by Tang Xianzu
You cannot even wed my distant niece —
As you come from Lingnan
While I come from Sichuan,
We are so far away
That you cannot meet anyone from my clan.
You go begging here and there;
By claiming to be my relative,
You’re trying to stir up some smoke in the air.
LIU MENGMEI:
As your son-in-law, I study hard day and night, summer and winter, so that I can rank high in the imperial examination. As I’m talented enough to sustain myself, why should I beg from you?
DU BAO:
How dare you talk back! Now search his bundle to see whether he has some forged letters or seals. These evidences will be enough to put him in jail.
JAILER (Unwraps the bundle):
He’s got a torn bed-sheet and a portrait of Bodhisattva Guanyin.
DU BAO (Astonished to see the portrait):
Now I’ve got you at last! This is my daughter’s self-portrait. Did you go to Nan’an and meet Sister Stone?
LIU MENGMEI:
Yes, I did.
DU BAO:
Did you meet Tutor Chen?
LIU MENGMEI:
Yes, I did.
DU BAO:
Oh, the heaven is like an enormous net and its meshes allow no escape. So it’s you who robbed the grave! Attendants, take him away and give him a sound flogging!
LIU MENGMEI:
Who dares to beat me!
DU BAO:
Then make confessions, you wretched thief!
LIU MENGMEI:
Whom are you calling a thief? You should catch the thief red-handed and catch the lovers in bed.
(To the tune of Zheguiling)
You take the portrait as the evidence.
DU BAO:
The portrait was buried in my daughter’s grave.
LIU MENGMEI:
Don’t you know that rocks might crack
And reveal the portrait at the back?
DU BAO:
Make confessions at once!
LIU MENGMEI:
This is all I have to say —
I opened the grave to save your daughter,
But I myself have fallen prey.
DU BAO:
There was also a jade fish and a gold bowl buried in the grave.
LIU MENGMEI:
The gold bowl is
For man and wife to share;
The jade fish is
To swim with me as a pair.
DU BAO:
Did you get anything else?
LIU MENGMEI:
A roller made of jade
And a lock made of gold.
DU BAO:
Sister Stone is to blame.
LIU MENGMEI:
Sister Stone let the lovers go without grief
While Your Excellency makes much ado about a thief.
DU BAO:
As he’s made his confession, secretary, take a piece of official paper and write on it his confession and the verdict: “The criminal Liu Mengmei is sentenced to death because he opened the coffin and robbed its contents.” When the document is completed, let the criminal sign his name under the word “death” and then keep the document in the files.
(Enter the secretary with a piece of official paper)
SECRETARY:
Would Your Excellency indict the sentence here?
(Du Bao writes. The secretary forces Liu Mengmei to sign. Liu Mengmei refuses)
DU BAO:
The thief is asking for a sound beating.
(To the tune of Jiang’ershui)
You’re born with eyes of a thief,
Doing evils without grief.
Do you still refuse to sign?
LIU MENGMEI:
I’ve never done anything wrong.
DU BAO:
With ink and paper you should confess.
LIU MENGMEI:
I’ve committed neither theft nor adultery.
DU BAO:
You’ve committed theft and adultery to excess.
LIU MENGMEI:
What I did was for your daughter’s sake.
DU BAO:
Deceit and trickery are in your veins.
LIU MENGMEI:
Your daughter is now ...
DU BAO:
You scattered my daughter’s remains.
LIU MENGMEI:
Where did I scatter her remains?
DU BAO:
In the garden lake,
Where the chilly waves shiver for her sake.
LIU MENGMEI:
Who’s the witness?
DU BAO:
Tutor Chen has told me everything.
LIU MENGMEI:
Only Heaven and Earth know my efforts for Miss Du. How can Tutor Chen know?
(To the tune of Yan’erluo)
For Miss Du,
I worshipped her portrait
And called her name aloud.
For Miss Du,
I had rendezvous with her
And lived in fear but still avowed.
For Miss Du,
I burned the sacred incense
And opened up her grave.
For Miss Du,
I took the quicksilver from her mouth
And revived her from the cave.
For Miss Du,
I warmed her with my flesh
And made her come back to life.
For Miss Du,
I gave her a sense of love
And made her my dear wife.
For Miss Du,
I raised her arms
And stretched them up and down.
For Miss Du,
I thawed her heart
And made her alive and well.
For Miss Du,
I saved her life
From the darkest hell.
As a wonder of love,
I have relieved her pain.
Wonder or not,
I’ve saved her life, but loved in vain.
DU BAO:
What nonsense is he talking about? He must have been haunted by the ghosts. Attendants, fetch the peach canes to flog him and fetch the water to spurt over him.
JAILER (Goes off stage and enters again with peach canes): “To drive away the ghost,
Grow peach trees for the host.”
Here are the peach canes.
DU BAO:
Hang him up and flog him!
(The attendants hang Liu Mengmei up and flog him. As Liu Mengmei cries and twists in pain, the attendants mimic a show of dispelling the ghost and spurting the water)
(Enter Hunchback Guo, with Sergeants A and B carrying Imperial Squashes)
SERGEANTS A AND B:
“Heaven and Earth are in chaos all around;
The Number One Scholar is nowhere to be found.”
