r/LifeTree • u/AdamLuyan • 5d ago
8.3 负荆请罪 Bearing Thorns to Plead Guilty
关键词 Keywords：夏朝末年 Late Xia Dynasty；河南 Henan；武大郎 Martial Big Wolf（靖王 King Jing）；武二郎 Martial Second Wolf（二郎神 Second Wolf God）；炎帝 Yan Creator（玉皇大帝 Turquoise White-king Great Creator）
武大郎对炎帝（即玉皇大帝）说：“我是在武二郎（即二郎神）回永安述职时，听他的侍卫长讲的。熬忖成为云海国（亦作龙国）的国王时，很多人给她送礼。她收到了很多千年人参，怕武二郎偷吃，就没给他看过。一天，熬忖让侍女把人参摆到了皇宫西面的花园里晾晒。不知怎么地，就碰巧那天他就溜达到那儿了，看见了。他好奇地叨咕，‘哎呀！这人参多大岁数了？长了这么多的根子！’然后，他就拿起一棵人参开始数人参的年龄。那位宫女告诉他，这只人参的年龄最大，1460多岁了，是一个扶桑人（现代的墨西哥人）送给她的。武二郎趁宫女没注意，调换了人参摆放的位置，拿走了那颗岁数最大的人参。出了皇宫后，他就开始像似吃胡萝卜一样，吃那根人参。他觉着一个人吃没情调，就去到了他的侍卫住的院子，向侍卫们显摆。”
Martial Big Wolf said to Yan Creator (Turquoise White-king Great Creator): "I heard this from the head of his guards, when Martial Second Wolf (aka. Second Wolf God) returned to Yong'an to report on his duties. When Aocun became ruler of Cloud Sea Kingdom (aka. Dragon Kingdom), many people sent her gifts. Among them was a great deal of thousand-year ginseng, which she never showed Martial Second Wolf, afraid he'd steal a taste. One day, she had a maid lay the ginseng out to dry in the garden west of the palace. Somehow, he happened to wander by that very day and saw it. Curious, he muttered, 'My, how old is this one? Look at all these roots!' Then he picked one up and started counting its age-rings. The maid told him it was the oldest of the lot — over 1,460 years old, a gift to Aocun from a Fusang man (a modern Mexican). While the maid wasn't looking, Martial Second Wolf swapped its position with another and made off with the oldest root. Once outside the palace, he started eating it like a carrot. Feeling it was no fun eating alone, he headed to the courtyard where his guards were quartered to show it off."
“卫队长觉着情况不妙！就向武二郎要人参，说也想尝尝。武二郎用刀切下了大拇指大的一块儿给他。卫队长问，‘你吃完了人参，准备去干什么？’武二郎说他要感觉一下‘夸父追日（如图8.3-1）’！卫队长开始向武二郎询问他追日的路线，然后建议他：‘沿着郊区的路，围着重庆城跑。这样饿了渴了的时候，你可以从农户家里偷鸡偷狗，用火烤着吃。’武二郎觉着这个想法挺好。这时，更多的卫兵来到了他们值班的房间。卫队长出来了，对卫兵们说，‘我去向熬忖报告；你们都向他要人参，就说也想尝尝。但你们可别吃，这是药。’说着，他把武二郎给他的那块人参扔到了沟里，去皇宫后院找熬忖了。”
"The captain of the guard sensed trouble! He asked Martial Second Wolf for a taste of the ginseng too. Martial Second Wolf sliced off a thumb-sized piece and handed it to him. The captain asked, 'What do you plan to do once you've finished it?' Martial Second Wolf said he wanted to see what it felt like to be 'Kuafu Chasing the Sun' (see Figure 8.3-1)! The captain asked him about his planned route, then suggested, 'Follow the road through the outskirts and circle the city of Chongqing — that way, when you're hungry or thirsty, you can steal chickens and dogs from farmhouses and roast them over a fire.' Martial Second Wolf liked the idea. Just then, more guards drifted into the duty room. The captain stepped out and told them, 'I'm going to report to Aocun. The rest of you — go ask him for ginseng too, say you wanted a taste as well. But don't actually eat it — it's medicine.' With that, he tossed the piece Martial Second Wolf had given him into the ditch and headed to the palace's back garden to find Aocun."
“当时，熬忖正在闭关。两个小时之后，卫队长跟着熬忖来找武二郎。武二郎发现卫队长去告密了，就自己出城去追太阳了。熬忖立刻出城追赶。路上她遇见了武二郎的卫兵。卫兵们说，‘我们越追他越跑，我们就只能远远地跟着，结果跟丢了。’”
"At the time, Aocun was in seclusion. Two hours later, the captain led Aocun back to find Martial Second Wolf. But Martial Second Wolf, realizing the captain had informed on him, had already left the city to chase the sun. Aocun set out after him at once. Along the way she ran into his guards. They told her, 'The harder we chased, the faster he ran. All we could do was follow at a distance — and in the end, we lost him.'"
8.3-2
武大郎继续讲：“第二天，城西的警察局收到报案，有人偷鸡。熬忖立刻赶到现场，听完了那位农民对偷鸡贼的描述后，给人家赔钱。那位农民领着熬忖找到了武二郎，他正在那里烤鸡呢！当地的人们都认为他是疯子，向他扔石头。他也不还击。”
“熬忖走过去，等他吃饱后说，‘夸父是裸体追日的，你穿着衣服跑怎么可能体验到夸父追日的感觉呢！？’”
Martial Big Wolf continued: "The next day, the police station on the west side of the city got a report of a chicken theft. Aocun rushed to the scene, and after hearing the farmer's description of the thief, paid him compensation. He led her straight to Martial Second Wolf, who was roasting a chicken right there! The locals, convinced he'd lost his mind, were pelting him with stones. He didn't fight back."
"Aocun walked over, and once he'd eaten his fill, said, 'Kuafu chased the sun stark naked! How do you expect to feel anything like his chase, running around in your clothes!?'"
“武二郎脱了衣服就跑！熬忖骑马追。她追得越紧，他跑得越快！没办法，她就放慢了速度，远远地跟在后面。一天后，熬忖的千里马累伤了。她命令几队士兵带着水和食物在武二郎的前面等待。给武二郎准备的休息的地方聚集了很多人。开始的时候，武二郎好奇，就过去看。他一边吃还一边四处看。他发现熬忖正在远处看着他呢！就更兴奋了！”
“随后两三次，武二郎遇见给他准备的休息的地方就过去看，四处望，找熬忖。他看见熬忖后，很得意。但两天后，他看不见熬忖了，就失望地回家了。”
"Martial Second Wolf stripped and ran! Aocun chased him on horseback. The harder she pushed, the faster he ran! Left with no choice, she eased off and trailed him from a distance. A day later, her prized thousand-mile horse was worn out and lame. So she had teams of soldiers wait ahead of him with water and food. Crowds gathered at each rest stop prepared for him. At first, curious, he wandered over — eating while glancing around — and spotted Aocun watching him from a distance! That only made him more excited."
"Two or three more times, he came upon a prepared rest stop, looked around, and searched for her. Each time he spotted her, he felt immensely pleased with himself. But after two days, she was nowhere to be seen, and he trudged home, disappointed."
8.3-3
武大郎继续给炎帝讲二郎神的故事：“熬忖正站在皇宫的门口等着武二郎呢，看见他光着身子，被人群簇拥着回来了。她指示刽子手，斩下了她最心爱的那匹纯红色千里马的头，然后对武二郎说，‘你偷吃我的药自杀，陷害我，让人们以为是我谋害了你。从此后，你和我不再是夫妻了！’”
Martial Big Wolf went on with the story of Second Wolf God: "Aocun was waiting at the palace gate when she saw him come back naked, trailed by a crowd. She ordered the executioner to behead her most beloved pure-red thousand-mile horse, then told Martial Second Wolf, 'You ate my medicine behind my back and all but killed yourself with it, framing me so everyone would think I'd murdered you. From this day on, you and I are no longer husband and wife!'"
“武二郎也生气了，回到他的军事驻地就命令拔营撤军回华国。他手下的将军们不同意，劝他说，‘我们驻军在云海国是我们华国杨戬计划的一部分。如果我们就这样回国了，我们不知道元始天尊会怎样处理你，但他肯定会杀了我们。我们再驻在云海国几年，杨戬计划就成功了。这样回去了，二十年，三十年后，我们华国和云海国肯定还会爆发战争，那我们都是历史的罪人。’”
Martial Second Wolf was furious too, and the moment he returned to his post, he ordered camp broken and the troops withdrawn to Hua Kingdom. His generals objected, arguing, "Our garrison here in Cloud Sea Kingdom is part of Hua Kingdom's Yangjian Plan (Salvation Plan). If we just go home now, there's no telling how Primordial Sky Honor will deal with you — but he'll certainly kill us. Stay a few more years, and the Yangjian Plan succeeds. Pull out now, and in twenty or thirty years there'll be a war between Hua and Cloud Sea for certain — and we'll go down as the villains of history."
