by Tang Xianzu
But a guest will arrive this evening.
(Enter Lady Lingzhi and Sister Shangzhen)
LADY LINGZHI, SISTER SHANGZHEN:
For years we have no handsome young men,
To songs and drinks in the jade bower.
(Greet Princess Qiongying)
LADY LINGZHI:
“The wind blows at dusk,
Ripping the leaves off the tree.
I have a fervent heart,
But you may not be aware.”
SISTER SHANGZHEN:
Qiongying will host Chunyu this evening, with Shangzhen and me to keep company. Before the guest arrives, we’ll chat for a while and make some arrangements. I’ve heard that Chunyu is a heavy drinker. Which of us will be his match?
PRINCESS QIONGYING:
Lingzhi is a heavy drinker.
LADY LINGZHI:
The three of us will get him drunk and make fun.
MAID OF HONOR:
Here arrives His Highness!
(Enter Chunyu Fen)
CHUNYU FEN (To the previous tune):
I gallop my horse
Toward the warm jade hall
Against the evening glow.
(Smiles)
I brighten up in spite of my woe,
For I shall meet the beautiful ladies.
(Greets the three ladies)
(In the pattern of Xijiangyue)
“In the years I am away from you,
You are always lingering in my heart.
PRINCESS QIONGYING:
It’s kind of you to keep me in your heart;
We’ll have a hearty drink tonight,
LADY LINGZHI:
Regretting that you’ve recently lost your wife,
SISTER SHANGZHEN:
For the princess has passed away.
CHUNYU FEN:
So Lady Lingzhi and Sister Shangzhen are also here.
ALL:
We are happy to be one family.”
CHUNYU FEN:
Since I returned to the court, the nobles have held banquets according to the official etiquettes. Why do you take the trouble to hold this banquet?
PRINCESS QIONGYING:
You know, we hold this banquet for three reasons. Firstly, we’ll welcome you from the long journey; secondly, we’ll congratulate you on your promotion to the position of Prime Minister; thirdly, we’ll soothe your boredom of staying alone. Within the past few days, you have made arrangements with the nobles. We think that Sister Shangzhen is a Taoist nun, Lady Lingzhi and I are widowed. As we are at the end of the host list, we have to wait till now to take turns in preparing the banquet for you. This time I’ll serve as the hostess and the other two will keep company.
CHUNYU FEN:
Thank you for your kindness!
PRINCESS QIONGYING:
Serve the wine!
(Enter attendants and a court lady with the wine)
COURT LADY:
“His Highness used to ride with five steeds,
But today he will drink with three ladies.”
The wine is ready.
(Princess Qiongying and the other two ladies serve the wine)
PRINCESS QIONGYING, LADY LINGZHI, SISTER SHANGZHEN:
(To the tune of Jiesanchengfan)
After vicissitude of life in twenty years,
We are happy to see you again.
We’ll enjoy ourselves in the Huizhen Bower,
Between Prime Minister and subjects.
Accustomed to make up every day,
Although we do not paint in loud colors,
Please don’t hesitate
But watch while holding your golden cup!
CHUNYU FEN (Serves the wine):
(To the previous tune)
I’ve dreamt of staying in the palace,
With beauties attending on me.
I’ve dreamt of leaning against the windows,
But being depressed by the raven’s caw.
In a swoon I ignore the extinguishing incense,
Idling away the time by the side of beauties.
Unconsciously,
I hold the cup and look them up and down.
PRINCESS QIONGYING, LADY LINGZHI, SISTER SHANGZHEN (To the previous tune):
It’s said that this is a pleasure palace;
It’s said that this is a pleasure palace.
As the gust blows off the flute music,
We are left alone for all our lives.
Here in this world,
Now at the time for leisure,
The ladies will offer you pleasure.
CHUNYU FEN (Aside):
Here are the beauties
Under the glimmering lamps.
With song and dance in front of my eyes,
I am entranced by their luring glances.
PRINCE QIONGYING:
At moonrise, Your Highness can drink to your heart’s content.
PRINCESS QIONGYING, LADY LINGZHI, SISTER SHANGZHEN:
(To the tune of Manerfan)
The cups of nectar
Are for you to gulp.
PRINCE QIONGYING (Aside):
His incessant murmuring reveals his deep affection.
(Turns back)
This very affection
Brings the four of us closer
When the moon rises above the railings.
ALL:
In the moonlight the hall is clear and bright.
CHUNYU FEN (To the previous tune):
The affection in my heart
Will be bared in their faces,
To lure the three mistresses.
The noble ladies seem to dance in a line,
Flapping sleeves under the moon and lamps.
ALL:
In the moonlight the hall is clear and bright.
PRINCESS QIONGYING, LADY LINGZHI, SISTER SHANGZHEN (To the previous tune):
The breeze stirs the green crepe,
While the moon moves across the corridor
And the dews sizzle on the palace locust-leaves.
Against the mysterious autumn scenes,
We assume graceful poise emitting sweet fragrance.
ALL:
In the moonlight the hall is clear and bright.
