by David Hwang
(Pause.)
Help who?
XI: Help the Judge.
DANIEL: Who’s the Judge?
XI: Judge. You see him! In courthouse!
DANIEL: The conference room? Where we had our meeting today?
XI: Yes!
DANIEL: Are you talking about the Magistrate?
XI: “Magistrate”? Translation, very bad.
(Pause.)
He is Judge. By removal Cai, Party Secretary, very happy. Market reform, now go fast! Therefore Judge—he gains the Guanxi.
DANIEL: So that Judge, he’ll be in for some kind of—promotion?
XI: Yes! Promotion!
DANIEL: But I still don’t—why would you—? Who is he? Why would you go to all this trouble to help that? . . .
(Pause.)
The Judge—he’s your husband.
XI: Yes.
DANIEL: You did all this—to help your husband?
XI: Yes.
DANIEL: Including—having sex with me?
(Pause.)
XI: No.
(Pause.)
Wǒ wéi zì jǐ zhuī qiú luó màn dì kè,
The romance was for me.
Bú wèi bié rén.
Just me.
DANIEL: English?
XI: I, perfection. Cannot. Try, but cannot. So hard the attempting, yet still—home, family, silence—the death never ending. And so, therefore, cannot. Yet good, enough good, to be wife, can.
(Pause. She fights back tears.)
DANIEL: That word—from before—
XI: Qíng yì.
DANIEL: Qíng yì.
XI: Now you understand.
(She starts to dress.)
DANIEL: Wait. But does that mean you have to—?
XI: Good-bye.
DANIEL: But why? We can still . . . Why?
XI: Face change.
(Pause.)
Nǐ bù zūn zhòng nǐ de hūn yīn,
If you do not respect your marriage,
yě huì wēi xié dào wǒ de hūn yīn.
then you are a threat to mine.
(Pause.)
Such sleepy.
(She finishes gathering her things, heads for the door.)
DANIEL: But now I can be that good man.
XI: Before, escape. Now, I am sleeping with you.
(She exits.)
________
Xi uses the Chinese term, “Qíng yì,” for which there is no direct English translation.
Scene 12
Cai’s home. Cai, half dressed, in khaki green pants and undershirt, escorts Peter into his living room.
PETER: Qù guò nǐ bàn gōng shì, tā men shuō nǐ zài jiā lǐ.
Your office told me you were at home.
CAI: Zăo shàng shì zhăng bàn gōng shì lí yǒu péng yóu géi wó dă diàn huà,
A friend from the Mayor’s office called this morning.
Jiàn yì wǒ jīn tiān bú yào shàng bān.
Said it’d be better if I didn’t go in to work today.
PETER: Yuán lái shì zhè yang.
I see.
CAI: Gōng ān dào dá yǐ qián nǐ kuài lí kāi ba,
You don’t want to be here when the police arrive.
Bèi fā xiàn gēn wó yǒu lián xì bù hăo,
It will be bad for you to be associated
wǒ shì yí gè tān wū guān yuán.
with a “corrupt official.”
Shù wǒ bù néng zhāo dài nǐ,
Forgive my poor hospitality.
Dài huì bèi dài zǒu, ràng wó băo liú yī diăn zūn yán.
I just want to leave home with some pride.
(He resumes dressing himself.)
PETER: Wǒ lái xiàng nǐ dào qiàn de.
I came to ask your forgiveness.
Wǒ méi xiăng dào dài nà ge měi guó rén qù jiàn nǐ,
When I brought the American to you,
huì bá nǐ lián lèi chéng zhè yàng zǐ.
I never dreamed it would lead to this.
CAI: Qí mă qù le láo fáng,
At least in prison,
wǒ jiù bú yòng tīng dào wó lăo pó de shēng yīn le.
I will no longer have to listen to my wife.
Nà nǐ ne?
And you?
Nǐ huí qù jiāo shū le ma?
You’ve gone back to teaching?
PETER: Shì de, suī rán huà chuán kāi le, shuō wǒ xíng wéi bù lǐ xìng,
Yes, word got around that I was acting irrationally,
xìng hăo dà bù fèn de xué sheng dōu méi yóu păo diào.
but, I kept most of my students.
(Cai finishes dressing. He is wearing his old People’s Liberation Army uniform.)
CAI: Wǒ zhè shēn jiù jūn zhuāng! Hái tǐng hé shēn!
My old army uniform! It still fits!
(Pause.)
Ní běn lái shì gè háo lăo shī,
You’re such a good teacher.
Hăo hāo de zěn me qù zuò shēng yì ne?
Why did you try to become a businessman?
PETER: Nǐ tīng shuō guò mă dé sēn wēn sī dùn bó shì ma?
Have you heard of Dr. Winston Madsen?
CAI: Dāng rán tīng guò! Tā shì yán jiū hàn shū de shì jiè quán wēi.
Of course! The world’s authority on Han Dynasty calligraphy.
PETER: Fēi cháng chū sè de yí gè rén,
A brilliant man.
Wó yǐ qián shì tā de xué sheng.
I used to be his student.
CAI: Shì ma? Tā nián jì yīng gāi bù xiăo le.
Really? He must be quite old now.
PETER: Qī shí sān.
Seventy-three.
Hái zhù zài běi jīng.
Still living in Beijing.
Qù nián wǒ qù kàn guò mă dé sēn bó shì,
I visited Dr. Madsen last year.
Tā yí gè rén zhù zài nà xiăo gōng yù lǐ miàn,
He lives alone in his tiny flat,
děng zhe shén me rén gěi tā yí fèn gōng zuò,
waiting for anyone to offer him a job,
nà mèn zhe zì jǐ de rén shēng shì fǒu bái guò.
and wondering if he’s wasted his life.
(Pause.)
Jú zhăng,
Minister,
Wǒ bú yào biàn chéng zhè ge yàng zi.
I didn’t want to become like him.
CAI: Nǐ zhī dào ma,
You know,
wàn lǐ cháng chéng shì zhōng guó rén de jiāo ào.
Chinese are quite proud of the Great Wall.
Suī rán méi yǒu dá dào fáng yù wài dí de shǐ mìng,
Despite the fact that it was built to keep out foreigners,
yě jiù shì dāng chū jiàn zào tā de yuán yīn.
and utterly failed to do so.
Dàn shì wèi le jiàn zào lǐ miàn de yī zhuān yī shí,
But in the bricks of that structure
xī shēng le bù zhī duō shăo rén de xìng mìng,
are many who died working on it,
tā men de gú tóu cháng mái dì xià, chéng wéi cháng chéng de yí bù fen.
whose bones were ground down for building materials.
(Pause.)
Kě néng zhè yě shì wǒ gēn nǐ de mìng yùn, bú shì ma?
Maybe that’s like you and me, huh?
Wǒ men zhù dìng zàng shēn zài zhè dà jiàn zhù.
Born to be building materials.
Yí dàn xiăng dào zhè diăn, jiù ràng wǒ jué dé nǐ zhōng yú,
Which makes you, I suppose, if I think about it,
yóu diăn xiàng zhōng guó rén le.
just a little bit Chinese.
(Cai begins singing the aria from “Presenting Pearl on the Hongqiao Bridge”:)
Guāng huá yǒng yào . . .
This pearl shines . . .
(His singin
g is interrupted by a loud banginig on a door, offstage. Then the sound of police sirens.)
Wó dé zǒu le.
I’d better go.
(Cai starts to exit, Peter follows.)
Bù. Bié ràng rén jiā kàn jiàn nǐ gēn wǒ zài yī qǐ,
No. You can’t be seen with me,
yào bù nǐ quán bù xué sheng dōu huì păo diào de,
or you will lose all your students.
Tā men bá wǒ dài zóu yǐ hòu nǐ cái lí kāi ba.
Wait here until after they take me away.
(Rather than leaving, Peter, instead, resumes the song:)
PETER:
. . . Qíng bù yí.
. . . Forever like our love.
(Ignoring Cai’s warning, Peter exits with him.
Crossfade to a meeting of the Guiyang Provincial Party Committee. Geming stands at a podium, addressing the gathering:)
GEMING: Běn rén yǒu xìng jiē rèn wéi guì yáng shì shì zhăng!
I humbly accept your appointment as Mayor of Guiyang!
Găn xiè nǐ men de xìn rèn!
Thank you for your trust!
Zhòng suǒ zhōu zhī, wǒ men de chéng shì jiāng yào miàn lín jù dà de găi biàn le.
As you know, great changes are coming to our city.
Zhuán yăn jiān, xīn de wén huà zhōng xīn kuài yào wán chéng,
Already, the new Cultural Center is nearing completion.
yù jì jīn nián wǔ yuè kāi mù. Jiè shí shuài xiān dēng chăng wéi dà jiā biáo yăn de shì
It will open this May with a performance
fēi shēng guó jì de zhōng guó zá jì tuán!
by the world-famous Chinese Acrobats!
Guì yáng yào jǔ bù mài xiàng xīn shì jì le!
Guiyang is ready to step into the future!
(Cheers rise. Geming motions to Xi, offstage. She enters.)
Wǒ tài tai, xí yán, wén huà jú fù jú zhăng.
My wife, Xi Yan, Vice Minister of Culture.
XI: Wèi le chéng shì de jìn bù,
We have all made sacrifices
wǒ men dōu zuò chū le xī shēng.
to bring progress to our city.
Xiàn zài, guì yáng zhōng yú găn shàng xīn zhōng guó de jiăo bù le!
Now, Guiyang is ready to join the New China!
(Flashbulbs pop. Geming and Xi wave to the gathering, looking every inch the perfect couple.)
Scene 13
(The American assembly room. Daniel is continuing his talk from the top of the play.)
DANIEL: So then that Judge took me to dinner, and gave me my first contract—for the Cultural Center. Soon after, he went on to become Mayor. Frankly, I lucked out. He recommended me for jobs in other provinces. And today, Ohio Signage and Outdoor Advertising operates in six Chinese cities, and we have just received our first order for work in Shanghai.
(Pause.)
I travel to China a lot now. Sometimes, with my wife and kids, who’ve gotten to love the place. When I’m over there, the Mayor and I always have dinner. We’ve become friends. That is a relationship I can never afford to jeopardize. My “Guanxi.”
(Pause.)
To anyone considering working over there, I think it’s important to enter the Chinese market with realistic expectations. I mean, there may have been a time when they looked up to us. If so, that was long before I came onto the scene. Nowadays, to be successful, you have to understand your place in their picture. Just be aware that you may not—well, I can almost assure you that you will not—get everything you want.
(Pause.)
And that may just have to be enough.
(Rows and rows of projected Chinese characters blanket the stage.)
There are over ten thousand Chinese characters. At Ohio Signage, it’s our job to make sure our translations are correct. Maybe one day, all the signs will be fixed. But the funny thing is, I’ve sorta come to love the mistakes. There, in black and white, you can see that we really don’t understand each other too well. So, for the foreseeable future, we’ll all have to keep struggling—with Chinglish.
(The lights fade to black.)
END OF PLAY
DAVID HENRY HWANG’s plays include M. Butterfly (1988 Tony Award; 1989 Pulitzer Prize finalist), Golden Child (1996 Obie Award; 1998 Tony nomination), Yellow Face (2008 Obie Award; 2008 Pulitzer Prize finalist) and FOB (1981 Obie Award). His Broadway musicals include the books for Elton John & Tim Rice’s Aida (coauthor), Flower Drum Song (2002 revival; 2003 Tony nomination) and Disney’s Tarzan. According to Opera News, he is America’s most produced living opera librettist, who has written four works with composer Philip Glass, as well as Osvaldo Golijov’s Ainadamar (two 2007 Grammy Awards), Unsuk Chin’s Alice in Wonderland and Bright Sheng’s The Silver River. He penned the feature films M. Butterfly, Golden Gate and Possession (co-writer), and co-wrote the song “Solo” with pop star Prince. From 1994–2000, he served by appointment of President Clinton on the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities. He currently sits on the boards of The Dramatists Guild of America, American Theatre Wing and Lark Play Development Center. Hwang attended Stanford University and the Yale School of Drama. He is the recipient of the 2011 PEN/Laura Pels International Foundation for Theater Award for a Master American Dramatist.
