The Columbia Anthology of Yuan Drama

by C. T. Hsia

  A thousand mountains, ten thousand rivers lie between us.

  Previously, Mother-in-law was left with no one to rely on,

  And now together mother and daughter haven’t enough to live on!

  MOTHER QIU: Meiying, why are you flying into a rage?30

  MEIYING (sings:)

  How dare I fly into a rage? (Speaks:)

  Mother is telling me that when the peddler comes, I ought to buy some rouge and powder for makeup. But, I say, Qiu Hu has been away for ten years and we’ve had to go without clothes and food. (Sings:)

  Mother, who has the spare cash to patch a bamboo colander?31

  (SQUIRE LI enters with SQUIRE LUO and his wife, leading musicians.)

  LI: I have come here to take for myself a wife! “The night of painted candles in the bridal chamber, / When a pounding mallet hangs on the golden roster.”

  MEIYING: Mother, they’re playing musical instruments outside. Are they celebrating the Ox Deity Festival? Let me have a look.

  MOTHER QIU: Meiying, go take a look.

  (MEIYING goes out to have a look.)

  MEIYING: I was wondering who it could be. It’s Papa and Mama. Where have you come from?

  LUO: We have got you a husband.

  MEIYING: Papa, for whom did you get a husband?

  LUO: We have got you a husband.

  MEIYING: What kind of talk is that? A husband for me? (Sings:)

  [If a Scholar]

  You come with wine and mutton

  Leading a band of drummers and pipers—

  I already have a husband,

  Why are you bringing me another?

  No wonder they say you country folks are muddleheaded

  And have no common sense.

  LUO: My child, Qiu Hu is dead, and Squire Li wants to marry you.

  MEIYING (sings:)

  I’ve been Zhang’s woman;

  Now you’re asking me to be Li’s wife.32

  Whoever heard of such nonsense!

  MOTHER LUO: My child, haven’t you heard that to follow the words of one’s parents is considered great filial piety? You’d better marry him.

  MEIYING (sings:)

  [Rolling Silken Ball]

  With the rooster I married I will fly together.

  Father and Mother, you made this match.

  Whether rich or poor, my lot is the marital knot.

  From morning till evening,

  My lips have touched neither rice nor water.

  What’s there to say about food and clothes in abundance!

  The chills that run up and down my spine

  Are from the frigid cold I have weathered;

  The growling of my stomach

  Is from the starvation I have endured.

  Don’t think I would ever deviate from the right path!

  LUO: Just stop all this fuss! Your mother-in-law has already accepted the betrothal gift of red silk.

  MEIYING: How could that be! I’ll go and ask my mother-in-law.

  (MEIYING approaches MOTHER QIU.)

  Mother, Qiu Hu has been away for ten years, and I’ve been doing odd jobs to support you. How could you marry me off to another man? What good is my life? I might as well kill myself.

  MOTHER QIU: Meiying, I had nothing to do with this. Your father is the one who forced me to accept the red silk. He is the one who sold you.

  (MOTHER QIU wails.)

  MEIYING (sings:)

  [Taking Off Plain Clothes]

  While she weeps and wails

  I mourn and lament.

  (MEIYING goes outside and sings:)

  Father, you don’t fear at all the jeers of our relatives and friends.

  LUO: I’m going to have the money and presents divided evenly between your mother-in-law and me.

  MEIYING (sings:)

  So he wants to divide evenly the money and gifts.

  LUO: My child, if you marry him, I’ll get some wine to drink and meat to eat.

  MEIYING (sings:)

  [Drunk in Peacetime]

  Father, fortunately you’ve not yet enjoyed the food and drink!

  MOTHER LUO: My child, I want to have a banquet too.

  MEIYING (sings:)

  Mother, must you have a banquet as easily as that!

  LI: Keep quiet, young woman. Take a look at me. I’m not all that ugly.

  (LI makes a face; Meiying strikes him and sings:)

  I’ll smack this wretch violently across the face.

  If you come near me, I’ll claw your hide. (Speaks:)

  In peaceful times like these, with this vast cosmos as witness, (sings:)

  How dare you trifle publicly with a woman of decent family!

  (MEIYING approaches MOTHER QIU and sings:)

  Aiya! This is clearly taking advantage of the helplessness of dear old Mother-in-law.

  LUO: What’s all this shouting about? You disobedient, rebellious little slut!

  MEIYING (sings:)

  You turn around and scold me for being disobedient and rebellious,

  For defying my parents to their faces.

  Father, how could you bear to debase yourself like that?

  LI: Look, young woman, stop making all this fuss. I’m not disgracing you. Haven’t you heard: only with the phoenix is the phoenix matched; only to each other can mandarin ducks be paired.

  MEIYING (sings:)

  [Song of Endless Words]

  You say that only with the phoenix is the phoenix matched,

  And only with each other can mandarin ducks be paired.

  I say, I’ve had enough of your rustic ways.

  (Drums and music begin to sound. MEIYING becomes angry and speaks:)

  Why haven’t you people left yet? (Sings:)

  Save your village drums for your own village.

  LI: Come here, young woman. No one in the village is as rich as me.

  MEIYING (sings:)

  In truth this is beneath my contempt!

  In truth this is beneath my contempt!

  If you have copper coins, I say

  You’d better embrace them while you sleep!

  LUO: Look, you little wretch, rather than live in poverty, you’d better marry Squire Li and live well.

  MEIYING (sings:)

  [Coda]

  Father, how could you use the joys of the bridal chamber to lure me into a trap?33

  LI: I ain’t all that ugly.

  MEIYING (sings:)

  I curse you as a villain who’ll taste the blade of death at the marketplace execution ground in Yunyang.34

  Yokels and hooligans are your kin,

  Rich village heads your chums.

  Ai! You, an ignorant country fellow,

  What do you know of officialdom?

  Where is my husband at this moment?

  Perhaps, surrounded by embroidered curtains,

  He rides a black-canopied carriage with carved wheels;

  Or, with a bridle of jade and a golden saddle,

  He sits astride a noble steed,

  Two lines of runners standing in attendance,

  The pitchers and silver basins arranged in rows.

  As big as a peck, the golden seal of office is carried close behind him;

  As big as a curtain, the banner of his chariot bears the word “General.”35

  But when he remembers that his mother is almost seventy,

  Soon he will return to his native village, where his roots run deep,

  Where mother and son, husband and wife will be united once again.

  You ass, you bumpkin, you’ve made an enemy of me!

  Who knows on what day he will be nearby—

  Then, like wolves and tigers, his runners will seize you!

  Qiu Hu will ask, Who has tried to seduce my wife? Who has been mistreating my mother?

  (MEIYING pushes LI to the ground and sings:)

  Don’t think I will let you off easily at that time.

  (MEIYING and MOTHER QIU exit.)

  LI: Well, I didn’t even get t
o marry her, and yet I was booed and cussed and knocked to the ground. How can I tolerate such a thing? (Recites:)

  Just because I am impatient for the painted candles in the bridal chamber,

  I’m in danger of being hit in the midriff by the pounding mallets on the golden roster.

  LUO AND WIFE (recite:)

  It is all because your union with Meiying is destined not to be;

  It’s not that my daughter has been putting on an act. (Exit.)

  ACT 3

  (QIU HU enters dressed as an official.)

  QIU HU: I am Qiu Hu, a humble official. Back then when I was drafted into the army, I met the marshal. Seeing that I was well versed in civil and military affairs, he was very much pleased. During my service under him, I piled merit on top of merit and was awarded the position of a state minister.36 Then I told him that I had left home ten years ago and that I have there an aged mother whom I have long neglected to support. So I begged to be granted leave to return home. Fortunately, Duke Zhao of Lu37 took pity on me and gave me a gold ingot just so that I could adequately provide for my mother. And now dressed splendidly in a brocade robe, I am returning home to visit my mother. (Recites:)

  To think that yonder day I cried and sobbed as I left for the army,

  And today I laugh happily, returning home with honors.

  I bear an ingot of bright, bright gold to offer to my mother

  And to comfort my lovely, lovely young wife. (Exits.)

  (MOTHER QIU enters.)

  MOTHER QIU: I am Qiu Hu’s mother. Since my son left home, there’s been no news of him at all. The other day I had to put up with his parents-in-law’s nonsense. But thank goodness, my daughter-in-law has such a steadfast and chaste heart that she refuses to remarry. If she had consented, on whom could I have relied for sustenance and support? My daughter-in-law left early this morning for the mulberry garden to pick mulberry leaves. To think that she works so diligently, and that she does all this for me! I just hope that after I die, I will in turn be reborn as her daughter-in-law and will be able to care for her as she has cared for me. Only then will I have repaid her. The weather is oppressive. I think I’ll go and rest for a while. (Exits.)

  (MEIYING enters carrying a mulberry basket.)

  MEIYING: I’m on my way to gather mulberry leaves. (Sings:)

  [Zhonglü mode: Powdered Butterflies]

  Ever since I married Qiu Hu,

  In my new family we barely have enough to live on.

  Could it be that my stars38 ordain the lot of the widowed and the lonely!

  I have suffered hunger and cold,

  Endured chill and famine,

  And by my own parents I have been bullied.

  From the outset our prospects were desolate and bleak.

  Worse still, we have gone without a harvest

  In these times of famine.

  [Intoxicating Spring Wind]

  Around me all I see is a stretch of desolate trees under a cloud-laden sky—

  One could willfully mistake it for a river village in spring rain.

  Oh, who could have so angered heaven,

  And caused us farmers so much, so much suffering?

  Why speak of the many joys of marriage?

  It amounts to no more than a single night of intimacy,

  Followed by a lifelong separation for husband and wife. (Speaks:)

  Here I am at the mulberry garden. (Sings:)

  [Joy for the World]

  I’ll set my mulberry basket down

  And pluck from this lush mulberry tree.

  All I see are thick shadows, soft and tender,

  Like a brocade of kingfisher green, and, oh, so hazy.

  I’ll penetrate this mist beneath the leaves,

  And scatter dewdrops clinging to the tips of branches.39

  (She begins to pick mulberry leaves.)

  I’m just a country wife, used to gathering cocoons and spinning silk,

  But now I am one plucking flowers and playing with willows.40

  All I fear is that if I tarry, the silkworms will starve—

  How can I afford to worry if the leaves I pick are spoiled,

  Or the twigs I pluck are wilted? (Speaks:)

  I’m warm now. Let me take off this blouse and see if I can dry it in the sun.

  (She sets the blouse out to dry.)

  (QIU HU enters, having changed into ordinary clothes.)

  QIU HU: I am Qiu Hu, a humble official. I’ve come here, and being not far from my home, I’ve changed my clothes. Well, isn’t this our mulberry garden? These trees have all grown. Let me get closer: but why is the gate to the garden standing open? I’ll take a look. (He sees MEIYING.) What a pretty girl! She’s standing with her back to me. I can’t see her face; I can only see her from behind. White is her neck, and black her hair. How can I get her to turn around so I can get to look at her? What a delight that would be! Oh, I’ll just recite four lines of verse to cajole her. Then she’ll certainly turn around. (Recites:)

  Who is this lass of twice eight years?

  With basket in hand she has gone to gather mulberry leaves.

  Her silken blouse hangs upon a branch,

  The wind stirs and fills the garden with fragrance.

  Why didn’t she hear? I’ll repeat it. (He recites again.)

  (MEIYING turns around to retrieve her blouse.)

  MEIYING: I’ve been gathering leaves here, but who could this man be? Here he is, having entered the garden, barely giving me time to get dressed.

  (QIU HU bows.)

  QIU HU: I bow to you, young lady.

  MEIYING (startled, returns the salute and then sings:)

  [Fragrance Fills the Courtyard]

  Flustered, I return a country maiden’s greeting.

  QIU HU: I am honored, young lady.

  MEIYING (sings:)

  He is not an idly drifting vagabond,

  But, I’ll wager, a scholar of renown on his way to sit for the examination.

  Now I see him bowing low,

  Hands clasped within his sleeves,

  Offering words of greeting.

  Since you have read the books of the sage Confucius …

  QIU HU: Young lady, could you go get something cool for me to drink?

  MEIYING (sings:)

  I am a married woman who picks mulberry leaves and raises silkworms.

  What makes you think that I’m a country wench who hoes the field and delivers meals?

  QIU HU: There’s no one here, young lady. Come closer. Let me be your lover! What’s there to be afraid of?

  MEIYING (becomes angry, sings:)

  Out of the blue he blurts out these unwonted, shameful words.

  How is it that this man, to all appearance decent,

  Should behave in such an ungentlemanly manner?

  What am I to do?

  QIU HU: There’s no one around here, young lady. I implore you. As they say, “It’s better to meet a young man than to labor in the fields, and better to marry a fine gentleman than to pick mulberry leaves.” Why don’t you do as I wish!

  MEIYING: This wretch is indeed without shame! (Sings:)

  [Ascending a Small Tower]

  You wish us to pair like winged birds,

  But have you ever heard the cuckoo—

  Over there he sings and quavers,

  Urging you, sir, to hasten home.

  QIU HU: You’re just a girl who raises silkworms; how can you be compared to the cuckoo that was once a king?41

  MEIYING (sings:)

  You are saying that there is no comparison:

  So that silkworm nursery of mine

  Is where you should like to stay?

  But my silkworms will get old,

  And what will I do then?42

  QIU HU (turning aside:) Nothing ventured, nothing gained. (He tugs at MEIYING.) Why don’t you let me have my way, young lady?

  MEIYING (pushing him away:) Back off! (Sings:)

  [Twelfth Month]

  Oh,
what family could a man like you come from?

  You’ve really got your nerve! You’ve got some gall!

  Your salacious eyes are staring and bulging,

  With hands and feet you tug and pull.

  QIU HU: Even if you could fly, you couldn’t get out the garden gate.

  MEIYING (sings:)

  Now he blocks my way home,

  So I’ll have to cry out for help. (Speaks:)

  Shasan, Wangliu, Bange’er, come and help me!

  QIU HU: Stop yelling, young lady!

  MEIYING (sings:)

  [Song of the People of Yao]

  In the mulberry garden he would force me to fulfill his pleasure.

  He frightens me—my hands and feet shudder with fear.

  Now he embraces me, hugs me, tugs my clothes,

  And, dashing to and fro, he blocks my way!

  At first I thought he was a high-capped scholar,

  But he turns out to be an ill-bred cad!

  QIU HU (turning aside:) Wait a minute. This girl refuses. How can I get her to give in? I have here the gold ingot that Duke Zhao of Lu bestowed on me for the support of my elderly mother. But my mother won’t know about it. As the saying goes, “Riches move the heart.” I’ll give this girl the gold, then for better or worse she will let me have my way. (He takes out the gold and approaches MEIYING.) Hey, young lady, if you yield to me, I’ll give you this gold.

  MEIYING (turning aside:) This young rascal is without shame! Now he’s brought out a gold ingot. Well, I suppose I could do this … Say, fellow, why didn’t you say earlier that you had gold? You come over here, and I’ll go over there to see if there’s anyone around.

  QIU HU: She’s willing! Go ahead and see if anyone’s around.

  (MEIYING goes out the gate.)

  MEIYING: You beast! Listen! Don’t you know that when a man sees gold he mends his ways, and when a woman sees gold, she dares not allow her resolution to weaken?43 Seeing that I refuse, you beast, you drag out your gold. Do you think that this is its proper use? (Sings:)

  [Teasing Children]

  Don’t you know that in books there are women as beautiful as jade?44

  QIU HU: Alas! How she’s taunts me relentlessly!45

  MEIYING (sings:)

  You offer money, hoping thus to buy the amorous sport of clouds and rain.46

  Don’t you know that you ought to spend your gold on book collecting?

  Ai! You are a fine gentleman,

  Accustomed to using pearls, and relying on money-laden pockets

  To throw your weight around.

  Haven’t you heard that a gentleman uses money wisely?

  I can no longer hold back my anger.