CHUNYU FEN (To the previous tune):
At my visit to the beauties,
The cool jade pillows
Will accompany my long yearnings.
Their make-up has faded in the starlight,
Inviting me to stay overnight.
ALL:
In the moonlight the hall is clear and bright.
CHUNYU FEN:
I am intoxicated.
PRINCESS QIONGYING:
We’ve arranged the gauze net for the bed.
CHUNYU FEN:
Won’t you stay with me?
SISTER SHANGZHEN:
I’m afraid we won’t be so well-behaved.
LADY LINGZHI:
If you don’t mind, we’ll be with you.
PRINCESS QIONGYING (Smiles):
Then we’ll wait on you one by one.
PRINCESS QIONGYING, LADY LINGZHI, SISTER SHANGZHEN (To the tune of Eya-manduchuan):
We vie to take our positions,
Moaning for your favor.
Like butterflies frolicking in the flowers
And fish shuttling in the water,
We flirt and tease with no end.
With our petticoats off,
We take turns on the bed.
We’ll enjoy ourselves to the full,
Satiating our needs this evening.
CHUNYU FEN (To the tune of Coda):
Beauties inside the plum-red gauze net
Are like sister flowers facing the moon.
ALL:
The four of us
Have the same affection in our hearts.
Intoxicated in the ecstasy for a sweet night,
The joy of three beauties is beyond words.
They seem to greet sweet rain after a drought
Or meet b
osom friends in a far-off land.
Scene Thirty-Nine
Demotion Predicted
(Enter Duan Gong)
DUAN GONG (To the tune of Juhuaxin):
Dawn comes late for autumn’s jade steps
While locust trees with cold dews shelter the palace gate.
I lower my head to tidy my official robe,
Regretting that time flows like the clepsydra.
I am Duan Gong, the Right Prime Minister. I have assisted His Majesty in managing the state and build the Great State of Peaceful Locust into a prosperous country. Out of my expectations, His Majesty invited the Yangzhou drunkard Chunyu Fen to our country and made him the Royal Son-in-Law, who was later assigned as the magistrate of Nanke. I have been worried about him as his fame has soared in recent years. When the princess passed away, he was summoned to the capital and was assigned as the Left Prime Minister, who is above me in status. Her Majesty the Queen is fond of him and calls him into the palace off and on, agreeing to whatever request he raises. I’ll say no more about that. As Nanke is rich in resources and produce, the dukes and princes were all bribed by him. Therefore, after he returns to the court, the powerful and distinguished personages have been inviting him to dinners. He has immense power and receives guests all the time. I do not mind the dukes and princes, but even Princess Qiongying, Lady Lingzhi and Sister Shangzhen have been inviting him to dinners by turns. Man and women hang around and enjoy themselves day and night. The heaven is enraged by their debauchery, for the guest star has invaded the constellations according to astrology. I intend to send a memorial to His Majesty about this, but I am afraid that blood is thicker than water. I hear that someone has sent a letter to His Majesty, and if His Majesty should ask me about this, I’ll have my say as opportunity comes. Oh Heaven, I shall act like this not out of my jealousy, but out of my concern for the country. Here comes His Majesty; the ministers are to line up to attend the audience.
(Enter the Ant King, with the eunuchs heralding the way)
ANT KING (To the previous tune):
In our vast and deep-rooted country,
The ministers head home after the audience is over.
To my great puzzlement,
Why have the constellations been disturbed?
DUAN GONG (Kowtows to the Ant King):
Right Prime Minister and Marquis of Martial Feats Duan Gong kowtows to Your Majesty.
Long live the king!
ANT KING:
Rise to your feet! Have you heard that someone has sent me a letter?
DUAN GONG:
No, I haven’t.
ANT KING:
The letter mentions about an ill omen. It says that the disturbance of the constellations is a foreboding that the country will be in great disorder. The capital town will have to be moved and the ancestral temple of the royal family will collapse. What disturbance have the constellations suffered?
DUAN GONG:
I am about to make the memorial to you that the astrological official has reported that the guest star has invaded the constellations.
ANT KING:
The letter goes on to say that disasters originate outside the house while troubles start from inside the house. I am rather puzzled about the statement.
DUAN GONG:
True, but there are no outsiders in our country. The outsiders will not be able to come inside. Have you got the hint?
ANT KING:
There are no other outsiders but the Royal Son-in-Law Chunyu Fen.
DUAN GONG:
I dare not speak out.
ANT KING:
How can you keep silent when the country will be in trouble?
DUAN GONG:
Please listen to my memorial!
(To the tune of Suochuanglang)
The guest star invades the constellations
When the visitor returns in a boat.
The constellations symbolize the royal house,
While the guest star is the Royal Son-in-Law.
His Highness is overbearing nowadays,
For he has held office in an important county
And does not take the court to heart.
He and the nobles
Are hanging around day and night.
ANT KING:
Has he degenerated to such a degree?
DUAN GONG:
The unspeakable thing is
That he behaves recklessly with the royal ladies.
