|
Scene 1
|
(Scene: The stage
is dark. Lights up slowly to reveal Pao Ch’in sitting at a
desk. There are papers all around. He is working. He stops
after a while. He is motionless - then after a while, he holds
his chest, then collapses on the desk.)
|
|
|
Enter Xin Ch’u,
the Chief Clerk of the Su-chou Ya-men
(Xin Ch’u examines
the lifeless body to confirm the death.)
|
|
|
XIN
Dead. What a bother
this is - another one dead. But at least this one has not left
a posterity to complicate things.
|
|
|
(Xin Ch’u rustles
about the desk looking for things to steal. He finds an ink
block and some brushes).
(He see a ring
on Pao Ch’in’s finger. Pause as he looks to see if anyone
is looking. He then removes a ring from Pao Ch’in’s hand and
holds it to the light.)
|
|
|
Brilliant. More brilliant
than you were, Pao Ch’in. Indeed, this is reward for my diligence
and hard work. This is a good find indeed. I had forgotten that
you had this and when I look at it in a better light and on a
better finger, I will not think of you Pao Ch’in. I don’t think
anyone will ever think of you Pao Ch’in.
|
|
|
(Enter Mao Fei. Xin
Ch’u quickly hides the ring in his robes.)
|
|
|
MAO
Xin Ch’u, is there
anything amiss?
|
|
|
XIN
(to Mao) Nothing
is amiss, Mao Fei -
(indicating Pao
Ch’in’s lifeless body)
Pao Ch’in is dead,
that’s all!
|
|
|
MAO
The superintendent
is dead?
|
|
|
XIN
Dead!
|
|
|
MAO
This is most inconvenient
- most inconvenient, indeed! But are you sure?
|
|
|
XIN
Most assuredly, Pao
Ch’in is dead.
|
|
|
(Lights out.)
|
|
|
(Immediately
a spot reveals K’u Ko-ling (the elder), who is the Narrator
of this piece. He is dressed in a rich brocaded robe - despite
the fact that he is a servant. His speech, unlike the 2 clerks
- is not refined and anything but formal)
|
|
|
NARR
Pao Ch’in is dead!!
Or I should say was dead. (thoughtfully)
O! That would mean he is alive - but he is dead,
I can most assuredly state that case. Pao Ch’in died - and that
is a good thing for this story, for without his death, my master
would not have taken his place as the Superintendent of Su-chou.
Timing is everything! With death comes vacancies - and as my master,
the revered (bows) scholar Li K’ai-men, had just passed
the regional examinations for office with the highest possible
grade, he was marked to receive an immediate posting to a position
sufficiently grand for such an achievement. So Pao Ch’in’s end
became Li K’ai-men’s beginning.
|
|
|
I was but a pup then
- attending my master as he took the exams. What did I know? I,
K’u Ko-ling, son of K’u Fei, a lowly son of the soil from Gui-lin.
All I knew was what my master taught me - to mix the ink, to prepare
the brushes, to boil the soup, to pay the whoremistress, and .
. . (laughing) and I loved to spy on that . . ho, ho. And
I could tell you more, but maybe a little later. Little did I
know how much I would learn in service to a great scholar and
a man of high governmental rank.
|
|
|
Yes, yes - my master,
Li K’ai-men was to be to the superintendant of Su-chou. What a
position - to rule over so important a district. Generally a first
appointment would be some shit-hole in An-hui or a cold, ball-chilling
hut on the Yen border. But not for my master. He drew the bastard
plum - Su-chou!!! And I think that Pao Ch’in’s death was for the
best. I didn’t know the man - nor would he have known me; but
I feel so intimately grateful for the man for passing on to his
ancestors that I well up with joy when I think of his life - long
and healthy - fat and greasy - sated and mated until the end.
For never was there such a well-deserved and well-timed death
as his.
|
|
|
All in our hometown,
Gui-lin, heard of my master’s success; and soon the lowliest merchant
spoke of it. There was rejoicing at the Academy and every tenant
in the valley cheered his health. It was not every day that a
Gui-lin son achieved first place in the exams. Indeed not! There
were some scholars who came in fifth or sixth - but indeed, not
first. Such was the accomplishment of my master, Li K’ai-men.
And we were now to travel to Chiang-nan province, to the city
of Yang-chou, where my master would meet his overlord, the Governor
of Chiang-nan. Ah yes! An important step. Soon, the citizens of
Yang-chou also knew of Li K’ai-men’s achievements and toasted
his health.
|
|
|
But in Su-chou, my
master left no impression at all. They didn’t even know his name.
No one even bothered to tell the people that Pao Ch’in was dead.
The clerks who found his body shipped what remained up river to
his hometown. Pao Ch’in left no mark on the city of Su-chou -
nor had the previous five superintendents. They come and go, like
the tide on Lake T’ai - only without a ripple. Superintendents
were not really that important. The clerks ran the world.
|
|
Scene 2
|
(Su-chou Ya-men:
center stage is a table stacked with paper. Xin Ch’u is reading
a letter to himself and laughing)
(enter Mao Fei)
|
|
|
XIN
Ah! Mao Fei. I have
a letter from K’ang Yu-wei.
|
|
|
MAO
Yes, yes and what does
the governor say? What are the orders?
|
|
|
XIN
They are sending us
a boy!
|
|
|
MAO
A boy? Not an old man
this time, or a sleepy painter? Remember that boring fart they
sent here . . .
|
|
|
XIN
During the ching-t’ien
years. I recall, that was P’ing Hu. He did paint well, not
that I could care. Do you remember that scholar . . . what’s his
name, Chao Pei-yen, who P’ing Hu hired to clean the brushes and
mix the inks? I could never understand with all the clerks worthy
to assume such a role why P’ing Hu hired him.
|
|
|
MAO
That was a haughty
little pest. I remember once I told him we were assembled to discuss
the cases of the day and to tell P’ing Hu we were attending him.
The little man actually told me that P’ing could not be disturbed
until the bamboo was brushed and the plum blossoms were stroked.
When I told him to announce me, he said he would not and threatened
to paint my nose green. And when I complained, P’ing Hu just looked
at me as if I were mad.
|
|
|
XIN
Well at least Pao Ch’in
just collected things. He was a lousy painter. He once stroked
a cat to silk and it looked more like a mangy jackass. No he just
collected things.
|
|
|
MAO
And might I mention,
all is inventoried for your inspection.
(hands Xin a list)
I assumed you wanted
me to list all the items for the usual rewards to Pao Ch’in’s
most faithful stewards and advisors.
|
|
|
XIN
(takes the list
and briefly reads it, putting it aside)
It’s odd how these
officials spend their entire lives striving for learning, preparing
for examinations, making long journeys to sit for days in cramped
quarters and write essay after essay like slaves - to achieve
the smallest crumb from His Majesty’s larder. Yet, we are the
caretakers and inherit their crumbs - and all that it is, is reading
and writing . . .
|
|
|
MAO
And good judgment and
management. I work very hard for my little gains, you know. You
are very unfair to suggest that what I do is easy and over-rewarded.
|
|
|
XIN
Calm yourself, Mao
Fei. You are invaluable to me and the running of this Ya-men -
and you shall get your share. But now, they send us a boy!
|
|
|
MAO
A boy! We will need
to work harder.
|
|
|
XIN
Not harder. He will
need our guidance and advice - but he is inexperienced and only
knows what he’s learned in the academy and from the classics.
And he is not quite a boy, but a first appointment. It says here,
he has won first place in the Regional Examination at Chang-sha.
|
|
|
MAO
That means he can read
and write . . .
|
|
|
XIN
And paint, like the
rest of them; however, he must do it extremely well.
(They laugh)
|
|
|
NARR
Haughty clerks to dare
laugh at my master. These fat men laugh at their own wit and will
be shaken by their own wit.
|
|
|
XIN
Nevertheless, Mao Fei,
we must accord the Imperial will some respect. His name is Li
K’ai-men. He is from Gui-lin.
|
|
|
MAO
Gui-lin? Is any one
ever from Gui-lin?
|
|
|
XIN
Save your humor for
your wife. There is much to do, and it is a good thing we know
how to do it. Inform the others of the new superintendent’s arrival.
