě开kāi包bāo，取qǔ几jǐ文wén钱qián钞chāo与yǔ他tā。妇fù人rén更gèng不bù争zhēng多duō寡guǎ，将jiāng缆lǎn拴shuān在zài傍bàng水shuǐ的de桩zhuāng上shàng，笑xiào嘻xī嘻xī径jìng入rù庄zhuāng屋wū里lǐ去qù了le。

逐句解 Line by line

行xíng者zhě近jìn於yú船chuán邊biān道dào：「你nǐ是shì擺bǎi渡dù的de？」行xíng者zhě近jìn于yú船chuán边biān道dào：「你nǐ是shì摆bǎi渡dù的de？」

Pilgrim came up to the side of the boat and said, "Are you the ferry-keeper?"

Wukong asks the plain question the rhapsody has just made necessary. 於 rather than 到 gives the sentence a faintly literary cast.

那nà婦fù人rén道dào：「是shì。」那nà妇fù人rén道dào：「是shì。」

The woman said, "I am."

Five graphs, standing as their own segment. The narrative now names her 婦人 without comment, having withheld the fact through the whole rhapsody.

行xíng者zhě道dào：「梢shāo公gōng如rú何hé不bú在zài，卻què著zhuó梢shāo婆pó撐chēng船chuán？」行xíng者zhě道dào：「梢shāo公gōng如rú何hé不bú在zài，却què着zhuó梢shāo婆pó撑chēng船chuán？」

Pilgrim said, "How is it the boatman is not here, and the boat-woman is set to pole instead?"

卻著 is the causative-dispatch 著, ruled *zhuó* corpus-wide against pypinyin's *zhù*. Wukong's question assumes a husband who ought to be doing this work — the first time the novel lets a character notice the anomaly.

婦fù人rén微wēi笑xiào不bù答dá，用yòng手shǒu拖tuō上shàng跳tiào板bǎn。妇fù人rén微wēi笑xiào不bù答dá，用yòng手shǒu拖tuō上shàng跳tiào板bǎn。

The woman smiled faintly and gave no answer, but reached out a hand and drew up the gangplank.

微笑不答 is the chapter's most economical piece of foreshadowing. She does not lie; she simply declines to explain, and the explanation would have saved the pilgrims a great deal.

沙shā和hé尚shàng將jiāng行xíng李lǐ挑tiāo上shàng去qù，行xíng者zhě扶fú著zhe師shī父fù上shàng跳tiào，然rán後hòu順shùn過guò船chuán來lái，八bā戒jiè牽qiān上shàng白bái馬mǎ，收shōu了le跳tiào板bǎn。沙shā和hé尚shàng将jiāng行xíng李lǐ挑tiāo上shàng去qù，行xíng者zhě扶fú着zhe师shī父fù上shàng跳tiào，然rán后hòu顺shùn过guò船chuán来lái，八bā戒jiè牵qiān上shàng白bái马mǎ，收shōu了le跳tiào板bǎn。

Sha Monk carried the luggage aboard on his pole, Pilgrim helped his master up the plank, and then they brought the boat about; Eight Rules led the white horse on and took in the gangplank.

挑 here is *tiāo*, to carry on a shoulder-pole, against the *tiǎo* of 挑著草把 later in the chapter. 扶著 is durative *zhe*. Four clauses assign each pilgrim his customary office.

那nà婦fù人rén撐chēng開kāi船chuán，搖yáo動dòng槳jiǎng，頃qǐng刻kè間jiān過guò了le河hé。那nà妇fù人rén撑chēng开kāi船chuán，摇yáo动dòng桨jiǎng，顷qǐng刻kè间jiān过guò了le河hé。

The woman poled off, worked her oar, and in an instant they were across.

頃刻間 with 間 read *jiān*. The crossing itself takes fifteen graphs — the novel spends four times as long describing the boat as using it.

身shēn登dēng西xī岸àn，長zhǎng老lǎo教jiào沙shā僧sēng解jiě開kāi包bāo，取qǔ幾jǐ文wén錢qián鈔chāo與yǔ他tā。身shēn登dēng西xī岸àn，长zhǎng老lǎo教jiào沙shā僧sēng解jiě开kāi包bāo，取qǔ几jǐ文wén钱qián钞chāo与yǔ他tā。

Once ashore on the western bank, the elder bade Sha Monk open the bundle and take out a few coppers to give her.

教 is causative *jiào*; 解 is *jiě*, to untie. 錢鈔 is loose cash rather than any particular denomination.

婦fù人rén更gèng不bù爭zhēng多duō寡guǎ，將jiāng纜lǎn拴shuān在zài傍bàng水shuǐ的de樁zhuāng上shàng，笑xiào嘻xī嘻xī徑jìng入rù莊zhuāng屋wū裡lǐ去qù了le。妇fù人rén更gèng不bù争zhēng多duō寡guǎ，将jiāng缆lǎn拴shuān在zài傍bàng水shuǐ的de桩zhuāng上shàng，笑xiào嘻xī嘻xī径jìng入rù庄zhuāng屋wū里lǐ去qù了le。

The woman did not haggle in the least over how much, but made the cable fast to a post at the water's edge and went off, all smiles, straight into her cottage.

更不爭 with 更 read *gèng*. 笑嘻嘻 is a broad, open smile, and the detail is the second in three sentences to attach amusement to this woman. Read forward from the next passage it acquires a different colour.

總評 Commentary

The crossing is dispatched in a single clause — 頃刻間過了河 — after nearly two hundred graphs spent on the boat and its keeper. The disproportion is the novel's usual method: description is where meaning is stored, and action is often a formality.

Wukong's question is the passage's hinge. Having seen the rhapsody's reveal, he asks where the boatman is and why a woman is doing the poling, and the question presumes an ordinary household with an ordinary division of labour. The woman's response — 微笑不答 — is neither evasion nor mockery exactly. She smiles and gets on with the work, and the novel lets her silence stand as the answer it is: there is no boatman, there are no men, and no explanation would be believed anyway.

Two further details reward attention on a second reading. She takes whatever coins are offered without haggling, and she goes into her house 笑嘻嘻, laughing to herself. The narrative offers no gloss. But she has just ferried four travellers across a river whose water she knows perfectly well what it does, and she has watched them go on their way without a word of warning. The good humour is not innocent.