While I try to serve justice and mitigate penalties,
They impose iniquitous laws and persecutions.
A foul torrent has invaded our clean rivers,
Every action of theirs is a monument of infamy.
Soon they will catch everyone of worth in their evil snare;
Few dare resist their authority.
The members of the Revival Club and Eastern Forest Party
Will be hunted down as victims of the new tyranny.
[To Hou, Ch’en, and Wu]: Sympathising with the wrongs you have suffered, I was about to release you, but the latest decrees prevent me. Not only are Masters Chou and Lei to be executed but all members of the Eastern Forest Party and Revival Club are proscribed.
Hou, Ch’en and Wu [kneeling]: We implore your Honour to save us.
Chang: If I released you, you might be caught by others. Then you would certainly be doomed. I advise you to be patient. [Reading aloud as he writes]: “After cross-examination, no evidence of secret organizations or bribery could be discovered. The accused should be kept in temporary custody. When Ts’ai Yi-so becomes available as a witness, the verdict will be given.” [To Hou, Ch’en, and Wu]: Although he is mainly concerned with self-advancement, the City Marshal is not devoid of conscience. I shall send him a personal letter. [Reading aloud as he writes]: “Having served for many years in the Imperial Guard, I have seen more than most people of victims sacrificed to intrigue. I have reached the conclusion that the good and the evil are in perpetual conflict: they rise and fall alternately. Every situation changes after a crisis. We who are responsible for preserving justice and the law should beware of favouritism. It is not our business to wield the butcher’s knife for those in temporary power. There is a heaven above, and public opinion never dies. Let us avoid mistakes we shall never cease to regret.” [He bows to Hou, Ch’en, and Wu]: Please wait patiently in confinement for the day when these wrongs will be righted. [The prisoners are led off, and Chang continues]: I served the late Emperor throughout his reign, but now that the country is ruined and my home destroyed, I have given up all hope of a future career. Why should I continue in the service of tyrants? There is an old proverb, “When you make a decision, don’t wait till the day is over.” I can hesitate no longer. [Calls]: Groom, bring my horse. I shall ride to my Pine Wind Pavilion. [Groom leads in horse. Chang mounts it, singing]:
In the Spring, evening petals fill the sky,
Green undulating mountains soothe the eye.
South of the city, I waken from a dream
As a tired traveller finds a gushing stream.
[Speaks]: Here I am back in my Pine Wind Pavilion. It seems as far from the world as the Peach Blossom Spring. I’ll go and enjoy the view. [Sings as he goes upstairs]:
Few people approach this stream among the rocks.
The wind in the pines recalls the murmur of waves.
[Calls]: Tell the gardener to open the windows and sweep the porch.
Gardener [entering, sweeps and recites]:
Catkins have flown where the swallow settles,
Cobwebs have caught the flying petals.
[Speaks]: The porch is swept clean, Your Honour. [Exit.]
Chang [gazing out from the porch]: How the shadows of the pines caress the window. My heart feels calm and rested. This would be a suitable place to put my couch. [Wanders across to the balcony]: Spring water fills the pond and casts a green reflection on my beard. Here I ought to set up a tea-stove. [Laughing]: What a hurry I was in! I am still wearing my official uniform, most unbecoming to this hermitage. I must look ridiculous. [To servant]: Open my bamboo chest. I shall change into my loose robe, straw sandals, and bamboo hat. [Changes and sings]:
This is my compensation for old age.
Once my three houses are roofed with plain bamboo
I’ll pack my uniform.
[Enter guard with Ts’ai Yi-so.]
Guard: Among pines he must still preside over the law, and among the bamboos over documents pore. I have just captured Ts’ai Yi-so. Though His Honour Chang has left his office, I must report that his order has been executed. [Calls]: here?
Servant: What urgent business has brought you so far from the city?
Guard: Please report that Ts’ai Yi-so is at His Honour’s disposal.
Servant: [goes upstairs and announces]: The guard has caught Ts’ai Yi-so, and he is waiting for Your Honour’s instructions.
Chang: Now that this has happened, what can I do about the others? Tell the guard to wait downstairs and listen to me.
[To guard from the porch]: This is a very serious case and it must be kept secret. Ts’ai Yi-so is one of the chief witnesses; he will have to remain here. I shall question him presently.
Guard: Yes, Your Honour. [Guard fastens Ts’ai to a tree, and is about to leave when he is recalled.]
Chang: Come back. You may take my horse to the city as well as my official cap, belt, robe, and boots. I wish to meditate in peace. Remember not to disturb me here again. [Exit Guard with horse, etc. Chang stamps his foot.] What an outrage, that a guard should trespass in my private garden and tie a witness to my favourite pine-tree! What sort of a hermitage is this? I shall have to see the prisoner. [Seeing Ts’ai]: So it is you, Ts’ai Yi-so.
Ts’ai: Perhaps Your Honour may remember meeting me before?
Chang: Of course I do, but that has nothing to do with the case. You have been accused of violating the new decree by harbouring rebels of the Revival Club.
Ts’ai [trying to kowtow]: Yes, Your Honour.
Chang: The latest books in your shop have some connection with the members of that club. They will be held as evidence against you.
Ts’ai [again trying to kowtow]: Please be merciful, Your Honour!
Chang: Your life can only be saved if you are willing to sacrifice your fortune.
Ts’ai: I’m willing to give up everything.
Chang [delighted]: Then everything will turn out well. [To servant]: Unbind him quickly. [Ts’ai is released. Chang says to him]: If you are willing to give up your property, why not follow me to the hills?
Ts’ai: My life depends on Your Honour.
Chang [pointing]: Look towards the northeast. How white the clouds are and how blue the hills. [To servant]: Take good care of the house. Master Ts’ai and I are going to view the scenery. We shall soon return.
[Exit servant. Chang and Ts’ai walk along together.]
Chang [points]: We shall spend tonight in the green forest.
Ts’ai: If Your Honour wants to enjoy mountain scenery, you should send a servant to prepare lodgings in advance. Otherwise where can you stay except in some secluded temple?
Chang: You are still in the dark. Once I have surrendered my official cap, I shall become a poor Taoist priest. Any mountain cave will serve me for a dwelling.
Ts’ai: What does Your Honour mean?
Chang: Come, hesitate no longer. Ask no questions. Follow me. [Sings]:
My eyes are fixed upon the floating clouds,
Regardless of the rocky distances.
Slowly the pine woods darken, peace descends.
Deep in the forest men are very few;
A lonely path will wind between the peaks.
Over the hills I’ll walk with open heart,
Visiting all the temples and forgetting
Whatever dynasty may rule the land.
In the realm of Immortals, far from the world’s dust,
A few wild peaches will be my nourishment.
Now I know how easy it is to escape the turmoil.
At dawn we shall leave our hut among the clouds;
When we reach the summit the sun will still be high.
Illustration: Chang the Taoist, former Commander of the Imperial Guard: “Few people approach this stream among the rocks.”
[1] See Scene 29, n. 4.
SCENE 31
THE IMPEACHMENT DRAFTED
1645, THIRD MONTH
Su K’un-sheng [enters and
recites]:
The Wan-li Emperor reigned in my youth;
The Ch’ung-chen era saw me old and grey.
Every court favourite I’ve seen come and go
From T’ien-ch’i to the present day.[1]
[Speaks]: For half a century I have seen the country ruled by four Emperors in succession; and under the fourth, by two execrable monsters. Oblivious of Heaven and the sun above, these are resolved to exterminate righteous men. My friend Master Hou is one of their first victims. Since he and I are fellow countrymen, I have come all the way to the lake district to solicit the help of Earl Tso, the Commander-in-Chief. I have been here three days, but his headquarters is so closely guarded that I cannot approach him. Today there is to be a grand review of the armies defending the river. Wherever the Commander passes, it is so quiet that neither a dog nor a chicken dare make a sound. I must think of some way to attract his attention. [He calls the Innkeeper.]
Innkeeper [enters and recites]:
Few visitors come to the Yellow Crane Pavilion,
Though many wineshops grace our White Cloud City.
[Speaks]: What is your wish, sir?
Su: Please tell me how soon His Excellency the Commander will be returning to headquarters.
Innkeeper: Not for a long time yet. There are three hundred thousand troops to be reviewed. Usually their maneuvers continue till nightfall. Today His Excellency has asked Governor Yuan and Inspector-General Huang to join him. There will be a banquet after the review, so they are bound to be late.
Su: In that case you had better bring some wine. I’ll drink while I wait.
Innkeeper [bringing wine]: Why wait? Why don’t you drink your wine and go to bed?
Su: Don’t worry. Just close your door. I’m not spying on anybody. [Exit Innkeeper.] Now that the full moon has risen above the Eastern Hills, one should enjoy the beauty of night along the river. The pity of it is that one cannot feel in a happy mood. While drinking I might as well sing to banish gloom. [Sings]:
Amid a boundless Heaven glows
A spotless moon; aloft it rose,
Filling twelve balconies with light.
A breeze through pearly curtain blows,
And silver screen; I seem to sit
On the Queen of Heaven’s parapet,
Pouring wine into cups of jade.
How seldom does an earthly sight
So dazzling to man’s eyes appear!
What rapture thus to live each night,
The moon and I so clear!
[Drinks and says]: Old Juan Ta-ch’eng was very partial to this song, but I would stop singing it rather than oblige him. I hope the Commander-in-Chief will soon return. I’ll sing again. If he hears me, he may ask questions; then my chance will come. [Sings]:
Your lonely shadow is a bough,
Swaying on the twilit air.
Dimly I see the magpies, now
Suddenly startled and aware. . .
Innkeeper [entering]: Will you please go to sleep! If your singing annoys the Commander-in-Chief, I shall get into trouble.
Su [sings]:
Where can I find the myriad hills
And build a hut among bamboos. . .
Innkeeper [pulling him]: Please go to sleep.
Su: Don’t worry. I’m a fellow countryman of the Commander’s, and I want him to hear me.
Innkeeper: Very well, sing on. But don’t say that I didn’t warn you.
Su [sings]:
Where Ch’ang O[2] forlornly dwells,
Who will pluck a laurel branch?
People dear are seldom near —
Heart is torn from heart’s delight.
Oh, the bliss to live each night,
The moon and I so clear!
[Several armed soldiers with bows and arrows pass by. Su says]: I hear horses’ hoofs; perhaps they are returning to headquarters. I’ll sing again:
“How bright the moon!
I’ll play a tune
Until my flute of jade will crack,
Then ride upon a phoenix’ back,
Flying faster than the wind,
The city of my dreams to find.”
[Enter four guards with banners.] The guards are coming nearer. I’ll sing a bit louder. . . . [Sings]:
“Her pendants tinkle. Has she flown
From her palace all alone?”
[Enter Tso Liang-yü, Yuan Chi-hsien, and Huang Shu, all on horseback.]
Tso [recites]:
The Court is engrossed in training singers and dancers;
Here on the river our drums beat to more serious purpose.
Yuan: Indeed? Maybe singers and dancers are also being trained near Your Excellency’s headquarters.
Tso: Who would dare? Military discipline is strictly enforced here.
Huang: I am sure I hear somebody singing.
[Tso stands still and listens. Su sings even louder.]
Su [singing]:
An aura round her cloudy hair,
And down her arms a lustrous light:
Only with one can she compare,
The Goddess of the Moon so bright.
Oh the bliss to live each night,
The Moon and I so clear!
Tso [angrily]: Who dares to break martial law by singing in the middle of the night? Arrest the culprit!
[Guards arrest Su and lead him before Tso.]
Tso: Have you been singing?
Su: I can’t deny it.
Tso: Are you not aware of the severity of martial law? What makes you so audacious?
Su: Because I am desperate. I had to sing, even at the risk of my life. I hope Your Excellency will pardon me.
Yuan: He talks as if he were drunk.
Huang: But his voice was admirable.
Tso: The fellow looks decidedly suspicious. Take him along to headquarters. [Exit Tso, followed by the others.]
Tso [sings]:
After the review we enter Wuchang gate.
Night has fallen, every sound is hushed,
Not a dog barks; the city is a desert.
At the third watch, suddenly we hear a minstrel.
There must be a motive behind his mournful song.
[They arrive at headquarters. Tso says to Yuan and Huang]: Please spend the night at my humble headquarters. There are further important matters to be discussed.
Huang and Yuan: We would rather not put you to such inconvenience. [All enter and sit down.]
Yuan: The minstrel should be cross-examined. Perhaps we may than release him.
Tso: You are right. [To guard]: Bring the singer here. [Su is led in and kneels before Tso, who says to him]: Why did you violate martial law? State nothing but the truth.
Su: I came all the way from Nanking to see Your Excellency. Since your headquarters was so closely guarded that I could not gain admission, I broke the law on purpose.
Tso: You will have to be punished. This cannot be true.
Huang: Please curb your indignation. Let us hear his reasons for wishing to see Your Excellency.
Su [sings]:
A sinister fog envelops the capital,
Each new dawn sees new arrests.
Now Master Hou is locked away:
For old-time friendship’s sake
I beg you to root out this new-risen spite.
Tso: I was indeed a friend of Master Hou’s father. If he wants my assistance, you must have brought a letter from him. Let me see it.
Su [kowtowing]: Juan Ta-ch’eng gave orders that he was to be arrested on the spot. He had no chance to write a letter.
Tso: How can I believe this? [Pondering]: An old friend of Master Hou happens to be staying with me. I’ll see if he can recognize you. [To servant]: Ask Master Liu to join us.
[Exit servant. Enter Liu Ching-t’ing.]
Liu: Good man, bad man, friend or foe, just ask old Liu and he’ll tell you so! Let me take a look at him. . . . Ah, this is my sworn brother Su K’un-sheng! [Su and Liu both wipe tears from their eyes.]
T
so: So the man is no impostor.
Liu: No, it’s Su K’un-sheng, the best minstrel in the world. Everybody ought to know of him.
Tso: I had no idea that I was listening to such a celebrity.
[Tso helps Su to rise. They bow to each other and sit down.]
Liu: Tell me, why has Master Hou been imprisoned?
Su [sings]:
Associate of the Eastern Forest Party,
Active member of the Revival Club,
Master Hou offended the eunuch’s henchman.
Now bearded Juan is thirsting for revenge,
Pig-headed Ma has lost all sense of justice.
Fierce cavalry galloped to Three Mountain Street,
Swooped upon their prey.
[Speaks]: I have heard no news of him since he was taken to jail, so I risked my life to come here and appeal for aid. How fortunate I was to meet you, Brother Liu! [He bows to Liu.] I hope you will persuade the Commander-in-Chief to do something to save him as soon as possible.
Tso [angrily]: Brothers Yuan and Huang, how can we tolerate such corruption at court? It makes my blood boil.
Yuan: I have also heard that Lady T’ung, the new Emperor’s first consort, made an arduous journey to join him. Ma and Juan prevented her from seeing him because they want to create another Empress and thereby claim an Imperial connection. They deserve to be executed.
The Peach Blossom Fan Page 25