原文 Original text
繁體 Traditional
Reader's edition
孤掌難鳴 One Palm Cannot Clap
行者道：「我打殺你兩個，我自去救他。」沙僧笑道：「兄長說那裡話？無我兩個，真是『單絲不線，孤掌難鳴』。行者道：「我打杀你两个，我自去救他。」沙僧笑道：「兄长说那里话？无我两个，真是『单丝不线，孤掌难鸣』。
逐句解 Line by line
行者道：「我打殺你兩個，我自去救他。」
行者道：「我打杀你两个，我自去救他。」
Pilgrim said, "I will beat the two of you to death, and I will go and rescue him myself."
He takes the bait and says the thing out loud, which is precisely what the kneeling was for.
沙僧笑道：「兄長說那裡話？
沙僧笑道：「兄长说那里话？
Sha Monk laughed and said, "Elder brother, what sort of talk is that?
長 is zhǎng, and 那 is nǎ — the same set rebuff Pilgrim used on his own master fifty passages ago, now aimed back at him.
無我兩個，真是『單絲不線，孤掌難鳴』。
无我两个，真是『单丝不线，孤掌难鸣』。
Without the two of us it would be a case of a single thread making no cord, and one palm being unable to clap."
Two proverbs in one breath. 孤掌難鳴, a lone palm can hardly sound, is still the ordinary Chinese for being unable to manage alone, and both are still in daily use.
Sha Monk laughs, which is braver than anything else in the scene, and then throws back at Pilgrim the exact phrase Pilgrim used on Tripitaka when the master talked of giving up.
The two proverbs are chosen for their plainness. One thread is not a cord; one hand cannot clap. Against a creature who has just spent a chapter boasting about doing everything alone, that is the sharpest available argument.
And it works because it is true. Pilgrim can somersault a hundred and eight thousand lǐ, and he cannot carry the luggage, mind the horse and search a mountain at the same time.