The Peach Blossom Fan
Page 9
[3] Yang had been the principal matchmaker.
[4] See above, Scene 2, n. 2. Since Hou and Fragrant Princess have not performed the ceremonies of obeisance to Heaven and Earth and the ancestors, their “marriage” is more an expression of intention than a strict legal contract. This is why the girl can later be urged to “marry again” — without need of divorce from Hou Fang-yü.
[5] Tu Mu, 803–852, T’ang poet famous for the number and beauty of his concubines and singing-girls.
SCENE 7
THE REJECTED TROUSSEAU
1643, THIRD MONTH
Maid [a clown, entering with a chamberpot, sings.]:
Turtle-piss, turtle-piss,
Little turtles come of this;
Tortoise-blood, tortoise-blood,
Turning into tortoise brood.
Mixing, mating, copulating,
Wholly undiscriminating,
Never know who fathered who;
Wouldn’t matter if they knew.
[Speaks] Ha ha, hee hee! Yesterday Fragrant Princess lost her maidenhead and I lost half a night’s sleep. Today I must rise early to empty the chamberpot, but who knows how late the lucky lovebirds will slumber on? [She scrubs out the pot.]
Yang: [enters and sings]:
They sleep serene behind the willow screen.
Flower-vendors cry outside the door, “Come buy!”
Yet they dream on; the curtains never open.
At last you hear the tinkling of jade hooks;
All spring is wrapped within those folds of silk.
[Speaks]: I have returned to congratulate His Honour Hou, but the doors are closed and nobody seems to be stirring. They must be fast asleep. [Calls]: Maid, please run to the young couple’s window and tell them that I have come to congratulate them.
Maid: They retired very late; I doubt if they have risen. Would you mind returning tomorrow?
Yang [laughing]: Nonsense, you do as you’re bid.
Li [from inside]: Maid, who is there?
Maid: It’s His Honour Yang come to offer congratulations.
Li [still inside]: Once heads touch pillow, how short the spring night seems! Then comes a knock at the door, always someone to interrupt! [Greeting Yang]: I must thank Your Honour for arranging this match.
Yang: Don’t mention it. Where are the young couple?
Li: Please sit down while I call them. They have not risen yet.
Yang: Pray don’t disturb them. [Exit Mistress Li. Yang sings]:
Young love’s like liquid honey fresh from flowers,
So beautiful, so innocent and pure,
Gently distilled in a dark world of dreams.
[Says]: Thanks to myself [again singing]:
Pearls and emeralds glow
And silken dresses flow,
And every precious toy
Is here for lover’s joy.
Li: It was as pretty as a picture. The two of them were buttoning each other’s clothes and gazing at each other’s reflection in a mirror. They have just finished dressing. Will Your Honour step through to call them out for a cup of wine?
Yang: I am sorry to have interrupted their sweet dreams. [Exeunt.]
[Hou and Fragrant Princess enter, dressed in their finest and singing together.]
Hou and Fragrant Princess [singing]:
Cloud after cloud and shower after shower —
Desire fulfilled without satiety!
Who comes to rouse the lovebirds at this hour?
The scarlet quilt is rolled into a billow;
Scent lingers on the coverlet and pillow;
Throbbing with joy we rise as from a trance.
[Enter Yang and Mistress Li.]
Yang: So at last your have succeeded in rising! Congratulations! [Sitting down]: How did you like the poem I sent last night?
Hou [bowing]: It was a splendid composition. My only criticism is that Fragrant Princess, slender as she is, deserves to be kept in a house of pure gold.[1] How could I keep her under these sleeves of mine?
Yang: I expect you were also inspired to write poetry last night.
Hou: I merely improvised a little stanza.
Yang: Where is it?
Fragrant Princess: On this fan [drawing the fan from her sleeve].
Yang [examining it]: White silk, and what a graceful shape, what a subtle aroma! [He chants the poem inscribed on it, and then recites]:
Like Tso Szu, your verse
Sends up the price of paper in Loyang;
Like P’an Yueh,
Your carriage draws all eyes.[2]
Beauteous and fragrant are the peach and apricot blossoms;
Their very souls are captured on this fan.
