第五十六回 · 幌棒驚馬 A Flourish of the Golden Staff — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

幌棒驚馬 A Flourish of the Golden Staff

四sì眾zhòng進jìn山shān，緩huǎn行xíng良liáng久jiǔ，過guò了le山shān頭tóu。下xià西xī坡pō，乃nǎi是shì一yí段duàn平píng陽yáng之zhī地dì。豬zhū八bā戒jiè賣mài弄nòng精jīng神shén，教jiào沙shā和hé尚shàng挑tiāo著zhe擔dàn子zi，他tā雙shuāng手shǒu舉jǔ鈀pá，上shàng前qián趕gǎn馬mǎ。那nà馬mǎ更gèng不bú懼jù他tā，憑píng那nà獃dāi子zi嗒dā笞chī笞chī的de，還hái只zhǐ是shì緩huǎn行xíng不bù緊jǐn。行xíng者zhě道dào：「兄xiōng弟dì，你nǐ趕gǎn他tā怎zěn的de？讓ràng他tā慢màn慢màn走zǒu罷bà了le。」八bā戒jiè道dào：「天tiān色sè將jiāng晚wǎn，自zì上shàng山shān行xíng了le這zhè一yí日rì，肚dù裡lǐ餓è了le，大dà家jiā走zǒu動dòng些xiē，尋xún個gè人rén家jiā，化huà些xiē齋zhāi吃chī。」行xíng者zhě聞wén言yán道dào：「既jì如rú此cǐ，等děng我wǒ教jiào他tā快kuài走zǒu。」把bǎ金jīn箍gū棒bàng幌huǎng一yì幌huǎng，喝hè了le一yì聲shēng，那nà馬mǎ溜liū了le韁jiāng，如rú飛fēi似sì箭jiàn，順shùn平píng路lù往wǎng前qián去qù了le。四sì众zhòng进jìn山shān，缓huǎn行xíng良liáng久jiǔ，过guò了le山shān头tóu。下xià西xī坡pō，乃nǎi是shì一yí段duàn平píng阳yáng之zhī地dì。猪zhū八bā戒jiè卖mài弄nòng精jīng神shén，教jiào沙shā和hé尚shàng挑tiāo着zhe担dàn子zi，他tā双shuāng手shǒu举jǔ钯pá，上shàng前qián赶gǎn马mǎ。那nà马mǎ更gèng不bú惧jù他tā，凭píng那nà呆dāi子zi嗒dā笞chī笞chī的de，还hái只zhǐ是shì缓huǎn行xíng不bù紧jǐn。行xíng者zhě道dào：「兄xiōng弟dì，你nǐ赶gǎn他tā怎zěn的de？让ràng他tā慢màn慢màn走zǒu罢bà了le。」八bā戒jiè道dào：「天tiān色sè将jiāng晚wǎn，自zì上shàng山shān行xíng了le这zhè一yí日rì，肚dù里lǐ饿è了le，大dà家jiā走zǒu动dòng些xiē，寻xún个gè人rén家jiā，化huà些xiē斋zhāi吃chī。」行xíng者zhě闻wén言yán道dào：「既jì如rú此cǐ，等děng我wǒ教jiào他tā快kuài走zǒu。」把bǎ金jīn箍gū棒bàng幌huǎng一yì幌huǎng，喝hè了le一yì声shēng，那nà马mǎ溜liū了le缰jiāng，如rú飞fēi似sì箭jiàn，顺shùn平píng路lù往wǎng前qián去qù了le。

逐句解 Line by line

四sì眾zhòng進jìn山shān，緩huǎn行xíng良liáng久jiǔ，過guò了le山shān頭tóu。四sì众zhòng进jìn山shān，缓huǎn行xíng良liáng久jiǔ，过guò了le山shān头tóu。

The four of them went up into the mountain, walking slowly a good while, and got over the summit.

四眾 is the standing collective for the pilgrim party — master, three disciples — and does not count the horse.

下xià西xī坡pō，乃nǎi是shì一yí段duàn平píng陽yáng之zhī地dì。下xià西xī坡pō，乃nǎi是shì一yí段duàn平píng阳yáng之zhī地dì。

Coming down the western slope, they found a stretch of level open country.

平陽 is open flat ground exposed to the sun. The narrative gives them easy footing immediately after the rhapsody insisted there was none.

豬zhū八bā戒jiè賣mài弄nòng精jīng神shén，教jiào沙shā和hé尚shàng挑tiāo著zhe擔dàn子zi，他tā雙shuāng手shǒu舉jǔ鈀pá，上shàng前qián趕gǎn馬mǎ。猪zhū八bā戒jiè卖mài弄nòng精jīng神shén，教jiào沙shā和hé尚shàng挑tiāo着zhe担dàn子zi，他tā双shuāng手shǒu举jǔ钯pá，上shàng前qián赶gǎn马mǎ。

Zhu Bajie made a great show of his energy: he set Sha Monk to shoulder the carrying-pole while he himself raised his rake in both hands and went on ahead to drive the horse.

