by C. T. Hsia
SOLDIERS: Yes sir.
HAN JUE (opens the medicine chest:) You said there were only balloon flower root, licorice, and mint. Now I’ve found ginseng!26
(CHENG YING appears frightened, kneels down, and cowers.)
HAN JUE (sings:)
[Golden Cup]
I see on the orphan’s forehead sweat in streaks.
From the corner of his mouth, milk leaks.
His little shining, wide-open eyes try to recognize the guest.
All quiet, he seems to be swallowing his voice in the chest—
It’s so tight: he can’t stretch his feet.
It’s so narrow; how can he turn?
In truth, “To become a man is to not have it easy,
Having it easy is to not become a man.”27
CHENG YING (recites:)
Your Honor, please check your fury and calm your anger,
Let me tell the tale from the beginning with candor.
Zhao Dun was a worthy minister of the Jin house,
And jealousy brewed in the heart of Tu Angu.
He sent the Divine Ao to pounce on a man most just,
Who managed to escape from the court gate, for flee he must.
Driving the one-wheeled carriage, Ling Zhe kindness repaid,
They fled to the deep mountains, the pursuers they did evade.28
Lord Ling, alas, believed the slander
And let the villain Tu Angu act as commander.
For the lord’s son-in-law, the choice to die by the dagger was what he got,
For all nine sets of relations, extermination was their lot.
The princess was imprisoned in the palace,
Whence the kinsfolk who could give her solace?
Following her husband’s final wish, she named her boy the Zhao Orphan,
But even then mother and son could not unite for certain.
Soon after the birth the mother took her own life,
Entrusting me with the protection of the child.
In due time when he is grown,
He can tend the graveyard of the Zhao house.
I came across you, General, just by chance,
My earnest hope is that that you would the Zhao cause advance.
If you nip the last bud of this family,
It would be the very end of the Zhao house.
HAN JUE: Cheng Ying, if I were to hand the baby over to Tu Angu, wouldn’t it mean riches and high position? But I, Han Jue, am a man, good and true. How can I do a thing so base! (Sings:)
[Heaven for the Drunken]
If I were to hand him over for the sake of honors and advancement,
Wouldn’t it be bringing myself gain, and others pain?
Woe indeed, none among the three hundred in his clan found reprieve.
Who can avenge this everlasting grief?
If Tu Angu sees this orphan,
Would he not grind skin and bones—the baby’s last crust—
All to dust?
As for me, I have no reason
To curry favor with such an unconscionable service!29
Cheng Ying, take the child and go. If Tu Angu should ask, I’ll think of something to tell him.
CHENG YING: Thank you, General.
(CHENG YING leaves, holding the chest in his arms, then comes back and kneels down.)
HAN JUE: Cheng Ying, I said I’m letting you go. Do you think I’m fooling you? Go quickly.
CHENG YING: Thank you, General. (Goes, comes back again, and kneels.)
HAN JUE: Cheng Ying, Why are you back again? (Sings:)
[Golden Cup]
He probably doubts my sincerity in letting him go—
Can he not see how the orchid sighs when its fragrant kin dies?30
Going or not? Again and again I let him have his tries.
Why did he go all the way to the gate
And suddenly turn back? (Speaks:)
CHENG YING, (sings:)
Since you lack overweening courage,31
Why take it upon yourself to be guardian of the orphan?
Haven’t you heard, “Loyal subjects are not afraid of death,
Those afraid of death are not loyal subjects”?
CHENG YING: General, if after I leave this palace gate, you report it to Tu Angu, he will then send some other general to arrest me, and there will not be the slightest chance for the orphan to survive. Well, well, General, you might as well arrest me now and turn us in for the reward. I’m willing to die with the baby.
HAN JUE: Cheng Ying, I can see that your mind is not at ease even when I let you go. (Sings:)
[Helped Home Drunk]
You are preserving the last heir of the Zhao line.
As for the villain Tu—what relation is he of mine?
Why should I pretend to do you a favor and send away the troops,
Only to have you arrested in a roundabout way?
If you are loyal, I am also one of good faith.
If you are willing to sacrifice your life,
I too will not begrudge letting this head go.
[Blue Song]
Indeed, mere words, mere words cannot tell all. (Speaks:)
Cheng Ying— (sings:)
How your eyes, your eyes lack pearls of discernment!32
Now take the orphan with you and go hide deep in the mountains.
Teach him well how to become a man
With learning literary and martial,
So that someday he will regain command of the three armies33
And bring the villain to book.
He is to risk life and limb
To repay what is owed the souls of the dead.
The hardships we suffer and the risks we take
Will then not be in vain. (Speaks:)
Cheng Ying, go in peace. (Sings:)
[Coda]
I would rather answer for my life clean and clear
Than the villain’s interrogation and torture endure.
I will smash my head against the marble steps and die.
Even if it may not earn me eternal fame as death I defy,
I will at least have Chu Ni’s loyal spirit nearby.
You must take good care of the child:
For his needs day and night you should cope,
Remember for the Zhao line he is the last hope.
Only when he is grown should you tell him the old story34
And see to it that he takes revenge against the enemy,
And he is not to forget me, his great benefactor!
(Cuts his own throat. Exits.)
CHENG YING: Alas! General Han Jue has killed himself! What if the guards find out about this and report to Tu Angu? I must take the child and run away. (Recites:)
General Han is truly loyal and just,
To save the orphan he put himself to the sword.
Now at last without fear go I must:
At Peace Village we will have another accord. (Exits.)
ACT 2
(TU ANGU enters with SOLDIERS.)
TU ANGU: Better not be too concerned about things; if you do, you lose your peace of mind. Because the princess gave birth to a son that she called the Zhao Orphan, I sent General Han Jue to guard the gates of the palace and search for possible miscreants. In the meantime I have posted notices announcing that anyone hiding the child would have his whole clan executed—none of his nine sets of relations would be spared. Short of taking flight, there is absolutely no way for the orphan to escape. It is getting late, why hasn’t anyone brought the child here yet?35 That makes me uneasy. Send someone to look outside the gate!
(SOLDIER enters.)
SOLDIER: Reporting to the marshal: we have a disaster on our hands!
TU ANGU: Whence the disaster?
SOLDIER: The princess has hanged herself in the palace with a sash from her skirt, and General Han, who was guarding the gate, has put himself to the blade.
TU ANGU: Why did Han Jue kill himself? The orphan must have escaped. What should I do? Let me think�
�yes, I have it. I have no choice but to forge a decree in Lord Ling’s name to have all the babies in the realm from one to six months old36 seized, and I will have each and every one of them chopped into three pieces. The orphan will surely be among them. Won’t this take care of my deepest worry? Guards, post notices for me: Have all babies in the Jin domain aged over a month and under half a year brought to the marshal’s headquarters. Anyone who disobeys will be put to death with his whole clan. (Recites:)
I’m rounding up every baby in Jin.
There’s no place the orphan can hide therein.
Of what avail is his noble lineage?
He will not be able to escape my sword!
(MALE LEAD dressed as GONGSUN CHUJIU enters with his SERVANT BOY.)
GONGSUN CHUJIU: This old man is Gongsun Chujiu, a middle-rank official at Lord Ling’s court.37 I am getting on in years, and Tu Angu’s dominance at court made it impossible for me to discharge my duties, so I have given up office and have taken up farming. Now with a thatched house, a modest plot of land,38 and hoe in hand, I live in Peace Village. I used to pass my nights in a small tent listening to the chilling calls of the bugle. Now I lean against my wooden gate counting the lines of wild geese in the sky.39 What leisure and tranquillity! (Sings:)
[Nanlü mode: One Sprig of Blossoms]
In truth, real men are thwarted and hounded,
Veritable pillars of domain are pounded.
Those filthy dog butchers of little merit
Tried to bully this turtle angler of grand spirit.40
We happen to have the benighted Lord Ling,
Who perversely rewards the wicked with cover
And makes the worthy suffer.
Had I not from the swift current stepped back,
I would have yielded my head in the marketplace to their attack!
[Liangzhou Number Seven]
At his headquarters the marshal parades his powers and might,
I withdrew from office and in farming in Peace Village seek respite.
The insignia and privileges41 of the official are for me a long-gone sight.
His rank is now the highest,
His position is supreme, like the three ministers.42
His fief extends over eight counties,
His emolument amounts to a thousand bushels.43
He turns a blind eye to injustices,
And turns a deaf ear to curses.
On flatterers he confers the greatest honors and distinction,44
To enemies of the loyal and just he offers profit and promotion,
For embezzlers undermining the realm he provides titles and recognition.
He only knows that gratification of the moment holds him in thrall,
Unaware that, the higher one climbs, the harder one will fall.
Far better is my life of keeping to the fields, as I learn to till the land.
Long have I leapt out of the hungry tigers’ den where injury’s the measure:
I finally enjoy carefree leisure.
(CHENG YING enters.)
CHENG YING: Cheng Ying, you are so nervous! Young master, you are in such danger! Tu Angu, you are so very ruthless! Though I’ve risked my life and managed to get out of the city, I heard that Tu Angu, after he found out that the orphan was gone, has ordered all babies from one to six months old seized and brought to the marshal’s headquarters. Whether it’s the orphan or not, he will personally chop each and every one of them in three. Where then can I send the young master? Oh, yes, I have it. I remember there is a certain Gongsun Chujiu in Peace Village—he served with Zhao Dun at court and was one of his best friends. He is now retired and has taken to farming. This old minister is a loyal and just man. Surely I can hide the child there. Now I am in the village. Let me put down the medicine chest in this thatched shed. Young master, just rest for a while. After I see Gongsun Chujiu, I will come back for you. Lad, tell your master that Cheng Ying wishes to see him.
SERVANT BOY (to GONGSUN:) There is a man called Cheng Ying at the door.
GONGSUN CHUJIU: Ask him to come in.
SERVANT BOY: Please come in.
GONGSUN CHUJIU (greets CHENG YING:) Cheng Ying, what has brought you here?
CHENG YING: Your humble servant learned that your honor is living in this village, so I have come to pay you a visit.
GONGSUN CHUJIU: How have the officials at court been doing since I left office?
CHENG YING: Alas, it’s no longer the same as in the days when Your Honor was at court. Now Tu Angu prevails and holds all the power in his hands. Things are completely different.
GONGSUN CHUJIU: Someone should perhaps urge the ministers to remonstrate with the lord.
CHENG YING: Your Honor, there have always been treacherous officials like him since ancient times. Even in the days of the sage-kings Yao and Shun, there were the Four Scourges.45
GONGSUN CHUJIU (sings:)
[Coda for the Turning Point]
You may say since times of yore rulers have often been deceived,
And even during the reign of sage-kings there were the Four Scourges.
But who’s like him? Hated by millions, rejected by legion, but favored by one.
He is both corrupt and unjust.
The fabric of loyalty and filial piety he has rent,
Not a single seed can escape: on the eradication of the Zhao clan he is bent.
CHENG YING: Your Honor, fortunately heaven is just. The Zhao clan has not been totally wiped out.
GONGSUN CHUJIU: Three hundred in the clan, high and low, all were exterminated. Even the prince consort was forced to take the court’s “gifts of death,” and the princess also hanged herself. Who could still be left?
CHENG YING: No more need be said on what you already seem to know. But recently, the princess gave birth to a boy while imprisoned in the palace and named him the Zhao Orphan. Isn’t he an offspring of the Zhao line? I am just afraid that if Tu Angu ever gets word of this, the little one will certainly not be spared. If he too is killed, it will really be the very end of the Zhao line.
GONGSUN CHUJIU: Where is the orphan now? Has anyone rescued him and brought him out?
