第五十九回 · 忽然不見 Gone In A Moment — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

忽然不見 Gone In A Moment

行xíng者zhě笑xiào道dào：「不bù打dǎ緊jǐn，就jiù去qù就jiù來lái。」那nà老lǎo者zhě道dào：「且qiě住zhù，吃chī些xiē茶chá飯fàn，辦bàn些xiē乾gān糧liáng，須xū得dé兩liǎng人rén做zuò伴bàn。那nà路lù上shàng沒méi有yǒu人rén家jiā，又yòu多duō狼láng虎hǔ，非fēi一yí日rì可kě到dào，莫mò當dàng耍shuǎ子zi。」行xíng者zhě笑xiào道dào：「不bú用yòng，不bú用yòng。我wǒ去qù也yě。」說shuō一yì聲shēng，忽hū然rán不bú見jiàn。那nà老lǎo者zhě慌huāng張zhāng道dào：「爺yé爺yé呀ya！原yuán來lái是shì騰téng雲yún駕jià霧wù的de神shén人rén也yě。」行xíng者zhě笑xiào道dào：「不bù打dǎ紧jǐn，就jiù去qù就jiù来lái。」那nà老lǎo者zhě道dào：「且qiě住zhù，吃chī些xiē茶chá饭fàn，办bàn些xiē干gān粮liáng，须xū得dé两liǎng人rén做zuò伴bàn。那nà路lù上shàng没méi有yǒu人rén家jiā，又yòu多duō狼láng虎hǔ，非fēi一yí日rì可kě到dào，莫mò当dàng耍shuǎ子zi。」行xíng者zhě笑xiào道dào：「不bú用yòng，不bú用yòng。我wǒ去qù也yě。」说shuō一yì声shēng，忽hū然rán不bú见jiàn。那nà老lǎo者zhě慌huāng张zhāng道dào：「爷yé爷yé呀ya！原yuán来lái是shì腾téng云yún驾jià雾wù的de神shén人rén也yě。」

逐句解 Line by line

行xíng者zhě笑xiào道dào：「不bù打dǎ緊jǐn，就jiù去qù就jiù來lái。」行xíng者zhě笑xiào道dào：「不bù打dǎ紧jǐn，就jiù去qù就jiù来lái。」

Pilgrim laughed and said, 'That's nothing at all. I'll go and be back directly.'

不打緊 'no matter, nothing to it'. He has just been told the round trip takes a month, and dismisses it in five graphs.

那nà老lǎo者zhě道dào：「且qiě住zhù，吃chī些xiē茶chá飯fàn，辦bàn些xiē乾gān糧liáng，須xū得dé兩liǎng人rén做zuò伴bàn。那nà老lǎo者zhě道dào：「且qiě住zhù，吃chī些xiē茶chá饭fàn，办bàn些xiē干gān粮liáng，须xū得dé两liǎng人rén做zuò伴bàn。

The old man said, 'Wait a moment. Take some tea and rice, have dry rations put up, and you'll need two men to go with you.'

乾糧 is dry provisions for a journey, so 乾 is gān and not the qián of the trigram, which is what pypinyin supplies. 須得 'must, will need', with 得 as dé.

那nà路lù上shàng沒méi有yǒu人rén家jiā，又yòu多duō狼láng虎hǔ，非fēi一yí日rì可kě到dào，莫mò當dàng耍shuǎ子zi。」那nà路lù上shàng没méi有yǒu人rén家jiā，又yòu多duō狼láng虎hǔ，非fēi一yí日rì可kě到dào，莫mò当dàng耍shuǎ子zi。」

'There are no houses on that road, and wolves and tigers in plenty. It cannot be reached in a day. Don't take it for a game.'

當 is dàng here, 'to take as, to reckon as', not the positional dāng of 當面 or 當年; pypinyin gives the latter. 耍子 'play, a lark', with the toneless suffix. The old man's advice is exactly what one would give a traveller, and exactly what does not apply to this one.

行xíng者zhě笑xiào道dào：「不bú用yòng，不bú用yòng。我wǒ去qù也yě。」行xíng者zhě笑xiào道dào：「不bú用yòng，不bú用yòng。我wǒ去qù也yě。」

Pilgrim laughed. 'No need, no need. I'm off.'

The refusal, the doubling, and the departure occupy eleven graphs. Rations, companions and the month's walk are all disposed of without argument.

說shuō一yì聲shēng，忽hū然rán不bú見jiàn。说shuō一yì声shēng，忽hū然rán不bú见jiàn。

He had barely spoken when all at once he was gone.

說一聲 'he said a word' and then 忽然不見 'suddenly was not seen'. The narrator declines to describe the departure, which is the whole joke — the reader is left in the room with the old man.

那nà老lǎo者zhě慌huāng張zhāng道dào：「爺yé爺yé呀ya！那nà老lǎo者zhě慌huāng张zhāng道dào：「爷yé爷yé呀ya！

The old man said in a fluster, 'Good heavens!'

爺爺呀 is an exclamation of shock, literally an appeal to a grandfather or a lord. It carries its own terminal but keeps its attribution, so it is not folded into what follows.

原yuán來lái是shì騰téng雲yún駕jià霧wù的de神shén人rén也yě。」原yuán来lái是shì腾téng云yún驾jià雾wù的de神shén人rén也yě。」

'So he was a divine being, one who rides the clouds and drives the mist!'

原來是 'so it turns out that…' marks a realisation arriving late. The old man has spent the whole scene giving practical travel advice to someone who did not need any of it, and the novel lets him work this out only after the room is empty.

總評 Commentary

The old man's advice is entirely sound and entirely useless. Eat first, take dry rations, bring two companions, mind the wolves and tigers, and understand that it cannot be done in a day. Every item is what one would properly say to a traveller setting out, and not one of them applies to the traveller in front of him.

Pilgrim's reply is eleven graphs long and disposes of all of it. The comedy is in the proportion: a paragraph of careful provision met with 'no need, no need, I'm off'. The novel has run this joke before, but it is sharpened here by how genuinely considerate the old man has been.

Then the narrator simply removes him — 說一聲，忽然不見 — and declines to describe the departure at all. The reader stays behind in the room, and the last word goes to a man working out, too late and to nobody, that his guest could fly. 原來是 marks the realisation arriving after the fact, which is where the humour is.