挑著擔子 gives three guarded graphs in a row: 挑 is tiāo, to carry on a shoulder-pole; 著 is the durative zhe; 擔 is the nominal dàn, the load itself. 教 is the causative jiào. 鈀 is pá, Bajie’s rake, against pypinyin’s default bǎ.

那nà馬mǎ更gèng不bú懼jù他tā，憑píng那nà獃dāi子zi嗒dā笞chī笞chī的de，還hái只zhǐ是shì緩huǎn行xíng不bù緊jǐn。那nà马mǎ更gèng不bú惧jù他tā，凭píng那nà呆dāi子zi嗒dā笞chī笞chī的de，还hái只zhǐ是shì缓huǎn行xíng不bù紧jǐn。

But the horse was not in the least afraid of him; for all the idiot’s clacking and clattering, it still only ambled along and would not hurry.

嗒笞笞 is a mimetic of the rake or the driver’s tongue clicking; per the standing policy on mimetic binomes it keeps the default readings dā chī chī, no dictionary recording a mimetic-specific value. 更 is the continuative gèng.

行xíng者zhě道dào：「兄xiōng弟dì，你nǐ趕gǎn他tā怎zěn的de？讓ràng他tā慢màn慢màn走zǒu罷bà了le。」行xíng者zhě道dào：「兄xiōng弟dì，你nǐ赶gǎn他tā怎zěn的de？让ràng他tā慢màn慢màn走zǒu罢bà了le。」

Pilgrim said, “Brother, what are you driving him for? Let him walk slowly and have done with it.”

罷了 is the fixed sentence-final unit — and that is that — historically 罷 (cease) plus the perfective 了, so the 罷 is the verb bà, NOT the imperative particle ba of 去罷. The position rule alone would give the wrong answer here, which is why 罷了 is handled as a bigram. The seven-graph quote-closing tail is joined back to its opener under the under-eight-graph rule.

八bā戒jiè道dào：「天tiān色sè將jiāng晚wǎn，自zì上shàng山shān行xíng了le這zhè一yí日rì，肚dù裡lǐ餓è了le，大dà家jiā走zǒu動dòng些xiē，尋xún個gè人rén家jiā，化huà些xiē齋zhāi吃chī。」八bā戒jiè道dào：「天tiān色sè将jiāng晚wǎn，自zì上shàng山shān行xíng了le这zhè一yí日rì，肚dù里lǐ饿è了le，大dà家jiā走zǒu动dòng些xiē，寻xún个gè人rén家jiā，化huà些xiē斋zhāi吃chī。」

Bajie said, “The day is getting late. We have been walking this mountain the whole day and my belly is empty. Let us all step out a little, find a house, and beg a meal there.”

將晚 is the adverbial jiāng, about to. 化些齋 is the mendicant’s proper verb — to beg by transformation of the giver’s merit — and its ordinariness here matters, because the household they eventually reach will refuse them nothing and be destroyed for it.

行xíng者zhě聞wén言yán道dào：「既jì如rú此cǐ，等děng我wǒ教jiào他tā快kuài走zǒu。」行xíng者zhě闻wén言yán道dào：「既jì如rú此cǐ，等děng我wǒ教jiào他tā快kuài走zǒu。」

Pilgrim, hearing this, said, “If that is how it stands, let me make him go faster.”

教他快走 is again the causative jiào. Wukong’s readiness to solve a small problem with force is established here in miniature, four passages before he solves a large one the same way.

把bǎ金jīn箍gū棒bàng幌huǎng一yì幌huǎng，喝hè了le一yì聲shēng，那nà馬mǎ溜liū了le韁jiāng，如rú飛fēi似sì箭jiàn，順shùn平píng路lù往wǎng前qián去qù了le。把bǎ金jīn箍gū棒bàng幌huǎng一yì幌huǎng，喝hè了le一yì声shēng，那nà马mǎ溜liū了le缰jiāng，如rú飞fēi似sì箭jiàn，顺shùn平píng路lù往wǎng前qián去qù了le。

He gave the gold-hooped staff a flourish and let out a single shout; and the horse slipped its rein and went off down the level road ahead, swift as a flying arrow.

喝 is hè, to shout, not the hē of drinking. 似 takes the standing corpus reading sì. The staff is not struck and nobody is touched — the shout alone is enough, which is the last time in this chapter that a flourish of the staff will hurt no one.

總評 Commentary

This is comic filler in the ordinary sense, and it is also the chapter’s argument in miniature. Bajie wants the horse to go faster and applies noise; the horse ignores him. Wukong wants the horse to go faster and applies the staff; the horse bolts. The difference between the two disciples is not motive but efficacy, and the narrative has just demonstrated, harmlessly, that Wukong’s method works and everyone else’s does not.

Pilgrim’s line to Bajie — let the animal go at his own pace and have done — is the restraint the chapter will find him incapable of practising on his own account. He can counsel patience about a horse. Sixty lines later, faced with two men who have tied his master to a tree, he will kill them both and then complain that he was scolded for it.

The bolting horse is also the plot’s engine. It carries Tripitaka out ahead of his disciples and straight into the ambush, so that when the robbers stop him he is alone and on foot. Wukong’s shout is thus the proximate cause of everything that follows, including his own expulsion — a piece of construction the chapter never comments on and does not need to.