by Tang Xianzu
(Enter Chunyu Fen, wearing the court robe and holding a memorial tablet)
CHUNYU FEN (To the previous tune):
Like a broken string hard to repair
And blown away by the autumn wind,
The lovebirds have been separated alive.
(Stamps his feet and weep)
While the whole county wails
And the whole state grieves,
I am in deep woe with nowhere to vent my affection.
(Greets Duan Gong)
DUAN GONG:
As you are about to have the audience, you’d better stop weeping.
(Drums within)
CHUNYU FEN (Performs the court etiquette and kneels):
The former Nanke magistrate, the newly-appointed Left Prime Minister, the Royal Son-in-Law and the Royal Captain Chunyu Fen kneels to Your majesty. Long live the King!
VOICE WITHIN:
Here is the royal decree: “I am grieved at the recent loss of his wife by the Royal Son-in-Law. I have decreed that the royal cooks will prepare a banquet in the inner palace. As to the burial place of Princess Righteousness, you may report to me after a discussion with the Right Prime Minister and Marquis of Martial Feats outside the palace gate.”
CHUNYU FEN (Kowtows):
Long live the King!
(Rises to his feet)
How do you do, Right Prime Minister!
DUAN GONG:
How do you do, Royal Son-in-Law!
CHUNYU FEN:
I haven’t been to the court gate for a long time. Thank you for your trouble of meeting me a long distance away! As I had not received the audience yet, I did not thank you earlier.
DUAN GONG:
Don’t mention it!
CHUNYU FEN:
May I ask where the princess is to be buried?
DUAN GONG:
The cave on Mount Tortoise is propitious.
CHUNYU FEN:
As Mount Tortoise is at the backdoor of our state, what is there to be propitious? I once saw Mount Dragon ten li east of the state, with an excellent layout. Why don’t we bury her in this place?
DUAN GONG:
Mount Dragon might block the source of the state. We’d better bury her in Mount Tortoise.
CHUNYU FEN:
You know, if Mount Tortoise is selected as her burial site, the tortoise shell might be hurt.
DUAN GONG:
Your Highness, even if Mount Dragon is proper, the one who lies on the dragon nose might hurt its lips.
CHUNYU FEN:
If we choose Mount Tortoise, the tortoise must have a son. Where is the son?
DUAN GONG:
If we choose Mount Dragon, the dragon must have a pearl in its mouth. Where is the pearl?
CHUNYU FEN:
I only want good omens for the children.
DUAN GONG:
Your children all have a good family background. Why should she be buried on Mount
Dragon?
CHUNYU FEN:
How can you speak like this? A son must become a general or a prime minister; a daughter must be matched to a king or a marquis. They must share the fate of the state. The burial site is closely related to the fate of the descendants for ten thousand years.
DUAN GONG (Sneers aside):
So he is considering for ten thousand years!
(Turns back and responds)
If you like. However, as Mount Dragon is positioned too far away from the stars, it might be molested by bees and ants.
CHUNYU FEN:
You do not seem to be an expert in this respect. The dwelling place of a tiger or a dragon has nothing to do with the distance or the size; the swarming of bees or ants only has something to do with the zigzag paths they travel through. Why should we worry about bees and ants?
DUAN GONG (Laughs):
If you do not mind being hurt by ants, just present your memorial in the palace hall!
(Presents his memorial)
The Right Prime Minister and Marquis of Martial Feats, Duan Gong respectfully presents his memorial.
(To the tune of Matihua)
To trace the blue blood,
The key lies in the cave on Mount Tortoise.
VOICE WITHIN:
What is the advantage of Mount Tortoise?
DUAN GONG:
It has maids on both sides,
Decrees of entitlement above
And skirt ribbons in the wind.
VOICE WITHIN:
Is Mount Tortoise similar to Mount Dragon?
DUAN GONG:
People only know that peaks grow on Mount Dragon,
But don’t know that caves grow in Mount Tortoise.
Will the tortoise alone hang its head,
But will the ants not pile into hills?
CHUNYU FEN (Presents his memorial):
The Royal Son-in-Law Chunyu Fen respectfully presents his memorial.
(To the previous tune)
Mount Tortoise
Wipes its tears and beats its chest,
But lacks the verdure of Mount Dragon.
Mount Dragon
Has three thousand beauties,
Eight hundred ladies,
And twelve screens.
The jade echoes with each other
While the birds of love make perfect match.
How can we choose the stray tortoise
But discard the genuine dragon?
VOICE WITHIN:
The decree has it that the memorial of the Royal Son-in-Law is accepted. Marquis of Martial Feats will select the propitious date, prepare the ritual procession and bury Princess Righteousness on Mount Dragon. Kowtow to thank the royal grace!
CHUNYU FEN:
Long live the King!
(Rises to his feet)
DUAN GONG:
Congratulations! As the genuine dragon is preferred, Mount Dragon is regarded as treasure land. Your Highness, do you happen to know that Zhou Bian died of back ulcer? His son has escorted his body back to his homeland.
CHUNYU FEN (Wails):
Alas! Oh my old friend!
DUAN GONG:
Well, the senior noblemen have prepared a banquet in the court lounge.
(Enter the senior noblemen, with the banquet ready)
SENIOR NOBLEMEN (To the tune of Busuanzi):
Elegantly dressed,
We are most blessed by His Majesty,
Just as the apricots beside the sun
Shining most brightly.
(Greet Chunyu Fen)
We bow to you, Your Highness!
CHUNYU FEN:
I bow to you all, dukes and princes!
SENIOR NOBLEMEN:
We bow to you, Right Prime Minister!
DUAN GONG:
Thank you!
SENIOR NOBLEMEN:
As Your Highness had covered a long distance, we welcomed you twenty li away. When we burnt incense at the princess residence, we got to know that you had gone to the court. Therefore, we are waiting for you here.
CHUNYU FEN:
Thank you for your trouble, dukes and princes! I do not deserve it.
SENIOR NOBLEMEN:
We’ll never forget your gifts we have received in these twenty years. Now that you have returned in the position of Prime Minister, we’ll greet you with state-funded wine.
(Offer wine)
(To the tune of Bashengganzhou)
Having no positions, and feeling not yet old,
We congratulate on the promotion of His Highness
As the Prime Minister.
CHUNYU FEN:
Where is my wife?
I’m sad as dusk clouds and autumn grass.
SENIOR NOBLEMEN:
When Your Highness went to Nanke with the princess, we were all honored to be at the farewell banquet.
CHUNYU FEN:
Yes, I see.
We went to Nanke as a couple,
And return for ever separated.
(Weeps)
ALL:
; In the mirror,
You see the tears flooding on your face.
CHUNYU FEN (To the previous tune):
(Sighs)
Who has ever seen a man in a red robe,
But yearning for his wife in woe
With a waning waist?
SENIOR NOBLEMEN:
The noblemen in the court
Are not on a par with you in talents.
The fragrant wind carries the moon to the sky,
While the moon shines over the fragrant flowers.
ALL:
In the mirror,
You see the tears flooding on your face.
SENIOR NOBLEMEN:
Your Highness, here is a letter of invitation. For the sake of congratulating you on your promotion to the position of Prime Minister, amusing Your Highness, and welcoming you from afar, I, as the eldest of the noblemen, will invite Your Highness to a dinner. All the dukes and princes will prepare dinners in turns. The Right Prime Minister will also be invited on the occasion.
CHUNYU FEN:
There are lots of dukes and princes.
SENIOR NOBLEMEN:
Your Highness, you are a genius. As you are respected, we hope that you will condescend to attend the banquets.
CHUNYU FEN:
I’ll accept your invitations.
As Prime Minister with infinite power,
He will show favor to the kith and kin.
All the ministers invite him to dinners,
Making him drunk all day long.
(Exeunt all)
DUAN GONG (Left on the stage alone):
Look at the overbearing manner His Highness treats the dukes and princes!
(Sighs)
Let him be!
“I’ll look on the crab,
To see how long he can crawl!”
Scene Thirty-Seven
Sensual Allurement
(Enter Princess Qiongying, followed by maids of honor)
PRINCESS QIONGYING (To the tune of Yiqin’e, Part One):
In court-fashion make-up,
I glance at the emerald green autumn mountains.
I glance,
When I wake up from my sad dream
With flute music flowing in my bed-curtains.
(In the pattern of Tangduoling)
“Of what is sorrow composed?
It is the sores of my heart in a row
When rain has just stopped in the Locust Palace.
In the cool dusk,
Who will ascend
The tiny bower with me?”
I am Princess Qiongying. My sister Yaofang was married to Chunyu Fen, who was the magistrate of Nanke and is now the Prime Minister with supreme power. It happened that to the sorrow of the whole country, she suddenly passed away. According to the royal decree, she is buried on Mount Dragon with all the magnificence of the rituals. After his recent return to the court, His Highness is endowed with extraordinary power, for His Majesty esteems his fame in Nanke and Her Majesty favors him and grants him free access to her palace. All the dukes and princes try to seek affiliation with him. He has been attending banquets with songs and dances every day, enjoying all the luxuries and pleasure. The three widows Lady Lingzhi, Sister Shangzhen and I have attended the official ceremonies but have not dined with him in private. As His Highness is handsome and stalwart, how I love him and admire him!
(To the tune of Jinluosuo)
At the time
When the three of us went
To listen to the preaching by Master Qixuan,
We met the young man
In front of the Hall of Embroidered Buddha.
At the first glance we made the choice
Of bridegroom for Yaofang,
Who left for Nanke at the age of fifteen.
The bridegroom at the Jade Terrace is above par,
The best match with the princess.
At time appropriate,
I’ll allure him into the drunken dreamland,
Dwelling in the bridal chamber
For me to show my love to him.
Yesterday I invited Lady Lingzhi and Sister Shangzhen to burn joss-sticks for Prince Yaofang. I’m sure they’ll have a chat with me on their way back.
(Enter Sister Shangzhen in a Taoist robe, accompanied by Lady Lingzhi)
SISTER SHANGZHEN (To the tune of Yiqin’e, Part Two):
The colorful clouds may disperse in the wind,
As fine things in the world are frail as glass.
Yaofang is gone,
While Chunyu is alive and well.
(Greets Princess Qiongying)
Qiongying, so you are sitting alone in woe. Why don’t you burn joss-sticks at the princess mansion to while away some time? There are so many young men!
PRINCESS QIONGYING:
How about the ceremony?
LADY LINGZHI:
We paid tribute by turns. First the princes and their sons, then the marquises and the earls, the civil officials and military officers, scholars and students, Buddhist monks and Taoist priests, civilians old and young, entitled ladies, wives and daughters. Afterwards were people from Nanke, in the same order of the civil, the military, the official and the civilian, to be followed by deputies from various prefectures and counties. The State of Sandals and Vines also sent an envoy to offer one thousand and two hundred jin of sandal incense. The piles of silver and rolls of satin presented a magnificent view.
(To the tune of Jinluosuo)
Red silk strings dangle on the green window-frames;
The gauze net is embroidered with lotus-flowers.
In the incense burner,
Sandalwood joss-sticks are offered day and night.
With everybody offering incense,
The deceased princess
Receives unprecedented glory.
The beating of chime-stones resounds to the sky;
Flags and banners cover the ground.
I steal a glance
At His Highness left behind by the princess.
With his strategies and tactics,
With his confident words,
He is worthy of the eternal prime minister.
No matter how he fares in the world, judging from the twenty years of gifts he gave the dukes and princes for greetings, birthdays and festivals, we have to requite him family by family.
(To the tune of Liupomao)
The magistrate knows the ropes,
Sending us gifts on every occasion.
SISTER SHANGZHEN:
Now that he becomes the Prime Minister,
PRINCESS QIONGYING:
We should divert his boredom and relieve his sorrow.
LADY LINGZHI (Smiles):
Qiongying, you’d like to divert his boredom, but the three of us are all widows and we
need him to divert our boredom.
SISTER SHANGZHEN:
Don’t forget that I am a Taoist nun!
(To the previous tune)
I’ve vowed that I’ll never look at a man,
Lest he should stir my tranquil heart.
LADY LINGZHI:
I’m afraid you won’t hold up to your vow when time arrives.
ALL:
If three cups of wine can let you loose,
You will not refuse the love he shows.
LADY LINGZHI:
So it’s settled that when we invite him to our house, we’ll make fun by turns and no one is allowed to take advantage.
The son-in-law becomes the prime minister
When his wife has passed away.
Since all of them are of blue blood,
They can make love without delay.
Scene Thirty-Eight
Indulgent Life
(Enter Chunyu Fen in official dress, walking and followed by attendants)
CHUNYU FEN (To the tune of Lanhuamei):
As Yaofang and I are now in different worlds,
I feel lonesome in spite of the verdure in the palace.
As I cannot send her letters afte
r her departure,
I shed tears on my court robe before the wind,
But cannot erase my sorrow for her.
ATTENDANTS:
Your Highness, here we are at our mansion.
CHUNYU FEN (Sighs):
(In the pattern of Collected Tang Poems)
“With the road lined with old locust trees,
The golden hall sees nothing but tear-stains.
The son-in-law of the royal court
Goes to the west garden in the morn.”
I am Chunyu Fen. Since the princess passed away, I have been in boredom and sorrow. Fortunately Her Majesty the Queen showed favor on me, for me to go around in the palace at random. She followed my bent on every occasion and the nobles curry favor with me. After the evening court audience, I see maids of honor and entitled ladies dressed neatly and making a noise, but no longer see my wife.
BUTLER:
Report! A court lady is at the gate.
CHUNYU FEN:
Show her into the hall!
(Enter a court lady, holding a letter)
COURT LADY (To the tune of Bushilu):
In tiny steps,
I move with emeralds on my bun.
(Greets Chunyu Fen)
CHUNYU FEN:
What is the message?
Is it Her Majesty’s decree?
COURT LADY:
No.
To relieve you from the daily drudgery,
Princess Qiongying and Lady Lingzhi
Will prepare a banquet for you in the evening.
CHUNYU FEN (Pleased):
At their invitation,
I have the rare chance to meet them.
I’ll be there in no time;
I’ll be there in no time.
COURT LADY:
In that case,
“At the message brought by the envoy,
His Highness will arrive in haste.”
(Exit)
(Heralding the way within)
CHUNYU FEN:
I am languid for I haven’t met ladies for a long time. To have the banquet with the princesses, I will drink to my heart’s content. It’s true indeed,
“Drink while ye may
To enjoy this very day.”
(Enter Princess Qiongying, followed by the court lady)
PRINCESS QIONGYING (To the tune of Quexianqiao):
In drowsiness,
I have no one to accompany me,