by Tang Xianzu
LI YI:
Good heavens!
The hairpins remind me of my wife.
Is she really so casual in marriage?
Oh, Xiaoyu, you’re killing me!
With a lump in my throat,
I wish I could swallow the hairpins right now!
GENERAL LU:
You needn’t be so sad! If you’re choked to death, you won’t be able to regain your life. You’d better keep the hairpins. I’ll pay for you.
LI YI (Thanks General Lu and takes the hairpins):
(To the tune of Dashengyue)
I put the pins in my sleeves with great care,
As I once did by the plum flowers.
I still remember how she pinned them on her hair,
Which cascaded over her shoulders.
GENERAL LU:
How about having Bao Sanniang as the matchmaker and taking the hairpins as the marriage pledge?
LI YI:
Won’t the hairpins be separated in this way?
I must try to unite the pins and see her again.
GENERAL LU:
Let me break the hairpins.
LI YI:
If you break the hairpins,
I will weep in sad tears.
GENERAL LU:
Attendant, escort Mr. Li to his residence.
(Attendant escorts Li Yi back)
LI YI (To the tune of Kuxiangsi):
The jade-hairpin marriage is thus broken!
(Exit)
GENERAL LU (Left on the stage):
Ask the attendant’s wife to come here. Now you are forbidden to leak any information. When the marriage is settled, I’ll reward your husband a secretarial post.
(Bao Sanniang kowtows)
Maple leaves drift forlornly in the autumn wind;
The swallows in spring’s courtyard knows this sight.
True love should be entrusted to the moon,
Which rises over the flower branches at night.
Scene Forty-Seven
Scattering Money in Sorrow
(Enter Huo Xiaoyu looking sick, followed by Huansha)
HUO XIAOYU (To the tune of Xingxiangzi):
Gone will be the spring
With its beautiful moon and flowers,
While I’m emaciated with lovesickness.
To inquire about my man’s whereabouts,
I’ve been racking my brains.
HUANSHA:
He’d better come back,
Otherwise, what’s the use
Of your waiting in vain without end!
HUO XIAOYU (In the pattern of Collected Poems):
“With the incense going out,
I’m doomed to part with the hairpins.
I don’t feel like looking in the dusty mirror;
Sicknesses and sadness do harm to my body and mind.”
Huansha, that pair of hairpins are my favorite. When will we find a buyer? How distressed I am!
(To the tune of Yushanying)
When I began to wear hairpins at fifteen,
I was carefree and healthy.
When my hair remains while my man is gone,
I’m always absent-minded the whole day.
Every day when I get up,
I look at the empty dressing table,
Doubting whether the hairpins are left on the pillow
Or put away in the jewelry box.
But suddenly I remember in sorrow
That they have been sold —
The thought left me alone in tears.
(To the previous tune)
They have been sold!
I’ve sold the hairpins;
What buyer is enjoying their beauty now?
She might be bargaining patiently about the price, and maybe
She’s scoffing at my raising the price
In my poverty and distress.
I fell in love with Li Yi at first sight, but now I have to sell the marriage pledge.
People are rumouring
About the story of the hairpins
And how I have reduced myself to such misfortune.
For whom
I sell the pins on my hair
With my face pallid in the mirror?
(Enter Hou Jingxian)
HOU JINGXIAN:
“Plum flowers wither when azaleas are in bloom;
Of the two young ladies one is in gloom,
Because one is becoming poor and penniless,
But the other is graced by pretty hairpins.”
I’m Hou Jingxian. I sold Huo Xiaoyu’s jade hairpins for a million coins, but they haven’t come to take the money yet. So I have to bring them the money myself. Is anyone at the door?
HUANSHA:
Here comes Mr. Hou. Let me report to my young lady.
HUO XIAOYU (Greets Hou Jingxian):
Are the hairpins sold at a good price?
HOU JINGXIAN (To the tune of Guihuasuonanzhi):
I sold the hairpins
At once
And at a good price.
Here’s the money for you to count.
HUANSHA (Counts the money):
It’s a millon coins indeed. Did they give you the commission?
HUO XIAOYU:
Who is the buyer?
HOU JINGXIAN:
It’s the influential General Lu,
For his daughter to wear when she reaches the age of fifteen.
HUO XIAOYU (Surprised):
Huansha, did Mr. Hou get any information when he went to sell the hairpins in Lu’s house?
HOU JINGXIAN:
Right! Right! There’s indeed a Military Consultant Mr. Li.
You’re looking for your lost man,
While he’s to become the bridegroom.
HUO XIAOYU:
So the rumour is true.
HOU JINGXIAN:
At the gate of Lu’s house,
I stayed for a long while.
It was Lu’s attendant
That told me the truth.
HUO XIAOYU (Weeps):
How can such a thing happen in our world today? My hairpins are on the head of Lu’s daughter!
(Faints)
HOU JINGXIAN:
“The jade-smith helps to find her missing man;
The sale of the hairpins breaks the lady’s heart.”
(Exit)
HUO XIAOYU (To the tune of Xiaotaohong):
I no longer care about my appearance and beauty,
While Miss Lu must be eager to look more pretty.
I expected to spend the whole life with my man,
But have given up our marriage pledge with a sigh.
When my man is gone,
My figure is emaciated
And my eyebrows unpainted.
I intend to keep company with the pins,
But the pledge is now gone with the wind.
When the jade hairpins are gone,
I won’t have the pair of swallows on my head.
HUANSHA:
How I love the money!
HUO XIAOYU:
What’s money for, anyway?
(To the tune of Xiashanhu)
A red string
Of copper coins
Does not bring wealth
Or family reunion.
General Lu takes in a son-in-law
By cruelly breaking up a happy couple.
Listen to me, you deaf God of Wealth,
That blind and unsympathetic thing called money
Brings me floods of tears
That dim my eyes.
(Throws away the money)
I scatter the money in the wind
Like the worthless coin-like elm seeds drifting about.
HUANSHA:
How can you throw away money like this? How extravagant you are!
HUO XIAOYU (To the tune of Zuiguichi):
A happy couple
We once were.
I married him not for money, but for permanent love;
Who knows the hairpins
will change hands!
Separated from each other,
I wonder whether he’ll weep over my letter.
He is good at cheating and hoaxing,
But is Miss Lu to bear misfortunes as I did
And admire my jade hairpins?
(To the tune of Wubanyi)
I remember my first encounter
With the young man,
Who took me as a celestial beauty
Smiling by the flowers,
And picked up the hairpins in full joy.
That encounter brought about transient joy of marital life,
But now another young lady takes over the hairpins
While I have to lead a wretched existence.
Does she have extraordinary attraction?
There might be predestination behind our separation!
(Enter Cui Yunming)
CUI YUNMING:
“A poor scholar takes time enjoying the spring sight,
While a lovesick wife fears to see the beautiful flowers.”
These days I haven’t been to the Huos to inquire about Li Yi and get some money. What’s the sad noise inside? I’ll walk in and have a look.
(Surprised to see money scattered on the ground)
Huansha, I’m busy all day eking out a living, while you’re throwing money on the ground.
Why?
HUANSHA:
You know, we’ve spent all our money inquiring about Mr. Li’s whereabouts. So we have to ask the jade-smith to sell the jade hairpins for us. It turns out that the hairpins were bought by
General Lu as dowry for his daughter’s marriage with Mr. Li.
CUI YUNMING:
So the rumour turns out to be true! Li Junyu, I’ll surely rebuke you if I meet you. I’ll make you change your mind!
HUO XIAOYU:
For your efforts to make him change his mind, here is the money as the reward. I’m sincerely thankful to you for your help.
(Bows to Cui Yunming)
(To the tune of Yiduojiao)
With your help,
A broken marriage might be renewed;
However, man proposes, heaven disposes.
CUI YUNMING:
With fallen petals beneath trees in late spring,
For your marital reunion,
For your marital reunion,
We need another accidental encounter.
HUO XIAOYU (To the tune of Kuxiangsi):
As I love him who does not love me,
Please tell him to keep his word.
He’s enjoying a wealthy and merry life,
But I’m lamenting over my hairpins and lost youth.
(Cui Yunming takes leave)
HUO XIAOYU:
Try to persuade him
With gentle words
Not to desert me like this.
If you make him change his mind,
Your words are worth a thousand ounces of gold.
“When I think over my unlucky fate,
I often doubt the dreams that my heart knows to be true.
I’ve experienced so many unhappy things,
But still expect money to buy a reunion.”
(Exit)
CUI YUNMING (Left alone on the stage):
“While beautiful flowers wait for viewers in vain,
Sick and moaning birds evoke popular sympathy.”
Huo Xiaoyu has spent all her money inquiring about Li Yi. I’ve received much from her during these three years, but haven’t offered any help. I’d like to visit Li Yi but he’s detained in Lu’s house. And he’s not allowed to receive guests after coming back from the court every day. What can I do then?
(Thinks)
I’ve got an idea. The peony flowers in the Chongjing Temple are in full bloom this spring. I’ll discuss with Wei Xiaqing at an inn, to see how we can invite Li Yi to admire flowers with us. We’ll take the opportunity to persuade him, and might make him change his mind. It’s true indeed,
“The stable relationship between man and wife
Relies on the advice from friends.”
Scene Forty-Eight
The Gallant Knight’s Drunken Comments
(Enter the old waiter)
WAITER:
“When sightseers come to enjoy flowers in leisure,
We take the chance to sell wine of rice.
Our wine is sold at a cheap price,
But it can bring great pleasure.”
I’m a waiter from a famous public house in the street before the Chongjing Temple. The peony flowers have been in full blossom for about half a month this year. A lot of viewers come to enjoy the beauty of flowers, and I’m waiting here for customers. Whatever requests they make about the wine, I will satisfy them. It’s true indeed,
“Wine is served at people’s request,
After flowers are viewed to their hearts’ content.”
Here comes a living immortal!
(Enter the Gallant Knight wearing a gauze kerchief and a yellow robe, holding an arrow and riding a
horse, followed by several servants)
GALLANT KNIGHT (To the tune of Suonanzhi):
In beautiful scenes that unfold before my eyes
With clouds drifting across the sky,
I wear gorgeous yet light clothes.
Galloping on a noble horse among flowers,
I’m born unyielding and chivalrous.
As an obscure gallant knight, I come out and shoot birds for pleasure in the delightful spring scenery of flourishing flowers and verdant grass. Well, there’s a big public house ahead. I have my servant ask the waiter whether he’s got enough delicious wine, as I’ll come to drink here when I finish shooting the pellets with my arrow.
WAITER:
Yes, sir.
GALLANT KNIGHT:
Mellow wine is to be prepared
In several barrels.
When I come back from hunting,
I’ll enjoy drinking amidst flowers and birdsongs.
So I’m on my way now.
(Exit)
(Enter Cui Yunming)
CUI YUNMING (To the previous tune):
In the vast spring sight
Of beautiful red blossoms,
I feel sorry when I watch the flowers.
Walking along the bridge in leisurely steps,
I conceive a sentimental poem on vanishing spring.
Hey, where’s the waiter?
(Enter the waiter)
CUI YUNMING:
Bring me sorghum wine
Without heating or warming,
Plus scallion stalk
That is mildly salted.
I’ll have a talk with my friend Wei Xiaqing here. Prepare several dishes to go with the drink.
WAITER:
Please come in and take a seat.
(Cui Yunming drinks by himself)
(Enter Wei Xiaqing)
WEI XIAQING (To the previous tune):
Seeing a fluttering black flag
With the big character of “wine”,
I walk in the spring breeze to meet an old friend of mine.
Cui Yunming has arrived ahead of me.
(Greets Cui Yunming)
CUI YUNMING (Laughs):
How can we not be intoxicated with such beautiful scenery!
WEI XIAQING:
You are poor but not wretched;
You wear shabby clothes but look smart!
CUI YUNMING:
Waiter, wine please.
We’ll enjoy the birdsongs
And admire the spring sights,
Lest you get an old scholar
Deadly drunk.
WEI XIAQING:
Yunming, are you here to talk about Li Junyu with me?
CUI YUNMING:
Yes. I hear the peony flowers are in full blossom in the Chongjing Temple. I’d like to use the money given by Huo Xiaoyu to invite Li Junyu to a dinner, so that we can take the opportunity to persuade him to change his mind.
WEI XIAQING:
; Maybe you don’t know that General Lu is the most influential official at court, to be escorted by soldiers and guards. He has ordered that anyone who talks about this matter be cudgeled. And it’s tricky of him to deploy a lot of lackeys around the city of Chang’an.
CUI YUNMING:
As we’ve got Miss Huo’s money, let’s do something for her.
(To the previous tune)
As we’ve got her money
And promised to help her,
We should not look on with folded arms.
For us,
As we’ve helped them to come together,
We’ll have to hope for the better.
WEI XIAQING:
I’m afraid he’s cold-hearted
And pretends not to understand.
In that case all our cares and worries
Would be wasted.
CUI YUNMING:
Waiter, get a dinner for three ready here and invite Military Consultant Li to enjoy the peony flowers the day after tomorrow.
WAITER:
It’s not easy to be admitted into Lu’s residence. I’m afraid they might grow suspicious.
WEI XIAQING:
I’ve got an idea. You just say the Buddhist Master Wuxiang invites him.
WAITER:
All right. Let me pour another pot of wine for you.
(Enter the Gallant Knight)
GALLANT KNIGHT (To the previous tune):
Where the flying orioles are brisk
And the green trees are delicate,
I shoot pellets to the sky.
Now I gallop by on the horse
And see the silver bottle hanging outside the inn.
Well, there’re two scholars here. Tell them to stay out of my sight.
The two silly scholars
Are not afraid to be ridiculed.
They won’t realize their ambition
In this public house.
(Raises his hand)
Excuse me!
WEI XIAQING, CUI YUNMING (Leave for another place):
“We are driven away by the late comer;
The virtuous wife is displaced by another girl.”
(Exeunt)
GALLANT KNIGHT (Smiles, following them with his eyes):
Where are these two silly scholars from?
SERVANT:
They look so familiar. One of them seems to be the Mr. Wei who borrowed our horse three years ago. The other seems to be the Mr. Cui who borrowed our Tartar servant.
GALLANT KNIGHT:
Why did they borrow our horse and servant?
SERVANT:
Mr. Li Yi was taken into the Huo family as a son-in-law. He borrowed the horse and the tartar servant to add grace to his wedding.
GALLANT KNIGHT:
How long have the two sour scholars been here?
WAITER:
They’ve been here for a long time.
GALLANT KNIGHT (Looks at the leftover in the dishes and laughs):
What did they eat from this dish just now?