But of outer storms and treacherous winds beware!
Preserve it under your sleeve with tender care!
[Looking at Fragrant Princess, he says]: You are even lovelier since your nuptials. [To Hou]: How fortunate you are to have won such a prize.
Hou: Fragrant Princess was destined to be the beauty of her age, but today the pearls and emeralds in her hair and apparel display her charms to perfection.
Fragrant Princess [to Yang]: Thanks entirely to your munificence! [Sings]:
You gave me the fillets to weave in my hair,
And a casket of a hundred precious stones,
Jewelled tassels for my curtain, and silver candlesticks,
Lanterns of silk to shine all through the night,
And golden cups for the wine that flows with song.
[Speaks]: And then, coming so soon to greet us like this! [Sings]:
You have treated me as a daughter of your own,
Having filled my wardrobe, you come to bless my union.
[Speaks]: Though related to General Ma, you are a stranger in this region. Why should you have incurred such expense for people like us? I feel deeply embarrassed, since you have been so extravagant without any apparent motive. Please explain, so that I may make amends in future.
Hou: Fragrant Princess’s question is opportune. Brother Yang and I chanced to meet like duckweed floating on water. These lavish gifts have made me quite uneasy.
Yang: Since you ask, I’ll be candid. The dresses and banquet cost over two hundred taels of silver, all of which came from Huai-ning.
Hou: How do you mean, “from Huai-ning”?
Yang: From the former Minister Juan Ta-ch’eng, who is from Huai-ning.
Hou: Why should he have done this for me?
Yang: He is anxious to gain your friendship. [Sings]:
He admires your talent and reputation,
The fame of which is spreading far and wide.
Since you sought a fair companion on the banks of the Ch’in-huai River,
Hibiscus wardrobe and mandarin duck quilts were indispensable.
These were presented by Master Juan,
Your good neighbour from the south.
Hou: Old Juan was a classmate of my father’s, but I have always despised and avoided him. I am puzzled why he should show me such kindness now.
Yang: He has various private troubles, and thinks you may be able to help him.
Hou: What is the matter?
Yang: Juan was originally associated with our comrades. He only joined the eunuch Wei Chung-hsien’s faction to protect his friends of the Eastern Forest Party, never dreaming that these would treat him so shockingly since Wei’s downfall. The Revival Club launched a campaign against him, and he was attacked and reviled by all its members. It is just like a family feud. Juan’s old cronies are so suspicious that none will step forward in his defence. In his utter dejection, he keeps on saying: “That old friends should fall out like this is deplorable. Only Master Hou can save me.” Hence his anxiety to gain your goodwill.
Hou: Now I understand. If he is in such distress as to need my help, I pity him. Although he belonged to Wei’s faction, he has repented of it since. I disapprove of such violent extremes. Wu and Ch’en are both close friends of mine. If I see them tomorrow, I shall try
and explain the situation to them.
Yang: That would be doing him a great kindness, and it would benefit all concerned.
Fragrant Princess [indignantly to Hou]: How can you say such things, my honoured lord? Juan Ta-ch’eng shamelessly supported the traitors; even women and children would gladly spit in his face. Yet when others justly attack him, you propose to defend him. Consider how this will affect your own position. [Sings]:
How can you make such promises
So thoughtlessly?
Though you wish to save that creature from ruin,
You must also bear in mind
How others will judge yourself!
[Speaks]: Merely because he has done you a personal favour, you forget the commonweal. Can’t you see that I am indifferent to all this finery? [She removes her headdress and outer gown, singing]:
I care not whether I seem poor,
Of lowly birth and station;
In humble homespun I may win a virtuous reputation.
Yang: Dear me, what a fiery temper!
Li: The pity of it, the pity of it! Fancy throwing such precious things all over the floor! [She picks them up.]
Hou: No! No! This is well done! Fragrant Princess has shown such excellent judgment that I feel she is my superior in this. She is a friend to be looked up to with respect and trembling! [To Yang]: Please do not blame me, elder brother. Much as I should like to oblige you, I am afraid I would be scorned by a woman if I did so. [Sings]:
Though frivolous her profession,
How keen her sense of justice and propriety.
Shame on those
Who belong to the Academy and the Emperor’s Court,
Yet cannot distinguish between blue and yellow!
[Speaks]: In the past I have won the respect of my colleagues on account of my firm convictions. If I compromised with a traitor, I would become a target myself. Why should I defend such a villain? [Sings]:
One should never risk losing
One’s character and reputation.
The serious and the trivial
Must be clearly distinguished.
Yang: But old Juan has taken such pains to please you. I beg you not to send him a flat refusal.
Hou: I may be foolish, but I won’t throw myself into a well on his behalf.
Yang: Then I had better say goodbye.
Hou: All those things in the wardrobe belong to old Juan. Since Fragrant Princess will not use them, please take them away.
Yang: This is a bitter disappointment. [Exit, while Fragrant Princess stares angrily after him.]
Hou: My Fragrant Princess was born a great beauty without jewelled ornaments, and she is even lovelier without her satin gown.
Li: All the same, it was a pity to lose those valuable gifts. [Sings]:
When gold and pearls are in your hand,
Heedless you let them slip away
Daughter, you fail to understand
All that your mother had to pay.
Hou: Those trifles are not worth worrying about. I shall find others for her.
Li: That will be ample compensation. [Sings]:
For the cost of powder and rouge do have a care.
Fragrant Princess:
I do not mind what simple clothes I wear.
Hou:
Only such beauty could have such wisdom rare.
Fragrant Princess:
Distinction’s free from fashion’s passing flare.
Illustration: Madam Li Chen-li: “The pity of it! Fancy throwing such precious things all over the floor!”
[1] A reference to the Han Emperor Wu-ti, 140–87 B.C. (see Scene 6, n. 1), a great patron of literature and student of Taoism. When he fell in love with his future consort A-chiao, he remarked, “If I could only win A-chiao, I would build a house of gold to keep her in.”
[2] Tso Szu and P’an Yueh won renown for their elegant fu, “rhapsodies,” in the last decades of the third century. There were so many purchasers for copies of Tso Szu’s “Rhapsody on the Three Capitals” that — according to the oft-quoted hyperbole — the price of paper soared. On P’an Yueh’s handsomeness, see Scene 2, n. 9.
SCENE 8
A RIVERSIDE OCCASION
1643, FIFTH MONTH
[Enter Ch’en Chen-hui and Wu Ying-chi.]
Ch’en [sings]:
Hard by the examination halls
Is the Ch’in-huai pleasure-quarter.
Young candidates compete
At once for honours and for softer charms.
Wu [sings]:
Double Fifth,[1] the gay Summer Festival
Is over in a twinkling.
The charms of Nature endure,
But local celebrities are soon forgotten.
Ch’en: Life at the inn has been so lonely that we came to the river to enjoy the festival. So far we have seen none of our friends; I wonder why.
Wu: I suppose they have all gone boating. Ting Chi-chih’s water pavilion lies yonder; let us go there. [They enter the pavilion, which has been erected on stage and festooned with lanterns.]
Ch’en [calling]: Is old Master Ting at home?
Boy Servant [enters reciting]:
The pomegranate flower is red as flame,
The artemisia leaves are blue as mist.
[Speaks]: Oh, it’s you two gentlemen! My master has gone to the Dragon-boat Festival, but he has prepared refreshments here for any friends who wish to come in and enjoy the view.
Ch’en: How kind of him!
Wu: Yours is a very hospitable master.
Ch’en: It will be enjoyable so long as there are no tiresome intruders. We must contrive to keep such people out. [Calls]: Boy, bring me a lantern. [Servant produces one; Ch’en proceeds to write on it, reading out]: “The Revival Club is holding a meeting. Outsiders are not admitted.” [Servant hangs it up.]
Wu: But if any fellow members arrive, we must invite them in.
Ch’en: Of course.
Boy Servant: Do you hear the drums and flutes? That’s the dragon-boat approaching. [Ch’en and Wu peer over the balcony. Hou, Fragrant Princess, Liu Ching-t’ing, and Su K’un-sheng enter in a boat, playing musical instruments.]
Ch’en [sings]:
Black scholar’s cap and crimson skirt appear to strains of music,
How full of grace against the setting sun
By yonder willow bank! Poet and beauty,
Companions in natural harmony,
As a handsome boat should sail near handsome houses.
The sight of this heavenly pair
Has warmed my soul in the cool evening air.
[He points and says]: There goes Hou Fang-yü, unless my eyes deceive me.
Wu: As he’s a member of our club, we should ask him to join us.
Ch’en: His companion must be Fragrant Princess. Should we ask her too?
Wu: She snubbed bearded Juan by returning his gifts, so she’s a friend. Of course we should invite her.
Ch’en: The two musicians are Liu Ching-t’ing and Su K’un-sheng, who abandoned Juan, so they should also be treated as friends.
Wu: I’ll beckon to them. Brother Hou!
Hou: Ch’en and Wu are calling us from the water pavilion. Friends, how do you do!
Ch’en: Why don’t you all come in and celebrate with us? Ting Chi-chih has prepared a feast.
Hou: That sounds very tempting. Let us go up. [They do so, playing their instruments.]
Hou and Fragrant Princess [singing]:
The dragon boat is moored,
The painted oars at rest
Under the scarlet tower among the reeds.
With music of the flute and drum,
High into wreaths of cloud we come.
[All exchange greetings.]
Ch’en: Now that you four have joined us, the Revival Club can open its meeting.
Hou: What is this about?
Wu: Look! [pointing to the notice on the lantern]
Hou: I knew nothing about it, but it seems we have arrived a
t an opportune moment.
Liu: I see that outsiders are not admitted. I fear we are intruding.
Wu: Since you spurned Juan’s patronage, we consider you as members of our group.
Hou: Does the same apply to Fragrant Princess?
Wu: Her refusal of Juan’s gifts was an act which few of our members could emulate.
Ch’en: From now on we should appoint her the club’s honorary sister-in-law.
Fragrant Princess [laughing]: I’m unworthy of such a distinction.
Ch’en: Boy, bring us wine. We’ll celebrate this festival.
[All take their seats on either side of the stage.]
Ch’en and Wu [singing]:
Great talent and great beauty meeting,
The room resounds with joyous greeting.
Liu and Su [singing]:
Pay no more heed to bygone sorrows
Than to the twittering of the swallows.
Hou and Fragrant Princess [singing]:
Like flame the pomegranate flower
Flickers against the scholar’s tower.
Boy Servant: The procession of dragon-boats is about to pass. Look at the throng, like a mountain, a sea of faces! They are clustering round the illuminated dragon. Make haste if you want to see it.
[All peer over the balcony. A dragon-boat with many coloured horn lanterns is brought in, to loud drumming and piping. It passes across the stage several times before it is removed.]
Liu: See their finery in that boat, all nobles and officers of the court!
[Another dragon-boat is brought in, this one with silk lanterns and to an accompaniment of large gongs. It crosses the stage several times and is removed.]
Su: These are rich merchants, yamen secretaries, and so on — a fine sight.
[A third dragon-boat, now with paper lanterns and to the accompaniment of small cymbals, crosses the stage several times and is removed.]
Ch’en: The party in this boat are all famous members of the Imperial Academy.
Wu: Compared to them, we are very small fry.
All [laugh and then sing together]:
Look how the golden waves
Reach to the rim of Heaven! What a festive scene!
Hou: Now that night is falling and the dragon-boats have passed, let us compose some poetry to justify our name.
Ch’en: Good; what subject shall we choose?
Wu: I suggest “Sorrow on the Hsiang River.”