by C. T. Hsia
Haven’t you heard—outside every home is a pit ten thousand feet deep,
And such pits should be filled in if they can be filled in.
But if someone pushes you in, this is not a small matter.
YANG JINWU: We two are as clean as water, as white as flour. Was there one who did not praise our civil and military accomplishments at court?
ZHANG PIEGU (sings:)
[Beauty on Horseback]
You are nothing but a turnip demon,
Green and clean only on top.28
LIU DEZHONG: So it seems I am some wild weed! How dare you call me names!
ZHANG PIEGU (sings:)
You sit in the money-worshipping yamen hall,
You excel in polishing mirrors in a bowl of paste.29
YANG JINWU: We are renowned for our unsurpassed honesty.
ZHANG PIEGU (sings:)
Ai! And you say you’re pure—
Purer than ice in a flagon of jade.
LIU DEZHONG: I am afraid that it was precisely because of our unexcelled purity that the whole court recommended us for this mission.
ZHANG PIEGU (sings:)
[The Winning Gourd]
All they did was to point to the goose in the distant sky and fancy goose soup;
Who is actually willing to exert himself for the court?
YANG JINWU: You old fool, trying to faze us with the court! I’m not afraid of you—no, I’m not afraid!
ZHANG PIEGU (sings:)
The day will come when you will suffer the blade of just punishment.
Then, with your riches depleted,
Your family gone, your household ruined,
Only then will you regret the travesty of just government.
LIU DEZHONG: This impecunious wretch is like a boil in my eye, a thorn in my flesh. I could do away with him like squashing a rotten persimmon—there’s nothing to it!
ZHANG PIEGU: Shush! (Sings:)
[Flowers in the Rear Courtyard]
You say that the poor are boils in the eye,
Beauties are tumors on the neck. (Speaks:)
Could it be that your family does not follow the imperial law? (Sings:)
Even if you get to spread wine and meat to feast in public,
Whoever gave you permission to weigh gold and silver? (Speaks:)
Son, go indict him for me.
YOUNG PIEGU: Father, you can tell he is a powerful man. I fear that there is no way to accuse him.
ZHANG PIEGU (sings:)
Son, go quickly now and indict him—have no fear!
YOUNG PIEGU: Father, if I were to accuse him, to whom should I point as witness?
ZHANG PIEGU (sings:)
Just point to that purple and gold mallet—it alone is proof enough.
YOUNG PIEGU: Father, even if we have proof, where can I go to report him?
ZHANG PIEGU (sings:)
Go straight to the High Court of the Central Bureau,
Cry out “injustice” a few times,
Then state the facts of our plight.
There has to be nobles and ministers around—
They must accede to your demand.
YOUNG PIEGU: If they don’t acknowledge my case, then where should I go?
ZHANG PIEGU (sings:)
Even if these rotten scoundrels
Have a hundred wiles
To thwart us at every yamen,
You still have to go to the Imperial Court and bang the Drum of Injustice.30
[Blue Brother]
Although it is uncertain whether we will succeed,
You must know that karmic retribution is unstinting.
How can it be that this purple and gold mallet is used to kill so casually?
Even as the dead in the darkness of hell,
I will never forget and relent.
I will report this to the spirits,
Summon you to the courts of the underworld,
And take your confessions.
Only when you pay with your life for mine
Will my bitter resentment be assuaged.
If this does not come to pass,
My falconlike eyes will never close even in death. (Speaks:)
Child, it looks like I’m going to die. You go and accuse them for me.
YOUNG PIEGU: Yes, Father.
ZHANG PIEGU: These two murderous bandits take fat salaries but never share the cares of the Son of Heaven. Instead, they have come to destroy us. Oh heavens! (Sings:)
Once tainted by money, their judgment is impaired;
Only if they do not want money can they be fair and square.
Most embezzle as you do, receiving imperial emoluments in vain. (Speaks:)
You murderous thieves, stop and think: why did the court send you to open the granary and sell rice? (Sings:)
Just reflect: was it not indeed to relieve the famine?
Instead, with the mallet you have smashed my skull.
YOUNG PIEGU: Father, when should I make the accusation?
