The Peach Blossom Fan

by K'ung Shang-jen

  “The style in vogue was created by men of renown, Imitation of these models will please the chief examiner.” [Exit.]

  [Enter Hou Fang-yü and Su K’un-sheng, with baggage.]

  Hou [sings]:

  The moonlit tower of those bygone years

  Is far off as a dream;

  And the sound of pipes is stilled,

  Remote from each other as the star-lovers

  Across the Milky Way,

  Will no one bear a message,

  No one aid us in our distress?

  [Speaks]: Master Su, we have travelled hundreds of miles to answer the summons of my Fragrant Princess, but we arrived too late. She is now immured in the palace, and it is impossible even to reach her with a message. Last night I was warned to leave my lodgings. I don’t know where we can stay in safety until we get news of her. [Sings]:

  If needs be,

  I shall wait for her till my hair turns white.

  But perhaps that happy day

  Is reserved for another lifetime.

  Su: It is clear that the political situation is going from bad to worse. Public opinion has also changed considerably. Those in authority are launching an offensive against the virtuous to settle old scores. It would be wiser to keep out of their way and practise patience.

  Hou: You may be right; I have hardly any friends left in this neighbourhood. My old comrades Ch’en and Wu have retired to their native provinces. Perhaps I should follow them. [Sings]:

  My friends are seagulls by the shore.

  Prouder than kings,

  They turn aside from the dusty world,

  And frown at the muddled chess-game in the capital.

  Why not sail to the south

  And seek them among the hills?

  Su: We are near the book market in Three Mountain Street, where there is always a large crowd. We had better avoid it. [He quickens his pace, singing]:

  Keep away from the leopards and wolves,

  The apes who wear the robes of government.

  On Three Mountain Street the mob is like a torrent.

  Hou [stopping]: Here is Ts’ai Yi-so’s bookshop, where my old comrades used to stay. Let us inquire whether they are still here. [Looking up]: I see two new advertisements posted on these pillars. [Reads]: “The Revival Club reopened.” And there’s a small notice beside it: “New selections of model examination essays by Messrs. Ch’en Chen-hui and Wu Ying-chi. Do you think they are here now?

  Su: I’ll ask. [Calls]: Is the worthy proprietor at home?

  Ts’ai [entering]: Welcome. Are you gentlemen looking for books?

  Hou: No, sir. I come for some information. Have you seen Messrs. Ch’en and Wu?

  Ts’ai: They are inside at the moment. I’ll go and call them. [Exit.]

  Ch’en and Wu [entering]: Oh, it’s Brother Hou and Master Su as well. What a delightful surprise! [Mutual bows.]

  Ch’en: Where have you come from?

  Hou: I have been in my native village.

  Wu: When did you arrive in the capital?

  Hou: Only yesterday. [Sings]:

  The smoke of war has covered half the land.

  I have been with the army north and south,

  One camp after another, three wasted years.

  Now I return; who pities this wasted body?

  I have lingered by the Ch’in-huai River,

  Among the peach blossoms of my former haunt,

  But the shore no longer extends its former welcome.

  [Speaks]: So I see that you, brothers, are creating a new literary style.

  Ch’en and Wu: You mock us. [Sing]:

  Here in Chin-ling,[3] seat of ancient learning,

  We labour side by side on compilations

  To hold up T’ang and Sung as worthy models

  And discourage the decadent Six Dynasties styles.

  Studying our selections from the Eastern Forest,

  All will acknowledge our classic purity.

  Ts’ai [from backstage]: Please join me for a cup of tea.

  Ch’en and Wu: Thank you, we are coming.

  [They accompany Hou and Su to a room at the back. A servant of Juan Ta-ch’eng enters with a bundle of large visiting cards.]

  Servant: My master, His Excellency Juan, has just been promoted to Vice-Minister of War, and has received a new python robe and jade belt as tokens of Imperial favour. He will be sent to direct the defence of the river, so he is paying a round of farewell visits to his friends.

  [Juan enters in python robe and jade belt, sitting proudly in his sedan chair, followed by retainers with fans and official umbrellas.]

  Juan [sings]:

  See my attendants, rank on rank,

  Fans waving, parasols held high.

  And who is this, in lofty state?

  The man you scorned in years gone by.

  Servant: Let Your Excellency’s chair be halted. We are near the residence of His Excellency Yueh. [Leaves a card at the latter’s gate.]

  Juan: You need not clear the street. Allow the public to gather round and admire me. [Waving his fan, brags]: Having received this high appointment from His Majesty, I’m paying a series of ceremonious visits. My foes of the Eastern Forest Party will be arrested by Imperial decree. They seem to have fled, for I see no sign of them. [Sings]:

  Now I’ll show them power and glory!

  At last the wrinkles on my brow will vanish.

  [Noting the sign on the bookshop]: What’s this advertisement? Revival Club? Tear it down and show it to me. [Servant does so. Juan reads]: “Reopening of the Revival Club. Ch’en Chen-hui and Wu Ying-chi are editing new selections.” How now! That Club is an offshoot of the Eastern Forest Party which has been in close collaboration with the rebels Chou and Lei. Now that a warrant is out for their arrest, who dares invite them to make anthologies? This book dealer is a rash fellow. Stop my chair! [Steps out of the sedan, sits before the bookshop, and says]: Summon the local official in charge of the book trade. [The official is summoned.]

  Official [kneeling before Juan]: What is Your Excellency’s wish?

  Juan [sings]:

  This bookseller defies the law

  By conspiring with the Revival Club.

  My duty is to suppress these rebels,

  Yours, to expose them root and branch.

  Official: Don’t worry, Your Excellency. I’m an expert at making arrests. [Exits and re-enters with Ts’ai Yi-So.] The criminal Ts’ai Yi-so is here, Your Excellency.

  Ts’ai [kneeling]: As a loyal subject of His Majesty, I protest that I have not violated any law.

  Juan: You have commissioned members of the Revival Club to work for you.

  Ts’ai: New selections of model essays are made every year before the civil service examination.

  Juan: Fie! Are you ignorant of the Imperial decree, whereby all rebels are to be arrested? The law knows no mercy. You have harboured these rebels in your shop, yet you refuse to admit your guilt. You had better plead guilty at once.

  Ts’ai: I did not give them shelter. The gentlemen came of their own accord, because they are interested in the new anthologies.

  Juan: So you admit that they are inside your shop. [To his attendants]: Make sure that none of them slip out.

  [Exeunt attendants]

  Juan [whispers to the official]: Send an immediate message to the City Marshal, who has the exclusive duty to deal with rebels. He must send his guards to arrest them. [Sings]:

  The Scarlet Guard will see the prisons filled,

  As these new rebels are in turn suppressed.

  Official: Yes, Your Excellency. [Exit hurriedly. Juan re-enters his sedan.]

  Hou, Ch’en, and Wu [enter, shouting]: What crime have we committed that we should be kept in custody? Whoever you are, you have no regard for justice.

  Juan [smiling]: I have given you no offence. Why are you all so indignant? What are your names? [They announce them.] Aha, so it’s you three gentlemen. Don’t you recognize this humble official? [Sings]:r />
  How imposing now my dignity must appear,

  How overwhelming my majestic frame!

  [To Wu]: Do you remember how you prevented me from joining the sacrifice at the Temple of Confucius? [To Ch’en]: Do you remember borrowing my troupe of actors? Why did you call me ugly names while enjoying my “Swallow Letter”? [To Hou]: When I bought you a valuable wardrobe, you threw it away.

  Hou: So it is Bearded Juan gloating on his revenge!

  Ch’en and Wu: Indeed. Let us drag him to the palace and tell what sort of man he is.

  Juan [laughing]: No need to hurry: you will have ample opportunity to tell. [Pointing]: See who is coming to fetch you! [Exit in sedan.]

  Four Guards [enter, shouting]: Which is Ts’ai Yi-so?

  Ts’ai: I am. What is the matter?

  Guard: We have come from the Marshal’s headquarters to make certain arrests.

  Ts’ai: Who are you arresting?

  Guard: The three graduates Ch’en, Wu, and Hou.

  Hou: We are all present. On what grounds do you arrest us?

  Guard: Come at once to headquarters. There you will discover. [He leads them out in chains.]

  Ts’ai: What is behind all this? [Calls]: Brother Su, come quickly.

  Su [entering]: What has happened?

  Ts’ai: It is terrible, terrible! The two scholars who were making selections for me have been arrested, and Master Hou as well.

  Su: So it has really come to this! [Sings]:

  Hawks swoop down on innocent citizens;

  The Revival Club is an unprotected babe.

  Ma and Juan are now omnipotent.

  Woe to the world

  When the savage Prime Minister of a foolish Emperor

  Gives public pretexts for private revenge!

  [Speaks]: Let us find out what is happening. We may yet be able to save them.

  Ts’ai: We must. I’ll inquire where they are being kept, so that I can take them some food. [They sing]:

  Ts’ai:

  Court officers are furthering private feuds.

  Su:

  Like the man of Ch’i, we fear the sky will fall.

  Ts’ai:

  Who can prevent this new Burning of Books?[4]

  Su:

  On the Commander-in-Chief, Earl Tso, we call.

  Illustration: The bookseller Ts’ai Yi-so: “What is behind all this?”

  [1] See Scene 1, n. 11 for the Six Canons. Later subdivisions and additions led to a corpus of thirteen works which remain canonical to this day. The dynastic histories have by now reached a total of twenty-four.

  [2] The examination essay of Ming and Ch’ing times was christened “eight-legged” because it developed a prescribed form in eight sections.

  [3] Chin-ling is one of the ancient names for Nanking.

  [4] The most opprobrious burning of books in Chinese history was the work of the First Emperor, Ch’in Shih-huang-ti, 259–209 B.C., the unifier of the country whose name became a byword for ferocious despotism.

  SCENE 30

  THE RETURN TO THE HILLS

  1645, THIRD MONTH

  [Chang Wei enters; he wears a long white beard.]

  Chang [sings]:

  Aged retainer of the Imperial court,

  I look back in vain towards my northern home.

  Mist and rain shroud the city of Nanking.

  Alas, the hopeful notes of restoration

  Have changed into the wail of a new tyranny,

  And the old court robes cannot hide the new decline.

  [Speaks]: Formerly a Commander of the Imperial Guard in Peking, I came south after the downfall of the old capital. Here the new Emperor rewarded me with the same rank I held before, but evil counsels sway the government. The condition of the country deteriorates. As for me, I have built myself a house in the southern suburbs, with a pavilion called Pine Wind Hall, where I hope to retire and and enjoy a calm old age. Unfortunately I have charge of two state prisoners, the so-called rebels Chou and Lei. These are sworn adversaries of Ma and Juan, who are determined to have them convicted. I am aware that this is grossly unjust, but I have not been able to find a way to save them. This harasses me day and night, so that I cannot decide to retire. [Sings]:

  The court is all intrigue and party strife:

  All honest men retire from such a life.

  Wherefore should I uphold the butcher’s knife

  For malefactors? Quickly would I flee

  To my thatched Pine Pavilion and be free,

  Singing aloud to every passing cloud.

  But a terrible injustice haunts my breast,

  Until I stave it off I cannot rest.

  Servant [entering]: Your Excellency, the City Marshal has captured three rebels, who await your immediate judgment.

  [Four guards carrying instruments of torture enter and stand on either side of the stage. Chang ascends the tribune of justice. A Guard leads in Hou, Wu, and Ch’en, and kneels before Chang to hand him the written warrant. Chang examines it.]

  Chang: According to a report from the local official in charge of the book trade, you are accused of organizing a secret society and plotting to purchase the freedom of Chou and Lei with bribes. Therefore you have been arrested. What have you to say in self-defense?

  Ch’en and Wu [sing]:

  We plead not guilty.

  Scholars of the Revival Club,

  Our friends are none but literary men.

  Only the tyranny of Ch’in Shih-huang[1]

  Would convict such innocent people as ourselves.

  Hou [sings]:

  Do not torture us.

  I came to Nanking to visit old friends,

  And have no part in any clandestine meeting.

  Why should we be destroyed

  Like fish in a pond or swallows on a beam?

  Chang: You allege that you have been arrested without cause. It is impossible that the City Marshal should have committed such a blunder. [Pounding on the table with a wooden block]: Bring out the whips. Make them confess the truth.

  Ch’en [kneeling]: Please do not take umbrage, Your Honour. I am Ch’en Chen-hui from I-hsing. My only crime is to have selected literary models at Ts’ai Yi-so’s bookshop. I can think of no other offence.

  Wu [kneeling]: I am Wu Ying-chi from Juei-ch’ih, and a colleague of Ch’en Chen-hui. I was engaged in the same work, apart from which I did nothing.

  Chang [to Guard]: If these men are accused of organizing a secret society and plotting at Ts’ai’s bookshop, Ts’ai himself should know the truth. Why was he not arrested? [Throwing a warrant to the Guard]: Make haste and fetch Ts’ai Yi-so. [Exit Guard.]

  Hou [kneeling]: I am Hou Fang-yü from Kuei-te in Honan, and I travelled to Nanking with the sole purpose of visiting friends. When I heard that these old schoolmates of mine were in the bookshop, I called to visit them and was promptly arrested.

  Chang [pondering]: Recently the artist Lan Ying brought me a picture of the Peach Blossom Fountain for my Pine Wind Pavilion. It contained an inscription signed Hou Fang-yü of Kuei-te. Are you the same individual?

  Hou: It is I, the accused, Your Honour.

  Chang [with a faint bow]: This is most regrettable. I was greatly impressed by your calligraphy, and your verse is full of subtle import. I am sure you had nothing to do with this business. Please stand by.

  Hou: I thank Your Honour for your kind expression of sympathy. [He is offered a chair and sits down.]

  Guard [re-entering with warrant]: Your Honour, Ts’ai Yi-so has bolted his shop and fled.

  Chang: How can this case be judged without any proof of the organization or of the alleged bribery?

  Guard [entering with a letter]: Here is a letter from Their Excellencies Wang and Ch’ien for Your Honour’s perusal.

  Chang: So it comes from two highly respected Ministers of State. [After reading it]: They are absolutely right. I did not realize that Ch’en and Wu were leaders of the Revival Club. [sings]:

  One is an essayist of renown;


  The other has won fame as a poet.

  What harm have they done to deserve arrest,

  And why should I serve as the agent of vile intrigues?

  As a judge, I hold independent authority;

  I should bring the light of the sun to the darkest hell.

  Let not the righteous be persecuted,

  Or art and literature decay in consequence.

  [Politely, to Ch’en and Wu]: Gentlemen, excuse my lack of courtesy. Are Their Excellencies Wang Chueh-ssu and Ch’ien Mu-chai old friends of yours?

  Ch’en and Wu: We have never had the pleasure of knowing them personally.

  Chang: Even so, they have written to me about your lofty characters and literary attainments.

  Ch’en and Wu: Perhaps it was due to Their Excellencies’ sense of justice.

  Chang: Precisely. Though a member of the military profession, I am also devoted to literature and learning. How can I sacrifice worthy men just to please the powers that be? I understand how deeply you have been wronged. Please stand by and wait until I pronounce the verdict. You will then be released. [Ch’en and Wu are given seats while he writes the verdict. A guard arrives with a court bulletin.]

  Guard [to Chang]: Today’s bulletin contains an important new decree. Please read it, Your Honour.

  Chang [reading it aloud]: “In accordance with Prime Minister Ma’s memorial concerning the swift execution of rebels to pacify the country, Chou Piao and Lei Yin-tso, who plotted with the Prince of Lu and have been conclusively proved traitors, should promptly be executed to vindicate justice. A decree is hereby issued to that effect. Furthermore, a memorial has been presented by Vice-Minister of War Juan which runs as follows: ‘Concerning the extermination of secret societies and the pacification of the country: it has been discovered that the former members of the Eastern Forest Party are still as numerous as locusts darkening the sun, and the young upstarts of the Revival Club are breeding like their larvae. The locusts have already become a plague and must be wiped out. Their larvae are the calamity of the future and should be exterminated as a precaution. I, Your Majesty’s servant Juan Ta-ch’eng, possess a black list of these locusts and larvae. Mass arrests will be effected with the guidance of the aforesaid list.’ The decree is hereby issued that those enumerated on the list aforesaid are to be searched for and arrested. The urgent attention of authorities concerned is called with regard to these matters.” [Chang, deeply shocked]: Ma and Juan are growing more and more vindictive. I’m afraid no good man will survive. [Sings]: