by AnonYMous
The exorcists wore priests’ robes, and their heads were bound with black silk to which paper hats had been fastened. They chanted something incomprehensible that they said was an invocation to a higher power. One of them attached red woolen yarn with several bronze coins to his queue. His arms were bare, and he had on a blue cloth skirt. He brandished a kitchen knife and declared that he was opening the Gate of Prosperity. With a knife he drew some blood from his arms, caught it in a teacup, and spilled it over the doorframes as he capered wildly through the rooms. He also placed a red bamboo chopstick on each doorsill, then cut it in two with the knife. The courtesans were frightened by the sight of such violence and clung to their patrons, trying to hide. When the exorcist had finished his dance, he let off some fireworks.
Fragrance invited everyone upstairs for lunch. Afterward the exorcists moved a square table into the middle of the courtyard. They placed an altar on the table with a plate of pig’s intestines on top of that. Then, beating their bronze drums, they began to circle the table, humming and chanting as they went, a ritual known as Circling the Flower Disk.
Another exorcist, striking a large gong, sat in front of the god’s image and sang a tale called “Zhang Xiang Bought a Bride’s Trousseau but Was Murdered by Widow Bai.”1 The courtesans thought it was a true happening and exclaimed in sympathy. When this exorcist had finished, another one put on a blue cotton robe and a goddess’s hood and talked a lot of gibberish as he performed the Goddess Dance,2 reducing the courtesans to helpless laughter.
In the evening a banquet was set out, to which Cloud invited everyone, and they thoroughly enjoyed themselves. When the party broke up, the four brothers tipped the exorcists and also the staff on behalf of their favorite courtesans. Cloud, Lute, and Fragrance tried to persuade the brothers and their favorites to stay for the night performance, but they declined and took their leave. The clients in the other rooms ate their supper and also left after tipping the exorcists. Lu Shu, in Fragrance’s room, was the only one who stayed.
In the evening the exorcists danced a “Fifty-three Visits.”3 They dressed up as spirits or ghosts and turned somersaults, performed Boiling the Candleholder,4 did magic tricks, and played all kinds of games. They also dressed up as Buddhist priests roasting meat, made fun of everybody, and asked for money. Lu Shu and Fragrance gave them two more notes, and Cloud and Lute gave them cash. The Ninety-nine Bamboo Branch Songs of the Yangzhou Pleasure Quarter has a song that runs as follows:
With countless tricks they cozen people’s money;
To thank the gods—that’s the reason they tender.
They Open the Gate and dance the Goddess Dance—
It lets them gaze upon the female gender.
All night long the music continued, and it was dawn before the service concluded. Once more Lu Shu paid on behalf of Fragrance, and the exorcists went off, their carrying poles slung over their shoulders. Lu Shu continued to be enthralled by sex and beauty and carried on his revels morning, noon, and night, completely forgetting his purpose in coming to Yangzhou. Nor did he try to calculate how much of the money that he brought with him had already been spent.
When Fragrance went to see the dragon boats, she had heard the other guests saying what an exciting scene the lake was on the eighteenth of the sixth month, and she broached the matter with Lu Shu. “When I was ill the other day I took a vow to worship at Guanyin’s temple. These last two nights I’d no sooner gone to sleep than I saw the bodhisattva standing in front of me in my dream. The nineteenth is her birthday. I’d like to talk to you about hiring a boat on the eighteenth so that I can go there with you and fulfill my vow.”
“I’ve heard that on the eighteenth the lake is really exciting, but if just the two of us go, it won’t be much fun. Why don’t I hire a big boat and invite my brothers and their favorites to join us? You’ll be able to fulfill your vow, and we’ll all have an exciting time and also see something of Yangzhou scenery.”
“Why, that would be wonderful!” she exclaimed. Lu Shu at once sent Felix off to invite the brothers to come and advise him on hiring a boat.
If you are wondering what happened, please turn to the next chapter.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
A priest seeks donations in the Hundred Sons Room,
And mapi compete in magic in the Great Hall.
Because of Fragrance’s desire to visit Mount Guanyin and fulfill her vow, Lu Shu sent Felix to ask the brothers to come and advise him on hiring a boat. “Brother Lu,” said Wu Zhen, “since you’re looking for excitement, you’ll need to hire a big boat for us and our ladies, and also a lantern boat, for which you should engage half of a ten-piece band to play and sing for us. Yes, indeed, the lake will be jammed with boats on the eighteenth, and we’ll need to do something special if we’re to have any fun.”
Lu Shu was delighted with the idea. “That really appeals to me. Let me ask you to make the arrangements.”
“It would be best if we went together to book the boat,” Wu Zhen said to Yuan You. They went to the Tianning Gate dock and reserved a boat, then returned to Fragrance’s room and reported to Lu Shu, who paid them the deposit. He ordered wine and asked all four brothers to stay for lunch.
As they were about to leave, Wu Zhen said to Lu Shu, “Brother Yuan and I have ordered the boy band. We’ll see you on the morning of the eighteenth.” Lu Shu again urged them to invite their favorites on the excursion, and they promised to do so.
On the seventeenth Lu Shu completed the rest of the arrangements, sending someone off to buy candles and tall joss sticks, preparing donation packets, and ordering the cook to provide a meal on the boat the following day. On the eighteenth they rose early, and when Fragrance had finished her toilette, she put on a new pale blue Hangzhou silk gown, a white jacket, and crimson silk trousers. As she was eating breakfast with Lu Shu, the other brothers came in together. Lu Shu and Fragrance greeted them and invited them to sit down and have breakfast, but they said they had already eaten.
“Will the ladies be here soon?” Lu Shu asked Jia Ming.
“You know, your enthusiasm for this trip has given us a lot of grief!”
“How so?”
“He’s only joking,” said Wu Zhen. “It’s just that because they’re going out on the lake, they’ve been putting in requests for new clothes. At this very moment they’re busy having their hair done. I expect they’ll be along soon.”
“It might be better if we waited for them on the boat,” suggested Lu Shu.
“Oh, there’s nothing more boring than sitting on a boat waiting for someone,” said Jia Ming. “Why don’t we send our pages down? Then, when the women arrive, the pages can come back and report to us. Wouldn’t that be better?”
“Perfect,” said Lu Shu. “You go ahead,” he told Felix. “As soon as the courtesans arrive in their sedan chairs, come back and tell us.” Felix went off with the other pages.
Lu Shu told a servant to light the opium lamp. From spending his time with Phoenix, Jia Ming had also acquired an opium habit, and he and Wu Zhen lay down opposite each other and smoked.
After a while, Felix came dashing upstairs and stood in the doorway of Fragrance’s room. “Sir, all four ladies have arrived at the dock,” he reported to Lu Shu. “I asked them to go on board and find seats for themselves. The boys of the band have also arrived.” Lu Shu nodded. Wu Zhen and the others gathered up the smoking paraphernalia, packed it into a bag, and told Felix to take it to the boat.
Lu Shu asked them all to go downstairs, and Fragrance invited Cloud and Lute to accompany them. At the dock they were descending the stone ramp when Phoenix, Cassia, Paria, and Lucky saw them from the boat and came out to welcome them. The new arrivals boarded the boat, and the five boys of the band came forward to pay their respects.
Lu Shu noticed a rowboat moored alongside the big boat. The covering had been taken off and a bamboo frame, painted red, had been attached in its place. On top of the frame was a green silk awning from which hung numer
ous baskets of glass flowers as well as all kinds of small lanterns—glass lotus flowers, fruit, insects, birds…. Even the railing was decked with multicolored glass lanterns. There were over a hundred of them in all.
The boatman came aboard and asked if all the guests had arrived. “They’re all here,” said Lu Shu. “You can start.” The band climbed into the rowboat, then both boats cast off and either rowed or poled their way along. With the rowboat in front, its band playing and singing, and the big boat close behind, they made their way past Lower Commerce Street. People sipping their tea in the teahouses heard the music and turned their gaze toward the river. A few of the older, more experienced ones said, “From the way those wastrels are throwing their money about, this jaunt must be costing them dozens of taels.” But some of the more irresponsible younger ones disagreed. “In this day and age, that’s what you have to do if you want to be in fashion.” If only they could have done the same thing, they’d have been thrilled; unfortunately they lacked the means. On the other hand, they couldn’t bear to miss out on the day’s excitement, so they hurriedly gathered a dozen or so friends from the various teahouses and hired a small fishing smack with a covering and a pair of oars. They crammed into its cabin, packed as tightly together as the passengers on the little ferryboats that ply between the city and Guazhou and Shaobo. They bought fresh lotus flower lanterns, strung a long cord through them, and tied it to the boat’s rail, and, by skimping on food and other supplies, managed to enjoy themselves all day and half the night. When the cost was reckoned up the next day, each was asked to contribute a few hundred cash. Some of them couldn’t come up with their share of the money, and numerous quarrels broke out, until eventually, under pressure from the boatman, they pawned a few small items, and the problem was solved. There is no need to go into any further detail about them.
Meanwhile both boats had emerged from Rainbow Bridge. It was still early, and not many pleasure boats were out on the water. Lu Shu told the boatman to take them first to the Mount Guanyin dock. When he had tied up and lowered the gangway, the passengers went ashore. With Fragrance’s servant carrying candles, paper ingots, and joss sticks, they took her first to the Earth Spirit Shrine to offer incense and give presents to the priests and then to the Grove of Merit and Virtue. On the left wall of the entrance hung a wooden board with a notice attached to it. They stopped to look at it:
——, by imperial appointment magistrate of Ganquan county in Yangzhou prefecture of the province of Jiangsu, recipient of ten additional grades and ten honorable mentions, in the course of respectfully fulfilling his official duties, has conducted an investigation and now issues the following strict prohibitions:
The Grove of Merit and Virtue, a place visited by the emperor,1 is one of the most renowned temples of the Huainan region. Every year on the nineteenth of the sixth month, the birthday of the Mahāsattva of the Ship of Mercy,2 men and women from near and far flock there in great numbers to burn incense and pray for good fortune. Among them are lawless hooligans who push and shove and create an uproar, looking for a pretext to cause a disturbance. There are also pickpockets and cutpurses who seize any chance to steal money and other items. In addition, there are small groups of supernumerary personnel from the various departments of the yamen who snatch items that are for sale and, if the toys on the stalls are not entirely to their satisfaction, resort to wanton violence. There are also beggars who make aggressive demands. These types of offenders are to be vigorously arrested and prosecuted, and the order is on record. Now, as we approach that date once more, I genuinely fear that the same people will resort to their old tricks. In addition to directing constables to investigate and arrest offenders, I am placing this prohibition on record. I am issuing it to inform the abbots of the temples, the wardens and constables, and the leaders of Daoist monasteries, and so on. If there are any of the aforementioned lawless hooligans who revert to their old ways and deliberately flout the law, I expect them to be arrested and delivered to the yamen so that, after due investigation, they may be placed on public display in a cangue. If wardens and others try to cover up these acts, they will be severely dealt with alongside the offenders. This prohibition is effective immediately; there will be no period of grace. Everyone must respect and comply with the law. By Order—
At the bottom there was a seal and the date in vermilion ink. On the wall to the right of the entrance were notices posted by the deputy commander of the Yangzhou garrison, the head of the southwest militia, and the Ganquan police chief.
But the visitors were in no mood to read the notices, and they entered the temple. On the embankments on each side of the entrance they saw numbers of beggars, male and female, leading or carrying children, as well as the dumb, the blind, the scrofulous, the paralytic, people with running sores on their heads, people with smashed noses…the old and the feeble, the crippled and the lame, all of them clamoring for money. A number of other people held brightly shining lanterns as they visited the temple to offer incense. They led male and female worshippers, whose queues were tied with crimson cord and who wore blue nankeen trousers. They carried small red stools and knelt down to pray after every few steps.3 The crowd was densely packed as they arrived at the Great Hall, which was brilliantly lit up, with incense lingering on the air. Men and women were worshipping in great numbers, and the bells tolled incessantly. An acolyte had already received the candles and joss sticks that they had brought, and he inserted the sticks and lit the candles. Phoenix, Cassia, Paria, Lucky, Cloud, and Lute bought candles from a priest, while on each side of them bells and drums sounded. Fragrance and the other courtesans worshipped before the image of Guanyin, Mahāsattva of the Ship of Mercy. The boys of the band requested candles and themselves kowtowed.
The priest invited them into the Hundred Sons Room4 in the Rear Hall to burn incense and worship. In the shrine of Guanyin, Giver of Children, they found numerous plaster images of children, some with red or yellow cloth hats, others bareheaded. Some were on horseback, or carrying umbrellas, or playing with dragon lanterns, while others were on swings, or turning somersaults, or striking bells or drums. In all there were over a hundred of them. Jia Ming turned to the courtesans: “If any of you want to have a son, you just need to steal one of those hats and you’re bound to conceive.” Phoenix, Cassia, Paria, Lucky, Cloud, and Lute giggled at this advice but each of them went up to the shrine and snatched a hat. Only Fragrance stood where she was, without any sign of emotion.
“Isn’t Sister Fragrance going to steal a hat?” asked Cassia. “Oh, I see. When is our brother-in-law going to serve us a dish of eggs?”5 Lu Shu and Fragrance laughed but said nothing. As they bantered with the others, a number of women came up to burn incense before the image of Guanyin, Giver of Children. Among them was a young woman of less than twenty, sporting a new coiffure and brand-new clothes, who, after kowtowing to the image of Guanyin, remained in front of the shrine, hoping to sneak off with one of the hats but seemingly afraid that she might be seen. She did steal one, in great trepidation, and then went off with the other women, tittering among themselves, to burn incense in another hall.
“Look at that woman with the new coiffure,” said Jia Ming. “No doubt she’s a bride, not long married. I was amused to see how nervous she was when she stole that hat, and I’ve made up a poem about her.”
“Do tell us,” they chorused.
He chanted this four-line poem:
A newlywed, nervous and shy—
To pray at Guanyin’s shrine she came.
She put out her hand, snatched a hat,
But kept looking back, cheeks aflame.
“Marvelous!” they cried.
The priest invited the party into the reception room, where they sat down and an acolyte served them tea. There were hampers of food on the two tables, and the priest offered his guests refreshments, at the same time winking at the acolyte, who promptly brought out an album. The priest then formally greeted everyone, saying, “The rear building of this temple
has been rebuilt thanks to the donations of various ladies and gentlemen, but it still needs painting and refinishing and the statues need gilding. I sincerely hope that you gentlemen and young ladies will each make a donation, and that you will be blessed with innumerable descendants and live long and happy lives.” He then laid the album on one of the tables, while the acolyte brought along brush and ink. The sworn brothers saw that the album had a nanmu cover with a white slip of paper pasted on it, bearing the words “Great Blessings, High Office, Worthy Deeds, Good Fortune” in cherry red letters. On opening the album, they found that it was merely a routine appeal for contributions, with numerous attachments in red pasted in at the back, saying that Master This or Mistress That was happy to contribute such-and-such an amount. There were also many red attachments with no writing at all. “We don’t need to write anything, either,” said Jia Ming. “We should just offer cash.”
Lu Shu took from his purse a three-thousand cash note and a packet of incense money that he had prepared for the occasion and handed them to the priest. “Let this note be a contribution from the whole party,” he said. “Please accept it and use it to help complete the work.”
The priest took the note and checked both the amount and the money shop it was drawn on. “I would also like to see each of the young ladies gain some blessings from good deeds,” he said.