by C. T. Hsia
JUDGE BAO (aside:) This woman doesn’t seem like one from a respectable family. Let me get hold of the donkey for her, then I’ll question her in detail and find out what is going on.
(WANG FENLIAN greets JUDGE BAO.)
WANG FENLIAN: Hey, old man there, grab that donkey for me.
(JUDGE BAO gets hold of the donkey.)
WANG FENLIAN (thanks JUDGE BAO:) I am much obliged to you, old man.
JUDGE BAO: Young lady, where are you from?
WANG FENLIAN: Here’s a real country bumpkin! He cannot tell who I am. I live at Dog Leg’s Bay.
JUDGE BAO: What kind of business does your family do?
WANG FENLIAN: Old man, take a guess.
JUDGE BAO: All right, I’ll try.
WANG FENLIAN: Well, come on.
JUDGE BAO: Do you run an oil mill?
WANG FENLIAN: No.
JUDGE BAO: Manage a pawnshop?
WANG FENLIAN: No.
JUDGE BAO: Do you sell cotton and silk fabric?
WANG FENLIAN: Wrong again.
JUDGE BAO: If it is none of these, what kind of business is it?
WANG FENLIAN: At my house we sell fresh quails.48 Old man, where do you live?
JUDGE BAO: I had only a wife, and she passed away long ago. I have no children, so I wander about begging for my meals.
WANG FENLIAN: Old man, come with me; I could use someone like you. Just stay at my house, and you’ll have all the good meat and good wine you care for.
JUDGE BAO: Fine! Fine! I’ll go with you, young lady. How will you employ me?
WANG FENLIAN: My dear old man, if you come with me, I’ll dress you up: give you a crisp top, a new hat, a tea-brown sash, and a pair of clean, comfortable leather boots. You will sit on a stool at the gate of my house and guard the entrance. Wouldn’t that be a good deal for you?
JUDGE BAO: Young lady, what kind of people frequent your place these days? You can tell me.
WANG FENLIAN: Old man, other playboys and traveling businessmen don’t matter. But I have two clients, both granary commissioners, both powerful and rich. Their father is currently a big shot official in the capital. They are selling rice at a good price of ten taels per picul; they measure out rice with eight-unit pecks, and their scales measure one-third more. I have all I need, so I don’t ask them for anything.
JUDGE BAO: Young lady, if you never wanted money from them, did you ask for other things?
WANG FENLIAN: They didn’t give me much money, but they did give me a purple-gold mallet. It would frighten you to death if you saw it.
JUDGE BAO: I have lived to a ripe age, but when have I seen any purple-gold mallet? Young lady, if you let me take a look—that would surely be a blessing bringing luck and salvation. Wouldn’t that be nice?
WANG FENLIAN: If you see it, it will, indeed, bring luck and salvation. Come along with me, and I’ll let you take a look.
JUDGE BAO: I’ll go with you.
WANG FENLIAN: Old man, have you eaten today?
JUDGE BAO: No, I haven’t.
WANG FENLIAN: Old man, just come with me. Just up ahead there, those two have prepared a banquet and are waiting for me. When we get there, there will be wine and meat aplenty—you can have as much as you like. Help me up onto the donkey.
(JUDGE BAO supports WANG FENLIAN as she mounts the donkey.)
JUDGE BAO (aside:) Everyone in the world knows that I occupy the post of prefect of South Kaifeng. But today in Chenzhou I find myself holding the donkey for this woman. Isn’t that laughable! (Sings:)
[Sheep-Herding Pass]
Not long ago I left the Leopard Tail carriage in the imperial retinue,
Today at Dog Leg’s Bay I have gone a long way.
Why dodge when following a horse or leading a donkey?
I’m only afraid of meeting a commissioner,
Or running into a censor.
How could I, occupant of the eminent Longtu post,
Keep company and get mixed up with this vixen?
Wouldn’t I be first found guilty of amorous offense,
And end up in a confounding case, being dismissed without pay?
WANG FENLIAN: Old man, just come with me, and I’ll show you that purple-gold mallet.
JUDGE BAO: Good, good, I will go with you, and you will let me see the purple-gold mallet that brings luck and salvation. (Sings:)
[Coda for the Turning Point]
As I finish listening, my heart trembles with anger,
So much so that for a moment rage chokes back words.
They regard imperial stores from the granary as mere trifles—
They can be as pitiless as they want,
But I am filled with pity for the people.
Just like fatsoes wrestling—they will be left with only huffs and puffs.
(JUDGE BAO and WANG FENLIAN exit.)
(LIU DEZHONG and YANG JINWU enter leading the two GRANARY HANDS.)
LIU DEZHONG (recites:)
My eyelids are twitching tick-tick—
Doom is sure to come quick.
For if an honest official comes here,
From the beams we’ll be strung for sure.
We are to receive old Bao here. I don’t know why, but my eyelids are twitching. We just drank a few cups of “brainstorming” wine49 to hold down our jitters, and now we are taking our time waiting for him.
(JUDGE BAO and WANG FENLIAN enter.)
JUDGE BAO: Young lady, isn’t this a pavilion for receiving officials? I’ll wait for you here.
WANG FENLIAN: Now that we have arrived, old man, help me down from this donkey. Wait for me here, and as soon as I go inside, I’ll bring you some wine and meat. Watch the donkey for me, too.
(WANG FENLIAN greets LIU DEZHONG and YANG JINWU.)
LIU DEZHONG (smiling:) Sister, you’ve come!
YANG JINWU: Well, my pet, you’ve come a long way.
WANG FENLIAN: You good-for-nothing wretches! Why didn’t you come to meet me? On the way I fell off the donkey and almost tumbled to my death. Then the donkey ran away. Luckily, I met an old man who got hold of the donkey for me. Oh, I almost forgot—he hasn’t eaten anything yet today. Let us first give him some wine and meat.
YANG JINWU: You there, granary hand, take some wine and meat to that old man with the donkey.
(The FIRST GRANARY HAND offers wine and meat to JUDGE BAO.)
FIRST GRANARY HAND: Come here, you old man leading the donkey, and I’ll give you some wine and meat.
JUDGE BAO: Go and tell those granary commissioners of yours that I’m not eating this wine and meat—I’m giving it all to this donkey.
(The FIRST GRANARY HAND becomes angry.)
FIRST GRANARY HAND: How rude this old country bumpkin is! (He goes to tell LIU DEZHONG.) Sir, I just gave some wine and meat to that old man leading the donkey. He didn’t eat any of it but instead gave it all to the beast.
LIU DEZHONG: Take him and have him strung from that locust tree. After I have received old Bao, we’ll take our sweet time beating him.
FIRST GRANARY HAND: Yes sir. (He has JUDGE BAO strung from the tree.)
JUDGE BAO (sings:)
[Wailing to High Heaven]
That Master Liu recommended his sons,
But how could Minister Fan also oblige and pronounce the imperial decree?
Here we have rogue granary commissioners enjoying their wealth and titles.
Totally oblivious to the sufferings of destitute commoners,
They are mired in dalliances at the whorehouse.
Instead of keeping to the price imperially decreed,
They add to it, guided by greed.
Granary rice they have stolen,
Public funds they have pilfered—
All going the way of that harlot,
That harlot Wang Fenlian.
Having seen their crimes for myself,
Do you think I would let them off lightly?
[Crows Crying at Night]
Be the first to taste this sword e
ager for its opening act,
For your life rests no more with high heaven.
How is Master Liu going to get me to back off?
I have investigated this case in full sway
And know it is no hearsay.
What care I about your pull with the Minister Fan?
Even if you go up to the imperial palace and appeal for heavenly favor,
I, Bao Longtu with the iron mien,
Have no choice but to list your names on the Purple List,50
And let your bodies perish in the Yellow Springs.
(ZHANG QIAN enters.)
ZHANG QIAN: To receive a command is to see it through to the end. My master ordered me to enter the city before him and to seek out Yang Jinwu and Liu Dezhong. I went directly to the granary to look for them but couldn’t find either of them. Now I don’t even know where Judge Bao is; I will just go ahead and take a look at this pavilion for receiving officials. (He catches sight of LIU DEZHONG and YANG JINWU.) Well, just as I am looking for them, here they are drinking wine! Let me go over and scare them a bit, drink a few cups, and then get some money for my trouble.51 (ZHANG QIAN greets them.) Good for you! Here you are still drinking wine! Right now Judge Bao is on his way to arrest you two; I have figured it all out.
LIU DEZHONG: Brother, do what you can—let us off and save us! Let me pour you some wine.
ZHANG QIAN: You two knaves are really stupid. Don’t you know that it’s better to pray at the back of the stove rather than at the front?52
LIU DEZHONG: Brother, you speak the truth.
ZHANG QIAN: I have heard all about your affairs, but set your minds at ease, for I will take care of everything for you. Judge Bao is but the sitting Judge Bao—I am the standing Judge Bao.53 You can count on me!
JUDGE BAO: What a fine standing Judge Bao! Ah, Zhang Qian! (Sings:)
[Sheep-Herding Pass]
This knave does not say much when he leads my horse,
But now at the post pavilion he boasts with big words perforce.
True indeed that in this life one cannot do without power!
Ah, but you’re like Wang Qiao’s servant faking immortality; how can you attain immortality?54
ZHANG QIAN (pours his wine on the ground as libation:) If I don’t rescue you two, then may my life be like this wine. (He sees JUDGE BAO and shows fear.) Well, I’ll be damned!
JUDGE BAO (sings:)
So terrified that your face has the dull sheen of gold spirit money,55
Your limbs shake like a madman.
In the end the mouse has no courage,
And how can a monkey sit in Zen meditation?
ZHANG QIAN: When you two knaves came to Chenzhou to sell rice, the imperially decreed price was originally five taels per picul. Why did you raise it to ten taels? When that Zhang Piegu said a few things, why did you beat him to death? And why do you have to buy drinks to treat Zhang Qian? And why did you have the old man leading a donkey strung up without permission? At this very moment Judge Bao is privately making his way into the city through the east gate. Why aren’t you going to receive him yet?
LIU DEZHONG: What is to be done! What is to be done! Since Judge Bao has entered the city, we two must go and welcome him. (He exits together with YANG JINWU and the GRANARY HANDS. ZHANG QIAN releases JUDGE BAO.)
WANG FENLIAN: Those two have left, so I’m going home too. Hey, old man, bring my donkey over here.
ZHANG QIAN (curses WANG:) You worthless whore, drop dead! You still want this gentleman to lead the donkey for you?
JUDGE BAO: Shut up! Sister, let me help you with the donkey.
(JUDGE BAO helps WANG FENLIAN mount the donkey.)
WANG FENLIAN: I am much obliged to you, old man. If you are busy, then that’s that; but if you should be free sometime, come over to my house to see the purple-gold mallet. (She exits.)
JUDGE BAO: The nerves of these vermin who rob the people! (Sings:)
[Hongzhong Coda]
They care not about the ruler’s rancor, nor the people’s,
They merely covet money for whores and for wine.
Today lives will be lost and families broken: in an instant for all to see,
I will pounce on these murderous vultures
One by one, bringing them forth
To be cut down by the ordinance sword.
Do not blame me for not showing mercy.
Just ask that harlot named Wang
Who had no call to make me catch her donkey and walk such a long way.
(JUDGE BAO and ZHANG QIAN exit.)
ACT 4
(COMIC dressed as MAGISTRATE LIAO of Chenzhou enters with the CLERK.)
MAGISTRATE LIAO (recites:)
Being district magistrate is no big bother
As I judge cases with strut and swagger.
Of two things I am truly partial—
Turtle and crab in wine, there’s none better.
My name is Liao Hua,56 and I humbly occupy the post of magistrate of Chenzhou. Today Judge Bao is ascending the yamen hall to preside in judgment. Clerk, assemble the various legal documents and get them ready for signature.
CLERK: You give me these documents and tell me to arrange them properly, but I am illiterate, so how do I know what to do?
MAGISTRATE LIAO: What effrontery! If you are illiterate, how did you become a clerk?
CLERK: Don’t you know? I was hired as a substitute.
MAGISTRATE LIAO: Well then, quickly clean off my desk, for Judge Bao is due soon.
(ZHANG QIAN enters and arranges the courtroom.)
ZHANG QIAN: Attention! Let all men and horses in the yamen be quiet.
(JUDGE BAO enters.)
JUDGE BAO: I am Bao Zheng. Because some vile and corrupt officials at Chenzhou have been making the people suffer, I have been ordered by the emperor to investigate them and soothe the people; this has not been easy, believe me. (Sings:)
[Shuangdiao mode: Song of New Water]
Knocking my head at the palace steps, I accepted the ruler’s commission,
And I was sent to Chenzhou to purge the scourge for the people.
An awe-inspiring name that sets the earth rumbling,
A whiff of death that descends with the frost.
I hold in my hand the ordinance sword and gold tablet,
So do not blame me, Master Liu. (Speaks:)
Zhang Qian, bring Liu Dezhong and the whole lot.
ZHANG QIAN: Yes sir. (He brings LIU DEZHONG, YANG JINWU, and the two GRANARY HANDS; they all kneel before JUDGE BAO.) Face the judge!
JUDGE BAO: Do you know your crimes?
LIU DEZHONG: I do not.
JUDGE BAO: Why, you rogue, what was the imperial decreed price for selling one picul of rice?
LIU DEZHONG: My father told us that the imperially decreed price was ten taels.
JUDGE BAO: That price was set at five taels and you changed it to ten without authorization. You also used eight-unit short pecks and scales enlarged by one-third. How can you pretend not to know your crimes? (Sings:)
[Stop the Horse to Listen]
Money was your only goal:
Blithely indifferent to the people’s suffering, you’re bent on grabbing.
Now you are a bound captive,
Your luck has run out, leaving calamitous reckoning for half a life.57
Just look at him: advancing as if going up the Terrace of Terror for the Soul,58
Shuffling back, as if about to fall into the Eastern Sea.
I will have you quartered in the marketplace
And make your soul fly beyond the blue heavens. (Speaks:)
Zhang Qian, go to Dog Leg’s Bay and arrest that Wang Fenlian. Bring the purple-gold mallet along with her.
ZHANG QIAN: Yes sir. (He arrests WANG FENLIAN, who kneels.) Wang Fenlian, face the judge!
JUDGE BAO: Well now, Wang Fenlian, do you recognize me?
WANG FENLIAN: No, I don’t recognize you.
JUDGE BAO (sings:)
[Wild Geese Alight
]
Can it be that you, Prostitute Wang, are so daft?
Are you so perversely ignorant of Judge Bao’s wide-ranging craft?
You said that there is big money in entertaining granary officials—
How come you spare your charms with the judge?
Come now, Wang Fenlian, who gave you this gold mallet?
WANG FENLIAN: Yang Jinwu gave it to me.
JUDGE BAO: Zhang Qian, choose a big stick, take off Wang Fenlian’s trousers, and give her thirty strokes. (ZHANG QIAN beats her.) Beat her and then throw her out. (She is thrown out and exits.)
Zhang Qian, bring Yang Jinwu forward. (ZHANG QIAN seizes YANG JINWU.) This gold mallet has the imperial insignia on it—why did you give it to Wang Fenlian?
YANG JINWU: Your Honor, have mercy on me. I didn’t give it to her; I pawned it for a few pastries to eat.
JUDGE BAO: Zhang Qian, take Yang Jinwu out and off with his head in the marketplace, then report back to me.
ZHANG QIAN: Yes sir.
JUDGE BAO (sings:)
[Victory Song]
With all your might you plot your lot through the eye of a coin,59
But today by the sword will your body from life disjoin.
Having violated Xiao He’s code,60 you may not expect clemency.
Even if you had the wiles of Kuai Tong, how can you escape destiny?
Your execution will brook no delay,
For my ordinance sword is swift as wind.
For your death there is a sure sign—
Who told you to pawn the gold mallet for wine?
(ZHANG QIAN takes YANG JINWU away to be executed. JUDGE BAO speaks:)
Zhang Qian, bring Young Piegu over here.
ZHANG QIAN: Young Piegu: come forward and face the judge. (He brings the young man forward and orders him to kneel.)
JUDGE BAO: All right, young man, which one killed your father?
YOUNG PIEGU: It was this Liu Dezhong who took the purple-gold mallet and beat my father to death.
