by C. T. Hsia
[Sparrow on a Branch]
The charms I sell may be fake,33
Yet he too flaunts his passions like a heedless rake.34
Every single one of them, basic bonds defeating,
Is guilty of wild conduct and cheating:
Mostly scoundrels that deserve a beating!35 (Speaks:)
If someone visits us two or three times and we ask him for money,36 he will say, “This whore is blackmailing me!” (Sings:)
They turn around and accuse us of blindly overreaching!37
[Dodder]
Some girls gladly as courtesans remain,
Some readily the life of a concubine obtain.
Those running a household get name and gain in vain,38
Those selling lies and smiles hope for profit plain,39
Those marrying have precedents that lessons contain.40
Truly, she is heading north when southward she should go,
Hurrying east even while the westward sign beckons so.41 (Speaks:)
Brother, you just sit tight and wait awhile. Let me go speak to her. If I succeed, don’t be too happy; if I fail, don’t feel too bad.
AN: I don’t have to sit around here. I’ll just go home and wait for your message. Sister, watch out for me. (Exits.)
(PAN’ER greets SONG YINZHANG.)
PAN’ER: What a brazen little hussy! Look at her sitting sideways!42 Where are you going to entertain, Sis?
YINZHANG: I’m not going anywhere to entertain. I’m going to get married.
PAN’ER: That’s just what I am here for, to vouch for a match for you.
YINZHANG: Who are you vouching for?
PAN’ER: I am vouching for the scholar An Xiushi.
YINZHANG (shows anger:) If I were to marry the scholar An, we’d make a fine pair beating our beggar’s clappers to lines from “Lotus Blossoms Falling”!43
PAN’ER: Whom would you marry then?
YINZHANG: I’m marrying Zhou She.
PAN’ER: Don’t you think it’s a bit early for you to be married?
YINZHANG: What do you mean early? I’m tired of this lousy life—Big Sis this and Big Sis that, pretty soon I’ll grow a big cyst.44 When I get married and become a Mrs. Zhang or Mrs. Li, I will as wife have a respectable name, and even as ghost I’d be proud all the same.
PAN’ER (sings:)
[Welcoming the Drums in the Village]
Before you leap you’d better think thrice,
Or at least twice.45
Youth is still on your side,
Let me find you another match as time I bide.
You may think it chipper
To guard a family fortune like a bronze dipper.46
Yet as your no-good sister, I must give you my heartfelt advice:
I fear you will find male control unbearable: it’s a roll of the dice! (Speaks:)
You know, Sis, husbands do not make good lovers in gay quarters, and good lovers in gay quarters do not make good husbands.
YINZHANG: Tell me more.
PAN’ER (sings:)
[Song from the Yuanhe Reign]
He who makes a good husband cannot become in gay quarters a good lover;
He just doesn’t get the cover.47
He who makes a good lover knows how to subtly flatter,
But he who makes a good husband is too honest to chatter.
YINZHANG: My Zhou She looks so handsome in his stylish clothes. I think he’s adorable!
PAN’ER (sings:)
That rogue all decked out in a dazzling guise,48
What does he know about basic human ties? (Speaks:)
What makes you so eager to marry him, Sis?
YINZHANG: I want to marry him because he is considerate of me.
PAN’ER: How is he considerate of you?
YINZHANG: All year-round, through the four seasons. In the summer when I take my nap, he sits at my bedside and fans me; in the winter, he warms up the quilt for me so I can sleep well. Whenever I go out to entertain, no matter what dress I am wearing or what jewelry I am taking, he helps me tie the knots and affix the hairpins. Because he is so considerate of me, I have my heart set on marrying him.
PAN’ER: So that’s why you are marrying him. (Sings:)
[Beauty on Horseback]
Now I’ve heard you explain
Why with him you remain.
I can’t help the smile stealing across my face.
You said in summer months he fans you to sleep,
And in winter months a charcoal fire he would keep—
Making for your cotton-padded coat a warmth so deep!49
[Roam the Four Gates]
During meals, he uses the spoon to remove all skin and bones,
And when you go out, he fixes your sleeves, ties the collar with care,
Puts on your hairpins, and combs your hair.
