The East-West Quartet

by Ping Chong

  (The sound of gong-like bells. The table light goes out abruptly. Man lowers his music stand, and Woman places a card bearing the word “eyewitness” into the front edge of the table. Then Man and Woman rise and change places. They sit down, and Woman places a card bearing the name “assassination” into the front edge of the table. Man turns on his stool to face upstage. Woman becomes “Queen Min.”)

  WOMAN: Keep your enemies close to you. In that way any suspicious movements, any unwanted maneuvers, could be anticipated, out-maneuvered, destroyed. But this isn’t always possible, and life is not always a tidy aphorism with predictable results. I kept my enemies close to me. That I did, I kept the Japanese (Signs “Japanese ”) close to me, even as they interfered in our internal affairs, even as they forced my Lord the King to make one concession after another, until the Japanese ruled Jo-sun in all but name only. You cannot imagine the profound dishonor of such a raw display of power by the Japanese upon us, the Yangban.

  Great Britain and the United States were content for the moment to let Japan and Russia fight over us as long as trading privileges were available to them . . . I had no choice but to side with the Russians over the Japanese, calculating that they were the lesser of two evils. I took the initiative to dismantle Japanese-imposed laws and fire pro-Japanese officials, but it was too late.

  (The bells fade out.)

  I had not kept my enemies close enough to me. (The table light comes up in red) On October 8th 1895 at three o’clock in the morning, Japanese soldiers and Japanese thugs, dressed as Korean civilians, invaded the palace. I was stabbed to death, and my handmaidens too were put to the sword. We were dragged into the courtyard, doused with kerosene, and set on fire.

  (The sound of fire is heard. Man retrieves a sword, hidden behind the table, and slashes “Queen Min.” He then cleans its blade, and puts it away. The sound of the fire fades out. The table light slowly changes back to white during the Man’s speech.)

  MAN: She looked like she must have just come out of her sleeping chamber. She was only wearing short, white underwear, both top and bottom, and below the knee she was naked. Her face (Signs “face”) looking up, she was already dead, the blood still spreading around her. She appeared to be twenty-five or twenty-six years old. The assassins exposed her breasts, and in this manner they determined she was an older woman. This, and a chicken pox scar on the left side of her temple, (Signs “temple”) identified her as the queen. She looked fragile and, rather than being dead, she looked like a beautiful doll in perpetual sleep. (Signs “sleep”) One could not think this dead body was Queen Min, the ablest female politician in the history of Jo-sun, who had controlled eight regions and all the generals of Jo-sun. Due to custom, no one ever saw her face (Signs “face”) except the inner court. It was heartbreaking to see her exposed in this horrible manner by foreigners.

  (Spirit enters and begins singing. She crosses downstage with a pojagi on her head. Man removes “eyewitness” card from the front edge of the table; Woman removes “assassination” card.)

  MAN AND WOMAN: Like sweet spring rain, (Sign “spring rain/beginning”) there will be a new beginning, the joining (Sign “joining/two peoples”) of two peoples in peace and harmony.

  (Man and Woman look up and tilt their heads back.)

  MAN: How could the sun in heaven be so dark?

  (Man and Woman face front.)

  MAN AND WOMAN: Bom nale danbichorum, yang kukmini p’young wha wa wha hab euromageginun saeroun sijaki deul kusibnida. (Like sweet spring rain, there will be a new beginning, the joining of two peoples in peace and harmony)

  (Man and Woman look up and tilt their heads back.)

  MAN: How could the sun in heaven be so dark?

  (They face front again. Spirit stops singing, and turns downstage. Woman rises.)

  WOMAN: His Majesty, the Emperor of Japan; and His Majesty, the Emperor of Korea, (Man places “annexation” card into the front edge of the table) having in view the special and close relations between their respective countries, (Spirit places more mountains from the stack to the side) desiring to promote the commonwealth of the two nations, and to assure peace forever in the Extreme East, and being convinced that these objects can best be attained by the joining of Korea to the Empire of Japan, have resolved to conclude a treaty of annexation.

  (Woman looks at Man and nods. Man rises.)

  MAN: From now on you will perform saikeirei: a ritual bow toward the emperor in Tokyo at public assemblies. The local calendar will be changed to the Japanese. 1910 will become 2570. Japanese holidays will become your holidays. The Japanese language (Signs “language”) will replace the Korean. Korean names will be changed to Japanese names. This includes street names, every street name, all street names. Wakataga?

  WOMAN: Are there any questions?

  (Blackout. Spirit exits. Ocean waves are heard. Lights come up to silhouette Man and Woman, then light their faces. Man removes “annexation” card and places another card bearing the word “intervention” into the front edge of the table. Woman places “pojagi” and “time passes” cards. Man and Woman face upstage and spin on their stools to face downstage. A brass bell is heard ringing. After the first ring, Man and Woman begin an abstract movement sequence in which they repeat all of the gestures, poses, ASL signs and movements they have done so far throughout the piece. As the movement comes to an end, the sound of the ocean and bells fades out. Sound of a train passing by. Lights slowly come up to full.

  Woman places a card bearing the phrase “WWII” into the front edge of the table.)

  1945.

  After traveling all night, I arrived at the train station in Hiroshima on the morning of August 6th 1945. Millions of Koreans had been forced to work for the Japanese at this time. I remember it was 8:05 in the morning because I was looking at my watch, when a hot blinding flash suddenly enveloped me, and most of my body was covered with burns.

  I remember stumbling over the rails of the station, running towards the mountains. I reached the foothills by nightfall, collapsing in a half-ruined farmhouse. The next day, medics found me and I was taken to the navy hospital in Kure. Once there, gauze dipped in oil was placed all over my burned body. After a few days maggots hatched on the burns. In 1972 , when I was fifty-five, I could not move. I started to vomit blood and my feces was bloody. At one minute intervals I would have attacks which would cause my entire body to writhe in pain, independent of my will. I would gnash my teeth to bare the pain, but it was unbearable.

  No one wants to remember people like me. The new government in South Korea was ashamed of us, so we were better forgotten. In Tokyo, we had been written off as racially inferior, so no tears were ever shed on our behalf. On September 13th 1973, I died. My son Dong-Su, who was born utterly deformed, refused to eat after I died. He went insane a year later. Koreans like us can never rest in peace; a knot of resentment coils like a snake in our beings.

  It was around midnight on August 11, 1945, the atomic bombs had been dropped on Nagasaki and Hiroshima. The Soviet Red Army had entered the Pacific War, and American planners were rushing all over Asia to arrange the Japanese (Signs “Japanese”) surrender.

  MAN: It was around midnight on August 11, 1945, that two young colonels, named Charles Bonesteel and Dean Rusk, who had no knowledge . . . who had no knowledge . . . who had no knowledge about Korea (Signs “Korea”) whatsoever, were given the task of dividing Korea in half, without consulting Korean leaders.

  WOMAN: It was around midnight (The table light turns to blue) on August 11, 1945, that these two young colonels, with only a map borrowed from a National Geographic magazine, hastily drew the line at the 38th Parallel to divide the American and Russian zones of occupation.

  (Man and Woman “draw” an imaginary line from stage left to right. Man removes the “intervention” card, and places a card with “DMZ” into the front edge of the table.)

  The Russians soon withdrew, having other fish to fry and vodka to drink, but the Americans were saving
Korea from Communism, and Coca-Cola was coming to refresh them. After all:

  MAN (Signs and speaks line): The Pacific is the ocean bride of America.

  WOMAN: The Koreans would later ask the Americans:

  SPIRIT: “Tongileun-unje-deaneun-leupnika?”

  MAN: “When will Korea be reunited?”

  WOMAN: In due course.

  MAN: In due course.

  MAN AS TEACHER: I’m going to ask you what kind of society South Korea is. Stand up when you answer.

  WOMAN AS STUDENT: The United States and the ruling class oppress and exploit the people and keep Korea divided. It’s a society where the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. It’s a rotten society.

  WOMAN AS TEACHER: I’m going to ask you what kind of society North Korea is. Stand up when you answer.

  MAN AS STUDENT: The ideology they are taught is different from our free system. We study all kinds of things in a free environment. But students in North Korea can only study one thing under the dictatorship of Kim Il Sung. They are not able to study in a free environment like us, but are forced to prepare for an attack against the South. Students our own age have to carry around guns preparing for war. This is not only scary but tragic.

  (Man and Woman spin on their stools, facing upstage; Spirit faces stage left. Man rises and crosses behind the table. Woman brings out both the blue and tan matte cardboard squares from the table, then faces downstage. Rhythmic tapping is heard from offstage.)

  MAN (As U.S. soldier, holding a clipboard): The microphone cord you see (Gestures to the table) running (Woman points downstage) down the center of this table represents the military demarcation line inside the room and further continues outside by a seventeen-inch-wide slab of concrete, connecting the buildings. At this time, everybody to my left (Man and Woman point left) is in Communist North Korea while everyone to my right (Man and Woman point right) is still within the Republic of South Korea. If you would like to make a safe crossing into North Korea, you should make your crossings inside this building. (Woman removes “time passes” card and places a card bearing the word “panmunjum” into the front edge of the table) But please make your crossings at (Man and Woman point right) that end of the table and do not step in front of or behind the security guard. Visitors will not point, make gestures or expressions which could be used by the North Korean side as propaganda material against the United Nations command. Visitors will remain in a group from the beginning to the end of the tour and will follow all instructions from their tour guide. Firearms, knives or weapons of any type will not be taken into the Joint Security area. The area and buildings (tan-colored) (Woman holds tan square) under the military control of the Communist side will not be entered for any reason. Permission of the tour guide must be obtained prior to entry into United Nations command buildings (blue-colored) (Woman holds blue square) in the Joint Security area. At no time will visitors stand in the way of or interfere with military formations. Facilities and equipment inside the conference room will not be handled. Photography is permitted in the Joint Security area (The actors freeze with big smiles on their faces—the sound of a camera clicking rapidly is heard, flash bulbs flash wildly. The scene quickly restores) . . . but is prohibited enroute between Checkpoint A (the entrance to Camp Bonifas) (Man and Woman point upstage) and Checkpoint B (the entrance to the Joint Security area) (Man and Woman point downstage). If any incidents should occur, remain calm, (Man ducks down fast, then restores) and follow instructions issued by security personnel. At this time, feel free to make your crossings in and out of North Korea.

  (Man crosses to stage right stool. Woman crosses to stage left stool and sits. The tapping stops.)

  And take any photographs you may wish. Are there any questions?

  (Man sits down. Woman removes “DMZ” card and places a card bearing “G. Japonesis” into the front edge of the table. Man removes “panmunjum” card and places a card bearing “grus vipio” into the front edge of the table.

  Spirit starts singing. Woman slowly looks up.)

  WOMAN (As Mr. Park): When I was about eleven years old, I was ill quite a while. I was in bed all the time, and my sister comes home from school. She comes to my room and I asked her to sing for me. Every time I asked her, she sang for me.

  (Looks out and touches chest) That was the vivid memory I had of my sister. She was pretty. She took care of us. I was only eleven, twelve years old. She came home one afternoon, and she packed a few things in a pojagi (Makes gesture for “pojagi”) and left. That was the last time I saw her. She went to North Korea during the Korean War, and since then we haven’t seen each other.

  (Man slowly looks up.)

  I haven’t seen my sister for thirty-four years.

  (Spirit stops singing.)

  MAN (As Mr. Park’s sister): There are nights I can’t sleep, (Signs “sleep”) thinking about my brother. When I ask my parents,

  “Where is he?” They say, (Man and Woman both look out) “He is looking at the same stars in the sky you are.” My parents were in Kyung Sung. They wait a long time for their son. But they pass away without ever seeing him again. Then, after thirty-four years, with the help of the Communist Party, I was able to meet my brother. I thought of our childhood and wondered—since we are separated (Signs “separated”) as teenagers, would I recognize a man in his fifties? Did he change a lot? I took out some old photographs and cried over them before he arrived. But at the airport, my brother did not recognize me. That was a painful moment—(An air raid siren heard) not to recognize one’s own family!

  WOMAN: The government of the Republic of Korea heartily welcomes you to this land and wishes you enjoy every hour of your trip.

  MAN: As you would already perceive, we are under continuous threats from the hostile forces which are deployed along the DMZ line only some fifty kilometers away from our capital city of Seoul.

  WOMAN: This fact requires us of keeping constant vigilance particularly against possible air raid.

  MAN: This is the very reason that we have random drill over thirty-five minutes without advance notice.

  WOMAN: We hope you will not be embarrassed or get panic by sudden air raid warning, and wish you to render full cooperation in this drill with understanding that this exercise will do good to the security of yourselves as well.

  MAN: We wish you to comply with following instructions:

  WOMAN: Please stay indoors during drill air raid, or if you are already outdoors, go into nearby shelters or follow instructions by Civil Defense Corps members.

  MAN: If you are in driving, drive your car to the right fringe of road or to nearby open area, get off your car and take shelter.

  MAN AND WOMAN: The drill finishes and everything comes back to normal when the air raid clearance is announced through radio, and everything comes back to normal. Please note that checkout time is twelve noon. Kamsam Hameida. (Thank you)

  (Air raid siren stops. Gong-like bells are heard.)

  (As Ping speaks, Man places cards bearing “Morgen” and “South Korea” into the front edge of the table; Woman places “abend” and “North Korea” cards into the front edge of the table. Spirit slowly crosses downstage to the table.)

  PING: There is nothing like it in the world. Forests damaged by man; farmlands that have been tilled for three thousand years have returned to their natural state there. (The table light turns red) Two of the world’s most endangered birds, the white-capped crane (Grus Vipio) and the red-crowned crane (G. Japonensis) winter there. (Woman and Man slowly cross upstage to their beginning dance positions) It is now home to, among other creatures, nine mammals, and numerous plants which were thought to be rare or extinct. It is also home to the densest minefield in the world. It is 4.8 miles wide, stretching one hundred and forty-eight miles long across the Korean peninsula, separating ten million families for more than forty years. (The table’s legs turn red) The DMZ is the Garden of Eden, confounded by sorrow and pain.

  (Man and Woman begin to chant and dance.
Spirit blows powder onto the mountains, then turns and slowly crosses upstage. The lights and table light fade to black as the bells continue to ring underneath.)

  THE END

  Photographic Credits

  An Interview with Ping Chong. Page iii and xvii: Ping Chong, from Chinoiserie, photo by Glenn Halvorson, courtesy of the Walker Arts Center.

  Deshima. Page 1 and 9: Emerald Trinket Monsod (front) and Ching Gonzalez, photo by Carol Rosegg. Page 13: Dawn Saito, photo by Carol Rosegg. Page 43: Ching Gonzalez (left), Barbara Chan (center) and Brian Liem (right), photo by Carol Rosegg.

  Chinoiserie. Page 59 and 67: Ping Chong (rear) and Shi-Zheng Chen (front), photo by Carol Rosegg. Page 87: Michael Edo Keane (left) and Ric Oquita (right), photo by Glenn Halvorson, courtesy of the Walker Arts Center. Page 116: Shi-Zheng Chen (left) and Aleta Hayes (right), photo by Glenn Halvorson, courtesy of the Walker Arts Center.