CHENG YING: Since Your Honor takes pity on the Zhao line, dare I not tell the truth? Before the princess took her own life, she entrusted the child to me, charging me to bring him up to avenge his parents. When I brought him to the gate, we were caught by General Han Jue, who was going to report to Tu Angu. Only after I pleaded with him did General Han finally let us go and kill himself. But now I have no place to hide the child, so I have turned to you for help. I thought that since Your Honor served with Zhao Dun at court, you must have been good friends. Take pity on the child and save him!
GONGSUN CHUJIU: Where is that orphan now?
CHENG YING: I left him under the thatched shed.
GONGSUN CHUJIU: Don’t frighten the child. Bring him here quickly.
(CHENG YING brings in the chest, opens it, and looks in.)
CHENG YING: Thank heavens! The young master is still asleep.
GONGSUN CHUJIU (takes the child and sings:)
[Sheep-Herding Pass]
This child, before he was born, lost all his kin.
While still in his mother’s womb, his forebears met their demise.
Even if he grows up, he may bring ruin rather than luck.
His father was executed at Yunyang.
His mother was jailed in the palace.
How can he become a minister reeking of blood, one whose humble roots his rise confirm?
He may be no more than a thoughtless black-headed worm.46
CHENG YING: But all the wronged souls of Zhao rely on him for vengeance.
GONGSUN CHUJIU (sings:)
You take him for a true man who will avenge his father and mother,
To me he is nothing but a seed of misfortune that ensnares another.
CHENG YING: Your Honor, you probably don’t know this: because the Zhao Orphan escaped, Tu Angu has ordered all the babies i
n the domain be seized and brought to him to be killed. Your Honor, I would like to hide the baby with you—for one thing to repay the kindness of the prince consort, for another to save the lives of the babies in Jin. I am almost forty-five and have just had a boy who is not yet a month old. I’ll disguise my child as the Zhao Orphan and Your Honor can report to Tu Angu that Cheng Ying is hiding the orphan. Let him kill me with my own son. Your Honor can take the time to bring up the true orphan to avenge the injustice done to his parents. Wouldn’t that be a good plan?
GONGSUN CHUJIU: How old are you now, Cheng Ying?
CHENG YING: Your humble servant is forty-five.
GONGSUN CHUJIU: It will take twenty years before the child can avenge his parents. You’ll be only sixty-five in twenty years. But if I were to live another twenty years, wouldn’t I be ninety? One can’t even be sure if I will still be alive then, let alone avenge the Zhao line! Cheng Ying, if you are willing to sacrifice your son, bring him to me and report to Tu Angu that Gongsun Chujiu has the orphan hidden in Peace Village. Tu Angu will come with his troops and arrest me. I’ll die with your son. You can then bring up the orphan and have him take revenge. This is a much better plan.
CHENG YING: Your Honor, it may seem so, but how can I have the heart to let you go through all this? It’s better if you pretend that my child is the orphan and denounce us to Tu Angu. Let us, father and son, die together.
GONGSUN CHUJIU: Cheng Ying, I have given my word. No need to waver. (Sings:)
[Red Peony]
It will take twenty years before you can repay your master,
That will be your moment of satisfaction.
Sooner or later I will die, and all our efforts will be for naught.
CHENG YING: Your Honor, you are still hale and hearty.
GONGSUN CHUJIU (sings:)
My energy, unlike former days, is with decline fraught.
If bereft by my sudden death, how can the child accomplish anything?
Old age is not ravaging you, not quite yet—
It’s just the right time for you to take up the Zhao cause and show your flair.
(Speaks:) Cheng Ying, just do as I say. (Sings:)
In truth, for me the morning drums and evening bells are hard to bear.
CHENG YING: Your Honor, you were leading a peaceful life at home. It is I, Cheng Ying, ignorant of propriety, who have passed such a miserable burden to you. That is why I cannot let go!
GONGSUN CHUJIU: Cheng Ying, what are you talking about! I am already seventy—it’s natural for me to die at this age. What difference do a few days make! (Sings:)