ANT KING, DUAN GONG:
The heaven knows
That he is the very trouble-maker.
DUAN GONG (Sheds tears):
It is miserable for the country to deteriorate.
ANT KING (Annoyed):
Since his departure from Nanke County and return to the capital, Chunyu Fen has been visiting the palace at will and wining and dining with the guests. His insolence with pride has incurred my suspicion, and your words have given evidence to his ruthlessness. How hateful he is! How hateful he is!
(To the previous tune)
His extravagance has roused my suspicion,
But I haven’t expected that he is so licentious.
He goes about the palace at will,
Coming and going at any time.
My wife favors her son-in-law,
Giving consent to whatever he asks
And permitting him to abuse his power.
That’s it. Not a member of our clan, he is not of one mind with us.
(Sheds tears)
ANT KING, DUAN GONG:
The heaven knows
That he is the very trouble-maker.
DUAN GONG (Kneels):
Please listen to my memorial! As the common saying goes, “Indecision at the critical moment will bring about trouble.” As His Highness has come to this, what will Your Majesty decree?
ANT KING:
Listen to my decree:
(To the tune of Yibujin)
Chunyu Fen is dismissed from his office
And forbidden to leave his residence.
DUAN GONG:
In my opinion, he’d better be sent to his hometown.
ANT KING:
You needn’t say anything more.
He will be awakened and sent back to his hometown.
(Exit)
DUAN GONG (Sighs):
Well, so much so. Chunyu Fen is forbidden to come to the court, but the country is still in danger. As the saying goes,
While the sky is like a dome,
The earth is like a chessboard.
As Chunyu Fen is still in a dream,
He is unaware of shame or esteem.
Scene Forty
Doubts and Fears
(Enter Chunyu Fen, wearing a white robe and showing signs of melancholy)
CHUNYU FEN:
“The paths in the Taihang Mountains are treacherous,
But straight in comparison with the king’s heart.
The waters in the Yellow River are turbulent,
But quiet comparison with the king’s heart.
In my service in the State of Peaceful Locust,
Chunyu married the princess in the royal house.
The couple lived like a pair of lovebirds
And like a pair of phoenixes.
The leaves and branches are now torn to pieces,
While the dressing mirror no longer sees my wife.
As the beauty is of no avail now,
I have to leave the court alone.”
I am Chunyu Fen, the son-in-law of His Majesty. After my wife died, I left the county and returned to the court to the joy of my colleagues. However, within half a month, His Majesty is angry with me and forbids me to leave my residence. I am rejected from the palace. Not long after my wife passed away, I have no way to go now. If that is all I have to bear, I am worried enough; if I have to bear other misfortunes, what can I do as a foreigner? Oh Heaven! What crime have I committed at all?
(To the tune of Shengruhua)
What can I do for an unwarranted charge?
The result is what I have to face.
As I am forbidden to enter the court
And to attend the parties and banquets,
I have to sit alone at my home.
A multitude of thing have happened these years,
But what has brought me to this situation?
What fault do I have?
A word will reveal the truth
But I am left in the dark.
Is His Majesty suspicious of my doings in Nanke?
I have done no harm to Nanke at all.
In the vicissitude of life, even this old locust tree has lost its vitality. A tree cannot last forever, let alone for a man! I’d like to return to Nanke, but it is impossible now. Well, let it be! I’ll doze for a while in front of the memorial tablet of the princess. Oh my dear wife!
(Enter Chunyu’s eldest son, weeping)
ELDEST SON (To the tune of Jinjiaoye):
At the thought of my home and my country,
I shed floods of tears.
(Collapses when he sees Chunyu Fen)
My father is whiling away his time
In front of Mom’s memorial tablet.
CHUNYU FEN (Weeps):
My son, stand up! Stand up!
(In the pattern of Changxiangsi)
“With reason
Or without reason,
I’m forbidden to attend the court or the parties,
With my hair turning grey.
ELDEST SON:
Whether things end well
Or end ill,
I weep sad tears before my father
And vent my woe before my deceased mother.”
CHUNYU FEN:
My son, when we met the other day, His Majesty had mixed feelings of joy and sorrow. Within half a month, I don’t know why he is picking fault with me.
ELDEST SON:
This is a matter of right and wrong. Are you not aware of it?
CHUNYU FEN:
As you and your brother stay in the palace while I am forbidden to visit my kith and kin, where am I to find out the truth?
ELDEST SON:
Father, then listen to me!
(To the tune of Sanhuantou)
Like a bolt from the blue,
The disaster comes from the sky.
The guest star at night
Invades the constellations.
CHUNYU FEN:
How did His Majesty get to know this?
ELDEST SON:
A countryman sent a letter, saying that the disturbances of the constellations predict great disorder in the country. The capital town will have to be moved and the ancestral temple of the royal family will collapse.
CHUNYU FEN:
What has such ill omen to do with me?
ELDEST SON:
The letter goes on to say that disasters originate outside the house while troubles start from inside the house.
CHUNYU FEN: