The East-West Quartet
Page 15
WOMAN: because we found no bottom,
MAN: and the roughness of the sea and the force of the wind obstructed.
WOMAN: Thus the anchors having no hold,
MAN: three successive waves spring such a leak in the vessel
WOMAN: that those who were in the hold were drowned before they could get out.
MAN: Some of those that were on the deck leaped overboard,
WOMAN: and the rest were carried away by the sea.
(The ocean sounds swell, then fade out.)
MAN: On the 16th, having scarce taken any sustenance for two or three days past, we searched along the sands to see whether the sea had not cast any of our provisions ashore, but could get only one sack of meal, a cask with some salt-meat, a little bacon and what was best for the wounded men—a hogshead of claret. Our greatest trouble was to contrive how to make a fire; for having neither heard nor seen any living creature, we concluded we were on a desert island. As we were lamenting our deplorable condition, we spied a man about a cannon-shot from us. We called and made signs to him; but as soon as he saw us, he fled. Later we spied three more, one of them with a musket, and his companions with bows and arrows. Being come within gunshot of us, they halted, and perceiving, we made towards them, ran away, though we endeavored by signs to show them we desired nothing but fire of them. These men were clad after the Chinese fashion, excepting only their hats, which were made of horsehair, and we were much afraid lest they should be wild Chinese or pirates.
WOMAN: Towards evening, there came a hundred armed men.
(Spirit begins singing offstage. Woman spins on a barstool so she is facing downstage.)
The Greek word
“ase”
and the Latin word
“oriens”
connote
“rising sun”
or
“the East.”
For centuries everything east of Istanbul signified
“lands of the rising sun,”
(Woman and Man give the ASL for “morning.” Then as Woman continues speaking, Man spins on his stool, so he is also facing downstage.)
and for centuries
“occidens”
conjured the territory of the setting sun.
The theologian Martin Luther identified Europe with the
“abend”:
“evening land,”
the Orient with the “morgen”:
“morning land.”
Now only Japan claims to be a land of the rising sun, and only anxious Americans identify their country with the setting sun. Among the lands of the rising sun there was one once known as:
(Spirit stops singing.)
MAN: Korie,
WOMAN: Caoli,
MAN: Kaokuli,
WOMAN: Korai,
MAN: Golie,
WOMAN: Tsiosen,
MAN: Tiozen-cook,
WOMAN: Chaosien,
MAN: Choson,
WOMAN: Jo-sun:
MAN: land of the morning calm.
(Woman and Man strike poses evocative of a tiger and a bear, respectively. The table light comes on suddenly.)
I am a she-bear.
I am a she-tiger.
I am a she-bear.
I am a she-tiger.
We have lived peacefully together since before the dawn
of time.
One day we prayed to the King Divine to make us
human.
(Spirit says the following story in Korean. Man translates the story into English as Spirit tells it. Woman repeats what Man says, but in a whisper, and slightly after him, as an echo.)
SPIRIT (In Korean) AND WOMAN (In English) : “If you eat this holy food and remain in darkness for one hundred days, you will become human.”
MAN: WOMAN:
I ate the holy food. I am a she-bear.
MAN: WOMAN:
I ate the holy food. I am a she-tiger.
MAN: WOMAN:
I ate the holy food. I am a she-bear.
MAN: WOMAN:
I ate the holy food. I am a she-tiger.
(Man makes an exaggerated gesture like an animal licking his lips. Spirit says the following in Korean, Man translates into English, Woman echoes Man.)
MAN: I, the she-tiger, had not been faithful to the king’s instructions; I remained a tiger. I, the she-bear, was faithful to the king’s instructions; I became a woman. I, new woman, could not find a husband; I prayed beneath a sandalwood tree to be blessed with a child. The King Divine heard my prayers and, seeing that I am beautiful, (Leans far back on his stool) married me. (Sits up normally again) My son is born; I named him Tan’gun Wanggoem, the King of the Sandalwood.Korie,
WOMAN: Caoli,
MAN: Kaokuli,
WOMAN: Korai,
MAN: Golie,
WOMAN: Tsiosen,
MAN: Tiozen-cook,
WOMAN: Chaosien,
MAN: Choson.
