The Complete Dramatic Works of Tang Xianzu
Page 62
From where comes the pretty lass,
Who stirs the man at night?
LIU MENGMEI:
Just look ahead!
Do you indeed believe
That you’ll find something on the bed?
Or in the trunk?
Or up my sleeve?
(Sister Stone and Young Nun push forward. Liu Mengmei fails to keep them back. Sound of wind within. Du Liniang slips offstage)
LIU MENGMEI:
You nearly blew out the lamp.
SISTER STONE:
I saw someone’s shadow a moment ago, but now there is only the beauty scroll on the wall. Was the painting enchanted?
(To the previous tune)
The beauty on the scroll would dance and sing
To form a pair with you.
If it were not demon or something,
Why should it flee while the wind blew?
What painting is this, sir?
LIU MENGMEI:
It is a work of art
To bless me all along the way.
I worship it from the bottom of my heart,
But you disturb me when I pray.
SISTER STONE:
Oh, that’s it. I never thought of it. When I heard someone murmuring in your room, I suspected that it was this young nun. Now I see. Excuse me, sir, for I’ll have a word with her.
LIU MENGMEI:
Please.
YOUNG NUN (To the tune of Coda):
You want to drag me to the Taoist court!
LIU MENGMEI:
And give an honest man a bad report!
Sister Stone, by what you did,
My sweet dream tonight is cut short.
(Exeunt Sister Stone and Young Nun)
LIU MENGMEI (Laughs):
My sweet rendezvous is ruined by these two nasty nuns! What a distress! How they have startled my beauty!
I should escort you in the night,
But spring breeze brings woes hand in hand.
When rolling mountains come in sight,
My dream has borne me to the fairyland.
Scene Thirty-One
Preparing for War
(Enter an official and an officer)
OFFICIALS, OFFICER (To the tune of Fanbusuan):
The Yangtze flows, the sea roars,
Yet rebel armies are malign.
Yangzhou has reinforced its walls;
We toast the river with our wine.
How do you do! We are the official and officer of the Yangzhou Prefecture. As Li Quan is making harassment in this area, Envoy Du has ordered us to build an outer city wall. Today we’re going to hold a banquet to celebrate the completion of the outer wall. Here comes Envoy Du.
(Enter Du Bao, followed by subordinates)
SUBORDINATES (To the previous tune):
Three thousand followers line the hall;
Our strength is doubled by the wall.
(The official and the officer welcome Du Bao)
DU BAO:
Yangzhou commands sights ever seen;
Let’s climb the tower for a better scene.
SUBORDINATES (Greet Du Bao):
“To guard the gate we need a warrior old and bold;
DU BAO:
I wish I were a warrior crowning all.
SUBORDINATES:
The heaven sets a hill as our stronghold;
DU BAO:
I’ll guard the city as an iron wall.”
The swift completion of the Yangzhou outer wall is the result of the joint efforts of the officials, officers and civilians.
SUBORDINATES:
You have made all the plans while we have just followed your instructions. Will you accept our toast as a time-honoured tradition?
DU BAO:
Excellent! Now let’s have a look around the gate tower.
(Looks around)
What a magnificent wall! It is truly
“The strongest city in the north;
The topmost tower in Huainan.”
SUBORDINATES:
A toast to you!
(To the tune of Shanhuazi)
Cheers to the towering wall,
With a bird’s-eye view of the stream.
A safeguard to us all,
It is indeed supreme.
ALL:
On watchtowers above the wall,
We sprinkle wine beside the banners.
When we think of past glories,
Our mournful teardrops fall,
For the world has changed its manners.
DU BAO:
What are those forty or fifty snowy mounds that rise in the distance?
SUBORDINATES:
They are salt piles stored in the yards to be paid to the merchants.
DU BAO:
Where are the merchants?
(Enter two merchants)
TWO MERCHANTS:
“The jades from brines are piled and sold;
The salt has thus become pure gold.”
We merchants pay our respect to you.
DU BAO:
Merchants, as I’m afraid that provisions will be needed here, please bring them in as soon as possible.
(To the previous tune)
The salt piles stand as snowy mounds,
In exchange for fodder and grain.
The salt stored on the spacious grounds
Will soon become the merchants’ gains.
ALL:
On watchtowers above the wall,
We sprinkle wine beside the banners.
When we think of past glories,
Our mournful teardrops fall,
For the world has changed its manners.
DU BAO:
Now, so much for the sprinkling of wine. I’m glad that we have abundant provisions in store, but I still hope that you must be on the alert to guard the frontiers.
SUBORDINATES (To the tune of Wunishang):
We are the frontier guards,
The frontier guards,
Protecting farms and fields,
Protecting people in the yards.
ALL:
Should the Jins dare to invade the land,
We’ll greet them with our bows and guns.
When war cries roll along the border,
At your command,
All the soldiers are brave ones.
