by Tang Xianzu
Which carries water and has no root
But still gives off fragrance acute.
YOUNG NUN, NOVICE:
Miss Du, the offer you receive here will add
Coolness to your bone
And fragrance to your soul.
If you resume the human role,
Will you return to this selfsame zone?
(Sound of wind within)
SISTER STONE:
How strange! There arises a blast of chilly whirlwind.
(Sound of bells and drums within)
YOUNG NUN, NOVICE:
It’s time for evening meal. Let’s go and have meal first, then we’ll come back and finish the rites. As the saying goes,
“The morning dispels darkness all along;
The evening bell suspends the holy song.”
(Exeunt all)
(Enter Du Liniang, wailing as a ghost and hiding her face with her sleeves)
DU LINIANG (To the tune of Shuihonghua):
With the Home-gazing Terrace out of sight,
My soul walks in the shimmering night;
Outside the grave-gate is a quiet site.
(Startled at the sound of barking dogs within)
With flower-shadows out of sight,
A dog barks in the chilly night;
Pear blossoms foretell a flowery site.
Well, here is the Peony Pavilion, and there is the rose grove. They are both in ruins. It’s three years since my parents left this place.
(Weeps)
Deserted paths and broken walls are sad.
But what is this place in sight
With a ghostly light?
(Listens)
What? Human voices nearly make me mad!
“An elegant maiden in the former days,
I’m like a faded flower now.
For such a dainty bloom beyond praise,
Why should I wither on the bough!
Destined to lead a lonely life,
I gaze at stars in vain tonight.
In life or death I yearn to be his wife,
As love gets hold of me too light.”
I’m Du Liniang in the ghost form. I died of a dream that made me lovesick. As the Prince of the Tenth Hell was dismissed from office, I was left in the cell for three years with no one to dispatch my case. I’m lucky to meet with a sympathetic old judge and to be allowed to take leave so that I can roam at will in this moonlit night. Why, how is it that the back garden to the study has become the Plum Blossom Nunnery? How distressing!
(To the tune of Xiaotaohong)
A broken heart awakened from dream,
I wonder who’ll bring me to life again.
Although ghosts ne’er travel in a team,
I still put right my garment now and then.
In the shadowy night
When dews settle in the breeze,
The clouds obscure the moonlight,
And stars lie hidden ill at ease,
I wander as I please;
The first drumbeat finds me in a flowery site.
(Startled at the sound of tinkling bells within)
What gives me sudden fear
Is the bells that tinkle here.
What a fragrant smell of incense!
(To the tune of Xiashanhu)
The smoke of incense curls;
The light of lanterns glows.
When I see the holy portraits,
My fear suddenly grows.
Who are those goddesses? Oh, one is Lady Star of Life and Death, and the other is Lady Star of Rebirth.
(Kowtows)
Du Liniang in the ghost form kowtows to you Ladies of Stars.
I’ve quietly come back to the earth
To pray for my rebirth.
Let me see what are the words of the prayers. Sister Stone is presiding over the rites for my rebirth in Heaven. Sister Stone, I’m deeply indebted to you. In the purified vase is a sprig of plum blossoms from my grave. Oh, plum blossoms, both you and I are nipped in the bud! How sad it is!
The sound of bells and drums and chants
Has roused me from a dream of mine.
I’ll step into the plants
To leave some sign.
(Weeps)
If I do not leave some sign, how can the pious nuns know that I appreciate their efforts? Let me scatter some petals of plum blossoms on the shrine.
(Scatters the petals)
My love stays with the petals on the shrine.
Where are my parents and where is Chunxiang? Well, there comes the sound of moaning and calling. Let me listen carefully!
VOICE WITHIN:
My dear! My fair lady!
DU LINIANG (Startled):
Who is calling? Whom is he calling? Let me listen again.
(The voice calls again from within)
DU LINIANG (Sighs):
(To the tune of Zuiguichi)
Alive and dead,
I’m destined to roam alone.
There’s no reply to what you’ve said;
Why do you just moan?
Lonely tears I shed;
Where is the man of my own?
A voice unknown
Continues to groan.
I’ll try to find the tone.
(The voice calls again from within)
Who is the scholar there,
Whose cries in his sleep fill the air?
(To the tune of Heimaling)
His moans have touched my heart;
Repeated moans and screams
Make my chilly teardrops start.
Is he the man I met in dreams?
I remember the blooms and streams;
I remember the breeze and moonbeams.
Now that I am a roaming soul,
Can I ever play the bridal role?
I’d like to find out more about it, but as the day is soon to break, I can’t linger here any longer.
(To the tune of Coda)
Why do the lanterns shimmer in the hall?
VOICE WITHIN:
There are noises in the hall.
(Enter Novice, standing aside and looking around)
(Sound of another whirlwind within)
DU LINIANG:
Why do the banners flutter?
This wind is what I leave behind them all.
(Exit Du Liniang wailing as a ghost, coming face to face with the novice)
NOVICE (Cries out in horror):
Holy sisters, come, come!
(Enter Sister Stone and Young Nun in a hurry)
SISTER STONE, YOUNG NUN:
What’s the matter?
NOVICE:
When I hid behind the lantern shadows, I saw a goddess flapping the banners with her sleeves and vanishing in a flurry. How terrible! Terrible!
SISTER STONE:
What does she look like?
NOVICE (Gestures):
About this height, this size, a pretty face with golden headwear, dressed in a red skirt and green coat, clinking with jade ornaments. Isn’t she a goddess from Heaven?
SISTER STONE:
That’s exactly what Miss Du looked like in her lifetime. Hasn’t her spirit come to earth?
YOUNG NUN:
Look! The shrine is scattered with petals of plum blossoms. Fantastic! It’s really fantastic! Let’s chant another hymn for her.
SISTER STONE, YOUNG NUN, NOVICE (To the tune of Yiduojiao):
When the incense has burned up
And corridors are flooded in moonlight,
Appearance of a lonely soul
With scattered petals is a saddening sight.
May you have peace in celestial sphere,
In celestial sphere,
And linger no more in homeland here.
YOUNG NUN:
May I ask how Miss Du died? Why does her spirit come to earth again?
SISTER STONE (To the tune of Coda):
Don’t be in a fright;
Don’t ask whys!
Let’s put away instruments for the
rites;
Now, listen.
The tinkling sounds again arise.
SISTER STONE:
It’s hard to show her genuine stuff,
YOUNG NUN:
Because to tell the truth will make her wail.
NOVICE:
If the vernal breeze is wise enough,
SISTER STONE, YOUNG NUN, NOVICE:
It should have known the fairy tale.
Scene Twenty-Eight
Union with the Ghost
(Enter Liu Mengmei)
LIU MENGMEI (To the tune of Yexingchuan):
Where is the fairy maid I saw?
She’s empty as the moon in mist.
My woe can hardly thaw,
While endless thoughts persist.
The sun has long set in the west.
“A rosy cloud descended from the sky,
Like a flower in broadest smile.
Whose hand has drawn a face so shy,
With loving glances all the while?”
Since I saw the portrait of a loving lady, I’ve kept thinking of her day and night. In the small hours tonight, I’m spending some time reading her poem and cherishing her portrait. Even if I could meet her in my dream, I would enjoy every minute of it.
(Unrolls the scroll and cherishes it)
Oh, what a beauty! She seems to have something to say, and her eyes are eloquent too. As a quotation goes,
“With evening glows the lonely swan would fly;
The autumn waters share the same hue with the sky.”
(To the tune of Xiangbianman)
The evening breeze has brought about
A glow of sunlight from the fairyland —
A fairy maid without doubt.
Pure and simple is her claim,
Like the crimson gauze of window-frame.
This portrait of a dainty maid
Has set my heart aflame.
Oh, my dear, how I yearn to see you!
(To the tune of Lanhuamei)
The maid is delicate and shy,
A daughter from a noble house.
She sits before the mirror with a yearning heart
And draws her portrait with a sigh.
But does she know that
The one who’s picked it yearns to be her spouse?
(To the tune of Erfanwulongshu)
Her moon-shaped visage full of glow
Has brought about a sky of woe.
In the past I could fall asleep facing the moon, but in recent nights
Her radiance is so bright
That I can hardly bear the light.
Disturbed by the thought of her,
I have her on my mind day and night.
But for the fear of spoiling it,
I’ll sleep with it at night.
It must be fate that has brought her to me. Let me read the poem again.
(Reads the poem)
(To the tune of Huanshaxi)
These lines she wrote
For her future mate —
For willow and plum remote.
From the lakeside hills comes the fairy soul,
Who lands on the scroll.
Whoever she is, I’ll pay homage to her.
(Lights the incense and kowtows)
It gives me pain
To have your image deep in my brain.
Your lover is here, expecting in vain.
During my stopover here, how can I have a brief rendezvous with you?
(To the tune of Liupomao)
One scroll does not contain a loving pair;
I wish I were a reed by your side.
My dear,
As your ears are covered by your hair,
Can you hear the sorrow I confide?
(To the tune of Qiuyeyue)
I am a fool indeed
To daydream like a child.
You are the moon above the clouds;
You are the mist above the wild.
You may amuse the crowds,
But not to be beguiled.
(To the tune of Dong’ouling)
It is a magic spell I read;
It is a prayer I said.
A stone would nod its head;
A rain of blooms would spread.
But why won’t you descend?
It is too hard for you to come ahead.
(Sound of wind within. Liu Mengmei places his hand on the portrait)
For fear the portrait be blown away,
I’ll hold it under sway.
In case the portrait is torn apart by the wind, I’ll find a skilled painter to make a copy of it.
(To the tune of Jinlianzi)
Just imagine
How I can bring you to my bed!
If I could meet you face to face,
I’d hold you in embrace,
To prove what you have said.
I’ll trim the wick to have a better look at you.
(Holds the lamp to the portrait)
(To the tune of Quasi-coda)
A human fairy oft involves a scheme.
(Sound of wind within, nearly blowing out the lamp)
What a chilly blast!
The portrait nearly caught on fire.
Well, think no more about the portrait.
I’ll shut the window and meet her in my dream.
(Dozes off)
(Enter Du Liniang in the ghost form)
DU LINIANG:
“My dream left unfulfilled in my eternal sleep,
I cherish human love profound and deep.
When the portrait guides me in the moon,
I hear a man sigh in a woeful tune.”
I’m Du Liniang in the ghost form. I pined away for a dream in the garden. Before I died, I drew a self-portrait and buried it under a Taihu rock. On the portrait is the inscription
“Her future spouse who shares the pillow
Will be found by the plum or willow.”
When my soul roamed the nunnery these nights, I heard him calling in the guestroom: “Oh my dear, my fair lady!” The sad voice touched my heart. When I glided into his room, I saw a tiny scroll hanging on the wall. When I looked more closely, I recognised that it was the portrait I left behind. Below my inscriptions, he wrote a poem in the corresponding rhyme. The signature is Liu Mengmei from Lingnan. While liu means willow and mei means plum, isn’t it predestined that he is the man to be found “by the plum or willow”? Therefore, I asked for leave from the Infernal Judge to fulfil the dream at this pretty night. Alas, how I have suffered!
(To the tune of Chaotianlan)
A faded beauty in ghost form,
I fear it’s second dreamland love affair.
As I’m abashed and got my curls dishevelled,
Let me arrange my hair.
Well, here I am at his room.
Lest I make the wrong tour,
I’ll wait and make sure.
LIU MENGMEI (Recites the poem in his sleep):
“Her future spouse who shares the pillow
Will be found by the plum or willow.”
Oh my dear!
DU LINIANG (Listens and weeps):
(To the previous tune)
I shed a flood of tears to hear his call,
While my verse lines echo in the hall.
Is he still lying awake?
(Looks into the room while Liu Mengmei talks again in his sleep)
He talks to himself in his sleep.
Wait!
I’ll tap at window-frames and peep.
LIU MENGMEI (Wakes up with a start):
My dear!
DU LINIANG (Sadly):
I shall go forth and meet my mate.
LIU MENGMEI:
I seem to hear a tapping at the bamboo frames. Is it the wind or someone there?
DU LINIANG:
Here I am.
LIU MENGMEI:
Someone’s at the door. Are you Sister Stone bringing tea? It’s so kind of you, but I don’t want any tea now.
DU LINIANG:
&nbs
p; I’m not Sister Stone.
LIU MENGMEI:
Are you the travelling Young Sister?
DU LINIANG:
No, I’m not.
LIU MENGMEI:
Strange, it’s strange. She’s not the young nun, either. Who else can it be? Let me open the door and have a look.
(Opens the door to have a look)
(To the tune of Wanxiandeng)
Oh,
A beauty stands before me,
A beauty rare to see.
(Du Liniang smiles and slips into the room. Liu Mengmei closes the door in haste)
DU LINIANG (Adjusts her hair and dress, and then greets Liu Mengmei):
Blessing to you, sir.
LIU MENGMEI:
May I ask, young lady, where you are from and why you come at this late hour?
DU LINIANG:
Will you have a guess, sir?
LIU MENGMEI (To the tune of Hongnaao):
Are you the Weaving Star in the sky?
Are you the Fairy Waitress coming by?
DU LINIANG:
How can the heavenly immortals come here?
LIU MENGMEI:
Are you a phoenix following the crow?
(Du Liniang shakes her head)
Are you an old acquaintance to see me now?
DU LINIANG:
We’ve never seen each other before.
LIU MENGMEI:
Have you mistaken me for someone else?
Have you lost your way to the hotels?
DU LINIANG:
No, I haven’t lost my way.
LIU MENGMEI:
Are you here to borrow a lamp?
Is it because you walk at night
That you come here for the candlelight?
DU LINIANG (To the previous tune):
I have not come to send you bloom,
Nor read books in your room.
I’m not Zhao Feiyan who had a sad fate
Nor Zhuo Wenjun who lost her mate.
Dear sir,
Have you had a dream of love and hate?
LIU MENGMEI (Tries to recall):
Yes, I have.
DU LINIANG:
That’s why I come here all the way.
If you ask me where I live, I’d say
In the neighbourhood where beauties stay.
LIU MENGMEI:
Yes, I see. When I was turning west in the back garden at dusk, I saw a fair lady walking in the distance.
DU LINIANG:
That’s me.
LIU MENGMEI:
Who lives with you in your family?
DU LINIANG (To the tune of Yichunling):
In the west
Where grows the grass,
With lonely parents lives the lass.
At sixteen years of age,
I’m like a flower in the vase.
When I took a stroll in ebbing spring,
I stole a glimpse of your handsome face.
Here I am
To sit by the candlelight
And chat with you all night.