All these are nothing but empty smiles—
Womenfolk are forever charmed by such wiles.
[Winning Gourd]
Don’t ever think this profligate will for you provide.50
Once you in his home abide,
You’ll be in half a year cast aside.
Him you won’t dare to be defying:51
Feet kicking and fists flying,
He’ll beat you till you can’t stop sobbing and crying.
[Same tune as above]
By that time your boat will be in midstream, too late to mend.
And there’s no one to blame from your end.
So to avoid regrets, use your head beforehand.
But it’s no use for me to try a message to send.
The day will come when I’ll have to rescue you, you Rock of a Pining Wife.52
By and by, Sister, when you are in distress in future, don’t come to me for help.
YINZHANG: Even if I get a death sentence, I will not come to you for help.
(ZHOU SHE enters.)
ZHOU: Servants, make a nice display of these wedding presents.
PAN’ER: Well, if it isn’t Zhou She! That rogue had better keep his mouth shut. One peep from him, and I’ll let him have a few choice words of my own.
ZHOU: Isn’t that young lady yonder Cousin Zhao Pan’er?
PAN’ER: It’s me, all right.
ZHOU: If you please, Cousin, stay for some tea with us.
PAN’ER: You want me to stay? Even if I were starving, even if I were down to my last grain … I am not going to look for the lunar eclipse53 in the basement—spare me this meal!
ZHOU: I’d like to have Cousin vouch for our marriage.
PAN’ER: You want me to vouch for whom?
ZHOU: Song Yinzhang.
PAN’ER: What do you want me to vouch Song Yinzhang for? For her talent at sewing and cooking, embroidering and cleaning, tailoring jobs big and small, or is it for bearing you a son or daughter?
ZHOU: What a sharp-tongued shrew! The marriage is already a done deal. I don’t need any favors from you.
PAN’ER: Then I’d better leave. (She goes outside; An Xiushi rushes forward.)
AN: Big Sister, any success talking to Yinzhang?
PAN’ER: It’s too late to help.
AN: In that case, I’d better go to the capital and take the civil service examination.
PAN’ER: Don’t go yet. I’ll think of some way you can be useful.
AN: Whatever you say, Big Sister. I’ll stay put in my hostel and wait for your orders. (Exits.)
PAN’ER (sings:)
[Coda]
This slip of a girl is a beguiling witch with foxy tricks,
A heaven-sent demon that will ensnare her men.
If she asks you to guess, don’t say that she has legs under those trousers.54
She may spit blood,
But you have to take it for betel juice.55
Don’t pay attention to idle words.
He who comes too easy
Is for her an eyesore.
The only thing is to be near and dear,
Then you’ll keep your score.
(Speaks:)
Hope she comes to her senses quickly. (Sings:)
Ai, you amorous scholar,56
Prepare your offer of gold crown and bridal cape: (Speaks:)
You think you have won a wife. (Sings:)
But for three thousand tea certificates,
She has married a Feng Kui.57 (Exits.)
ZHOU: I bid good-bye to Mother and help my bride into the sedan chair—and off to my hometown Zhengzhou we go. (Exits with SONG YINZHANG.)58
ACT 2
ZHOU SHE (enters:) This is Zhou She. I’ve been riding horses all my life; who’d have thought I’d fall off a donkey. In order to marry this wench, I practically talked my tongue off. Today is an auspicious day.59 I got her to go first in the sedan chair and I followed on horseback, and we left Bianliang to come to Zhengzhou. I let the sedan chair go ahead of me, afraid that the neighborhood gang would laugh at me for marrying a singsong girl. Suddenly I noticed the sedan chair rocking back and forth. I galloped, caught up with them, and gave the chair bearers several whacks of the whip and yelled, “What kind of tricks are you playing on me?” I raised my whip and was about to thrash them: “Why can’t you carry the sedan chair the way you should instead of rocking back and forth like this?” The bearers answered, “It’s not our fault. We don’t know what the mistress is doing inside.” So I lifted the curtain of the sedan and there she was, stark naked, turning somersaults. After we arrived home, I told her to sew up a quilt for me. When I went in the bedroom, all I saw was a huge quilt stretched higher than the bedposts. I called to the woman to find out where she was. I heard a voice coming from inside the quilt, answering, “Zhou She, I’m in here.” I said, “What are you doing inside the quilt?” She said, “I was filling the quilt with cotton but got myself all rolled up inside.” I picked up a stick and was going to give her a good thrashing when the voice cried out, “You can beat me all you want but look out you don’t hit our neighbor Granny Wang.” “Good show!” I said, “You even got a neighbor rolled inside the quilt.” A belt fell off my coat, and I asked her to sew it back. She said, “I did it.” I asked, “Where?” She said, “I sewed it nice and tight.” I looked all over the coat and it wasn’t there. Where did it go? I looked into the mirror and saw that she had sewn the belt on the shoulder!60 What a dreadful life! What a miserable woman! Still, I might beat my women to death but would never buy or sell divorces.61 I’m going out for a drink. Wait till I come back, I’ll take my time and give you a good drubbing. (Exits.)
SONG YINZHANG (enters:) “If you don’t listen to good advice, you’re sure to pay a handsome price.” To think that at first Sister Zhao tried to talk me out of this marriage and I wouldn’t listen. Sure enough, no sooner had I set foot in this house than I was given fifty strokes of the cane for starters.62 I know our next-door neighbor Peddler Wang is going to Bianliang on business. I have written a letter for him to take to my mother so she and Sister Zhao can come to my rescue. If there is any delay, it will surely be the end for me. Good heavens! He’ll do me in! (Exits.)
(MOTHER SONG enters, wailing.)
MOTHER: Troubles and worries fill my heart. Wordless, I don’t know where to start. I am Song Yinzhang’s mother. My daughter is married to Zhou She, and yesterday she sent me a letter by Peddler Wang. She wrote, “… as soon as I set foot in his house, I was dealt fifty strokes of the cane for starters, and now it is beatings and cursing mornings and nights. I am just about beaten to death. Hurry and appeal to Sister Zhao for help.” I’ll take this letter to Sister Zhao and ask her what we can do to save my daughter. Oh, Yinzhang my child, this is breaking my heart! (Exits.)
(ZHAO PAN’ER enters.)
PAN’ER: This is Zhao Pan’er. I don’t know how much longer I have to earn my living in this manner. I too want to look for a fresh start; I wonder whether good news awaits?63 (Sings:)
[Shang mode: Gathering Fine Guests]
I collect my thoughts and think of marrying,
And it soon sets tongues awagging.64
But all I hear is so-and-so’s raised loans perforce, and so-and-so’s bought her divorce.
They try to flatter the ones to whom a grand home belongs,
All ready to give up their halls of dance and songs.
Wild-eyed, each and every one, like fish escaping the net,
Mouth pursed, each and every one, like birds over lost eggs fret.
The truth is, no wayside willow can take root in the royal garden,
No proper home will prostitutes and actresses like us pardon.
These foolish girls at first play it for real,
But in the end cannot to reason appeal.65
[Joy of Freedom]
Which one among them did not marry by making do?
Which one did not miss a future instant and true?
Which one did not all too easily bid him adieu?
One by one they float away like bubbles on water.
Never again to see Pa and Ma, as if they were sworn enemies: a woeful loss!
Just like the sun and the moon, the shen and chen asterisms whose paths never cross.66
They walk right into the clever traps set by men:
Heroic loyalty with no limits,
That which boundless love elicits,
Can now be erased with a stroke of the brush. (Speaks:)
Let me see who’s coming.67
(MOTHER SONG enters.)
MOTHER: I am already here. I’ll just go in. (They greet each other.) Oh, Big Sister, I’m worried to death!
PAN’ER: Auntie, why are you sobbing and crying like this?
MOTHER: Let me tell you all about it. Yinzhang didn’t listen to your advice but went ahead and married Zhou She. No sooner had she stepped inside his door than she was given fifty strokes for starters. Now she’s being beaten almost to death; she’ll be gone any day. Big Sister, what can we do?
PAN’ER: Aiya! Yinzhang suffers beatings by that man! (Sings:)
[Scent of Golden Chrysanthemums]
Back then they secretly wedded, and now they are to enmity headed.68
All my dire words of warning to you have today come true.
You said you’re set on going, and off you went.
With a love match like this, passion will be spent.69
Just like that: tenderness seems to conjugal bliss cement.
[Vinegar Gourd]
So you tidied the bridal chamber for union as lasting as heaven and earth,
Rubbing shoulders, holding hands, for all it’s worth.70
But once you entered his door, you knew you were doomed.
Time and again I wanted to steer clear, trying to wash my hands of the whole affair. (Speaks:)
But, Zhao Pan’er, (sings:)
If you watch a sister drown and not lift a finger all the same,
You’ll be put to shame before the Brothers of Peach Garden fame.71 (Speaks:)
If you knew it would be as bad as all this, what made you consent to the marriage?
MOTHER: You know, Big Sister, Zhou She gave his vow.
PAN’ER (sings:)
[Vinegar Gourd]
Which one of them doesn’t pathetically vow to die ghastly deaths should he break his pledge?
Which one of them doesn’t foolishly draw the short straw, refusing her bets to hedge?
You are both, mother and daughter, all too square and credulous,
And he was just like any other womanizing playboy with sweet talk perilous. (Speaks:)
Auntie, Zhou She is not the only one who tells lies. (Sings:)
Which one of them does not hotly all manners of vows swear?
But all pledges vanish by our ears in thin autumn air.
MOTHER: Big Sister, what can we do to rescue my daughter Yinzhang?
PAN’ER: Auntie, I have two silver ingots stashed away as a nest egg. Let’s take them and buy a divorce from Zhou She.
MOTHER: He said, “I might beat my women to death but would never buy or sell divorces.”
PAN’ER (ponde
rs, then whispers into the old woman’s ear:) This is the only way.
MOTHER: Do you think it will work?
PAN’ER: It will be fine. Let me see the letter. (Mother Song hands over the letter.)
PAN’ER (reads:) “Yinzhang bows to Big Sister and Mama: Since we parted, it was exactly as you said.72 I didn’t listen to good advice and I am now paying the price. As soon as I came into this house, I was given fifty strokes of the cane to keep me in my place. Now it’s beating by day and cursing by night, more than I can endure. If you come quickly enough, you can still get to see me, but if you are late I’m a goner. With this I bow to you.” Oh, my sister, whatever made you get into this mess in the first place? (Sings:)
[Vinegar Gourd]
I think of the old days when every care we shared,
And in sorrow together we wallowed.
He said that sooner or later you’d die and lie buried in a deserted grave,
Ending up as a hungry ghost that offerings from mean streets would crave.73
And you said that after you die— (Speaks:)
Dear sister, didn’t you say: “Big Sis this and Big Sis that, pretty soon I’ll grow a big cyst. It will be better if I get married and become a Mrs. Zhang or Mrs. Li, (sings:)
I will as wife have a respectable name,
And even as ghost I’d be proud all the same”? (Speaks:)
Auntie, is the bearer of the letter gone?
MOTHER: Not yet.
PAN’ER: I will write a reply for him to take to Yinzhang. (She writes.)
PAN’ER (sings:)
[Flowers in the Rear Courtyard]
I personally put brush to paper and write our bonding theme,
Telling her not to leak the divinely clever scheme.
She must be cautious and from all rashness refrain—
My luckless sister whose body’s aching with pain.
The letter is done. And when I get there, (sings:)
I will comb my hair anew,
And among silken dresses choose a few.74
Day after day, that cad never lets go;75
Where the merciless rod falls,
Your glistening blood flows.
Day after day you are treated like a condemned criminal.
With seductive charms I will daintily tread,
Filigree ornaments will adorn my head.
From phoenix hairpin pearls will dangle,
Prettily decked out, I will be ready to tangle.76
[Paired Wild Geese]
I’ll show my painted face to save you, silly girl,77