by Tang Xianzu
How can she when she’s so short of money?
HOU JINGXIAN:
Then what does she depend on for a living?
HUANSHA:
She keeps selling valuable clothing and jewelry to pay for the information about her man.
Now the jade hairpins are the most valuable things left.
HOU JINGXIAN:
It’s good if Miss Huo can get information about her man. Otherwise,
The pretty lady will suffer illness and ill fate.
(Weeps)
Even those who have enjoyed privileged status and wealth would be reduced to such a pitiful state when they come down in the world! Seeing such ups and downs in my old age, I feel very sentimental.
(To the tune of Huaqiao’er)
Yours is a wealthy and influential family
Living a luxurious and leisurely life.
You have richly-decorated mansions
And delicately-set ornaments.
Why do you act so decisively
Instead of leaving yourself some leeway?
I’ve witnessed the life of many influential families. Now this Miss Huo is so down on her luck.
HOU JINGXIAN, HUANSHA:
Short of money for basic needs,
How can she deal with illness?
It’s saddening and heartbreaking
To sell her jade hairpins.
HOU JINGXIAN:
I must continue my way now.
HUANSHA (Sighs):
I’m a young girl, but I have to peddle such luxuries in the street.
(To the previous tune)
Closing the jewelry case,
I hold it in distress.
How come I walk to such a bustling street?
There’s nothing here of interest.
Holding the jade hairpins cautiously for sale,
I have to try many unfamiliar places.
(Stops)
Mr. Hou, I’d like to ask you for a favour.
(Bows)
I’m not bowing to ingratiate you,
But really need your help,
As I feel like crying to sell the hairpins.
Please look at my small and tight shoes.
HOU JINGXIAN:
What’s the point of looking at your small and tight shoes?
HUANSHA:
It’s painful for me to walk too much.
HOU JINGXIAN (To the previous tune):
Speaking sweet words with a kind look,
You are lively and eloquent.
HUANSHA:
I’m not lively and eloquent. I’m afraid that the Huo family will lose dignity if people know about the sale of Miss Huo’s hairpins.
HOU JINGXIAN:
At the mention of the Huo’s dignity,
I am deeply absorbed in thought.
(Aside)
What a smart girl!
With a sense of honour,
She comes straight to the point.
All right, I’ll take it.
I’ll examine the jewelry case
And pluck the thread ends.
It’s heartbreaking to sell the hairpins;
But I’ll do what I can to help.
HUANSHA:
Mr. Hou, please sell it at a fair price.
(To the previous tune)
On the hairpins inlaid with pearls,
The pair of swallows are resting in the case.
They will fly to another lady’s chamber
And peep around on her hair.
Mr. Hou, please make sure the money is paid immediately when the hairpins are sold.
Please be smart
With the price paid.
Mr. Hou, let go of the hairpins when the money is paid.
You have to go out of your small store
To peddle them in rich men’s magnificent houses.
I feel like crying to sell the hairpins,
And look at them sadly with tightly knitted eyebrows.
Now I’ll go back home. We’ll reward you for your help.
HOU JINGXIAN:
Just a moment. Tell me who is that heartless man? It will be convenient for me to inquire about him while selling the hairpins.
HUANSHA:
I have an idea. You just put placards in the street saying: Miss Huo’s husband Li Yi left home and never comes back. Born in Longxi, he is the tenth child of his family. Now he is in his twenties and is appointed Military Consultant. He wears a black-gauze official cap, a purple-coloured robe, a gold-decorated belt and cloud-patterned official boots. He is of middle height, with a round, pale face and a small moustache. Anyone who sees him will be rewarded one ounce of silver. Anyone who provides information about him will be rewarded two ounces.
HOU JINGXIAN:
The reward sounds too small.
HUANSHA:
I once got lost and was found by putting up such a placard. The reward for people who offered help was one or two ounces.
HOU JINGXIAN:
But your bones are of different weights.
HUANSHA:
Then give the reward with the money from the hairpins.
“We depend on you in this business,
And want the money back.”
(Exit)
HOU JINGXIAN (Left alone on the stage):
“Precious jade will be recognized by a jade expert;
Gold must be sold to those who need it.”
Miss Huo is not married to the right man. Now she has to sell the precious hairpins for the information about her man to get the family reunion. But the pair of purple jade hairpins is too expensive, so it’s hard to find a buyer immediately. Let me see — who is the most likely buyer? Oh yes, several days ago the attendant of General Lu came to ask for a pair of purple jade hairpins for Miss Lu, who is going to get married. Here is their residence with a red gate and weapons displayed outside. Is the attendant at the gate?
(Enter Attendant)
ATTENDANT:
“Who is knocking at the door
Without fear for the cudgel?”
It turns out to be Mr. Hou. Have you brought purple jade hairpins with you?
HOU JINGXIAN:
Yes, I happen to have a pair. So your Miss Lu is fortunate enough.
ATTENDANT:
Where did you get them?
HOU JINGXIAN:
It’s hard to tell.
ATTENDANT:
We won’t accept them without knowing where they are from. Take them to other places.
HOU JINGXIAN:
To tell you the truth, it’s from the Huos.
ATTENDANT:
Is it sold by Miss Huo?
HOU JINGXIAN:
How strange that you know about it! Who tells you?
ATTENDANT:
You don’t know that Miss Huo has been married to our Military Consultant Mr. Li. Now Mr. Li is staying here and is going to marry the daughter of General Lu. The purple jade hairpins are prepared for the bride, Miss Lu. So you come at the right time.
HOU JINGXIAN:
Maybe this Mr. Li is not Miss Huo’s husband.
ATTENDANT:
He is called Li Yi, and is a native of Longxi.
HOU JINGXIAN:
So it’s really the same man. His wife has been searching for him up and down the world. But it turns out that he becomes the son-in-law of General Lu. Can you take me to see him?
ATTENDANT:
How can you see him so casually in such a big and awe-inspiring house? Besides, he has vowed not to go back home.
HOU JINGXIAN:
I hear he made a vow of love with his former wife as well.
ATTENDANT:
It’s none of your business. Wait here, I’ll fetch the money for the hairpins.
HOU JINGXIAN:
The pair of hairpins is worth a million coins.
ATTENDANT:
I’ll charge thirteen thousand coins for commission.
HOU JINGXIAN (Sighs):
What a heartless man Li is! I’ll sing a tu
ne to curse him.
(To the tune of Qingjiangyin)
Li’s unfaithfulness is now disclosed;
Everyone knows he is iron-hearted.
If a lot-stick is drawn in each temple,
All the lots indicate that he’s a wicked man.
Li Yi, Li Yi,
A single betrayal will multiply into many more.
(Enter Attendant with money)
ATTENDANT:
Here are a million coins for the hairpins and a hundred thousand coins as your commission. Now go away quickly. General Lu will begin to handle official business.
HOU JINGXIAN:
I’d like to know what Military Consultant Li is going to do with his former wife.
ATTENDANT:
What to do with her? He won’t ask her to be a lifetime widow!
The home is near but far apart;
Who’ll get the pair of hairpins at last?
Tell the ill-fated beauties in the world
Not to do nothing but lament the past.
Scene Forty-Six
Weeping Over the Jade Hairpins
(Enter General Lu)
GENERAL LU (To the tune of Fengma’er):
With my delegated power and talented subordinates,
I wear a brilliantly embroidered official robe.
With all senior and junior officials under my command,
I come from the most influential family at court.
“I exercise omnipotent power
To do whatever I like.
Everything goes on as I wish,
Except for this stubborn young man.”
I’m General Lu. There are enough young men for me to pick and choose as my son-in-law. But I have singled out Military Consultant Li Yi and have decided on him as my son-in-law. As he’s so arrogant and disobedient, I must have him yield to me. Now I order my men to collect jade hairpins for my daughter, but so far, there aren’t enough satisfying ones. How worthless is the attendant!
(Enter Attendant)
ATTENDANT:
“On the screen are painted colourful golden-tailed birds;
Reflected in the mirror are jade hairpins of red swallows.”
My lord, I get a pair of purple jade hairpins from Hou Jingxian.
GENERAL LU:
How delicately carved it is! Where did he get it?
ATTENDANT:
It’s pitiable that the former wife of Military Consultant Li has to sell her purple jade hairpins for a living.
GENERAL LU (Keeps silent and ponders):
I’m thinking of a good idea to vanquish Li. Do you know whether there are any women in frequent contact with the Huos?
ATTENDANT:
I hear that Scout Wang mentioned a Bao Siniang who often goes to the Huos’.
GENERAL LU:
You go to invite Military Consultant Li here, then ask your wife to pretend to be Bao Siniang’s sister Bao Sanniang. Tell your wife to say that the hairpins are sold by Li’s former wife because she has another man in her heart. Li will surely be angry at this and agree to marry my daughter. Now you can go for Military Consultant Li. It’s true indeed,
“I secretly play tricks with the hairpins
To make the young man suspicious.”
(Exit Attendant)
(Enter Li Yi)
LI YI (To the tune of Shuangtianxiaojiao):
General Lu’s residence is picturesque
With a painted gate and neatly displayed weapons.
Tree branches and leaves brush my hat,
As I get down from the steed.
(Attendant reports the arrival of Li Yi)
GENERAL LU:
“You enjoy spring sights in the guesthouse;
LI YI:
I’m willing to bow to your superiority.
GENERAL LU:
You’re honoured as a meritorious hero;
LI YI:
But I’ll be incapacitated by kindness.”
GENERAL LU (Laughs):
How tactful it is of you to say you’ll be incapacitated by kindness! Now please take a seat. We have something to discuss. You know I have a daughter who is fifteen years old. I want to marry her to you. I have invited Mr. Wei to be the matchmaker for us. But he says you cannot forget your former wife. I wonder how you were taken into the Huos as a son-in-law.
LI YI:
Please allow me to tell you in detail.
(To the tune of Dongouling)
The first time I saw her,
She was charming amidst colourful lanterns,
Having had her hairpin hooked on tree branches.
I took up the pin as a good excuse
To ask her for her hand.
We have taken serious vows of love,
And I’ll never forget my promise to her.
GENERAL LU:
It’s not good to get married so rashly.
(To the previous tune)
It’s easy to fall in love
At first sight,
But it’s dishonourable to talk love in the street light
And take fallen hairpins as a betrothal gift.
I am afraid
Her love is not constant and profound
And she will easily desert her man.
(Enter Bao Sanniang with a jewelry box containing the jade hairpins)
BAO SANNIANG:
“My mouth projects with blood-red lips;
My face is lean with pale hollow cheeks.
I look like Bao Siniang in appearance,
But my big feet are uncomfortable in small embroidered shoes.”
(Greets General Lu)
I kowtow to you, my lord.
GENERAL LU:
Who are you?
BAO SANNIANG:
I am from the Baos.
GENERAL LU:
Why do you come here?
BAO SANNIANG:
I hear that your daughter needs a pair of purple jade hairpins. I happen to have a pair to present to you.
GENERAL LU:
That’s good. Let me have a look.
(Attendant takes the hairpins out of the jewelry box and hands them to General Lu)
(General Lu and Li Yi have a close look at them)
GENERAL LU:
How nice! The swallows and flowers are delicately carved. Where have you got them? Look, they are tied with red silk threads and put in a box inlaid with golden threads.
LI YI (Aside, surprised):
I’ve seen the hairpins somewhere. She says that she is from the Baos. Maybe she knows Bao Siniang. If so, I can inquire about my wife.
(Turns around)
Do you have sisters?
BAO SANNIANG:
We are seven sisters. I am the third.
LI YI:
Is there a Bao Siniang?
BAO SANNIANG:
She’s my younger sister. She’s eloquent and good at matchmaking. I can only do some petty business because I’m too straightforward.
LI YI:
Where are the hairpins from?
BAO SANNIANG:
They are mine.
LI YI:
They don’t seem to be yours judging from your clothes.
BAO SANNIANG:
To tell you the truth, my younger sister Bao Siniang asks me to sell them.
LI YI:
When did she get them?
BAO SANNIANG:
She picked them up in the street in the Lantern Festival.
LI YI (To the tune of Shizixu):
Whose hairpins are they?
I suddenly think of the Lantern Night.
Though the owner is not present,
I can still remember all that happened.
What’s stirring my feelings now?
It is the happy bygone days
When my wife casually combed her beautiful hair
At the dressing table
In the moonlight.
BAO SANNIANG:
What a good memory you have!
LI YI (Surprised):
> Are they really from the Huos?
(Looks at the hairpins)
They are the swallows
And flowers.
(Feels sad)
How come they are brought here?
(To the tune of Taipingge)
I’ve been away from my wife for three years,
During which I often shed tears.
The sight of the marriage pledge makes me sad at her death.
BAO SANNIANG:
She’s still alive.
LI YI:
Does she sell the hairpins
For lack of money?
BAO SANNIANG:
How can she go begging from house to house?
LI YI:
Is she remarried?
Would she go so far
As to remarry a vulgar man?
BAO SANNIANG:
You look worried and sad. Do you know her? I feel distressed to speak of her story. I hear the Huos took in a man as the son-in-law. But that man left home and never returned. There’s a scholar, a Mr. Cui, who told her that her man had been remarried. She wouldn’t believe it at first, but when she got the exact information of his remarriage, she cursed him for a whole month. This time, my younger sister acted as the matchmaker again and found for her a new husband. So she has the hairpins sold now.
LI YI (Weeps):
Oh, my wife!
BAO SANNIANG (Surprised):
Now I see that she’s your wife. I’m sorry for what I said. I’m sorry for what I said.
LI YI (Faints, falls to the ground and is helped up):
Oh my wife! It’s me that have brought you all the misfortunes.
(To the tune of Shanggonghua)
Is it true or false?
Your slim fingers come into mind again.
Though the hairpins are priceless,
The jade may not be flawless.
BAO SANNIANG:
Mr. Li, your wife has deserted you.
LI YI:
Oh my wife!
Who will accompany me from now on?
I am still infatuated with you
Although I am deserted.
BAO SANNIANG:
What an infatuated man Mr. Li is!
LI YI (Looks at the hairpins again):
(To the tune of Xianghuanglong)
There is no doubt now
That they are the same hairpins.
What has happened
Makes me panicky and alarmed.
Oh my wife! The old saying goes that the first spouse is the best. Now you are persuaded by your second husband to sell the hairpins. You will regret doing this when you think of me one day. Oh my wife,
How is your present husband?
I still remember how you loved me at that time.
GENERAL LU:
Mr. Li, this woman is of easy virtue. But you needn’t worry about finding another good girl. I asked Wei Xiaqing to persuade you yesterday. Now that we know your former wife has remarried, it’s your destined fate to marry my daughter.
