The Complete Dramatic Works of Tang Xianzu
Page 40
As I have settled on him, he’ll have to obey me sooner or later. My daughter will soon be fifteen years old. We must get all kinds of first-rate jade hairpins ready for her.
(To the previous tune)
My daughter
Will soon get married,
With pairs of phoenix-shaped hairpins on her hair.
We’ll buy superb jade,
Regardless of prices.
GENERAL LU, ATTENDANT:
An auspicious date is to be set;
A happy wedding is to be arranged.
When the wedding day finally arrives,
Jewels are to be worn on the bride’s head.
ATTENDANT:
My lord, there’s a pawnshop run by an old jade-smith, Hou Jingxian. Pearls and jade often find their way there.
GENERAL LU:
Tell him to show me some exquisite ones.
Wearing superb hairpins dotted with superb jewels,
My daughter is destined to marry that young man.
As a phoenix can be held in a charming net,
So a mandarin duck can be confined in a jade cage.
Scene Forty-Four
Selling the Hairpins
(Enter Huo Xiaoyu)
HUO XIAOYU (To the tune of Boxing):
My lonely bower is shrouded in hazy mist,
With a hint of the moonlight through the curtains.
Leaning against the fragrant incense burner,
I admire the jade-like plum flowers.
On the paper screen is painted
Yellow sands and wild geese.
Looking at it with fixed attention,
I feel cold with gooseflesh,
At the thought of frontier’s low-flying dark clouds.
(In the pattern of Suzhongqing)
“Rolling up the curtain I feel the misty frost,
Timid to see my remaining rouge after illness.
The affection under the plum flowers
Has weathered the snowstorm.
My slimmed shadow
And thought of the withered flowers
Have ridden me to bed.
In cold winter the scared crows
And moaning wild geese,
Arouse my tender sentiments.”
Since my man left home, there has been no one to take charge of the family affairs. I’ve been looking forward to his return so that everything will come to the normal. But I heard that he was going to marry Miss Lu and abandon this home forever. How unexpected it is! Still, I wouldn’t believe this is true. I’ve been looking for sorcerers far and near to foretell whether my man has returned to the capital or is still in the Mengmen Garrison. And I would be very generous giving out rewards if they can give me useful information. I’ve been paying friends so that they can help inquire about Li’s whereabouts. I’m so eager to know where he is. I’ve spent almost all my money. So I told Huansha to put some valuable things on sale in Bao Siniang’s place, but she has not come back yet. Gracious heavens! I’m painful and distressed, but there’s no information about Li at all.
(Enter a Buddhist nun with a lot-stick holder)
BUDDHIST NUN (To the tune of Shuidiyu):
I’m an ordinary person
Now practicing Buddhism.
Those stupid lovesick people hope in vain
For help from Heaven.
I’m a Buddhist nun from the Water and Moon Bodhisattva Nunnery. I hear that Huo Xiaoyu gives alms for her man. I’ll use my lot-sticks to hoax some money out of her. Here comes a Taoist nun.
(Enter a Taoist nun with a scroll of painting and a small tortoise)
TAOIST NUN (To the previous tune):
I wear my cap awry,
To fake an immortal’s ability.
I have a lovely and clever tortoise,
With which I defraud people of some money.
BUDDHIST NUN (Annoyed):
You’re snatching away all the money that can be deceived out of people!
TAOIST NUN:
I don’t mean that. I’m from the Western Mother Goddess Taoist Nunnery. Hearing that Miss Huo Xiaoyu is paying for the information about her man’s whereabouts, I’ve come here to hoax some money from her.
BUDDHIST NUN:
What’s the use of a tortoise and a scroll of painting?
TAOIST NUN:
On the painting, there are stories of joys and sorrows, and of departures and reunions. I tell the people what will happen to them according to where the tortoise goes on the painting.
BUDDHIST NUN:
I see. Let’s go together.