We’ve been looking for Liu Mengmei all these days. If we can’t find him today, we’ll give this hunchback a sound beating.
HUNCHBACK GUO:
Am I to blame? I’ll buy some wine for you, but let’s go on with our search now.
(Shouts)
Where are you, Number One Scholar Liu Mengmei?
(Du Bao listens. Hunchback Guo and the sergeants go on with their shouting when they exit. Du Bao asks the jailer)
JAILER:
As the Number One Scholar is missing, His Majesty decrees that they search for him by shouting along the streets.
LIU MENGMEI:
Have the results for the imperial examination been announced, sir? Who’s the Number One Scholar?
DU BAO (Annoyed):
It’s none of your business. Attendants, slap his face! Slap his face!
(Liu Mengmei protests when the jailer slaps him on the face)
(Re-enter Hunchback Guo with Sergeants A and B carrying Imperial Squashes)
SERGEANTS A AND B:
“From the chancellor’s house comes a noisy sound,
But the Number One Scholar is still nowhere to be found.”
/> Well, what’s the row from the Grand Chancellor’s house?
(Listen to the row)
HUNCHBACK GUO:
My master’s voice seems to come from within.
(Hunchback Guo and the sergeants enter Du Bao’s house)
HUNCHBACK GUO (Bursts into tears when he sees Liu Mengmei):
Why do you hang up my master?
LIU MENGMEI:
Help! Help!
HUNCHBACK GUO:
Who has ordered to beat you?
LIU MENGMEI:
The Grand Chancellor.
HUNCHBACK GUO (Waves his stick to strike at Du Bao):
I’ll risk my life to strike at the Grand Chancellor.
DU BAO (Irritated):
Dare you!
SERGEANTS A AND B:
By the imperial decree, we’re searching for the Number One Scholar Liu Mengmei.
LIU MENGMEI:
I’m Liu Mengmei, Sir!
(When Hunchback Guo goes forward to release Liu Mengmei, Du Bao tries to pull him but stumbles)
LIU MENGMEI:
Oh, you’re Hunchback Guo! How come that you are here?
HUNCHBACK GUO:
I’ve been looking for you all the way here. I’m overjoyed that you have become the Number One Scholar.
LIU MENGMEI:
Really! Go quickly outside the Qiantang Gate and tell Miss Du about it.
SERGEANTS A AND B:
Since we’ve found the Number One Scholar, we’ll report the news to the Palace Announcer.
“Before the imperial audience,
He has trouble with the chancellor.”
(Exeunt Sergeants A and B, and Hunchback Guo)
DU BAO:
Now that these vagabonds are gone, I’ll go on with my interrogation. Attendants, hang up this fellow again.
LIU MENGMEI:
Please listen to me. How can I feign to be the Number One Scholar?
DU BAO:
The Number One Scholar must have his name registered in the list. Can you show me the list? Attendants, just hang him up and give him a sound flogging!
(Liu Mengmei protests)
(Enter Miao Shunbin, followed by two officers carrying the official head-dress, robe and belt)
MIAO SHUNBIN:
“You may wear out straw shoes and search in vain,
But find the man by chance with little pain.”
Your Excellency, please stop! Here’s the list.
(To the tune of Jiaojiaofan)
As the most successful candidate,
Liu Mengmei is a pillar of the state.
DU BAO:
I’m afraid he’s not the right person.
MIAO SHUNBIN:
I’M his examiner myself.
LIU MENGMEI:
Oh, honourable Master Miao! Help me!
MIAO SHUNBIN (Smiles):
You’re hanging up a man of high seating
And giving him a sound beating.
That’s the whole story, Your Excellency. Officers, release the Number One Scholar at once.
(Officer B releases Liu Mengmei, who groans with pain)
MIAO SHUNBIN:
Poor fellow! Poor fellow!
A scholar suffers from pains
Inflicted with ruthless canes.
LIU MENGMEI:
He’s my father-in-law.
MIAO SHUNBIN:
The father-in-law has put you to ordains.
OFFICER A:
The Number One Scholar has to suffer somehow.
MIAO SHUNBIN:
Forget about it. Now give him the official garments.
DU BAO:
Give him the official garments? Tear up the garments!
(Tries to tear up the official garments)
LIU MENGMEI (To the tune of Shoujiangnan):
You defy royal orders to the excess
If you tear up the official dress.
The first visit by a son-in-law
Should be honoured all the more.
But you won’t listen to what I explain
And put me to the cane.
(Officer A helps Liu Mengmei into his official garments and puts a flower on his robe)
LIU MENGMEI:
Your Excellency,
Just see what great honour I obtain.
DU BAO:
I’m afraid that he’s not the right Liu Mengmei. If he were, he should have waited for the announcement after he took the imperial examination. How is it that he roamed to Huaiyang instead of waiting for the announcement in the capital?
LIU MENGMEI:
You don’t know the whole story, Your Excellency. The announcement was postponed because Li Quan started an insurrection. On hearing that you were engaged in the battle against the bandits, your daughter told me to present myself to you, to inform you of her revival and to offer my service to you. My good intentions have been ill returned. Now, will you accept me as your son-in-law?
DU BAO:
I won’t!
MIAO SHUNBIN, OFFICERS (To the tune of Yuanlinhao):
You are to blame
For your contempt for a scholar poorly dressed.
Like elderly men,
You put on airs to a guest.
(Laugh)
You have an honourable son-in-law at your behest.
DU BAO:
I regret that I didn’t keep him in jail until death sentence for this grave-robber is confirmed.
LIU MENGMEI (Laughs):
(To the tune of Gumeijiu)
You put me in jail
Because I dug your daughter’s grave.
As Grand Chancellor,
You can’t answer for how you behave.
I thought I would be welcomed in the hall
And would ride through the street,
But instead of good reception,
A rude father-in-law I meet.
When I become a man of esteem,
You will bow and scrape
And treat me as an honoured guest —
Only then shall I realise my long-cherished dream.
I must take my leave now, Your Excellency. I’m going to the palace banquet.
(To the tune of Beiwei)
You nearly murdered the Number One Scholar
By inflicting upon him all the pains.
When I think of the glory I receive today,
I do admire my wife’s gifts
And my father-in-law’s canes.
(Exeunt Liu Mengmei, Miao Shunbin and officers)
DU BAO:
How queer! Queer indeed! Is he a thief or a ghost? Attendant, go and ask the Palace Announcer to come over for consultations.
ATTENDANT:
Yes, I see.
“The Palace Announcer looks like a ghost
While the Number One Scholar looks like a man.”
(Exit)
(Enter Chen Zuiliang, as the Palace Announcer)
CHEN ZUILIANG:
“Now that I serve in the royal court,
I start my service with great joy.
As the emperor gives me food of every sort,
I no longer teach any rustic boy.”
I am Chen Zuiliang. I’ve been appointed Palace Announcer because His Majesty was pleased with the news of victory I brought. I must owe everything to the patronage of Envoy Du, and therefore I’m going to his place to express my gratitude.
(Re-enter the attendant)
ATTENDANT (Greets Chen Zuiliang):
I’m on my way to invite you. Please wait and I’ll report your arrival.
(Comes in to report. Du Bao and Chen Zuiliang greet each other)
DU BAO (Smiles):
Congratulations! Congratulations to you!
“The former wretched teacher
Has become the Palace Announcer.”
CHEN ZUILIANG:
“New favours can hardly be repaid,
But old grief can easily fade.”
I’ve just heard that you are blessed by triple happiness: your promotion t
o the position of Grand Chancellor, your daughter’s revival, and your son-in-law becoming the Number One Scholar.
DU BAO:
You’ve tutored such a good pupil that she’s become a sprite!
CHEN ZUILIANG:
Why don’t you accept what she is?
DU BAO:
You are wrong. For witchcraft like this, a minister must report it to His Majesty and have it exterminated.
CHEN ZUILIANG:
If that’s your intention, shall I report to His Majesty at once and ask for his decree?
DU BAO:
That suits me very well.
A monster listens when I read at night;
CHEN ZUILIANG:
It is ill clouds that blur the starry sight.
DU BAO:
Who is able to judge the human affairs?
CHEN ZUILIANG:
The sacred mirror overhead shines bright.
Scene Fifty-Four
Learning the Good News
(Enter Chunxiang)
CHUNXIANG (To the tune of Raochiyou):
When autumn dew glitters cold,
The parasol leaves fall into the well.
Love’s karma rotates Heaven and Hell.
Well, Miss Du died of lovesickness three years ago for a scholar who appeared in her dream. My master and my lady have been grieved over her solitary spirit. Who knows that she’s revived and stayed with a poor scholar by the Qiantang River? Now she has been reunited with her mother. It’s true indeed that nothing is impossible in the world. Today Miss Du told me to prepare for the embroidery table for her to do some needlework again. And here she comes.
(Enter Du Liniang)
DU LINIANG (To the tune of Raohonglou):
At early sunset when autumn was half way through,
The swallows chirped and my sorrow grew.
Since my man sailed away,
In a hotel I’ve stayed.
I’ve waited, but seen no carriage in view.
“When chilly autumn winds pierce the window,
My husband is still in Yangzhou.
While tears drop on the northern grass,
From my needles southern flowers grow.”
Chunxiang, as soon as I came here with Mr Liu, he entered the imperial examination. Before the announcement was made, an insurrection broke out in Yangzhou. I asked Mr Liu to set off by night and to find out what happened to my parents. To my great joy, I happened to meet my mother here, but I haven’t got any news of my father yet. Mr Liu is expected to arrive at any time and I’m sure that his name will be on the top list. I’ll make him a new garment for this grand occasion.
CHUNXIANG:
The embroidery table is ready at your disposal.
DU LINIANG (Cuts out the garment):
Now that the cutting is done, I’ll start sewing.
(Sews the garment)
CHUNXIANG:
Mistress, may I venture to ask what it was like in your dream and in the netherworld?
DU LINIANG (To the tune of Luojiangyuan):