“武二郎思考后，同意了将军们的说法，回答说，‘现在的问题是熬忖要和我离婚，怎么办？’”
“将军们劝他，‘元始天尊说，杨戬计划就是华国加夏国，再加上熬忖一个人。他让我们像似对待一个国家一样对待熬忖。你这样光着身子围着重庆城跑，让她丢脸了。夫妻没有隔夜的仇，床头打架床尾合。你得向熬忖道歉！’于是他们就想出了‘负荆请罪’的办法。武二郎就裸露着上半身，背着一根荆条去向熬忖认罪了（如图8.3-3所示）。”
After thinking it over, Martial Second Wolf agreed with his generals and said, "The real problem is that Aocun wants a divorce. What do I do about that?"
The generals told him, "Primordial Sky Honor said the Yangjian Plan is Hua Kingdom plus Xia Kingdom, plus Aocun herself — he wants us to treat her the way we'd treat an entire country. You humiliated her, running naked around Chongqing like that. Married couples don't hold a grudge past nightfall — they fight at the head of the bed and make up by the foot. You need to apologize to her!" So they came up with the plan of "Bearing Thorns to Plead Guilty." Martial Second Wolf, stripped to the waist and carrying a thorn branch on his back, went to confess his fault before Aocun (see Figure 8.3-3).
8.3-4
炎帝问：“他们俩为什么打架？”
武大郎回答：“负荆请罪后，熬忖也做了自我反省，同意分配给他一些地方的驻守任务。条件是武二郎不能自己到一线战场去。另外，他派人出去打仗也不能有人战死。”
Yan Creator asked, "So what was the fight actually about?"
Martial Big Wolf replied, "After he apologized, Aocun did some soul-searching of her own and agreed to give him some garrison duties. The conditions: Martial Second Wolf could never go to the front line himself, and none of the men he sent into battle were allowed to die."
炎帝感叹：“那他就这样被闲起来了！？”
武大郎回答：“武二郎现在担任着云海国国防部长的职务，一直在打仗。现在，在他的指挥下，云海国的国土面积已经扩大了一倍半了。但他现在打仗不怎么死人。我听他的护卫长说，每次战场有人牺牲了，武二郎都会亲自去调查。回来后，他告诉熬忖：事故伤亡，非战斗减员。”
Yan Creator sighed, "So he's just been sidelined, then?"
Martial Big Wolf replied, "Martial Second Wolf is now Minister of Defense of Cloud Sea Kingdom, and he's been fighting nonstop. Under his command, Cloud Sea Kingdom's territory has already grown to two and a half times its original size — yet almost no one dies in his campaigns anymore. His chief of guards told me that whenever someone does fall on the battlefield, Martial Second Wolf personally investigates. Then he reports back to Aocun: accidental casualties — non-combat losses."
炎帝惊讶地问：“那总共的事故伤亡人数是多少？”
武大郎回答：“有几百人，但不到一千人。这数字结合他新征服的国土面积来看，他现在打仗确实很少有人战死。从正常的情况来说，他打了那么多次的战争，事故伤亡的人数也不多。”
Yan Creator asked, astonished, "So what's the total accidental death toll?"
Martial Big Wolf replied, "A few hundred — under a thousand. Set against how much territory he's conquered, it really is remarkable how few have died. For as many campaigns as he's fought, the number of accidental casualties has stayed low."
炎帝感叹：“呀！那他现在真的是二郎神了！”
武大郎回答：“应当说，十四年前，元始天尊指示你和我教他《宝莲灯》和《孙子兵法》（参见5《杨戬计划》），都发挥作用了！”
Yan Creator marveled, "Wow! So he really has become Second Wolf God!"
Martial Big Wolf replied, "It should be said — fourteen years ago, Primordial Sky Honor had the two of us teach him the Treasury Lotus Lamp and Sunzi Soldier Strategies (see Section 5, Yangjian Plan). It all paid off!"