第六十回 · 假親托意 A Feigned Kinship — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

假親托意 A Feigned Kinship

那nà女nǚ子zǐ漸jiàn漸jiàn走zǒu近jìn石shí邊biān，大dà聖shèng躬gōng身shēn施shī禮lǐ，緩huǎn緩huǎn而ér言yán曰yuē：「女nǚ菩pú薩sà何hé往wǎng？」那nà女nǚ子zǐ未wèi曾céng觀guān看kàn，聽tīng得dé叫jiào問wèn，卻què自zì擡tái頭tóu。忽hū見jiàn大dà聖shèng的de相xiàng貌mào醜chǒu陋lòu，老lǎo大dà心xīn驚jīng，欲yù退tuì難nán退tuì，欲yù行xíng難nán行xíng，只zhǐ得dé戰zhàn兢jīng兢jīng，勉miǎn強qiǎng答dá道dào：「你nǐ是shì何hé方fāng來lái者zhě？敢gǎn在zài此cǐ間jiān問wèn誰shuí？」大dà聖shèng沉chén思sī道dào：「我wǒ若ruò說shuō出chū取qǔ經jīng求qiú扇shàn之zhī事shì，恐kǒng這zhè廝sī與yǔ牛niú王wáng有yǒu親qīn。且qiě只zhǐ以yǐ假jiǎ親qīn托tuō意yì，來lái請qǐng魔mó王wáng之zhī言yán而ér答dá方fāng可kě。」那nà女nǚ子zǐ渐jiàn渐jiàn走zǒu近jìn石shí边biān，大dà圣shèng躬gōng身shēn施shī礼lǐ，缓huǎn缓huǎn而ér言yán曰yuē：「女nǚ菩pú萨sà何hé往wǎng？」那nà女nǚ子zǐ未wèi曾céng观guān看kàn，听tīng得dé叫jiào问wèn，却què自zì擡tái头tóu。忽hū见jiàn大dà圣shèng的de相xiàng貌mào丑chǒu陋lòu，老lǎo大dà心xīn惊jīng，欲yù退tuì难nán退tuì，欲yù行xíng难nán行xíng，只zhǐ得dé战zhàn兢jīng兢jīng，勉miǎn强qiǎng答dá道dào：「你nǐ是shì何hé方fāng来lái者zhě？敢gǎn在zài此cǐ间jiān问wèn谁shuí？」大dà圣shèng沉chén思sī道dào：「我wǒ若ruò说shuō出chū取qǔ经jīng求qiú扇shàn之zhī事shì，恐kǒng这zhè厮sī与yǔ牛niú王wáng有yǒu亲qīn。且qiě只zhǐ以yǐ假jiǎ亲qīn托tuō意yì，来lái请qǐng魔mó王wáng之zhī言yán而ér答dá方fāng可kě。」

逐句解 Line by line

那nà女nǚ子zǐ漸jiàn漸jiàn走zǒu近jìn石shí邊biān，大dà聖shèng躬gōng身shēn施shī禮lǐ，緩huǎn緩huǎn而ér言yán曰yuē：「女nǚ菩pú薩sà何hé往wǎng？」那nà女nǚ子zǐ渐jiàn渐jiàn走zǒu近jìn石shí边biān，大dà圣shèng躬gōng身shēn施shī礼lǐ，缓huǎn缓huǎn而ér言yán曰yuē：「女nǚ菩pú萨sà何hé往wǎng？」

The woman drew gradually nearer to the rock. The Great Sage bowed low, made his salutation, and said in a slow voice, "Whither away, lady bodhisattva?"

菩薩 is correct unguarded as pú sà. The Great Sage's address is flattery: she is no bodhisattva, and he has not the least idea yet who she is.

那nà女nǚ子zǐ未wèi曾céng觀guān看kàn，聽tīng得dé叫jiào問wèn，卻què自zì擡tái頭tóu。那nà女nǚ子zǐ未wèi曾céng观guān看kàn，听tīng得dé叫jiào问wèn，却què自zì擡tái头tóu。

The woman had not been looking about her; hearing herself hailed and questioned, she raised her head.

未曾 is the literary negative of past experience. 卻自 marks the movement as involuntary — she looks up before she has decided to.

忽hū見jiàn大dà聖shèng的de相xiàng貌mào醜chǒu陋lòu，老lǎo大dà心xīn驚jīng，欲yù退tuì難nán退tuì，欲yù行xíng難nán行xíng，只zhǐ得dé戰zhàn兢jīng兢jīng，勉miǎn強qiǎng答dá道dào：「你nǐ是shì何hé方fāng來lái者zhě？敢gǎn在zài此cǐ間jiān問wèn誰shuí？」忽hū见jiàn大dà圣shèng的de相xiàng貌mào丑chǒu陋lòu，老lǎo大dà心xīn惊jīng，欲yù退tuì难nán退tuì，欲yù行xíng难nán行xíng，只zhǐ得dé战zhàn兢jīng兢jīng，勉miǎn强qiǎng答dá道dào：「你nǐ是shì何hé方fāng来lái者zhě？敢gǎn在zài此cǐ间jiān问wèn谁shuí？」

Suddenly seeing how ugly the Great Sage's features were, she took a great fright. She would have drawn back and could not; she would have gone forward and could not; and so, all a-tremble, she forced herself to answer: "What place are you come from? How dare you question anyone here?"

相 is xiàng, appearance. 勉強 takes qiǎng, to compel oneself, not the qiáng of strength. 欲退難退，欲行難行 is a balanced four-part figure of paralysis, each half naming the wish and then denying it. Two clauses the source separates with a question mark are rejoined here as one turn.

大dà聖shèng沉chén思sī道dào：「我wǒ若ruò說shuō出chū取qǔ經jīng求qiú扇shàn之zhī事shì，恐kǒng這zhè廝sī與yǔ牛niú王wáng有yǒu親qīn。大dà圣shèng沉chén思sī道dào：「我wǒ若ruò说shuō出chū取qǔ经jīng求qiú扇shàn之zhī事shì，恐kǒng这zhè厮sī与yǔ牛niú王wáng有yǒu亲qīn。

The Great Sage fell to thinking: "If I speak out the business of fetching scriptures and borrowing the fan, this creature may well be kin to the Bull King."

這廝 is contemptuous — creature, fellow — and the Great Sage is using it of a woman he has just addressed as a bodhisattva. The gap between the two registers is the passage's whole comedy.

且qiě只zhǐ以yǐ假jiǎ親qīn托tuō意yì，來lái請qǐng魔mó王wáng之zhī言yán而ér答dá方fāng可kě。」且qiě只zhǐ以yǐ假jiǎ亲qīn托tuō意yì，来lái请qǐng魔mó王wáng之zhī言yán而ér答dá方fāng可kě。」

"Better to lean upon a feigned kinship for my pretext, and answer with the story that I am come to invite the Demon King."

假親 is a pretended relation, and 托意 is to rest one's meaning on something. The plan is to claim the sworn brotherhood of five hundred years ago — which is not in fact false, and which failed him at the Rākṣasī's door in the previous chapter.

總評 Commentary

The scene is built on a mismatch of registers. The Great Sage bows, makes a formal salutation and speaks slowly, addressing a stranger on a mountain as a bodhisattva; the woman, seeing his face, is too frightened to retreat or advance and can only demand who he is. Two sentences later, in the privacy of his own deliberation, he calls her 這廝 — a creature. The courtesy is entirely tactical and the narrative shows us so immediately.

The four-part figure of her paralysis — she would withdraw and cannot, she would go on and cannot — is a stock vernacular formula, but it does real work here. She is not merely afraid; she is trapped between two impossible motions, which is precisely the position the Great Sage has manoeuvred her into by blocking the path with a greeting rather than a threat.

His decision is a small masterpiece of bad judgement. He resolves to conceal the true errand and lean instead on a feigned kinship — and the kinship he means is the sworn brotherhood with the Bull Demon King, which is not feigned at all. He tried exactly this at the Rākṣasī's door one chapter ago and it got him nothing. He is about to try it on the second wife, and the result will be considerably worse.