Have his name posted in the town. Send the postern to the village
elders so they can tell the Pao-t’ien. And let’s give the gardens
a sweep. It says he will have his wife here and the Willow Pavilion
is a bit of a mess.
|
|
|
MAO
A wife? Some boy this
- a married man.
|
|
|
XIN
You know how it is
with these young scholars. They marry quickly before they leave
for the examinations. I am sure they have had a brief time of
it. And that they have been separated while he was taking the
examination - he in Ch’ang-sha - she in Gui-lin, he will be quite
content to enjoy his married life and leave the business of government
to us.
|
|
|
(Mao starts to
leave)
|
|
|
XIN
Oh, Mao Fei . . . also
empty Pao Ch’in’s wine larder - I’ll adjust the accounts. I am
sure a boy will have no need of wine! And the Willow Pavilion,
do not do anything too extraordinary, mind you. Just a pleasant
token to our new superintendent that we care here in the Su-chou
Ya-men. I’ll write to the Governor and tell him we have restored
the famous garden to its former glory. That will please him well,
I think.
(exit Mao. Xin
Ch’u looks to the Governor’s letter)
|
|
|
That will please K’ang
Yu-wei well. Anything to do with the Willow Pavilion pleases the
governor. I know how this is done.
(he reviews the
inventory list and sits)
|
|
|
Pao Ch’in certainly
amassed a great number of things. I must say, there’s plenty here
to go around and keep those loyal to me in place. So, Governor,
send me this wet-nosed boy. Let’s see if he can paint as well
as P’ing Hu or write essay a great as Mao T’ing-po or drink as
hard as Chuang Tu-yin. I don’t think he could collect things as
well as Pao Ch’in - but who can tell. They are all like guests
here. We make them look good, make them comfortable and do it
all for them - then they leave us. It’s like theater - but I am
the caretaker of this place. So bring him on! Bring him on!
(lights out).
(spot on the Narrator)
|
|
|
NARR
But my master had other
things on his mind. I remember it well. We traveled for five weeks
from Ch’ang-sha to the regional capital at Yang-chou, where my
master was to meet his superior, the Governor of Chiang-nan and
be confirmed in the post. I had become a real crafty person by
then - handling all sorts of arrangements - boats, trackers, food,
clothing, local officials and elders - they all crumbled under
my superior management of my master’s establishment. I could,
and still can get a starving man to sell me a flea off his ass
in a famine for something copper that would be his death. I am
that good at it.
|
|
|
And my parley, bargaining
and footwork got us to the gates of Yang-chou in a month and three
days to see the great K’ang Yu-wei - governor of all Chiang-nan
proviince.
(lights up)
|
|
Scene 3:
|
(Yang-chou - The
Governor's Palace. A room with rich hangings - at its center
is the Governor’s seat. Near the seat is a writing desk, a
vermilion pot and chops or official seals.)
(K’ang Yu-wei is
standing near the seat. An attendant enters and hands him
some papers and awaits orders. K’ang reads - then sends the
attendant away.)
(enter Li K’ai-men.
He is hesitant and walks slowly to center stage, where he
kneels before the Governor, who continues to read)
|
|
|
YU-WEI
So, you are Li K’ai-men?
|
|
|
LI
Yes, my lord.
|
|
|
YU-WEI
Most impressive scores
on the exams. Most impressive indeed. Your teacher has taught
you well. But I have learned that the mark of a true scholar is
not what he parrots from his tutors, but how he parrots away from
his tutors. Oddly enough, I think in this case, you are too demure
to be one of Han Lin’s students. Stand so I can better see you.
(Li K’ai-men stands
- and K’ang Yu-wei inspects him)
|
|
|
So young and refined.
Are you ready to govern a city of 35,000 households and 95 districts?
Are you that resourceful?
|
|
|
LI
I am, my lord.
|
|
|
YU-WEI
And how do you know?
How has fortune lifted her hands and touched your noodle to say,
"this is the very man for the job." How? You have written pretty
prose and I am sure you turn out fine poetry. But, how will that
help you cope?
|
|
|
LI
(bowing)
The discipline of the
eight-legged essay is a form, which captures all moths to its
light. It taps the wisdom of the classics, which teaches us how
to rule and govern. It breathes free over the written word, each
stroke drawing on precedent and making precedent - and thereby
we are never really beginning or ending - but part of the everlasting
chain. And in the rituals . . .
|
|
|
YU-WEI
Parrot of your tutor!
But when you get to Su-chou - and the daily decisions and responsibilities
are your’s and your’s alone - you must sharpen your beak on your
own cuttle-fish.
(Li bows)
|
|
|
Has your wife begun
her journey?
(pause)
Has she?
|
|
|
LI
My lord, if she followed
my bidding, she shall be in Su-chou by the time I arrive.
|
|
|
YU-WEI
Good! It will be good
to have a lady in the Ya-men at Su-chou once again. I so dislike
not having a lady in the loveliest of our gardens. You know, a
garden without a women is a lotus shorn of petals. Pao Ch’in was
a good man, but he should have taken another wife or two instead
of closing the Willow Pavilion. I have been informed by the Chief
Scribe, some minion named Xin Ch’u, that the Willow Pavilion has
been reopened and restored. Yes, it will be good to have a lady
once again in Su-chou. And once you’re settled in, in a year or
two, I shall come ‘round and visit you, eh? What do you think
of that?
|
|
|
LI
As your lord pleases.
|
|
|
YU-WEI
As your lord pleases?
What’s this stiff formality? Do you know who I am?
|
|
|
LI
You are K’ang Yu-wei,
Governor of Chiang-nan, Master of the Imperial Antiquary and Superintendent-
General of Yang-chou. Your teacher was Ou Yang-xu.
|
|
|
YU-WEI
You know me well; but,
know this. I have escaped from the jaws of death itself and know
the kindness of His Majesty, may he live ten thousand years. I
have also seen scholars come and go. If you are up to it young
pup, you will administer your assignment well; but remember who
I am and what I can do! Have you any questions?
|
|
|
LI
None
|
|
|
YU-WEI
You know I am a close
friend to your teacher, Han Lin.
|
|
|
LI
Yes, my lord.
|
|
|
YU-WEI
And how was your teacher
when you last saw him?
|
|
|
LI
Well, my lord.
(pause)
Very well, in good
health.
|
|
|
YU-WEI
You certainly don’t
display any of his pluck! Yet, somehow you cannot survive Han
Lin and come out first in the exams and be void of pluck! I am
glad you are showing me the deference due me - but when I come
to visit you, I want some pluck - and better tales about my old
friend Han Lin.
|
|
|
(K’ang stamps the
papers with a very large chop-seal. He then flops the Blue
cap of rank on Li head, fairly uncermoniosly.)
Now, you are confirmed
in you post.
Respect these words!
(hands him the paper).
|
|
|
Now, I trust your manservant
has made arrangements for your portage to Su-chou.
|
|
|
LI
He has.
|
|
|
NARR
I had.
|
|
|
YU-WEI
Good - and as a gift,
you will have a procession of drummers to herald your approach.
|
|
|
LI
Thank you my lord.
|
|
|
YU-WEI
I am afraid the heat
is rather terrific and you might find it unbearable in the plains.
But be careful what you drink and be sure you stay clear of uncook
meats in this weather. Do not directly enter Su-chou. There will
be tents set-up for you outside the city walls. This Scribe, Xin
Ch’u, will escort you in.
And I have another
little token for you.
(K’ang Yu-wei unveils
a vermilion robe with Phoenix embroidery. Li goes to his knees
once again).
|
|
|
Up, master Li! You
will be fine in your post - especially when you wear the robe
of the vermilion bird; more so, in that you return a woman to
the Willow Pavilion and some youth to the ancient walls of Su-chou.
Get those drummers going and be on your way.
(exit Li)
|
|
|
Well, master Li, you
start out on a noble journey. I recall my own first step - not
as big and brave as yours. Just a small district near K’ai-feng.
But it was there that I met my third wife; and there was a teahouse
mirrored on Lake Pien-fu, when the moon was full and the breeze
was musty with jasmine. I would court with the ladies there I
would. For a small district, it suited me fine. To be at the start
of things would be nice again, instead of thinking about sunsets.
(sighs) But I will go to Su-chou to visit that Willow Pavilion
and watch over Han Lin’s chick. Ah, it would be nice to be at
the start again . . .
|
|
|
NARR
(lights out)
(spot on Narrator)
(drum beats start)
And the drums banged
out our journey to Su-chou. We walked through the streets of Yang-chou
- it was a regular parade. People gathered to see our procession.
Attendants held signs to the crowd that "here passes the new Superintendent
of Su-chou." All manner of stuff was thrown at us - for luck of
course - but all those red paper bits in my hair and a few in
my eyes. I was glad when we were out of the city and in the countryside.
|
|
|
And then the fields
were vast and unending. It was not long before I wished were back
in the city (yawning). Oh yes, the farmers looked up, nodded their
greeting and grunted a welcome. The little field brats were more
curious and, playing silly games, ran in between the drummers.
|
|
|
And as we entered each
place, the town elder greeted us with a bit of refreshment. And
it was hot, oh so hot. I cannot remember such heat in my life.
And the flies and the creepy-crawlers. They got into everything.
And some villages were
burned, as if they we attacked by an army. There was debris all
about. Then on the second day we came to the town of Lin-t’ien.
The town was flooded. There was nothing left but the wails of
women and children. Everywhere there were dead animals and . .
. the heat. The very heat boils my blood to think of it. The path
was washed away and we detoured from the main road.
|
|
|
That night we stopped
at a small village called Chi-lin-t’ien. The elder greeted us
and babbled on about something. Unfortunately, the dialect was
so thick my master scarcely understood him. Luckily there was
a scholar there named Fu Lin-t’o, a young man who we understood
very clearly - and came to understand even clearer.
|
|
Scene 4:
|
(Chi-lin-t’ien:
The House of the Village Elder. It is nighttime. Li K’ai-men,
the Elder, Fu Lin-t’o and K’u Ko-ling are sitting about a
low table eating)
|
|
|
FU
Pardon our humble fare,
your excellency, but this is a small town and this is the best
the village could afford for your arrival. My father is the richest
man of the district. But as you can, see we are not very rich
indeed.
|
|
|
LI
Rich enough to educate
his son as a literary man.
|
|
|
FU
Literate, my lord -
not literary.
|
|
|
LI
Nonetheless, you do
not need to apologize for the food, even though I am not sure
what I have eaten, but I am sure it will not stay with me long.
|
|
|
K’U
Mud and grass! Uh!
|
|
|
NARR
Uh! More like shit
and paper!
|
|
|
FU
A local specialty these
days. Not much left to us. Not much left.
|
|
|
LI
But the fields around
us are luxuriant. Looks like a bumper crop?
|
|
|
FU
Ah, but there’s Ch’ien
Mu.
|
|
|
LI
Ch’ien Mu?
|
|
|
FU
Ch’ien Mu the pirate
- the brigand - the murderer. His band comes through twice a month
and demands most of our stores. If we refuse, he’ll burn the place
down - not that he hasn’t beat my father and raped my sister already
- and other things I could tell you.
|
|
|
LI
This explains a great
deal. We have seen so much distress on our journey. It looked
like armies were roving from place to place. And even a flood.
|
|
|
FU
That would be Lin-t’ien.
We heard that Ch’ien Mu cut the dike near the river and the town
is underwater. I tell you, my lord, Ch’ien Mu has left us all
starving and distressed. There’s disease everywhere. The oxen
die in the fields.
|
|
|
LI
This is appalling.
And what has the authority done to catch him?
|
|
|
FU
Yes, what? You sir
are now the authority here. This town is in your district.
|
|
|
LI
Yes, but I am just
arriving. What has been done before this?
|
|
|
(Fu shrugs his
shoulders)
(Li stands. So
do the others)
If my predecessor has
done nothing, I must act at once. It is not a good start for me.
Not a good start.
(pause)
I should like be alone.
All this has put me in a foul mood.
(exit the Elder
- K’u Ko-ling retires to a corner. But Fu Lin-t’o remains)
|
|
|
FU
(goes to a cupboard
and brings some wine)
Some wine, my lord?
|
|
|
LI
You have wine? You
serve us grass and you have wine?
|
|
|
FU
Forgive me, but it’s
a scholar’s fancy. When I think of these things and I see the
pain in the village - I sit in the corner and muse at the cobwebs
- and then only a cup of wine will help kill the pain.
|
|
|
LI
(taking the cup)
So this is the balm
you administer to yourself. You don’t count it as victual and
therefore would never think to offer it to a visiting official,
except to soothe his pain.
|
|
|
FU
Exactly. Come sit once
again.
(Li returns to
the table)
|
|
|
LI
Well, then, I thank
you, Fu Lin-t’o.
(Fu stares at Li
as he drinks)
You glare at me - Are
you fascinated by my sweat and stench? This weather of yours is
most wretched. (drinks)
|
|
|
FU
It is no man’s weather,
my lord. This miasma rolls in off the marshes and lies on our
chests like a burning coal. When I can’t sleep at night, I often
run to the village creek and strip off, jump in and hope that
it will cool me.
|
|
|
LI
And does it?
|
|
|
FU
(stands behind
Li and begins to message his back)
Never. The creek is
as boiling as the air. But sometimes a minnow will scurry by between
my legs and tickle me - and that softens the crushing heat a bit.
Don’t you think if a minnow were to scurry between your legs,
you’d cool down a bit.
|
|
|
LI
Actually, your talk
is making me hotter. (laughs)
(Fu caresses Li.
Li gives him a kiss)
|
|
|
FU
And you have a wife?
|
|
|
LI
I do. Her name is Mei
Lin. She should be at Su-chou by now. How curious you should ask.
Does it matter?
(kisses Fu)
|
|
|
FU
It matters not to me.
But, more wine, my lord.
|
|
|
LI
You’ll have me drunk.
|
|
|
FU
You’ll have me any
way you want.
(they embrace.
Lights out. Spot on narrator)
|
|
|
NARR
And my master spoke
with this young scholar into the early hours of the morning -
then took him to his bed - yes, took this scholar, Fu Lin-t’o
to his bed.
(pause)
Oh, you did not know
that my master had wide variety in his bedding practices. Many
a woman was tickle by his . . . well, I paid the whoremistresses;
- and remember, I got to watch (chuckles). But there was
a colleague in Gui-lin and a sailor on board our boat as we journeyed
to Ch’ang-sha. The boat really rocked that night.
|
|
|
And then there was
Min Kuo-lu, a friend my master made at the examinations. They
both celebrated after the exams with lots of wine - and had a
merry time under their robes, I can grant you that. That was a
four-day celebration, and such wonders I witnessed as I kept them
both in soup and noodles I could write in a little history - that
is, if I could write. But, I have always preferred the women -
but then again, I am a piss ant. Nonetheless, this little evening
with the local, young scholar, Fu Lin-t’o was different,
because in the morning, Fu joined our little procession to Su-chou.
|
|
|
And so it went - day
after day - town after town - horrible meal after horrible meal
until, finally, on the fourth day of the journey, we reached the
gates of Su-chou - and there was a great feast spead out for us.
|
|
Scene 5:
|
(Su-chou - before
the city walls - a tent is erected. There is food and drink
on a table center stage. The tent flap opens stage right -
to an open field. Li K’ai-men, K’u Ko-ling and Fu Lin-t’o
are just finished eating. Li is dressed in the vermilion bird
robe.)
|
|
|
K’U
Master, this is good
food, at last!
|
|
|
LI
K’u, it’s about time
you managed it! (K’u looks worried). Ah! Calm yourself.
Now if you could only arrange for better weather. This heat is
still so unbearable. Fu Lin-t’o, is it always like this?
|
|
|
FU
Worse sometimes - sometimes
better. It depends on how much wine you drink. To think we eat
snake soup in the winter to heat our blood - but when summer comes,
there’s nothing we can spear, boil and muster up to cool the blood.
There’s a local recipe for kale jelly, which they say when taken
on a spoon will cool you down considerably. But I also hear the
stuff is so vile that the wretching makes you hotter still.
|
|
|
LI
How concise! Well at
least the food here is an improvement.
|
|
|
FU
I might say that you
are dressed a bit unseasonably.
|
|
|
LI
This robe? This was
a gift from the Governor. And it was meant to be worn for this
ocassion. You see it has the vermilion bird of the South - and
K’ang Yu-wei will no doubt ask for a report of my entry - and
we mustn’t disappoint.
(laughs)
|
|
|
FU
Amused?
|
|
|
LI
I’ll tell you a secret,
dear one. Although, this robe is hot and heavy, I haven’t a stitch
on underneath it.
(they both laugh)
|
|
|
FU
It’s doing you no good
if the breeze is kept out.
|
|
|
LI
True. Off with it then
- and let’s get some air.
(Li removes the
robe and is naked)
Come. Take it off Fu
- and you also K’u Ko-ling. You have my permission. Let’s go out
and seek the air.
(Fu and K’u shed
their robes and are also now naked. They all go stage right
outside the tent and run about).
|
|
|
NARR
Outside the tent was
just as humid. However, I remember, there was just a little refreshing
breeze that kissed my crotch and danced about my ass. I felt free
to at least enjoy the equality of the moment. But I also remember
a nose, burning stench.
|
|
|
LI
(to Fu) What
is that smell? Why do fires burn in the city? It’s too hot for
a cooked meal today - and I certainly hope this is not some misguided
ceremonial on my behalf. It’s not this Ch’ien Mu in Su-chou itself?
|
|
|
FU
Most unlikely, my lord.
More likely there is disease in the city and they are burning
their dead -
|
|
|
LI
Oh nature help us,
such a crime against heaven -
|
|
|
FU
But, whether correct
or not, it somehow helps control it. And although they do not
go to their ancestors intact, their spirits are free to roam the
earth ---
|
|
|
LI
And seek revenge! Right
now that revenge is this stench.
(K’u Ko-ling begins
to choke).
It is death you choke
on, Ko-ling! Sad souls, going to the Jade Emperor in pieces.
|
|
|
NARR
Give me the air of
Gui-lin - the fresh mountain breezes and the smell of the cooking
chili pots. Give me the willowy pine and the blue-bird - and the
swell, loving kiss of the wind on Lake Li. Give me an outhouse
in the rain - anything but that wretched smell that only men can
bring to their own nature.
|
|
|
FU
Sir, some one comes.
We should dress.
|
|
|
LI
Not for a thousand
bolts of silk!
(enter Xin Ch’u
and Mao Fei)
(Xin and Mao are
very ceremonial and are shocked to see the three naked men
outside the tent. They are indignant.)
|
|
|
XIN
What is the meaning
of this? How dare you stand watch over his Excellency clad in
. . . in . . . (exasperated) in nature only! Please dress
at once and tell his Excellency that Xin Ch’u, the Chief Scribe
and Mao Fei, his assistant are here to escort him to the Su-chou
Ya-men.
(the three men
laugh)
|
|
|
MAO
Insolence! You will
be on report for this disrespect!
|
|
|
LI
(still laughing,
and still naked - putting his arm around Xin Ch’u’s shoulder)
My good sir, be not
alarmed.
|
|
|
XIN
How dare you sir!
|
|
|
LI
I dare, because I am
"his excellency" - Li K’ai-men!
(the 2 clerks bow
quickly - Xin bowing direct at eye level to Li’s crotch)
|
|
|
XIN
Forgive me my lord.
(turns his head quickly away) How was I to know?
|
|
|
LI
How indeed? After all,
if an Imperial superintendent was better endowed than most men,
you might tell that way - but, then my friend Fu Lin-t’o here
could be "his excellency: - or even, I might venture to say, my
man-servant - K’u Ko-ling.
|
|
|
NARR
O, your are most generous,
my master (laughing).
|
|
|
LI
The lower classes are
often hung like horses. Or you might have been able to tell if
it were written across my forehead or on my ass. So I say, when
the apparel which categorizes our station is removed and all stand
naked in the mist - identification and classification cannot be
easily assumed. We must depend on other clues - mustn’t we?
|
|
|
XIN
I did not expect this,
my lord.
|
|
|
LI
You must be Xin Ch’u!
Well chief clerk, it is hot and humid - and deathly oppressive
- and it looks like rain! And why should a man deny his nature
when that nature calls, even in the face of his scholastic learning?
So, we stripped to meet the occasion - and you came here as appointed
- so nothing is amiss. All is as it should be. Feel free to strip-off
and join us if you’d feel better suited to the party. (pause)
I thought not. So, lead on to the Ya-men. We’ll greet the
Ya-men staff now.
|
|
|
XIN
Might I suggest, my
lord, that the clerical staff in the Ya-men may not understand
the value of your reasoning and might find your nakedness a bit
unsettling for initializing a tone for your new administration.
And there’s your wife to consider.
|
|
|
LI
Ah! Mei-lin has arrived?
(to Fu) I quite forgot her - I mean, this heat has taken
my focus away. You are correct Xin Ch’u. K’u Ko-ling - my robe;
and dress yourself as well.
(pause)
And friend Fu, I would
take it as a considerable kindness if you doffed attire as well.
Besides, it is beginning to rain. (to Xin) Lead on!
(the drum beats
again - through the Narrator’s next lines)
(lights out - spot
on Narrator)
|
|
|
NARR
And so we finished
our little journey by parading through the hot streets of Su-chou
in the rain. The entire city was out to see the new superintendent,
although some had just learned that morning that the old superintendent
was gone! I remember a sea of parasols lining the streets and
canals from the northern drum tower to the Ya-men gate. It overwhelmed
me at first, but I was easily impressed in those days. I held
a parasol over my master’s head as he inspected the Ya-men staff.
There must have been two thousand of them - more! The clerk of
this - the chief of that - this one and that one.
(drum stops)
|
|
Scene 6:
|
(the Su-chou Ya-men
- a corridor between the business halls and the superintendent’s
residence. The stage is empty.)
(enter Xin Ch’u
and Li K’ai-men followed by K’u Ko-ling, Mao Fei and Fu Lin-t’o
follow. Xin Ch’u is acting as a tour guide)
|
|
|
XIN
You will find the staff
here very efficient, my lord. You will have nothing to worry about.
As you can see, all functions are covered - amply covered. But,
indeed, my lord, you must be tired and need some rest. And you
must be very anxious to see your wife.
|
|
|
LI
Yes, yes.
(pause)
But these clerks -
all these hundreds upon hundreds of clerks. It’s like a beehive.
|
|
|
XIN
They all have their
place, my lord. They all have their place. Trust me.
|
|
Li:
|
So many. I see clerks,
posterns, runners, drummers, administrative assistants and plenipotentiaries.
Xin Ch’u, why are there so many of them? Why?
(Xin Ch’u rolls
his eyes back and glances at Mao Fei)
Such a honeycomb of
offices and bureaus. My - my - so many. For example, here - what
does the Office of Canals do?
|
|
|
XIN
Why my lord, it cares
for bridges and locks of His Majesty’s canals.
|
|
|
LI
Ah! Good! But look
here, there is also an Office of Bridges and Locks we passed a
little while ago. What do they do?
|
|
|
XIN
They also care for
the Bridges and Locks, but in a different way.
|
|
|
LI
How different?
(long pause)
Never mind now. We
have reached my residence ---
|
|
|
XIN
Which contains the
famous Willow Pavilion.
|
|
|
LI
Yes, I have heard a
great deal about that place - and Governor K’ang has assured me
you have done a good job at its restoration.
|
|
|
XIN
Just in time for your
wife’s arrival there.
|
|
|
LI
Pao Ch’in was a man
of great taste.
|
|
|
XIN
That he was my lord.
He was beloved by all, especially myself and the staff. Rarely
have we had such an even-tempered, well-natured superintendent
as Pao Ch’in. We pray to heaven that he is at rest among his ancestors
and thank heaven that we have been sent a man of your high qualification
to carry on in his place, as if Pao Ch’in had never left us. And
as you can see we have maintained the place in perfect state.
|
|
|
LI
Perfect state. Yes,
a perfect state. We shall talk later, for I do have some questions
on protocol.
|
|
|
XIN
Naturally.
|