The Peach Blossom Fan
Page 30
Master of Ceremonies: I confess it. But what has brought you to such straits, sir?
Shih: Tonight Yangchow fell, and I had to scale the wall to make my escape.
Master of Ceremonies: Where will you bend your steps?
Shih: I was aiming for Nanking to help protect the Emperor. I didn’t realize he had fled. [Stamps his foot, wails, and sings]:
Cast adrift, a sail-less skiff,
Abandoned cur without a home,
A thousand times I call on Heaven and Earth;
But there is no way forward,
No road back. [He climbs a hillock.]
The snow-capped waves roll on
In endless grief for Ch’ü Yuan and his wrongs[1].
[Speaks]: That’s the way. There is my burial place. [Sings]:
Less cramping than the yellow clay
Is the flowing river,
And a resting-place in the bellies of myriad fish.
[He looks down at himself and says]: But it is not fitting that robes of office should adorn the body of Shih K’o-fa, culpable for the loss of an empire. [Sings]:
I strip myself of robe, hat, and boots.
Master of Ceremonies: You have the look, sir, of one preparing to meet his death. [He tugs at Shih]: Think again, sir, don’t think only of the present moment!
Shih: And where in the wide world do you suppose there will be a place for Shih K’o-fa? [Sings]:
A hero faces death:
When hills and rivers pass to other hands,
There is nothing to detain me.
[Shih mimes leaping into the river, and exits in a series of rolls. Master of Ceremonies gazes after him, clutching the robe, hat, and boots. Long pause.]
Master of Ceremonies: Ah, Lord Shih, Lord Shih! To the end a loyal servant of the Throne. And if I had not chanced along, who would ever have known of your self-immolation? [He wails aloud.]
[Enter Liu Ching-t’ing leading Hou Fang-yü by the hand.]
Liu [recites]:
Escaping the clutches of prison guards,
We flee as fugitives.
[They are followed by Ch’en Chen-hui and Wu Ying-chi.]
Ch’en and Wu: Daily we seek a patron; where shall we lodge tonight?
Hou: Hurry, gentlemen, twilight is gathering.
Ch’en and Wu: We are with you.
Liu: Since we escaped from prison we have wandered from one place to another, but no lodging can we find. Yonder is the Dragon’s Pool. Let us resolve to separate and each fend for himself.
Ch’en: Very well. [Sees Master of Ceremonies.] What are you doing, weeping here, old man?
Master of Ceremonies: I am a refugee like you, and I have just seen the President of the Board of War Shih K’o-fa take his life here. It’s more than I can do to restrain my tears.
Hou: How did President Shih chance to be here?
Master of Ceremonies: Last night Yangchow fell. President Shih made his way this far before he learned that the Emperor had fled. He stamped his foot in dismay and threw himself into the river.
Hou: How could such a thing come to pass?
Master of Ceremonies: See, here are the boots, hat, and robe he stripped from his person.
Liu: Look, inside there, the vermilion seal.
Hou: Let me see. [Reads aloud]: “Seal of the President of the Board of War and Grand Officer Entrusted with the Defence of the Region North of the River.” [He weeps.] Alas for Shih K’o-fa!
Ch’en: Let us set up the robe and hat and make our obeisances to his Spirit. [They do so, wailing.]
All [sing]:
Wandering by the river,
To whom could he express his deep remorse?
The tears grew chill on his cheeks,
But though he strained his eyes,
No help could come from the abandoned city.
When battle drained the last drop of blood,
He burst through the besieging foe.
His whole intention was to guard the Throne,
Not dreaming that the song was ended,
The banquet hall left bare.
A thousand miles of river reach
From ancient Wu to the broad lands of Ch’u,
And all, alas, fallen to the hands of others.
Rainclouds shift and change,
The cold tide coils on eastwards
And all dissolves in empty mist.
Let your Spirit, great Lord Shih
Tower above the realm from sea to sky.
[Hou strokes the robe and wails aloud.]
Liu: By this heroic act, President Shih has proclaimed his matchless loyalty. Restrain your grief, sir, and let us now take leave of each other.
Hou: Where shall I turn in all this vast expanse?
Ch’en: Wu Ying-chi and I came as far as this only to see you across the river. Now that the northern route is barred, why not accompany us to the south?
Hou: I should not burden you in times of such calamity. Let each make his own way.
Wu: What is your plan?
Hou: Liu Ching-t’ing and I propose to take refuge in some ancient temple deep in the hills until we can find some way to return to the north.
Master of Ceremonies: I was going to Cloud’s Roost Mountain, a secluded spot unlikely to be touched by the fighting. Why not join me?
Hou: An excellent proposal.
Ch’en and Wu: Since you have found a shelter, we shall bid you farewell. [They bow and recite]: Now is the time for grieving, but when will be the day of our reunion? [Exeunt, in tears.]
Hou: What is your business at Cloud’s Roost Mountain?
Master of Ceremonies: I’ll tell you my purpose, sir. I was a Master of Ceremonies at the Imperial Temple. At the memorial service for the former Emperor by the Gate of Peace, I was disgusted by the hypocrisy of the officials present, and I started a collection among some of the old folks to celebrate a mass for the Ch’ung-chen Emperor on the fifteenth day of the seventh month. The troubles in Nanking have forced me to change my plans, but I have the money with me, and I shall ask the monks at Cloud’s Roost to help me accomplish my design.
Liu: What a noble plan.
Hou: Please let us accompany you.
Master of Ceremonies: I must gather up these garments of President Shih’s.
Liu: What will you do with them?
Master of Ceremonies: It was at Plum Blossom Ridge outside Yangchow that President Shih mustered his troops. When the enemy withdraws, I shall bury these relics there in a tomb dedicated to him.
Hou: This is an even more memorable deed!
[The Master of Ceremonies takes the robe, hat, and boots on his back and resumes his journey, followed by Hou and Liu.]
All [sing]:
Over river and hill
Clouds swirl and shift.
The loyal spirit vanishes,
And who will find his tomb
When the Feast of the Dead draws nigh?
Master of Ceremonies:
This tale of the Southern Court will resound forever,
Liu:
And tears of blood will swell the streams with woe.
Hou:
We raise to Heaven our “Summons to the Soul”
Master of Ceremonies:
As mist obscures the mighty river’s flow.
[1] See Scene 8, n. 1.
SCENE 39
TEMPLES OF REFUGE
1645, SIXTH MONTH
[Enter Fragrant Princess and Su K’un-sheng.]
Fragrant Princess [sings]:
A thread of secret longing binds my heart—
That we shall meet, however far the journey.
I cling to this one love that I have known,
Until our spirits can be joined forever.
Here where green pines
Are shrouded in a thousand layers of cloud
Will be my “refuge of High Heaven’s Terrace.”
[Speaks]: Master Su, it was fortunate that Uncle Lan Ying led us here to Cloud’s Roost Mountain. How surprisin
g, yes truly a predestined meeting, to find when we knocked for admittance that the Abbess of Foster Purity Temple was none other than our friend Pien Yü-ching! The sole obstacle to my content is the absence of Master Hou. Please do all you can to discover his whereabouts.
Su: Try to curb your impatience. Where in this troubled world am I to seek him? Meanwhile, let us discuss with the Abbess our plans for a prolonged sojourn here.
[Enter the ex-singing girl Pien Yü-ching, now in the costume of a Taoist Abbess.]
Pien [sings]:
Pipes play in the Realm of Jasper,
Jade pendants tinkle as I wander
Free as a cloud-borne crane.
My former life of flowers and moon is over,
But here I find another’s passion blooming!
[Speaks]: You are welcome to this modest abode.
Fragrant Princess: We are truly grateful for this reception.
Su: We must throw ourselves on your mercy. We cannot proceed north of the river because of the fighting raging there; and among these hills, my lays find no employment. We are ashamed to give you so much trouble day after day.
Pien: Do not speak of it. [Sings]:
Old friends have found their way to Fairyland.