WOMAN: I am Jo-sun saram.
MAN: I am (Stutters) Korean.
(Offstage, a stagehand hits two blocks together to make a percussive tapping sound. Man and Woman make ASL sign for “face.” Man signs “face” two more times before speaking. Woman sets a card bearing the word “physiognomy” onto the front edge of the table.)
They were Mongolians with all the (Signs “face”) race features of Mongolians. They did not differ much from the Chinese or Japanese except in dress, and being in the main, rather taller than the latter people.
WOMAN: They are not Chinese, and still they are (Signs “face”) yellow. They are not Japanese, although their eyes are like almonds in shape. They are taller than any of the Asiatics we have in America, and their (Signs “face”) faces are kinder and somewhat more solid. They have (Signs “face”) cheekbones as high as those of an Indian, and their noses are almost as flat as a Negro’s. They are stronger than the men we saw in Japan . . .
MAN: Naturally, conquest and subsequent immigrations from Manchuria have left some traces on the Koreans, but they are strikingly dissimilar from both their nearest neighbors: the Chinese and the Japanese. Their (Man and Woman sign “face”) physiognomy indicates, in its best aspect, quick intelligence, (Woman removes “physiognomy” card) rather than force or strength of will. The Koreans are certainly a handsome race.
(Man and Woman stand up and then sit back down. Woman continues to sign “face.”)
. . . The foreign teachers bear willing testimony to their mental adroitness and quickness of perception, and their talent for the rapid acquisition of languages, which they speak more fluently and with a far better accent than either the Chinese or Japanese. However, they have the vices of suspicion, cunning and untruthfulness, that all Orientals have.
WOMAN: Women are secluded, and occupy (Bows) a very inferior position.
(The roar of tigers is heard.)
MAN: You never see them . . . (Man and Woman scan left to right, as tapping continues) They are usually never allowed to set foot outside their mansions until they’ve been married for years. Once married, they are virtual prisoners of the household, bereft of property, and in someone else’s house. She is denied rights of inheritance. She is the nameless person, given to a husband’s family. This is the Yangban’s wife. (Tapping stops) You never see them:
(Tapping resumes. Man places a card bearing the word “yangban” onto the front edge of the table, as Woman slowly makes a gesture reminiscent of a tiger.)
These cloistered ladies in closed sedan chairs carried by their slaves, except late at night, and only after the town bell has been rung, and only after the town gates have been closed against tigers.
(The roar of tigers is heard. Man and Woman look at each other. Woman places a card bearing the word “turtle” into the front edge of the table, as Man continues:)
The spectacle of these specters of the night, covered from head to toe in white, wearing green mantles over their heads, hiding their faces in its folds, with only eyes exposed, flit (Man and Woman sign “flit”) fro
m point to point, their footsteps feebly lit by tiny (Signs “tiny”) paper lanterns, which their girl-slaves carry before them. It is as remarkable as daylight in Seoul, with its masses moving, all dressed in white.
(The tapping ceases. Ocean waves are heard. Man and Woman quickly spin on their stools to face upstage, then slowly turn downstage.
Woman performs an abstract movement sequence in silhouette before speaking. Then in a pinspot, she repeats it. Once Woman begins speaking, Man quickly spins on his stool to face upstage and then slowly spins to face downstage.)
WOMAN: It was nearly sixty feet long, fifteen feet amid ship, with sides nearly eight feet high, covered by thick wooden boards. The hull was covered with protective iron plates, with long iron spikes on its shell; it is for this reason that I called it the turtle ship.
The dragon’s head on the prow has four guns inside. It shoots flying thunder bombs made of gunpowder and iron splinters; at the same time it lays down a protective smokescreen against the enemy. This was the world ’s first armor-clad warship. It was designed by my engineer Na Tae-Yong to my specifications.
(Man removes the “yangban” card from the edge of the table.)
In 1592 the Japanese launched an invasion of 158,000 men, (Man performs the abstract movement sequence Woman just completed) causing the king and his family to flee. While the court fled, the common people fought the Japanese with whatever they had at hand. Women filled pojagi, or wrapping cloth, with stones and threw them off cliffs at the enemy. The Japanese goal was to capture Jo-sun [Korea’s last ruling dynasty] and eventually the grand prize, the celestial kingdom of Cathay or China. We joined forces with the Chinese, forming an alliance against our common enemy. So when the Japanese invaded a second time in 1597 we were ready for them. A dozen of the armor-clad turtle ships were deployed at the mouth of a narrow strait off Mokpo. When enemy warships glided into the narrow mouth, I gave the orders to open fire.
(Sound of fire is heard. Man and Woman perform a gesture reminiscent of shooting an arrow.)
Three hundred Japanese ships were sunk that day, but my victory was bittersweet. In the midst of battle, I learned of my mother’s death.
SPIRIT (Offstage): Ah! Cheong Ceun Hneul-e Woman Museun NalByeoRock Enyan Mal Woman Nya?
MAN: How could the sun in heaven be so dark?
WOMAN: The Japanese withdrew, (Man gets pipe from the small table near his stool) but not before taking the ears of thousands of Korean and Chinese soldiers.1663.
(Tapping is heard from offstage.)
MAN: Of slaves there were two kinds—those owned by or indebted to the state, and those bought and sold privately. In either case they were owned by us.
(Man smokes pipe. Woman removes “turtle” card from the front edge of the table.)
Prices for slaves, like almost all other prices, were set by the government. Slaves often had their own households, with living conditions not unlike those of poor tenant farmers—except slave status was strictly hereditary. I would say
approximately thirty percent of the entire population consisted of slaves.
(Man smokes pipe. Woman places a card bearing the words “Mt. Taesong” into the front edge of the table.)
The Bureau of Slave Administration maintains files on all slaves, and on litigation regarding ownership. These slaves are not gained through foreign conquests, nor are they war hostages. Jo-sun has never been an aggressor toward any nation. It is we who have always been controlled and attacked by greater powers, and we have always been the little brother of China.
(Tapping stops as court music starts. Man puts pipe away.)
Slaves you see are Jo-sun saram with the terrible misfortune of being born into the wrong class.
(Man and Woman shrug. Spirit enters from upstage, slowly crosses center, then crosses slowly downstage to the table, walking backward.)
MAN AND WOMAN:Wishing to order well our states, we must first regulate our families.
Wishing to regulate our families, we must first cultivate our persons.
Wishing to cultivate our persons, we must first rectify our hearts.
Wishing to rectify our hearts, we must first seek to be sincere in our thoughts.
Wishing to be sincere in our thoughts, we must first extend to the utmost
our knowledge and learning.
MAN: The son obeys the father,
WOMAN: the father provides for and educates the son.
MAN: Daughters obey mothers (and mothers-in-law),
WOMAN: younger siblings obey older siblings,
MAN: wives obey husbands.
MAN AND WOMAN: In politics,
MAN: the principle holds,
WOMAN: a village follows the leadership of venerated elders;
MAN: citizens revere a king or emperor
WOMAN: who is deemed the father of the state.
MAN AND WOMAN: In international affairs,
WOMAN: the Chinese emperor is the big brother of the Korean king.
MAN AND WOMAN: Transgressors of these rules are uncultured beings unfit to be members of society.
WOMAN: Baro N’Yhui Deul Mal Woman Da.
MAN: That means you.
(Woman, Spirit and Man clear their throats in succession. Man and Woman rise, perform an abstract movement sequence that suggests a satisfied rich man, and sit back down. Woman, Spirit and Man clear their throats in succession again.
During the following section, Spirit crosses to the table and removes two of the paper “mountains” from the table and sets them on either side of it.)
SPIRIT: Yangban— WOMAN: He who does not soil his hands
SPIRIT: Yangban— MAN: Those with beautiful manners
SPIRIT: Yangban— WOMAN: Those who disdained working with their hands
SPIRIT: Yangban— MAN: The nobility of nobilities
SPIRIT: Yangban— WOMAN: Men of culture
SPIRIT: Yangban— MAN: Men of intellect
SPIRIT: Yangban— WOMAN: Men of virtue
SPIRIT: Yangban— MAN: Men with clean fingernails
SPIRIT: Yangban— WOMAN: The birth of a son is auspicious
SPIRIT: Yangban— MAN: The birth of a daughter is not
SPIRIT: Yangban— WOMAN: Hereditary aristocrats
SPIRIT: Yangban— MAN: The only kind of aristocrats
SPIRIT: Yangban— WOMAN: Korea’s blue bloods
SPIRIT: Yangban— MAN: The crème de la crème
SPIRIT: Yangban— MAN AND WOMAN:
You’re the top, you’re the Coliseum
You’re the top, you’re the Louvre museum.
SPIRIT: Yangban— WOMAN: Old money
SPIRIT: Yangban— MAN: Privilege
SPIRIT: Yangban— WOMAN: Inbreeding
SPIRIT: Yangban— MAN: Let them eat cake
SPIRIT: Yangban— WOMAN: Exemption from taxation
SPIRIT: Yangban— MAN: Exemption from manual labor
SPIRIT: Yangban— WOMAN: Exemption from military conscription
SPIRIT: Yangban— MAN AND WOMAN: We are above all that
SPIRIT: Yangban— WOMAN: It’s the natural order of things
SPIRIT: Yangban— MAN: The peasants owe us a living
SPIRIT: Yangban— WOMAN: You owe us a living
SPIRIT: Yangban— MAN AND WOMAN: We are society
SPIRIT: Yangban— WOMAN: The virtue of marrying well
SPIRIT: Yangban— MAN: Property
SPIRIT: Yangban— WOMAN: Status
SPIRIT: Yangban— MAN: Family tree
SPIRIT: Yangban— WOMAN: Those who frown on commerce
SPIRIT: Yangban— MAN: And then some
SPIRIT: Yangban— MAN AND WOMAN: We are above all that
SPIRIT: Yangban— MAN: I would rather starve to death
SPIRIT: Yangban— WOMAN: The land owners
SPIRIT: Yangban— MAN: The slave owners
SPIRIT: Yangban— WOMAN: I’ll have my slave call your slave
SPIRIT: Yangban— MAN: Those who go to heaven with their
slaves
SPIRIT: Yangban— WOMAN: Après moi, le deluge
SPIRIT: Yangban— MAN: Enemy of progress
SPIRIT: Yangban— WOMAN: Enemy of innovation
SPIRIT: Yangban— MAN: Lost in our own solipsistic self- regard
SPIRIT: Yangban— WOMAN: Seven hundred years of parasitic rule.
(Woman, Spirit and Man clear their throats in succession.)
SPIRIT: Uri Neun Modu Jukgomal Kukine:
MAN AND WOMAN: We (Sign “dead”) are doomed.
(Music swells and fades out. Spirit exits, retracing her entrance path.)
MAN: 1882.
WOMAN: Imperial Decree of Commodore Shufeldt, (Man rises) United States Navy Special Envoy with Full Power.
(Man raises music stand; Woman fans self.)
MAN: As everything that is bright comes from the East—even as the sun (Signs “good morning”) rises in the East and as still the Star of Empire Westward takes its way—so China must look to the shores of America for a new civilization and a more vigorous regeneration. This is the natural course of events, the true march of human progress, the irresistible flow of the human tide . . .
(Woman removes “Mt. Taesong” card from the edge of the table.)
The Pacific is the (Signs “ocean bride of America”) ocean bride of America. China and Japan and Korea—with their innumerable islands, hanging like necklaces about them—are the bridesmaids. California is the nuptial couch, the bridal chamber, where all the wealth of the Orient will be brought to celebrate the wedding. You’re all invited. Let us as Americans see to it that the “bridegroom (Signs “come”) cometh.” Let us determine, while yet in our power, that no commercial rival or hostile flag can float with impunity over the long swell of the Pacific sea . . . It is on this ocean . . . it is on this ocean . . . it is on this ocean (Signs “ocean”) that the East and the West have thus come together (Makes gesture for “peace and harmony”), reaching the point where search for empire ceases and human power attains its climax.