ZHANG PIEGU (sings:)
Set out right away for the capital today.
“For fierce fighting nothing beats a father-and-son team”—it’s just as they say.
Choose an official totally just and upright and seek redress.
Confront these murderous bandits at court as your case you press.
YOUNG PIEGU: Father, but which great official shall I seek out?
ZHANG PIEGU (sighing:) If you were to rid us Chenzhou people of this scourge, (sings:)
Then the only option is Bao Longtu of iron mien and uncompromising justice.
(ZHANG PIEGU exits.)
YOUNG PIEGU (crying:) Father has died, how can I not seek redress! I figure that here in Chenzhou I wouldn’t be able to touch them, so today I am off to the capital to pick out the greatest yamen to state my case. (Recites:)
All say that the granary was opened to relieve famine,
Instead it brought about my father’s death.
I did not pop out from a barren mulberry tree.31
And if I do not avenge this wrong, my name is not Zhang. (Exits.)
LIU DEZHONG: Granary hands, that old man was about to accuse me. I figure even if they press the case all the way to the capital, my father is right there. Moreover, Minister Fan is a good friend of my father’s. Never mind one poor wretch—even if I were to kill ten men, this would but count as five pairs.32 We have nothing better to do, so let’s both go drinking at the courtesan Wang’s place at Dog Leg’s Bay. A time-honored truth: Touch the granary, and it will be our making. Find service at Courtesan Wang, there is no mistaking. (Exits.)
ACT 2
(MINISTER FAN enters leading his ATTENDANT.)
MINISTER FAN: I am Fan Zhongyan. Since Master Liu recommended his two sons to open the granary and sell rice at Chenzhou … who would have guessed that once in Chenzhou, those two would be so corrupt—breaking the law, getting drunk, being miscreants in every way. The emperor has commanded us to dispatch another official, an upright one this time around, to Chenzhou to settle this affair. He will carry an ordinance sword and a gold tablet bestowed by imperial order and will have the authority to “execute first and report to the throne afterward.” Today I’m conducting discussions with the nobles and high officials in the Council Hall. I wonder why they haven’t arrived yet. Attendant, keep watch at the door and notify me when they arrive.
ATTENDANT: Yes sir.
(DUKE HAN of Wei enters.)
DUKE HAN: I am Duke Han of Wei. Today Minister Fan is in the Council Hall and his messenger has requested me to come. I wonder what this is all about. I had better go. Here I am at the Council Hall already.
ATTENDANT: Announcing the arrival of Duke Han of Wei.
MINISTER FAN: Ask him in.
(DUKE HAN greets MINISTER FAN.)
MINISTER FAN: I see that you have arrived, Duke Han; please sit down.
(LÜ YIJIAN enters.)
LÜ YIJIAN: I am Lü Yijian, and I was just enjoying leisure at home when Mini
ster Fan at the Council Hall sent someone to request my attendance. So I must go. Well, before you know it, I have already arrived.
ATTENDANT: Announcing the arrival of Minister Lü.
MINISTER FAN: Show him in.
(LÜ YIJIAN greets MINISTER FAN.)
LÜ YIJIAN: Duke Han is already here. Why has Minister Fan asked me to come?
MINISTER FAN: Your Honors, this is about selling rice in Chenzhou, the matter we discussed earlier. Master Liu recommended his two sons for the position of granary commissioners. Now they are there—corrupt, unscrupulous, debauched, and breaking the law. The emperor has instructed me to gather all the high ministers in the Council Hall and recommend a righteous official to be sent to Chenzhou to settle this affair. Wait until everybody arrives and together we will select someone.
DUKE HAN: I think that Minister Fan must already have someone in mind for the task; we should recommend that person.
(YOUNG PIEGU enters.)
YOUNG PIEGU: I am Young Piegu. My father and I went to purchase rice, but who could have known that my father would be beaten to death by the two granary commissioners! As he lay dying, my father told me to seek redress with Judge Bao. I’ve heard he is an old man with a white beard, so I will wait by the side of this main road and see who comes along.
(MASTER LIU enters.)
MASTER LIU: I am Master Liu. I have had no news from my sons since they went to Chenzhou to sell rice. Minister Fan just sent for me. I don’t know what this is all about, but I’d better be on my way.
YOUNG PIEGU: Could this old man with the white beard be Judge Bao? I will try to intercept him and seek redress. (He kneels.)
MASTER LIU: Hey there, young man, what kind of grievance do you have? I will take care of it for you.
YOUNG PIEGU: I am from Chenzhou. When my father and I took our twelve taels to buy some rice, those granary commissioners killed him with one strike of the gold mallet. No one in Chenzhou dared to confront them. Sir, are you really Judge Bao? Please take this case on and grant me justice!
MASTER LIU: Young man, I am indeed Judge Bao. You needn’t go anywhere else to press your case, I will take care of it for you. In the meantime, just wait over there.
YOUNG PIEGU (rises:) I understand.
MASTER LIU (aside:) Hai! Those two wretches really did it this time! Attendant, announce that Master Liu is at the door.
ATTENDANT: Announcing the arrival of Master Liu.
(MASTER LIU greets the ministers.)
MINISTER FAN: Master Liu, those two sons you recommended sure are fine, honest officials!
MASTER LIU: Prime Minister, my two sons really are honest officials. Indeed I do not dare to deceive you.
MINISTER FAN: Master Liu, from what I have heard, once your sons got to Chenzhou, they drank, flouted rules, ignored their duties, coveted bribes, broke the laws, and brought much suffering to the people. Do you know anything about this?
MASTER LIU: Minister Fan, don’t listen to what people say. Men whom I recommend don’t do such things.
MINISTER FAN: Your Honors, he still doesn’t believe me.
YOUNG PIEGU (asks the ATTENDANT:) Sir, the one who just went in, is he really Judge Bao?
ATTENDANT: No, he is Master Liu. If you want to see Judge Bao, he hasn’t arrived yet.
YOUNG PIEGU: Heavens! Master Liu is the one I wanted to accuse. Who would have guessed that I jumped straight into the tiger’s jaws! I’m done for!
(MALE LEAD dressed as JUDGE BAO enters leading his servant ZHANG QIAN.)
JUDGE BAO: My name is Bao Zheng; my style name is Xiwen. I hail from the village of Lao’er of the district of Siwang in the commandery of Jindou. Honored as academician of the Longtu Pavilion, I have also been appointed magistrate of the south yamen here in Kaifeng. Now that I have returned from conducting an inquest at the five southern provinces33 by imperial order, I must go to the Council Hall and greet the assembled nobles and ministers.
ZHANG QIAN: Judge Bao, when I think of your service as an official, I wonder how early you go to work and how late you withdraw from the yamen. Your Honor, please tell it for the benefit of this humble listener.
JUDGE BAO (sings:)
[Zhenggong mode: Proper Decorum]
From five in the morning when the clouds billow
Until five in the evening when the sun should set,
I bury my head in case documents, no rest do I get.
Constrained by my purple official robes, I find it hard to raise my arms.
I know all there is to know about being an official.
[Rolling Silken Ball]
By not accepting money, I fear for the others’ pain,34
But to accept money just goes against the grain.
Only my monthly salary barely suffices to meet my many obligations.35
ZHANG QIAN: Your Honor is a man who is not afraid of confronting powerful and influential persons.
JUDGE BAO (sings:)
I have tangled with powerful men and provoked resentment as great as mountains and seas,
I once executed that Lu Zhailang in the marketplace36
And put Commissioner Ge in prison for his case.37
I have suffered more than enough vile curses from a host of people.
ZHANG QIAN: Although Your Honor is advanced in years, you haven’t lost any of your spirit and will.
JUDGE BAO (sings:)
By now all is over with one stroke of the brush.
And henceforth for things not my concern I will say to myself: Shush!
I have seen through ways of the world and will only nod
As I enjoy great freedom! (Speaks:)
Well, we have arrived at the Council Hall. Zhang Qian, take care of my horse.
YOUNG PIEGU: I asked someone and he said that this is Judge Bao. (He kneels and shouts.) Injustice! Your Honor, please take up the case of this humble one!
JUDGE BAO: You there, young man, where are you from? What injustice did you suffer? Speak truthfully and I will redress your grievance.
YOUNG PIEGU: I come from Chenzhou, where for close kin I had my father, Zhang Piegu by name. Now at Chenzhou there are two officials who have opened the granary to sell rice. The price was fixed by imperial decree at five taels of silver per picul, but they changed it to ten. It was all our family could do to scrape together twelve taels to buy some rice, but with their scale it came up to only eight taels. When my father stepped forth to argue with them, they beat him to death with that purple and gold mallet. I wanted to shout out this injustice and charge them, but everybody said this is a powerful and influential clan that none would dare touch. When my father was about to expire, he said, “After I die, my son, go directly to the capital, find Judge Bao, and make your case.” Now that I’ve finally met you, it’s as if the clouds had opened up to let the sun shine through, or as if a dull mirror were polished once more. You must, Your Honor, redress the grievance for this humble one. (Recites:)
I was about to tell all, not sparing any detail.
But, choked with tears, all words did fail.
With the purple and gold mallet they murdered my father—
Indeed I have suffered grievance that knows no pale.
JUDGE BAO: Why don’t you wait over there.
(YOUNG PIEGU pulls JUDGE BAO’s robes.)
YOUNG PIEGU: Your Honor, if you don’t redress my grievance, then who will?
JUDGE BAO: I quite understand. (YOUNG PIEGU pulls JUDGE BAO’s robes three times.) Attendant, announce that Judge Bao is at the door.
ATTENDANT: Announcing the arrival of Judge Bao.
MINISTER FAN: Good, Bao Longtu has come. Make haste to invite him in.
(JUDGE BAO greets the others.)
DUKE HAN: Since you have just returned from an inspection tour of the five southern provinces, you must be weary from your journey.
JUDGE BAO: It cannot be easy for you either, Honorable Ministers, toiling as you do over affairs of state.
MASTER LIU: You, sir, have come a long w
ay.
JUDGE BAO: Master Liu, do excuse me.
MASTER LIU (aside:) Why did he look at me like that? Could he have seen the one who came to file a charge? I’ll pretend I know nothing about it.
JUDGE BAO: Upon my return from the inspection tour at the five southern provinces, I had an audience with the emperor yesterday. Today I have come especially to pay my respects to all of you, Honorable Ministers.
MINISTER FAN: I wonder at what age you began your career as an official, and how old you are now. Please take your time and tell us, and we will listen respectfully.
JUDGE BAO: Minister Fan, you ask how many years I have served and how old I am. If you don’t mind the tiresome details, I will tell you. (Sings:)
[If a Scholar]
Since I passed my examination at thirty-five or thirty-six,
I have served to my present age of seventy-eight or seventy-nine.
Haven’t you heard, by middle age all things cease to matter?
I have studied the Tang and the Han and pored over the Spring and Autumn Annals—
They all provide me with models in serving as an official.
MINISTER FAN: You’ve been an official for a great many years and must have seen everything.
LÜ YIJIAN: As an official you have been totally loyal to the state, attacking the corrupt and championing the honest. Now when the powerful and influential clans within and without the court hear your great name, which one among them is not terrified? You are veritably the virtuous minister true to ancient exemplars.
JUDGE BAO: It’s not worth mentioning. When my thoughts turn to the wise ministers of former dynasties who all met with unjust ends, I realize that to be uncouth and straightforward like me is ultimately not the way of self-preservation.
MINISTER FAN: Please tell us a little more.
JUDGE BAO (sings:)
[Rolling Silken Ball]
There was Qu Yuan who drowned in the river,
There was Guan Longfeng put to the blade.38
There was Bi Gan whose heart was ripped out by the tyrant Zhou,39
There was Han Xin, in the Midnight Palace unjustly cut down.40
LÜ YIJIAN: Judge, I think of Zhang Liang, who “devised strategies within a tent and determined victories a thousand miles beyond it.”41 He helped Emperor Gaozu pacify the empire, but when he saw loyal ministers like Han Xin and Peng Yue executed one after the other,42 he took leave of titles and glory, claiming to follow and roam with Master Red Pine.43 He truly was a man of foresight.