HUO XIAOYU (Greets the two nuns):
Where are you from, sisters?
BUDDHIST NUN:
I’m a Buddhist nun from the Water and Moon Bodhisattva Nunnery.
TAOIST NUN:
I’m a Taoist nun from the Western Mother Goddess Nunnery. We’ve heard that you are inquiring by all means about the whereabouts of your man, who has been away for a long time and has not come back yet. So we’ve come to help you with our Buddhist and Taoist wisdom.
HUO XIAOYU:
In that case, I’ll burn joss-sticks to show my sincerity to Buddhism and Taoism.
BUDDHIST NUN:
Please show obedience to Avalokitesvara, the Goddess of Mercy first.
TAOIST NUN (Annoyed):
Our Taoist Western Mother Goddess has a husband, so your obedience to Taoism first will surely help you find your man. Avalokitesvara is a widow. She can’t help you at all!
BUDDHIST NUN (Annoyed):
Pooh! Your Western Queen Mother is an unfaithful woman. She’s not qualified to be a goddess. What is the use of showing obedience to her?
HUO XIAOYU:
They are both genuine goddesses, but let me do obedience to Avalokitesvara first.
(Shows obedience with burning joss-sticks in hand)
(To the tune of Jiang’ershui)
I show obedience to the merciful Avalokitesvara,
Who comes in a pure white lotus.
To relieve my resentment of parting
And the endless lovesickness and waiting,
Avalokitesvara be with us.
BUDDHIST NUN (Invites Huo Xiaoyu to draw a lot):
Good, good! The lot you draw says that you’ll be reunited with your man. Please write the amount of your offering on this book.
HUO XIAOYU (Writes):
Huo Xiaoyu, the female Buddhist devotee, offers 300,000 strings of coins for the Buddhist rites held by the Water and Moon Bodhisattva Nunnery.
HUO XIAOYU, BUDDHIST NUN:
Don’t begrudge your layman’s money;
It’s used to show obedience to the gods.
TAOIST NUN:
Now it’s the Taoist Western Mother Goddess’s turn to predict your fate.
HUO XIAOYU (Shows obedience with burning joss-sticks in hand):
(To the previous tune)
A letter to my man
Does not bring him back.
Are we to live together happily till our dying day,
Or am I to die early
Without fully enjoying my precious youth?
TAOIST NUN:
I don’t use lot-sticks. But my painting and tortoise can well predict your fate.
(Holds the tortoise and clumsily forces its crawling route on the painting)
Good, good! The tortoise comes to the story of a couple’s reunion. So you’ll soon have your man back. Now please write the sum of your offering on this book.
HUO XIAOYU (Writes):
Huo Xiaoyu, the female Taoist devotee, offers 300,000 strings of coins for the Taoist rites of the Jade Pond Assembly.
HUO XIAOYU, TAOIST NUN:
Don’t begrudge your layman’s money;
It’s used to show obedience to the gods.
BUDDHIST NUN, TAOIST NUN:
Thank you.
HUO XIAOYU:
Sorry to have bothered you. I’ll offer you more if I can be reunited with my man. It’s true indeed,
“The
record books witness the man’s heartlessness;
The incense of religious faith shows a vow of love.”
(Exeunt the Buddhist nun and the Taoist nun)
HUO XIAOYU (Left alone on the stage):
Good! Both the Buddhist and the Taoist goddesses will bless our reunion. I’ll wait for Huansha to bring back the money from the sale.
(Enter Huansha)
HUANSHA:
“The talented young man has been away for long;
You may ask where this young lady has come from.”
We’ve got more than 700,000 strings of coins from the sale, mistress.
HUO XIAOYU:
Good! Take out 600,000 strings as offerings to the goddesses. The rest is for the daily expense in this winter. When spring comes, my man will have returned.
“I show my gratitude to Heaven
That blesses me with my man’s return.”
