by David Hwang
Chinglish
BOOKS BY DAVID HENRY HWANG
AVAILABLE FROM TCG
Chinglish
Flower Drum Song
Book by David Henry Hwang
Music by Richard Rodgers
Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II
Golden Child
Trying to Find Chinatown
INCLUDES:
Bondage
The Dance and the Railroad
Family Devotions
FOB
The House of Sleeping Beauties
The Sound of a Voice
Trying to Find Chinatown
The Voyage
Yellow Face
Chinglish
A PLAY
David Henry Hwang
Chinese translations
by Candace Mui Ngam Chong
Chinese language editing
by Joanna C. Lee
THEATRE COMMUNICATIONS GROUP
NEW YORK
2012
Chinglish is copyright © 2012 by David Henry Hwang
Chinglish is published by Theatre Communications Group, Inc.,
520 Eighth Avenue, 24th Floor, New York, NY 10018-4156
All Rights Reserved. Except for brief passages quoted in newspaper, magazine, radio or television reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording, or by an information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
Professionals and amateurs are hereby warned that this material, being fully protected under the Copyright Laws of the United States of America and all other countries of the Berne and Universal Copyright Conventions, is subject to a royalty. All rights, including but not limited to, professional, amateur, recording, motion picture, recitation, lecturing, public reading, radio and television broadcasting, and the rights of translation into foreign languages are expressly reserved. Particular emphasis is placed on the question of readings and all uses of this book by educational institutions, permission for which must be secured from the author’s representative: William Craver, Paradigm, 360 Park Avenue South, 16th Floor, New York, NY 10010, (212) 897-6400.
The publication of Chinglish by David Henry Hwang through TCG’s Book Program is made possible in part by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.
TCG books are exclusively distributed to the book trade by Consortium Book Sales and Distribution.
CIP data information is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
eISBN: 978-1-55936-426-3
Book design and composition by Lisa Govan
First Edition, May 2012
Chinglish
Contents
PRODUCTION HISTORY
CHARACTERS
EDITOR’S NOTE ON LANGUAGE
Act One
Scene 1
Scene 2
Scene 3
Scene 4
Scene 5
Scene 6
Scene 7
Scene 8
Act Two
Scene 9
Scene 10
Scene 11
Scene 12
Scene 13
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
PRODUCTION HISTORY
Chinglish was developed at the Lark Play Development Center (John Eisner, Artistic Director; Michael Robertson, Managing Director), New York City, in association with The Public Theater (Oskar Eustis, Artistic Director), New York City.
Chinglish premiered at the Goodman Theatre (Robert Falls, Artistic Director; Roche Schulfer, Executive Director) on June 18, 2011. It was directed by Leigh Silverman; the set design was by David Korins, the costume design was by Anita Yavich, the lighting design was by Brian MacDevitt, the projection design was by Jeff Sugg and Shawn Duan, the sound design was by Darron L. West; the cultural advisors were Joanna C. Lee and Ken Smith, the Mandarin Chinese translator was Candace Mui Ngam Chong, the production stage manager was Alden Vasquez and the dramaturgs were Oskar Eustis and Tanya Palmer. The cast was:
DANIEL CAVANAUGH
James Waterston
PETER TIMMS
Stephen Pucci
CAI GUOLIANG
Larry Lei Zhang
XI YAN
Jennifer Lim
QIAN/PROSECUTOR LI
Angela Lin
BING/JUDGE GEMING
Johnny Wu
ZHAO
Christine Lin
UNDERSTUDIES
Norm Boucher, Angela Lin,
Brian Nishii, Clara Wong
Chinglish was produced on Broadway by Jeffrey Richards, Jerry Frankel, Jay and Cindy Gutterman/Cathy Chernoff, Heni Koenigsberg/Lily Fan, Joseph and Matthew Deitch, Dasha Epstein, Ronald and Marc Frankel, Barry and Carole Kaye, Mary Lu Roffe, The Broadway Consortium, Ken Davenport, Filerman Bensinger, Herbert Goldsmith, Jam Theatricals, Olympus Theatricals, Playful Productions, David and Barbara Stoller, Roy Gottlieb and Hunter Arnold, in association with the Goodman Theatre, and Jeremy Scott Blaustein, associate producer. It opened at the Longacre Theatre on October 27, 2011, with these changes: Daniel Cavanaugh was played by Gary Wilmes; the understudies were Tony Carlin, Angela Lin, Brian Nishii and Vivian Chiu; the production stage manager was Stephen M. Kaus.
CHARACTERS
DANIEL CAVANAUGH: a businessman, Caucasian, American, forties
PETER TIMMS: a consultant, Caucasian, British, forties
CAI GUOLIANG: the Cultural Minister, Chinese, male, fifties
XI YAN: Vice Minister of Culture, Chinese, female, forties
MISS QIAN: a translator, Chinese
BING: Cai’s nephew, a translator, Chinese, twenties
ZHAO: a translator, Chinese, female
JUDGE XU GEMING: Xi’s husband, forty to fifty (played by the actor who plays Bing)
PROSECUTOR LI: female, thirties (played by the actor who plays Qian)
WAITER, HOTEL MANAGER, DRIVER: doubling at director’s discretion
NOTE
Cast breakdown: 2 Caucasian males, 3 Asian females, 2 Asian males.
SETTING
The present. An American assembly room and the city of Guiyang, China.
EDITOR’S NOTE ON LANGUAGE
Dialogue is spoken in Mandarin Chinese, the modern standard language known in China as Putonghua (or “common language”). Dialogue in bold indicates English translation (displayed in supertitles in production) of dialogue spoken in modern standard Chinese. Note: the English translation doesn’t always match the Mandarin.
Chinese dialogue will be displayed in two formats: traditional characters: and pinyin, the Romanization system from the People’s Republic of China.
For instructional purposes today, most people in America, Australia and Europe learn Putonghua using the pinyin system, which has four standardized tones for vowel pronunciation, numerically arranged: 1st tone (high, marked ā, ē, ī, ō, ū); 2nd tone (high rising, marked á, é, í, ó, ú), 3rd tone (low falling-rising, marked ă, ě, ĭ, ŏ, ŭ), 4th tone (high falling, marked à, è, ì, ò, ù) and also the neutral tone, which is not marked.
As with any complex tonal language, there are exceptions to pronunciation rules. These are often adjustments to facilitate the flow of the language. One such example is the word “bù” , which is the negating adverb, usually pronounced in the 4th tone. However, when it is used before another 4th tone, it changes to the 2nd tone (bú). Another exception is the succession of words in the 3rd tone, when all will change to the 2nd tone except the final 3rd tone. Chinese characters sometimes have multiple pronunciations (changing in tones, sometimes even changing the vowels), depending on context, and whether they are used as verbs or nouns.
While normally “tonal
changes” are not marked in standard printed pinyin, we have made all of the adjustments as a guide to reading the words aloud. For ease in referencing Chinese characters to their romanizations, we have kept each Chinese word separate and distinct, rather than forming composite nouns and verbs per standard pinyin practice.
Dialogue intended to be communicated through gesture rather than verbally will be indicated by carrot brackets ( < > ).
A double-dash ( // ) indicates when the next speech begins, overlapping the preceding dialogue.
—Ken Smith
Act One
Scene 1
Daniel Cavanaugh, a white American, forties, speaks to us at a podium, wireless clicker in hand. Images from his presentation appear upstage.
First image: a photograph of a sign, in both English and Chinese. The Chinese reads: The English reads: “To Take Notice of Safe: The Slippery Are Very Crafty.”
DANIEL: “To take notice of safe: The slippery are very crafty.” The proper translation should be: “Slippery Slopes Ahead.”
(Click: second image. The Chinese reads: The English reads: “Financial Affairs
Is Everywhere Long.”)
What does this one mean? Believe it or not: “Chief Financial Officer.” Likely the result of a bad computer translation program.
(Click: third image. The Chinese reads: The English reads: “Fuck the Certain Price of Goods.”)
Surprisingly, this sign does not have anything to do with a sale. Who wouldn’t be thrilled to walk into, say, Barneys and find a sign reading: “Fuck the Certain Price of Goods”? But it should actually read: “Dry Goods Pricing Department.” Unfortunately.
(Pause.)
You see, after the Communist government came to power, Chairman Mao ordered that the centuries-old system of writing Chinese characters—beautiful, arcane, devilishly complicated—be simplified for the “masses”—or, as we would call them today, “consumers.” In so doing, the ideographs for “dry” and “to do” were merged. And “to do” is also slang for, well, to “do” someone. Once you know that, it all makes sense.
(Pause.)
Thank you to the Commerce League of Ohio for inviting me to talk about doing business in China. The greatest pool of untapped consumers history has ever known. People ask me, How did I manage to get a foothold there? Well, the truth is, when I started out, I knew nothing more about China than the difference between Moo Shu Pork and General Tso’s Chicken.
(Pause.)
The first rule of doing business in China is also the last. Assuming you are an American. Because, if you are American, it is also safe to assume that you do not speak a single fucking foreign language. If you take away nothing else from our talk today, remember this. Write it down.
(Pause.)
When doing business in China, always bring your own translator.
Scene 2
A title reads: “Three Years Earlier. Guiyang, China.” Daniel sits with Peter Timms, a white Englishman, forties, in a restaurant in the provincial capital of Guiyang.
DANIEL: I run a small, family-owned firm, based in Cleveland. Have you seen our website?
PETER: Impressive.
DANIEL: I sent you our proposal. My // assistant—
PETER: It’s a fine proposal.
DANIEL: Thank you. So, can we make something happen here?
PETER: I can arrange a meeting with Cai Guoliang, Minister of Culture for Guiyang City.
DANIEL: Great.
PETER: But I need to make sure you’re prepared. I suppose you’ve heard of “Guanxi.”
DANIEL: Bring me up to speed.
PETER: Relationships. It’s almost a cliché now, but business in China is built on relationships.
DANIEL: This is the part about taking them out. Wining and dining.
PETER: Wining and dining are just the beginning. You see, for years, Western economists have held that a fair and consistent legal system—with predictable outcomes—is necessary for solid economic growth.
DANIEL: You have to know the rules of the game.
PETER: Precisely. But, here in China, the legal system is a joke. No one expects justice. And yet, the Chinese have maintained consistent growth over decades, at levels the West can only dream about.
DANIEL: With no justice system.
PETER: But what you do have, are predictable outcomes.
DANIEL: Mmmm.
PETER: People here know roughly what to expect. The trick is to understand that all these outcomes take place outside the formal justice system.
DANIEL: Through—
PETER: Guanxi.
DANIEL: Guanxi.
PETER: Which means, you have to take the time and trouble to build an actual relationship.
DANIEL: OK.
PETER: Otherwise, you leave here with merely a signed contract?
DANIEL: Contracts mean nothing here.
PETER: Because—
DANIEL: Contracts are shit?
PETER: Because the legal system—
DANIEL:—means nothing here.
PETER: Precisely. The only thing that matters is—
DANIEL:—the relationship.
PETER: Guanxi.
DANIEL: Guanxi. I got it.
(Pause.)
So I should think about staying here more than a week.
PETER: Try eight, Mr. Cavanaugh.
DANIEL: Daniel. Eight weeks?
PETER: For a first visit, Daniel.
DANIEL: My family is gonna kill me.
(Pause.)
What am I eating?
PETER: Sour fish soup.
DANIEL: Spicy.
PETER: The Guizhou people pride themselves on their peppers.
DANIEL: Can I get a cold soda or something?
PETER (To offstage): Lái gè bīng zhèn ké kóu kě lè, bú yào jiā bīng.
One cold Coca-Cola, no ice.
DANIEL: How do I get this? —You speak Chinese.
PETER: Passably.
DANIEL: Well, of course, you speak—
PETER: No, actually, very well.
DANIEL: You’ve been here in China for—
PETER: Nineteen years. I always forget, when I’m talking to a Westerner, to boast about myself.
DANIEL: And when you’re with Chinese people, you have to be all—
PETER: Criticize yourself. But make sure there’s someone else in the room who will contradict you—ideally, at great length.
(A Waiter brings a soft drink. Daniel drinks.)
When I first arrived in China, to teach English at Nanjing University, a woman told me, “Your students are going to expect you to be a rich and successful Westerner. Play up to their image—the Chinese love big gamblers—win or lose, it doesn’t even matter, they want to see you as a high-roller. Then, they’ll respect you.”
DANIEL: A high-roller.
PETER: So, when I first met the student body, I reeled off my achievements, made myself sound very grand. Afterwards, my sponsor took me aside and explained, “Anyone who’s really great, doesn’t need to say so.” And that made sense to me. So I started reading Chinese philosophy, studying calligraphy, porcelains, folk dancing. And founded my consultancy firm.
DANIEL: So at these meetings, if I’m all humble, you’ll be there to contradict me?
PETER: Should you choose to engage my services.
DANIEL: You work on commission, right?
PETER: I can. // I feel—
DANIEL: Your website suggested // some flexibility in—
PETER: I appreciate that yours is a completely // speculative venture.
DANIEL: I’m taking a chance // on you, too.
PETER: Right. // My usual—
DANIEL: So we can dispense with any upfront retainer fee.
PETER: I’m open to that kind of arrangement.
DANIEL: I have a board—
PETER: My usual commission—
DANIEL: My brother and the others would // have to approve—
PETER: My usual commission
is fifteen percent of your deal.
DANIEL: Fifteen percent.
PETER: Right.
DANIEL: Isn’t it normally ten?
PETER: Yes, well—
DANIEL: I think I can get my board to support ten.
PETER: But without an upfront retainer fee, my backend needs to go // a bit—
DANIEL: All right. Twelve.
PETER: Really? Yes. Twelve.
DANIEL: I’ll tell them, you’ve been helping businesses here for—your website // said—
PETER: Almost a decade.
DANIEL: Impressive. And if my brother complains—he doesn’t have a clue what’s going on over here, does he?
PETER: With all due respect, no, he doesn’t.
DANIEL: Eight weeks. OK, let’s throw the dice. Be one of those high-rollers.
PETER: We have a deal?
DANIEL: I want you to get me some Guanxi.
Scene 3
Office of the Minister, Cai, fifties. He wears a suit and smokes. Also present are Vice Minister Xi Yan, female, forties, also wearing Western clothes, along with Qian, a female translator, and Daniel and Peter.
DANIEL: We’re a small family firm.
QIAN: Tā nà jiā shì xiăo gōng sī, méi shén me míng qì de.
His company is tiny and insignificant.
DANIEL: Started by my great-grandfather in 1925.
QIAN: Gōng sī shì tā zŭ xiān zài èr shí shì jì chū jiàn lì de.
His ancestor founded it in the early twentieth century.
PETER: É hài é zhōu zhāo pái shè jì gōng sī shì qí zhōng yī jiā zhòng yào de zhāo pái zhì zào gōng chăng
Ohio Signage is one of the major manufacturers
shì měi guó zhōng xī bù zuì jù sù zhì de zhāo pái zhì zào gōng chăng,
of top-quality signage in the American Midwest,
fú wù dì qū bāo kuò zhī jiā gē.