SUBORDINATES (To the tune of Hongxiuxie):
We offer sacrifice to the city god,
The city god,
We thank the heaven for our peace,
For our peace.
Let us salute the army flags
And get our weapons piece by piece.
When battles start,
Who will fight with pride?
Behind the battlements,
Our archers hide.
DU BAO (To the tune of Coda):
When I deploy the troops,
All of you must take good care
To wait for battle summons there.
With battle flags flying on the wall,
We’ll crash the enemy’s daydream.
The outer walls are strong and tall,
Guarded by a valiant team.
Scene Thirty-Two
Vowing between Man and Ghost
(Enter Liu Mengmei)
LIU MENGMEI (To the tune of Yueyungao):
When gilded roofs are shadowed by the cloud,
The prayer banners flutter in the breeze.
The evening bells no longer ring aloud,
And I begin to feel so ill at ease.
A scholar as poor as can be,
I have a pretty maid who loves me.
The time is early yet.
When flowers tremble in a gale,
The moonlight dots the garden trail.
(Shields the lantern)
When I roam along the garden trail,
I shield the lantern from the gale.
(Smiles)
“It’s easier to finish learned books
Than wait for maid with pretty looks.”
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br /> As I did not take any precautions when my fair lady came last night, our rendezvous was disrupted by the nuns. Before she comes tonight, I’ll go and chat for a while with the nuns, lest suspicion should arise again.
(Leaves the door ajar and walks along)
I leave the door ajar for my beloved one.
Oh heavens,
What mood do I have to chat with the nun?
(Exit)
(Enter Du Liniang in the ghost form)
DU LINIANG (To the previous tune):
In lonely fear I ran
When my pendants rang in a tinkling tune.
(Taken aback)
I thought it was the shadow of a man,
But it was a cloud drifting past the moon.
(Reaches the door)
Here I am at Mr Liu’s study, but where is he now?
The lantern quivers in the gloom,
Adding dimness to the room
As the oil
Ignites the lantern flame,
So the wick
Ignites my loving claim.
(Sighs)
My rendezvous with Mr Liu is kept unknown to the mortals but not the ghosts.
(Weeps)
As grapevine always stretches fast,
Who knows how long our rendezvous can last?
“From my mouth comes hardly a word;
On my brows comes hardly a beam.
I’d like to taste the pleasure in this world,
But fear that it happens only in a dream.”
Although I’ve entered the netherworld, I still keep my body intact. I’ll soon leave the netherworld and return to the human world. I died for Mr Liu and shall return to life for Mr Liu. It is our fate to be man and wife; therefore, if I don’t tell him about it tonight, what good will come of a rendezvous between man and ghost? I’m afraid that my story will give him a shock, but that’s my only choice. It is true to say that
“A ghostly story that he hears
Will fix the marriage of a hundred years.”
(Enter Liu Mengmei)
LIU MENGMEI (To the tune of Lanhuamei):
The bamboo wavers in the breeze;
(Sound of startled birds within)
The crows are startled in the trees.
Oh, my door is now opened.
A fairy has arrived at ease.
(Du Liniang comes out of the door to greet him)
DU LINIANG:
So you’re back.
LIU MENGMEI (Makes a bow to Du Liniang):
So you’ve come.
DU LINIANG:
I trimmed the wick while I waited here;
LIU MENGMEI:
You are indeed true to me, my dear.
DU LINIANG:
While I was waiting for you, sir, I made up a quatrain by collecting lines from the Tang poets.
LIU MENGMEI:
I’ll be pleased to hear it.
DU LINIANG:
“I need someone to tell my love
While the cold moon shines above.
When from somewhere the dirges ring,
I yearn for the man of bygone spring.”
LIU MENGMEI:
You’re indeed a gifted poet.
DU LINIANG:
Sir, where have you been in the small hours?
LIU MENGMEI:
As we were disturbed last night by the nuns, I visited them before your arrival to make sure that they would not suspect us. I didn’t expect that you come so early.
DU LINIANG:
I can hardly wait till the moon rises.
LIU MENGMEI (To the tune of Taishiyin):
What a bliss that I have this maid,
So kind and faithful to a man like me.
Her tender eyes that I can’t evade
Enchant me degree by degree.
What a pity that the nuns last night
Disturbed us while we were in glee.
My dear,
The nuns distressed your mind
And brought you such a fright.
If you leave the woes behind,
We’ll start the game again tonight.
DU LINIANG (To the tune of Suohanchuang):
Their visit caught me unawares
And scared me out of my wits.
When the moon is hidden in the air,
I stood behind the scroll and quit.
I nearly stumbled on the trail,
As I had never been so scared.
If Dad should hear about the tale,
I won’t easily be spared.
LIU MENGMEI:
I’m sorry for the trouble I’ve brought you, but am I indeed worthy of your love?
DU LINIANG:
I love you because you are the man of men.
LIU MENGMEI:
May I ask whether you have been engaged, my dear?
DU LINIANG (To the tune of Taishiyin):
No one has offered me his hand.
LIU MENGMEI:
What kind of husband would you like to have?
DU LINIANG:
A loving scholar is what I demand.
LIU MENGMEI:
I do have a loving heart.
DU LINIANG:
A scholar with a love so deep,
You distract me in my sleep.
LIU MENGMEI:
Be my wife, my dear.
DU LINIANG:
While from Lingnan you roam,
I don’t know whether you have a wife at home.
LIU MENGMEI:
I’m not married yet.
DU LINIANG (Smiles):
You have deep roots in the native land,
Why should you offer me your hand?
Will you tell me something about your parents?
LIU MENGMEI:
My late father served as a minister in the court and my late mother was entitled Lady of the County.
DU LINIANG:
In that case, you are from an official’s family. How is it that you are not married yet?
LIU MENGMEI (To the tune of Suohanchuang):
Although I live a roaming life,
I will not take a homely wife.
But where’s the maid who’d marry
A man like Xiangru who had to roam?
Where’s the maid who’d marry
A man like Xiao Shi who had no home?
Your smiles on me are the highest praise,
And as I’m blessed with smiles from you,
Although I’m not up to men of ancient days,
My love will not be like the morning dew.
DU LINIANG:
Since you have a strong love for me, why don’t you get a matchmaker for our engagement, so that I don’t have to worry about our rendezvous?
LIU MENGMEI:
I’ll visit your parents tomorrow morning and ask for your hand.
DU LINIANG:
When you come to my home, you’ll only meet me. It’s not the time yet for you to meet my parents.
LIU MENGMEI:
Do you mean to say that you are from a distinguished house?
(Du Liniang giggles)
LIU MENGMEI:
What’s up your sleeves?
(To the tune of Hongshan’er)
Your beauty of tremendous worth
Does not belong to mortal earth.
DU LINIANG:
If it does not belong to the mortal earth, does it belong to the heaven?
LIU MENGMEI:
How can you walk alone in the nightly shade
Without a servant-maid?
Will you tell me your name?
(Du Liniang sighs)
LIU MENGMEI (Aside):
Why does she conceal her name?
Does she enjoy immortal fame?
(To Du Liniang)
Since you won’t disclose your name, you must be a fairy. As I am not worthy of your trust, I dare not have any rendezvous with you.
For all the love you have for me,
The lord of heaven will not agree.
DU LINIANG
(To the previous tune):
You take me as an immortal friend,
But my previous life has come to an end.
LIU MENGMEI:
If you are not an immortal, are you a human being?
DU LINIANG:
If I can elope with you,
My name should not have been taboo.
LIU MENGMEI:
If you are not a human being, are you an elf amid the flowers?
DU LINIANG:
I’d like you to dig my root,
But fear to spoil our pursuit.
LIU MENGMEI:
What do you mean?
DU LINIANG (Hesitates):
I should have made it clear,
But hesitate with fear.
LIU MENGMEI:
My dear,
“Tell me now;
Tell me how.
If you say no,
Who else should know?
DU LINIANG:
I’ll tell you now;
I’ll tell you how.
Dear sir,
An elopement is not fair.
I’ll tell you if you swear.”
LIU MENGMEI:
If you want me to swear to marry you, I’ll make a vow by burning a joss-stick with you.
(Kowtows with Du Liniang)
(To the tune of Diliuzi)
Heavens above,
Heavens above,
The incense proves the man.
Liu Mengmei,
Liu Mengmei
Now stays in Nan’an.
I’ll have this beauty in life
As my dearest wife.
We’ll live to share the room
And die to share the tomb.
If I break my word,
I’ll perish from this world.
(Du Liniang weeps)
LIU MENGMEI:
How is it that you’re weeping now?
DU LINIANG:
I’m moved to tears by your strong love.
(To the tune of Naofanlou)
A scholar with a loving heart
Will never tear his words apart,
Alas,
But my account can hardly start.
Now listen, my dear,
And do not fear.
But I’m afraid when you hear
What I have to say,
You’ll stumble and fade away.
LIU MENGMEI:
What is it that you have to say?
DU LINIANG:
Dear sir, where did you find the portrait on the wall?
LIU MENGMEI:
I found it in a crevice of lakeside rocks.
DU LINIANG:
How would you say if you compare me with it?
LIU MENGMEI (Compares her with the portrait and gets surprised):
Why, you look as like as two peas!
DU LINIANG:
You know, it’s a portrait of me.
LIU MENGMEI (Bows to the portrait with folded palms):
I haven’t burnt my incense in vain. My dear, would you tell me more about yourself?
DU LINIANG (To the tune of Zhuomufan):
Now listen, my dear man,
My father was the Prefect of Nan’an.