(Enter Cui Yunming)
CUI YUNMING (To the tune of Tingqianliu):
The Huo’s house is half-dilapidated,
With the painted screen unfolded in the wind.
Masses of clouds won’t disperse;
Moss grows on the steps.
I’ll pass the message with great care,
And tell it to his wife in detail.
(Knocks at the door and greets Huansha)
HUANSHA:
Mr. Cui, have you heard of anything about Mr. Li?
CUI YUNMING:
Yes indeed, I’ve come here with some information for your mistress.
(To the tune of Yifengshu)
I’ve got the information
That Li has left the Mengmen Garrison for some time.
HUANSHA:
Is he going straight home?
CUI YUNMING:
How can he go straight home?
He’s staying in General Lu’s guesthouse.
HUANSHA (Surprised):
So he’s staying with the Lu’s? Why doesn’t he come back now that he is in this city? Who has seen him?
CUI YUNMING:
Wei Xiaqing has seen him.
A young lady urges Li to stay,
Which easily arouses suspicion.
HUANSHA:
So it really happened.
HUANSHA, CUI YUNMING:
It’s deplorable
That he is so mischievous
And so perverse.
(Huansha tells Huo Xiaoyu the information)
HUO XIAOYU (Astonished):
We didn’t believe Scout Wang’s words, but according to what Mr. Cui says it seems to be true that Li has found a new spouse.
CUI YUNMING:
Please don’t worry. Though General Lu is a most influential official and Mr. Li now stays in his house, I’m afraid that what Wei Xiaqing says isn’t credible. I’m telling you the truth for your kindness.
HUO XIAOYU:
Can you do me a favour by going to General Lu’s house to find out the truth?
CUI YUNMING:
But how can I enter their house as I’m so poor and shabby?
HUO XIAOYU:
Huansha has just come back from the pawnshop. Here’re 300 strings of coins for your drinks. I’ll give you more after I sell my jade hairpins.
CUI YUNMING:
“Pitiable is the young lady
Who has so little money left!”
(Exit)
HUO XIAOYU:
Huansha, it’s easy to inquire about the heartless man since he’s so close to us in General Lu’s house. But I’ve no money to reward those who help me. Take out my jade hairpins from the dressing table. It can sell for a million strings, which I’ll use to pay for the information.
HUANSHA:
That pair of hairpins is your marriage pledge. How can we sell it?
HUO XIAOYU:
What’s the use of it now that he’s thrown me out of his mind!
(To the tune of Luojiangyuan)
At the mention of the jade hairpins,
I’m too embarrassed to go to the dressing table.
A work of art by a master jade-smith,
I began to wear them at the age of fifteen.
One hairpin was lost in the street,
But where is the man who picked it up?
Holding the hairpins in my hand,
I wonder whether my man will come back.
Now for money I have to sell them.
(To the previous tune)
The hairpins are destined
To come into my possession.
They’re dear and precious on my head
But devalued in other hands.
Who’ll get them now
And put them on?
I’ll sell them for money
For someone else to wear.
How do I know they won’t be sold again?
HUANSHA:
I’m going to sell them.
HUO XIAOYU (Weeps):
(To the tune of Xiangliuniang)
The jade swallows on the pins,
The jade swallows on the pins
Have beaks and wings as if alive
And pearly eyes so lovely.
They used to stay on my dressing table,
They used to stay on my dressing table
And bring us together,
Yet now I have to bid them adieu.
HUO XIAOYU, HUANSHA:
What extraordinary pins they are!
What extraordinary pins they are!
Let’s wrap them up with red silk
And close the jewelry case.
HUANSHA:
Now I’m going to sell them.
HUO XIAOYU:
Wait a minute. The jade hairpins,
(To the previous tune)
You’re now flying away,
You’re now flying away.
I sincerely cherish you
And still want you back.
If my man returns one day,
If my man returns one day,
I must reclaim you
With a million strings of coins.
HUANSHA, HUO XIAOYU:
What extraordinary pins they are!
What extraordinary pins they are!
Let’s wrap them up with red silk
And close the jewelry case.
(To the tune of Coda)
For love I use up all the money
And have to part with the jade pins.
Doomed to wear bramble hairpins,
I’m afraid the unlucky jades won’t sell.
After I part with the hairpins,
Spider web will soon fall on my dressing table.
Why do I have to suffer such fate?
I still want my hairpins back.
Scene Forty-Five
Jade-smith’s Sentiments
(Enter Huansha with the jade hairpins in a jewelry case)
HUANSHA (To the tune of Lülüjin):
I wear spiral-shaped hair
And paint my eyebrows.
My clothes smell fragrantly
Of rouge and powder
But also of tea, salt and vinegar.
The jade hairpins are carefully put
In a case lined with velvet.
To whom will the jade hairpins be sold?
I’m reluctant to act like a broker.
“What I’m accustomed to do
Is such light housework as cooking.
But now I am told
To sell the jade hairpins.”
There’s someone coming this way. It seems to be Hou Jingxian the jade-smith. I’ll just wait a while and ask for his help. How can a girl sell things in the street?
(Enter Hou Jingxian)
HOU JINGXIAN (To the tune of Fanbusuan):
With a sharp knife,
I’ve carved all kinds of precious jade.
Now I stop working in my old age,
Tired of a busy and bustling life.
“I’m aging with dim eyes
And deaf ears.
But I used to make gold chains
And jade pendants.”
HUANSHA:
Where are you from?
HOU JINGXIAN:
I might have seen you somewhere. I can’t remember exactly. Who are you?
HUANSHA:
I have something as a reminder.
(Takes out the hairpins)
HOU JINGXIAN:
This is a pair of purple jade hairpins. I’ve seen them somewhere.
(Looks at the hairpins closely)
(To the tune of Taishiyin)
I scrutinize the crystal pure hairpins
With delicately inlaid jadeite and pearls.
Ah! They were carved by me!
I remember selecting a cockscomb-shaped jade
And carving them with elaborate effort.
HUANSHA:
How did you acquire such fine craftsmanship?
HOU JINGXIAN:
Experience of perfect craftsmanship comes from years’ accumulation;
The carved flowers and birds on them surely withstand scrutinization.
HUANSHA:
Do you remember for whom you carved the hairpins?
HOU JINGXIAN:
No. I can’t remember. But where are you from?
HUANSHA:
I’m from the Huos.
HOU JINGXIAN:
Oh I remember. I was asked to carve this pair of hairpins for Miss Huo Xiaoyu when she reached the age of fifteen. I was paid a million strings of coins for doing it. How can I forget that?
When the beautiful hairpins were put on with fair fingers,
Miss Huo’s face lit up with bliss.
HUANSHA:
So you remember right. Miss Huo is the daughter of Prince Huo.
HOU JINGXIAN:
The hairpins are very precious. Why do you take them to the streets?
HUANSHA:
For sale.
HOU JINGXIAN:
Miss Huo is the heir to a rich and senior official’s family, and she is so young and pretty.
Why does she have to sell the hairpins?
HUANSHA:
The Huos have come down in the world. They’re not as wealthy as before.
HOU JINGXIAN:
Is Miss Huo married?
HUANSHA (To the previous tune):
She’s married happily to a talented scholar.
HOU JINGXIAN:
A scholar. That’s great.
HUANSHA:
But he left home and never comes back.
HOU JINGXIAN:
Alas! He’s deserted Miss Huo.
HUANSHA:
So she is pitiably left alone.
HOU JINGXIAN:
Fortunately, she has a rich family.
HUANSHA:
All valuable things have been sold.
HOU JINGXIAN:
Is she still waiting for her man?
HUANSHA:
She remains loyal to him.
HOU JINGXIAN:
Is she living a luxurious life?
HUANSHA: