The Complete Dramatic Works of Tang Xianzu
Page 24
(Exit)
LADY ZHENG:
Huansha, today is the best time to cut the decorations out of the Xizhou brocade and attach them to the hairpins for your young mistress.
(Exit Huansha, who reenters with a mirror)
HUANSHA:
Here are the brocade flowers.
(Lady Zheng shows Huo Xiaoyu the hairpins with the decorations)
HUO XIAOYU (Takes a look at the hairpins):
(To the previous tune)
The jade-smith is so deft
That he carved the jade red and clear.
Swallows and patterned flowers
Decorate the pins for a lady’s hair.
(Tries on the hairpins while Huansha holds the mirror)
HUO XIAOYU:
In light brocade,
Dainty decorations are pinned in the bun.
The swallows signify the coming of early spring,
While bees and butterflies dance in the clear sky.
ALL:
When will a pair of swallows be matched
And clean the mirror for the best luck?
(To the tune of Coda)
Behind the curtains stays the pretty maid;
Behind the screens hides the youthful heart,
But her beautiful eyes must fix on the needlework.
The graceful mother is dwelling in her rooms
When fresh spring scenes call for an outing there.
The daughter is as fair as jade and blooms
When she puts the pretty hairpins on her hair.
Scene Four
Paying a Visit for the Fair Lady
(Enter Bao Siniang)
BAO SINIANG (To the tune of Zhuyingtaijin):
The green screens stand idle;
The exquisite mirror stays cold.
I often count the passing years
And recall the time when I lived with my man.
Wine perplexes me and spring depresses me;
I add more incense to prolong the night,
Comforting myself in warm seclusion.
(In the pattern of Shaonianyou)
“With curtains drawn and the courtyard cold and bleak,
Spring scenes are far from me.
In the dark corner full of dust,
My stringed musical instruments lie,
Tears dropping on my handkerchief.
Nobody visits the old house any more.
My quilt is patterned with mandarin ducks
And the incense is half burnt.
What beautiful time has passed away!
But who can cherish a thought
As dull as mine?”
I’m Bao Siniang. I used to be a singing girl in the royal son-in-law Xue’s house. But I was exempt from the bond and have been free for over ten years. I am lively and glib in nature. The wealthy and the distinguished are all associated with me. I offer advice and seek for fashion. Thus, I’m considered as the flower queen. Whenever Mr. Li Yi from Longxi comes for a visit, he will give me lots of money and silk fabrics. In my eyes, he is good-mannered, smart and exceedingly handsome. By ample gifts and sweet talk, he is bound to have ulterior motives. It’s certain that he wants me to find a bride from a house of distinction. I find Lady Zheng’s daughter an ideal choice. She’s pretty, literate and bright, adoring Mr. Li’s elegant manners. I just need to wait for Mr. Li to express his intention, and then I can pass the message. Don’t worry, he’ll come sooner or later.
(Enter Li Yi)
LI YI (To the tune of Tangduoling):
A traveler’s longing is far and deep;
I enjoy myself deep in the alley.
Whose house is it in the back street?
Its pink curtains are half drawn.
To seek girls and belles
Is my pastime.
(Greets Bao Siniang)
“You are as young as ever before,
And I shall paint your pretty brows again.
BAO SINIANG:
Nobody here ever tries pigment in early spring;
Only the spring wind greens the willows.”
LI YI:
Siniang, I’ve been visiting you for years, but for this early spring visit, why is it so desolate in your house?
BAO SINIANG:
Let me tell you,
(To the tune of Zhuyingtai)
In my youth I certainly had my share of charm,
But now I’ve become a withered flower left in the rain.
I used to have the smile that’s worth gold,
And have the voice that’s worth a fortune,
For families of great esteem.
Alas, my look has faded when I look at the mirror,
And carriages have stopped coming by.
LI YI:
Why don’t you find a spouse?
BAO SINIANG:
Well, times have changed!
Who would care to stop by?
Mr. Li, you’ve given me gifts from time to time, and I haven’t repaid your kindness. So what can I do for you today?
LI YI (To the previous tune):
I roam with spring passion
That turns into melancholy.
In an excursion to the outskirts,
I walk to your tranquil courtyard
To have a pleasant chat with you.
BAO SINIANG:
My charm is half gone. How could you have such inclinations?
LI YI:
Still charming!
You are talented in your profession,
All the more skillful in making matches.
As a mature lady,
You are no less attractive.
BAO SINIANG (To the previous tune):
Don’t be silly!
Among those I like and those who like me,
I know quite a few people.
Your talent and demeanor,
Your courteous and chivalrous deeds,
Are not meant for a withering flower.
Mr. Li, you must have sent me gifts for something on your mind. Please tell me your real intention so that I can do my best to help you.
LI YI:
Good heavens!
I’m talented but still a bachelor,
So I need a belle to take care of me.
Who can offer me the picture of such a belle?
BAO SINIANG (To the previous tune):
Don’t you know?
For your genuine passions,
I’ve been seeking for such a belle everywhere.
LI YI:
Have you found one?
BAO SINIANG:
Mr. Li, your fond dream will soon come true. A fairy of a lady has descended into the human world. She doesn’t seek wealth but adores elegant manners and handsome figure. You’re her perfect image in talent and appearance.
Her age is twice eight,
Or thrice five,
From a family more distinguished than the others.
LI YI (Surprised and delighted):
Really?
You must have made up a story of a fairyland,
And I’m afraid I’ll wait for the love in vain.
(Kneels down)
This marital match
Must be arranged by you, my lady.
BAO SINIANG:
Please rise to your feet and let me tell you the details. The former Prince Huo had a daughter named Xiaoyu whom he loved dearly. Her mother is called Jingchi, who was the prince’s favorite concubine. When the prince died, his brothers refused to let her stay due to her humble origin. Therefore, she was allotted some money and property and moved to live elsewhere. She changed her family name to Zheng. Nobody knows she has a daughter with the prince.
“Her daughter has stunning looks,
Never seen elsewhere in my life.
She has strong passions and graceful manners,
Surpassing others in every way.
As for music and poetry,
She’s most at home in her way.”
It was yesterday that she asked me to find her
a good man to match her taste. She was delighted when I mentioned your name to her, for she had heard about you. She’s now living in the eastern spare chamber at Sanqufu in Shengyefang Lane.
LI YI:
Can I pay her a visit?
BAO SINIANG:
This young lady usually stays in her chamber, but in the Lantern Festival celebration this year, she might be ambling out to the main street. If you are interested, you can try to find her near the creek.
LI YI:
I see.
BAO SINIANG:
After you meet the angel under the palace lanterns, I’ll go to your study and arrange the marriage.
LI YI (To the tune of Coda):
I’ll express my sincere love to her,
BAO SINIANG:
But the final say is still in her hands.
LI YI:
This is no joke but you’ve prepared my future.
Amid the crowd to watch the lanterns here,
I’m excited to find my adorable love.
If this is not the best scene far and near,
There is no spring bestowed from above.
Scene Five
Enjoying the Palace Lanterns
(Enter Prefect of the Capital)
PREFECT (To the tune of Dianjiangchun):
His Majesty makes the edict:
As wind and rain turns out propitious at our will,
To celebrate the bumper harvest,
A lantern festival is arranged.
“When all the gates are left open in the capital,
Spring is approaching amid songs.
The streets are lit by moonlight bright and lanterns dim
While breeze is gentle and lanterns dim within the palace walls.”
I’m Prefect of the Capital. On the Lantern Festival Eve, the moonlight is tender and the breeze is mild. His Majesty has issued the edict that all residents are allowed to enjoy the lanterns throughout the night. All city gates are left open tonight. As the poem goes,
“As there is no curfew tonight,
Time, please take no flight.”
(Exit)
(Enter Lady Zheng)
LADY ZHENG (To the tune of Wanxiandeng):
Lanterns are in display on this Festival Eve;
Horn music and plum blossoms fill the night.
Gentle breeze sends over warmth and laughter;
Ladies and maids dress themselves in their best.
(Enter Huo Xiaoyu)
HUO XIAOYU (To the previous tune):
The beautiful springtime is locked deep in the court,
And tonight spring shows its fullest splendour.
(Enter Huansha)
HUANSHA:
People spend the sleepless night at this wonderful time,
With countless joyful couples passing by.
LADY ZHENG (In the pattern of Yiqin’e):
“On the wonderful Festival Eve,
Beaded curtains are drawn up at every door.
HUO XIAOYU:
At every door,
Flowers come out late at dawn
Though spring comes early in every street.
HUANSHA:
Pretty faces are reflected in the candlelight;
Flute music and songs make maidens smile.
ALL:
Maidens smile
To the halo of the moon
And the twinkling of the stars.”
HUO XIAOYU:
On the Lantern Festival Eve, please allow me to offer you a cup of wine.
LADY ZHENG:
That’s very considerate of you, my dear. As the saying goes,
“When the daughter presents wine in spring,
The Mother-Goddess lights the lamps in the sky.”
(To the tune of Teteling)
Every year when we celebrate the Lantern Festival Eve,
The main street looks like a fairyland of eternal spring,
And the fairy courts are lit up on the Milky Way.
It is high time for belles in red to gather,
Imperial banners to wave,
Joyous laughter to fill the air,
And peace to return to the world.
HUO XIAOYU (To the previous tune):
It’s never cold but warm on the Lantern Festival Eve;
Spring has climbed up to the railings of upper stories;
All the ladies appear in red from every place.
This is when incense smoke floats,
Fragrant breeze softens,
Human voices muffle,
And flute music fades away.
HUANSHA (To the previous tune):
The moon is round in its perfection on the Lantern Festival Eve;
Beaded curtains are drawn up all along the streets;
Starry lights dot every door.
This is the time when flutes are played
And laughter roars,
And we’ll have the most fun
In the joyful crowd.
Your Ladyship and young mistress, please walk along the main street and enjoy the sight.
LADY ZHENG:
Go ahead.
(To the tune of Coda)
Spring night is as bright as the day,
The evening is as joyous as the Spring Festival,
And the incense smell floats over the streets.
Who cares for sleep on this Lantern Festival Eve?
Fair ladies can’t bear staying at home;
They join the festival crowd at night.
All gates are left open for the eve;
The Milky Way seems to merge with the lantern light.
Scene Six
A Hairpin Dropped on the Festival Eve
(Enter Li Yi)
LI YI (To the tune of Fenghuanggeyin):
On the spring night in the capital,
The white moon hangs low as if falling.
When the streets are filled with the crowd,
The moonlit Forbidden City is as bright as day.
(Enter Wei Xiaqing and Cui Yunming)
WEI XIAQING, CUI YUNMING:
When a gentleman meets a lady,
There must be attendants and horses.
LI YI:
“Songs and music fill the taverns,
And fanciful lanterns light up every tree.
Who can sit still at home under the beautiful moon?
And who would not come to enjoy the lanterns so dainty?”
My brothers, Bao Siniang instructed me last night to steal a glance at the lady who’d come out on the Lantern Festival Eve. Let’s watch for her giggling voice and fragrant dress in the light of numerous candles and shades of countless flowers. In this way we’ll make this year’s lantern tour worthwhile. Before I can finish my words, there come the noble families to enjoy the lanterns.
(Exeunt all)
(Enter the noble families, laughing and smiling)
NOBLE FAMILIES (To the tune of Yuanlinhao):
Thank His Majesty for the bright lanterns and the bright moon;
Thank Heaven for a prosperous spring and a prosperous year.
Peace and prosperity spread all over the empire,
With songs and dances along the streets.
(Exeunt)
(Enter Lady Zheng, followed by Huo Xiaoyu and Huansha)
LADY ZHENG:
What splendid lanterns!
(To the previous tune)
The lanterns are the best at Nantianmen;
Grand carriages crowd with red lantern hung.
Shouts stop our carriages and make us turn;
Who is coming with the swirling dust?
Ah! There comes a stout man dressed in yellow riding a white steed.
(Exeunt all)
(Enter the Gallant Knight, followed by a couple of Tartar servants, all on horseback)
GALLANT KNIGHT (To the previous tune):
I come from Shandong for a pleasure tour in Chang’an,
And roam around with fun on this Festival Eve.
There sounds the beat
ing of street drums for the time.
(Laughing voices inside)
VOICES INSIDE:
Who’s that stout man over there? You are so tall and your steed is so big that you’ve blocked our way to watch the lanterns.
GALLANT KNIGHT (Laughs):
As for my name, I’m the Gallant Knight. Since we are in your way, let’s go, my Tartar boys.
So I whip my horse and depart in the lantern light.
(Exit)
(Enter Li Yi, Wei Xiaqing and Cui Yunming)
LI YI, WEI XIAQING, CUI YUNMING (To the previous tune):
There’s such a huge crowd for the sight;
Laughter and songs come from ladies and maids.
The main street is glazed green and yellow by the lantern lights;
There’ll be a more spectacular scene as if in a fairyland.
(They look around and then exit)
(Enter Lady Zheng, Huo Xiaoyu and Huansha)
LADY ZHENG:
Enough fun, let’s have a rest!
(To the previous tune)
The crimson buildings are tall with flowing rosy clouds,
And light gleams over beaded curtains and glazed tiles.
Let’s take a break in the corridor in the moonlight
And smell the fragrance of plum blossoms at leisure.
(Enter Li Yi, Wei Xiaqing and Cui Yunming)
(Exit Huo Xiaoyu with Lady Zheng and Huansha, much startled, dropping a hairpin)
LI YI:
Wait! My brothers, is that maid the one from Shengyefang Lane? How stunningly beautiful she is! Is this a hairpin that touches the plum twigs and falls to the ground?
(To the tune of Jiang’ershui)
Moonlight slants from the plum branches;
A swallow hairpin hangs on the plum twigs.
A belle was just taking a break a moment ago;
She was half hidden behind the silk lanterns;
Dressed in red, she was shy in front of men.
LI YI, WEI XIAQING, CUI YUNMING:
Fondling the hairpin and murmuring,
We’re lucky to have the chance encounter
On the Lantern Festival Eve.
(Enter Huansha with a lantern, leading the way for Huo Xiaoyu)
HUANSHA:
Well, Her Ladyship has returned home. Let’s go and find the hairpin.
WEI XIAQING:
There comes someone for the hairpin. Yunming and I are going to the front gate to watch the lanterns, so you may stay and talk with her for a while to see if she’s the right person.
LI YI:
Fine, please go ahead.
(Exeunt Wei Xiaqing and Cui Yunming)
HUO XIAOYU (Looks for the hairpin):
I can’t find the hairpin anywhere. Oh, the plum twigs, what a nuisance!
(To the previous tune)
Crowded with lady folk in red and green,
The path drags me to a halt by the plum twigs.