I still recall the rapture of other days,
And we shall hold ethereal intercourse.
Su: But I intend to earn my living. [He puts on boots and rain-hat and takes up axe and rope.] While this fine weather holds, I’ll gather firewood along the ranges and gullies, to supply the temple’s needs. This will be better than “sitting and eating the mountain away.”
Pien: I could not let you do this.
Su: It would be wrong for me to idle. [Shoulders axe and recites]:
Beneath my feet the cloud-wrapped hills are cold,
But on my back the pine-logs will smell sweet.
[He exits, Pien closing the gate behind him.]
Fragrant Princess: Rather than sit with nothing to do, perhaps I may trouble you for some old clothes to mend this summer day.
Pien: There is something I should like to ask you. On the fifteenth day of the seventh month, the villagers have vowed to install a prayer-banner in memory of our Empress Chou. It would be an act of great piety if you would devote your skill to making the banner for us.
Fragrant Princess: I should be delighted to contribute to so noble a project. [Pien fetches the materials]. Let me burn incense and wash my hands before I begin. [She does so, then sings while sewing]:
In former days, my sins were heavy,
My fingers knew nought but the music of pipes and strings,
Ignorant of the use of needle and thread.
Pien: But so nimble are your fingers, and so quick your mind, as soon as you ply the needle you prove your artistry.
Fragrant Princess: I lack experience, but my devotion to the task is complete. [Sings]:
Though my fingers swell with the effort,
I embroider the sacred banner
More delicately than any trousseau.
[As they sew together, Hou Fang-yü enters in the company of the Master of Ceremonies and Liu Ching-t’ing. All are laden with baggage.]
Hou [sings]:
The clash of arms gives place
To the sound of running brooks amid the pines.
The peaks of Cloud’s Roost locked in mist,
Even in midsummer a cool breeze blows.
Master of Ceremonies: Here is Cloud’s Roost Mountain. Let us find a temple for our resting-place.
Hou: Why not inquire at this Foster Purity Temple? [Sings]:
Neath walls of stone and gate with creepers hung,
We seek the alchemist who dwells within.
Along the mossy trail,
We call the hermit’s serving-boy.
What do recluses know of the floating life’s ordeals?
[Master of Ceremonies knocks at the gate.]
Pien: Who is knocking?
Master of Ceremonies: Refugees from Nanking, who would lay down their burdens for a while.
Pien: This is a Taoist convent, we do not entertain travellers. [Sings]:
Do you not see the lofty walls,
The gate tight shut the whole day long?
Here Taoists nuns seek purity
And shrink from contact with the throng.
Liu: We are no roaming Taoist priests; what harm would there be to let us rest a while?
Pien [sings]:
Reciting our sacred texts,
Observing the rules of our order,
We dwell as cloistered maidens in seclusion.
Hou: There is reason in what she says. This is no house of pleasure to enter at our will.
Pien: We are engaged in meditation. Do not disturb us further, but apply to the kitchens. [She exits with Fragrant Princess. Master of Ceremonies knocks again.]
Hou: Since they are observing the rules of their order, we should not disturb them.
Master of Ceremonies: There are more temples ahead, let us go on.
[They move on. The minstrel Ting Chi-chih enters, in Taoist garb and with a basket of herbs on his arm.]
Ting [sings]:
Straw sandals and bamboo staff
Carry me where they will through the scented hills,
To gather herbs in depths of ancient grottoes.
The setting sun etches the hoary branches,
Fresh fronds and roots of fern provide chaste fare.
Master of Ceremonies [joyfully]: Ah, a follower of the Tao. I’ll ask him. [Bows]: Sir Taoist, we have entered these hills to celebrate a memorial service. Would you kindly direct us to a temple where we may rest awhile?
Ting: The gentleman there looks very like young Master Hou of Honan.
Liu: Who else do you think it is?
Ting: And you are surely Liu Ching-t’ing?
Liu: The very same.
Hou: Ha! Ting Chi-chih! How come you to be following the Tao?
Ting: Let me tell you, Master Hou. [Sings]:
Ageing and enfeebled,
I came to distrust my former minstrelsy,
And tune my voice instead to occult lay.
Hou: And so you have become a Taoist recluse.
Liu: Where have you settled among these hills?
Ting: Not far ahead of you is Gather Purity Temple, and that is where I cultivate the Way. If it is not too poor and lonely for you, you are welcome to stay there.
Hou: Excellent.
Master of Ceremonies: You and Liu Ching-t’ing have found an old friend and a lodging. I shall go on to White Cloud Temple to arrange for the memorial service.
Hou: We are grateful for your company thus far.
Master of Ceremonies: And I for yours. [They take leave of each other, and he recites]:
Here purple halls rise beside crystal springs,
And snowy breezes bear refreshing rain.
Hou: But the southern hills are cut off by this river before us. How shall we cross?
Ting: It will not be difficult. A boat is moored by the bank. We may sit in it and chat until the fisherman comes by, then he will row us across. We are only a few hundred yards from Gather Purity Temple. [They seat themselves in the boat.]
Liu: As a boy I fished in the North Bay at T’aichou for a living. I’m used to a boat like this, I’ll row you across.
Hou: Splendid, splendid. [Liu rows.] Master of Ceremonies, do you realize that three years have flown since I last had the pleasure of your company, when you attended my wedding with Fragrant Princess?
Master of Ceremonies: True indeed. And have you received any word of Fragrant Princess since she was taken into the palace?
Hou: How could I? [He brings out the fan.] But I have always preserved this peach blossom fan. It was our betrothal pledge. [Sings]:
This peach blossom fan I cherish
Recalls old dreamlike days in the tower of bliss.
Though earth and Heaven grow old,
This love will endure forever.
So rudel
y were we parted
To fly alone, a thousand peaks between.
Within a month our happiness was ended.
Liu: When the Emperor fled, his consorts dispersed. Fragrant Princess must surely have left the palace then. When peace returns to Nanking, let us go back and search for her there.
Hou: I fear we may never find her, since so many scattered far and wide during the fighting. [He weeps.]
Ting: There is my temple, behind that bamboo hedge. Let us land here. [Liu moors and they land. Ting calls]: Boy, here are visitors, help with their baggage. [Boy assents from within.] Please enter my humble abode.
Hou [sings]:
Within the gate, the alchemist’s crucible
Ting:
Above my lodge, the pine trees silent stand.
Liu:
After a thousand meanders of the stream
Hou:
As in a dream we enter Fairyland.
Illustration: Master of Ceremonies: “Here is Cloud’s Roost Mountain. Let us find a temple for our resting-place.”
SCENE 40
ENTERING THE WAY
1645, SEVENTH MONTH
[Enter Chang Wei. He wears the broad-sleeved robe and gourd-shaped hat of a Taoist priest, and carries a whisk.]
Chang [sings]:
The blush of youth had faded from my cheeks
Ere half a life-span in the dusty world.
Too long I watched the puppet-play,
Wept tears, and then in turn laughed loud.
No more of folly. In these secluded haunts,
Few men have ever cherished worldly sorrows.
[Speaks]: Ever since I retired from the official world, I have lived in seclusion in this White Cloud Temple under the name of Chang the Taoist. This is my lot, to cultivate the Way and have no more to do with the world’s affairs. It was my good fortune to be accompanied here by Ts’ai Yi-so, the book-seller, who brought five cartloads of classics and histories. Lan Ying the painter made the same resolution, and he has painted scrolls depicting our rustic retreat. So, since in these bare hills I can study and let my fancy roam to my heart’s content, when the time comes for my Transformation it will be no doltish ignoramus who ascends to the clouds. The one regret that persists from my former life is my failure to repay the gracious favour of His Majesty the Emperor Ch’ung-chen. Therefore today, the fifteenth day of the seventh month, I have invited many celebrants to a major memorial service for His late Majesty. I have been fortunate enough also to secure the attendance of a former Master of Ceremonies from Nanking, who with some of the local elders will offer the prayers. Now let me call my disciple to make sure all is ready. Boy!