by Tang Xianzu
SHANG ZIPI:
I see. So much for the wine today!
LI YI:
I will escort you till we get out of the Yanqiu Gate.
(Bids farewell to Shang Zipi)
(To the tune of Xiangliuniang)
I see off the traveler with tears in my eyes,
I see off the traveler with tears in my eyes
When the horses gallop neck to neck,
With flags fluttering in the evening glow.
I can hardly contain myself,
I can hardly contain myself
In pressing for the reunion date
So eagerly that I might knock the spittoon to pieces.
LI YI, HUA QING, SHI XIONG, SHANG ZIPI:
The flute will be played in the frontier,
The flute will be played in the frontier
To express our depression
In letters to our friends.
HUA QING (To the previous tune):
I am reluctant to say farewell,
I am reluctant to say farewell
As we shall live under different skies,
Leaving me waving to you under the sun.
The wild geese flying south in the spring,
The wild geese flying south in the spring
Are wailing on their way of departure
But hailing on their way of return,
Which upsets those who pass by.
LI YI, HUA QING, SHI XIONG, SHANG ZIPI:
The flute will be played in the frontier,
The flute will be played in the frontier
To express our depression
In letters to our friends.
Let’s say good-bye now!
(Bow to each other)
(To the tune of Coda)
The roadside willows intoxicated in the spring warmth
Cannot detain the neighing horses of departure,
But remind us of the palace bells at dawn.
(Exeunt Hua Qing, Shi Xiong and Shang Zipi)
LI YI (To Qing’er):
Qing’er, let’s go back! You see, when the three of them took departure, I saw them off. But there is no one to see me off when I leave tomorrow. In pursuit of scholarly honor and official rank, we all suffer the woe of hardship and separation.
(To the tune of Xiangliuniang)
The spring breeze blowing at my hair,
The spring breeze blowing at my hair
Sweeps here and there
In absolute freedom.
Life running on like a galloping horse,
Life running on like a galloping horse
Brings sadness to the passenger
For the long and tortuous way ahead.
So why seek for a high official rank?
So why seek for a high official rank?
By selling the medicine and repairing the zither,
You can likewise spend your floating life as if in a dream.
As war dusts rise amid the whistling sands,
I shall go northwest bearing bow and sword.
Although I shall serve in the frontier regions,
I see off friends in tears of my own accord.
Scene Twenty-Three
Bidding Farewell
(Enter Zheng Liuniang)
ZHENG LIUNIANG (To the tune of Bubujiao):
The beauty weeps when she goes to bed,
With her palms stained by the silver on her skirt
And her hair tied to her dreams.
By the window
With a view of peach blossoms in full bloom,
Xiaoyu leans against her husband in tenderness
Like an oriole afraid of being disturbed by the wind.
(In the pattern of Yejinmen)
“I cannot ask him to stay,
Because this is only my vain hope.
In view of the flowery garden with whistling spring breeze,
The beauty weeps with her sleeves covering her face.
Why does he discard her soon after they are conjugated?
Tomorrow they’ll snap willows as keepsake at Baling Bridge.
I cannot bear to see mandarin ducks in couples
When she will be a lonely pheonix.”
I am Zheng Liuniang. My daughter Xiaoyu is married to Li Yi, who came at the top in the imperial test and is appointed an Imperial Academician. They are indeed an unparalleled couple of talent and beauty. But he is assigned to be the military consultant for Prime Minister Du in Shuofang as soon as he took office in the Imperial Academy. I hear that Tubo is to the west of Shuofang, while Huihu is to the northwest. And these two nations often fight with each other in the areas of Shuofang. I am worried that Shilang will have a hard time in dealing with the military affairs there. But I dare not tell Xiaoyu about this as she might be startled, so the only thing for me to do is have a dinner prepared for tomorrow’s farewell. Where is Yingtao?
(Enter Yingtao)
YINGTAO:
“I whisk the sheath to see the sword
And open the casket to fold the army uniform.”
What do you want me to do, Madam?
ZHENG LIUNIANG:
As Mr. Li will leave tomorrow, we should prepare a dinner for I shall bid farewell to him tonight, while the Princess will see him off tomorrow.
YINGTAO:
I see.
ZHENG LIUNIANG:
Where are Mr. Li and the Princess?
YINGTAO:
They are upstairs making a most tearful farewell.
ZHENG LIUNIANG (Sadly):
Oh my daughter,
(To the tune of Zuifugui)
Wrapped by the double quilt
And resting on the double pillow,
The couple keep at each other’s side.
Like butterflies disturbed by drafts of wind,
Mr. Li will follow the steps of General Li Guang
To serve at the frontier and leave his wife alone.
YINGTAO:
Mistress, my husband Qing’er will go with Mr. Li.
(Wails)
(To the previous tune)
The pair of bamboo shoots fit into each other
While the pair of horse statues stand together.
Wu’er
Becomes the housekeeper to stay at home,
But my Qing’er
Will soon leave me behind.
From now on,
I will sigh behind closed doors,
With my heart burning like the candlewick.
ZHENG LIUNIANG (To the tune of Coda):
Man with high ambition
Pays no regard to the delicate beauty,
Who will be left to paint her eyebrows alone.
YINGTAO:
The dinner is ready. Please drink to your heart’s content tonight with Mr. Li and the Princess, Madam!
ZHENG LIUNIANG:
Yingtao, how can I drink to my heart’s content? It is true indeed,
For an ideal nuptial tie that is newly knotted,
The man will leave his wife to go to war.
The drops of bloody wine she drinks tonight
Will turn into her tears in the boudoir.
Scene Twenty-Four
The Seeing-Off
(Enter Huo Xiaoyu, followed by Yingtao)
HUO XIAOYU (To the tune of Busuanzi):
Tall and dense tree branches shelter the house
While light and soft catkins flow everywhere.
When swallows spread their wings in their flight,
I feel sad at the separation with my man.
(In the pattern of Hechuan)
“The company of spring
And the warmth of flowers
Pay no attention to my sorrow at departure.
My dress is wet through
With rain and sweat.
When we say good-bye by the palace stream,
My tears will flow into my side hair.
I hold the full cup with tears in my eyes,
Pestering him like a spoiled child,
With my s
oul following him for thousands of miles.
When his wagon embarks on the road,
I will recall our happy old days,
And harbor a grudge for being unable to go with him.”
Yingtao, I have been feeling grieved to death before I see off Shilang today.
(Enter Li Yi, followed by attendants)
LI YI (To the previous tune):
Mixed with the hubble-bubble is her tender moan,
Which is faint like the fog outside the window gauze.
With her tears moistening the rouge like dewdrops on the petals,
Where will the beloved one be when her tears run dry?
“After the grand banquet in the palace,
I cherish affections at home.
Who knows that the Number-One Scholar
Is to serve in the troops in the northwest?”
Attendants, halt the wagon outside the post station of the Baling Bridge and wait until I finish the farewell drinks with my wife!
(Greets Huo Xiaoyu)
Thank you for your trouble to see me off! Isn’t the madam with you?
HUO XIAOYU:
She will be here soon. Shilang, I can’t help feeling sad when I see you off. I’ll have a word to say about my reluctance to part with you. Fetch the wine!
(To the tune of Northern Jishengcao)
The parting tune of “The Yangguan Pass”
Enters the jade wine kettle.
Standing on the green grass by the rippling river,
I am overwhelmed with sorrow at dusk
At the view of the weeping willows by the Baling Bridge.
I hope that my slim waist will turn into a ribbon to detain him,
But he is like a floating catkin that cannot rein himself.
LI YI:
“How can I be so heartless?
I have to pursue fame and honor.
I am in extreme sorrow
When the parting music comes to its close.”
HUO XIAOYU:
You are certainly heartless, because you should feel sad as soon as the music begins. Fill in your cup again!
(To the previous tune)
Dressed in the golden-threaded skirt,
I nestle against my man on the red blanket.
After I experience the transient joy time and again
With my heart stirred by love and desire,
Where can I find the intimate pleasure once more?
When we are about to part with each other,
I’d like to ask you who has cut short my joy and hope.
(Li Yi utters a long sigh and lowers his head)
HUO XIAOYU (To the previous tune):
When the black hair is no longer glossy, the flowers are sad;
When the eyebrows knit, the willows will not unfold.
My slim fingers wipe off the tears from my rosy cheeks,
With watery and bright eyes below my knitted brows,
When I drag my long skirt along the way.
Why do I feel sad when I see off my man?
I’ll have a lovesick dream with no pleasure tonight.
LI YI:
Play one more tune, and we’ll have to say good-bye!
HUO XIAOYU (To the previous tune):
I am reluctant to pluck the strings,
Wearing a coat of lovebirds in vain.
I shall doze the spring off
With my waist-belt turning loose,
And the candle and incense burning to the end.
Looking at the clouds and mountains on the screen,
I expect to meet you again but you may have new love then.
LI YI:
Do you have anything to give me as a souvenir?
HUO XIAOYU:
I have floods of tears for you to keep in your sleeves.
LI YI (To the previous tune):
Oh my tears!
How they roll down my cheeks
In rouge strings of jade-beads!
My tears ooze like rose-dews from the jade pot,
Or like raindrops from the petals of pear-flowers,
Or like the drizzle-mist from the mermaid.
My tears will drop till the sea clouds dry up,
With my sleeves stained with blood of the Xiaoxiang bamboos!
HUO XIAOYU:
You can shed your tears on my sleeves as well, Shilang!
LI YI:
“A true man will never shed tears
On the dress of a woman.”
HUO XIAOYU (Annoyed):
What a heartless man you are!
LI YI:
Xiaoyu, I will have to swallow my tears by myself.
(To the previous tune)
I will have words that touch my heart
And move me all the time.
After I leave, take care not to catch a cold as you’ll sleep alone!
Tie the silk belly-slip,
Fasten the soft waistband,
And make your bed warm and cozy.
As you may have dreams haunting your mind,
Make sure to ease your sorrow when you wake up!
HUO XIAOYU:
On hearing these remarks, I feel that you are not a frivolous man. But at this moment,
(To the tune of Jiesancheng)
The embroidered oriole perches alone on the screen
While the butterfly rests by itself on a branch.
I shall play the music in loneliness
And present it to the flowers.
Even if I fail to rival the beauty in the northwest,
I will send you a wife’s letter of deep yearning.
For the sake of a new beauty,
You might leave me behind
To look at the mirror in solitude.
LI YI (To the previous tune):
When the zither music comes to an end at separation,
The army flags will flutter along the mountain path.
When the beauty frowns and lowers her head at the last note,
The river water seems to stop flowing for the moment.
The sorrow of separation for three years
Will be witnessed from the mirror with sighs.
The pursuit of fame and honor
Will leave the beauty in solitude,
Only sending letters in words of woe.
HUO XIAOYU:
When will you return? I’ll be longing for you all the time!
(To the previous tune)
With your term of service not numbered,
You’ll embark on the road to the frontier.
I’ll be expecting in the east to receive your letters,
Delivered by the horse or the camel well-equipped.
The wild flower which butterflies visit has no spouse,
But I have my man far away at the frontier.
Reluctant to waste my youth,
I hope to live like wild geese in pairs
Or mandarin ducks swimming side by side.
LI YI:
Let’s say good-bye now!
(To the previous tune)
After seeing me off in the setting sun,
My lovesick wife will go home in the nightly moon,
To see the satin seat, the red ceiling, and the broad window
With silver latches and purple fringes.
When clouds hover over the lovesick tree,
Her tears will flow like strings of beads.
As I have missed the honeymoon,
I will be on the watch for the phoenix in the parasol tree
And the wailing crow amid the laurel leaves.
(Enter Zheng Liuniang)
ZHENG LIUNIANG:
“He makes farewell with the jade sword in hand
And empties the golden cup from the horseback.
With his strong will and ambition,
He goes for fame and honor today.”
Shilang, you are whiling away your time, but they are urging you to start early with the chariots. Fetch the wine and I’ll see Shilang mount the horse!
(
To the previous tune)
Shilang, please take leave on your horse,
With your pretty wife waving good-bye on the roadside.
You should face hardships with a light heart
And refrain from looking back or hesitating.
While winning honor is the duty of a man,
Taking care of the household is the duty of a wife.
With the army flags flapping in the wind,
You will soon allot the ivory tallies
In the embroidered military tent.
LI YI (To the previous tune):
The drums are beaten when the parting song is sung
And the coral on the whip is broken when the horse is spurred on.
When clouds and sands enshroud the old sentry post,
I set out to defeat the enemy as an eagle snatches the rabbit.
I shall set out for the northwest frontier,
With my wife dancing her dance of departure.
I’ll travel at double speed,
In full confidence to win victories
And make my name go down on historical records.
ALL: (Bow and bid farewell):
(To the tune of Zhegutian)
He bids farewell with much hesitation
Before embarking on the long and intriguing journey.
As long as wealth and rank can be achieved,
The loneliness of his wife at home is worthwhile.
(Li Yi leaves, followed by attendants)
LI YI:
Good-bye! Please go back!
(Exit)
(The attendants follow Li Yi)
(Zheng Liuniang and Huo Xiaoyu stay behind)
HUO XIAOYU:
Mother,
He is escorted
By multitudes of horses and men.
ZHENG LIUNIANG:
He is a prospective hero and a desirable husband.
(Enter the neighborhood head, kneeling down)
NEIGHBORHOOD HEAD:
When Mr. Li bid farewell to the ministers of the six court departments, he told me to ask
Madam Zheng and Mrs. Li to return early.
ZHENG LIUNIANG:
Thank you! Please take good care of Mr. Li on the way!
HUO XIAOYU:
Please tell him to
Have the sword in his hand along the way
And send home letters whenever there is a post station.
The parting tune is played
Until farewell has been made.
He is to leave for years,
His wife at home in tears.
Scene Twenty-Five
Journey to the Frontier