3

Xue Rengui Returns Home Clad in Brocade

INTRODUCTION

Once the Sui dynasty (589–617) had reunified the Chinese world at the end of the sixth century, it also tried to extend its power into the Korean Peninsula. But whereas centuries earlier the Han dynasty (206 BC–AD 220) had been able to establish prefectures in what is now northern Korea, the Sui encountered stiff resistance from the Koguryo kingdom, which extended from modern-day northern Korea to the east banks of the Liao River in modern-day Manchuria. The three Korean campaigns of Emperor Yang of the Sui (r. 605–618), an archetypical “bad last ruler,” are characterized by historiographers as dismal failures. Following the collapse of the Sui and the establishment of the Tang (618–906), the second and third rulers of that dynasty, Taizong (r. 627–649) and Gaozong (r. 650–683), once again waged war on Koguryo. During the reign of Taizong, the Koguryo court was dominated by Yŏn Kaesomun (Yuan Gesuwen 淵葛蘇文, d. 666), who sported the title of mangniji (molizhi 摩離支), roughly translatable as “commander of the army.” As long as Yŏn was alive, the Chinese campaigns were inconclusive at best, and it was only following his death that the generals of Gaozong eventually succeeded in destroying Koguryo, after which its territory was taken over by Silla, one of the other states on the Korean Peninsula.

In the minds of later generations the memory of these campaigns came to focus on the seaborne invasion of Korea of 645 led by Taizong. In the Chinese tradition this invasion had been deliberately provoked by Koguryo’s dictator of that time, and the campaign had ended in a proper Chinese victory, resulting in the execution of the evil dictator and the reestablishment of proper (and properly submissive) royal authority by a benevolent Taizong. The victory, however, had been hard-won, and Taizong had repeatedly been in danger of losing his life. On one occasion, as he had dreamt before setting out on the campaign, he was saved from danger in the nick of time by a soldier dressed all in white. This white-clad warrior was Xue Li 薛禮 (613–683), better known by his given name, Rengui 仁貴. In the continuous Chinese retellings of the Korean campaign, the war was increasingly reduced to a simple account of Xue’s heroic exploits alone. In these later legendary tales the emperor learns Xue’s name and his value only at the very end because Xue Rengui’s jealous commander, Zhang Shigui 張士貴 (d. 656), claims all the merit for himself (and even attempts to murder Xue in order to maintain secrecy). The historical Xue Rengui did indeed serve with distinction in the Korean campaign and also later in the campaigns of the Tang in central Asia, at one moment awing the Sogdians into submission with his perfect archery:

At that time the nine surnames [that is, the Sogdians] had a host of more than 100,000, and they sent out ten light-horse cavalry to initiate the attack. Rengui shot three arrows that immediately killed three men. At this point the bravery of the caitiffs quailed and they all surrendered. Rengui anticipated that this would result in problems later and buried them all, immediately turning his attention to subduing the remaining host in the Northern Barrens [the Mongolian steppe], where he captured three brothers of the False Yabghu Turks and returned. In the army they sang,

With three arrows the General settled the Heavenly Mountains,

With long songs the brave soldiers come back through the passes to Han.

Consequently, the Sogdians went into decline.¹

The saga of Xue Rengui must have been extremely popular in the vernacular literature of the thirteenth to fifteenth centuries. One long prose account of Taizong’s Korean campaign and Xue Rengui’s stellar contribution to it was preserved in manuscript in the Yongle dadian 永樂大典—a huge compendium presented to the throne in 1407—as A Brief Account of Xue Rengui’s Subjugation of Korea (Xue Rengui zheng Liao shilüe 薛仁貴征遼事略).² A prosimetric rendition of the legend, focusing more exclusively on the exploits of Xue Rengui and titled Newly Cut, Completely Illustrated: The Story of How Xue Rengui of the Tang Crossed the Sea and Subjugated Korea (Xinkan quanxiang Xue Rengui kuahai zheng Liao gushi 新刊○相唐薛仁貴跨海征遼故事), has been preserved in a printing from the Chenghua period (1465–1487).³ Both these texts, however, may well have been composed at a much earlier date. The story was also adapted for the stage by Zhang Guobin 張國賓 of the late thirteenth century. Zhang Guobin held a position in the Court Entertainment Bureau. He was most likely an actor who wrote plays for performance at the imperial palace in Dadu (the capital of the Mongol Yuan dynasty at the site of Beijing). The earliest catalogues of zaju credit him with four titles, of which two have survived.

Since Zhang Guobin refers to Xue Rengui as the “General Clad in White” in the first line of the full title of his play (“The General Clad in White: At Court His Blessings Are Hidden” 白袍將朝中隱福), he certainly knew the tale of Xue Rengui’s military service in Korea as told in the prose account or the prosimetric version. But he does not deal with these battle scenes. All he presents of Xue’s military career is, in act 1, the culminating moment: the final confrontation of Xue Rengui and Zhang Shigui in front of Emperor Taizong that was adjudicated by High Minister Du Ruhui 杜如晦 (585–630).⁴ This is then followed in act 2 by a dream visit of Xue Rengui to his hometown, which alerts him to the poverty of his parents. When, in act 3, he arrives in his hometown, a boyhood friend, before he recognizes Xue, roundly curses him for his lack of filial piety. Act 4 is devoted to Xue Rengui’s glorious homecoming. His parents, too, do not recognize him at first and are scared out of their wits when they learn their son has married the emperor’s daughter. When the newlywed couple bows to the old man and his wife, the old man collapses on the floor, but he is picked up by Xue Rengui’s servants and carried in a procession to a new mansion.

Zhang Guobin’s play is a regular zaju, consisting of a wedge and four acts. The text as it has been preserved in a fourteenth-century printing is a typical male role text, and as such is very complete. All arias are sung by the leading male, who plays the part of Du Ruhui in act 1; that of Xue Rengui’s father, Old Uncle Xue, in the wedge and act 2; that of Xue Rengui’s boyhood friend in act 3; and that of his father once again in act 4. The wedge and each of the first three acts are indicated in the text by printing the final stage direction, “Exit,” in a smaller size immediately following the last words of the last arias. In the arias, the “padding words”—extrametrical phrases (chenzi 襯字)—are indicated by printing them in somewhat smaller size than the other words of the aria.

Actors in Kaifeng of the first quarter of the twelfth century, we know, amused their urban audiences by making fun of country folks in skits called zaban (雜扮 or 雜班). Zhang Guobin’s play was probably written very much in that tradition and may well be one of our best sources to suggest what those earlier skits may have looked like. The confrontation of a local peasant who has stayed in the village with his boyhood friend who has moved away and made a career (here reenacted in act 3) is best known from a song set by Ju Jingchen 睢景臣 (ca 1275–1320), “The Exalted Ancestor Returns to His Home Village” (Gaozu huanxiang 高祖還鄉), which describes Liu Bang’s famous visit to his hometown after he had become the emperor of the Han. The song tells the story as observed through the eyes of a fellow villager who realizes that this high and mighty lord is none else than the good-for-nothing Liu Bang, who still owes him money! Xue Rengui’s first visit back to his home village as a common soldier in act 2 is also reminiscent of chapter 11 of the Liu Zhiyuan in All Keys and Modes (Liu Zhiyuan zhugongdiao 劉知遠諸宮調), in which Liu Zhiyuan, a former farmhand and now a provincial governor, tests the loyalty of his wife—whose rich brothers had chased him away—by visiting the village as a common soldier. Finally, Xue Rengui’s final homecoming shows some similarity with the scene in the ballad story on the youth and early career of Judge Bao, in which yamen runners come and ask Bao’s father for Magistrate Bao. But his father believes that his son is simply a dimwit who has disappeared.

The relations between father and son are put into the foreground in the play. The story focuses on the underside of the pursuit of fame and glory. Xue Rengui is very much portrayed as the typical unfilial son who refuses to provide for his parents and runs away from home at first opportunity to join the army. He simply leaves his elderly parents to fend for themselves—with terrible consequences. In many parallel situations, this conflict between filial piety and personal ambition (or more positively phrased, loyalty to the ruler) would have been mitigated by providing the hero with a devoted wife, who stays at home and promises to take care of her husband’s parents, which she will do whatever the price to herself. Sources from as early as the eleventh century provided Xue Rengui with such a supportive wife, who actually urges her husband to grasp the unique opportunity of the Korean campaign to make a career. The ultimate virtue of such a wife in many stories and plays would then be further underlined by showing that she lacks any jealousy when her husband eventually returns in the company of a highborn trophy wife (the latter eagerly cedes the first position in the marriage to the original wife, and the two women promise to treat each other like sisters, although this was technically illegal). Two later court plays on the career of Xue Rengui from the early Ming indeed highlight the role of Xue Rengui’s wife, stressing that filial piety to one’s parents and loyalty to one’s ruler do not have to be in conflict but can exist side by side. One is therefore tempted to conclude that Zhang Guobin ignored the existence of Xue Rengui’s wife on purpose in order to achieve his own vision. It also gave him an opportunity to provide the play with an original and hilarious ending.

Under a slightly different title a heavily edited version of Zhang Guobin’s play has also been preserved in Zang Maoxun’s Selection of Yuan Plays. Zang Maoxun most likely based his edition on a palace version. It is now impossible to say which of the changes are due to the palace actors and their censors and which are due to Zang himself. In this version from the early seventeenth century, Xue’s parents and wife warmly support his departure for the army, and his wife promises she will take good care of his parents during his absence. In the first act the role of the emperor, in line with the Ming-dynasty prohibition of the portrayal of any emperor onstage, has been removed. Taizong has been replaced by one of his high ministers, who later also becomes Rengui’s father-in-law. Whereas the arias by Zhang Guobin are extremely colloquial and almost free of literary allusions, in the Selection of Yuan Plays edition, the language of the songs is more literary, and some songs are laden with allusions. As is common in palace editions, the number of arias in each act has been reduced, and each of the roles in the play has extensive dialogue. While the action in the second and third acts remains largely the same, the version in Yuanqu xuan has a completely new final act. Since Xue Rengui’s first wife was already introduced in the wedge, we now have a highly conventional conclusion in which the two wives become best of friends.⁵ While the Yuanqu xuan version of the play is still in many ways a quite enjoyable work, it lacks the freshness of Zhang Guobin’s composition and exhibits a much more mainstream Confucian morality.

The legend of Xue Rengui would remain popular throughout the Ming and Qing dynasties. The story would be written up as a novel, best known as Xue Rengui Subdues the East (Xue Rengui zhengdong 薛仁貴征東), which would be followed by novels on the martial exploits of his sons and grandsons, which appeared under titles such as Xue Dingshan Subdues the West (Xue Dingshan zhengxi 薛定山征西) and Xue Gang Revolts Against the Tang (Xue Gang fan Tang 薛剛反唐). Some of the stories from these novels would also enjoy a great popularity on the Peking opera stage.

SUGGESTED READINGS

Crump 1972; Crump and Dolezelová-Velingerová 1971; Hsia 1974; Idema 1990b, 2007b, 2010b; McLaren 1998, Shu 2008; Twitchett 1979, Wang 2008, Yen 1970.

 

A NEWLY CUT FULL TEXT: XUE RENGUI RETURNS HOME CLAD IN BROCADE, WITH THE COMPLETE PROMPTS, A FOURTEENTH-CENTURY EDITION

DRAMATIS PERSONAE IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE

Role type	Name and family, institutional, or social role
EMPEROR	EMPEROR TAIZONG of the Tang
VILLAIN	ZHANG SHIGUI
EXTRA MALE	XUE RENGUI
MALE LEAD	XUE DABO, XUE RENGUI’s father, elderly peasant (wedge, acts 2, 4)
OLD FEMALE	MOTHER XUE
MALE LEAD	DU RUHUI (act 1)
COMIC	CONSTABLE
MALE LEAD	BAHE, rustic villager, XUE RENGUI’s childhood friend (act 3)
EXTRA MALES	XUE RENGUI’s entourage

[WEDGE]

The EMPEROR enters and opens—when that one scene is done—the VILLAIN enters for one scene—the EXTRA MALE for one scene—You, the MALE LEAD, and the OLD FEMALE enter—open: I am registered as an inhabitant of Longmen Township in Jiangzhou. For generations we have devoted ourselves to agriculture. My surname is Xue, and because I am advanced in years, the common people all simply call me Old Uncle Xue. My family consists of three persons. I have a son called Xue Rengui. From his youngest years he refused to work on the farm. He loved only to twirl the lance and use the cudgel, and he has completely mastered all eighteen of the martial arts. He just heard that the state will conduct a campaign across the sea against the Liao and is recruiting volunteers to fill the ranks, so he is going to join the army! Alas, what can I do about this? My son, how cruel you are, abandoning the two of us to join the army so far away! After the EXTRA MALE speaks—the MALE LEAD speaks: My son, if your heart is gone already, I’m afraid I cannot hold you back. So go if you must, but come back home as soon as possible, whether you obtain an office or not!

([XIANLÜ MODE:] Duanzheng hao)

Today you

Leave your farming village,

Depart from your hometown,

And bid adieu to

Your aged parents

Because you want

To risk your life on the battlefield.

Awe imposing,

Full of vigor and pluck:

An imposing body,

A terrifying physique!

On the front line,

On the battlefield,

You’ll wear battle dress,

And hold sword and lance.

When you have achieved merit,

And displayed your lofty power,

At that very moment

Come home quickly!

My son,

Don’t let the two of us each and every day

Lean on the gate and wait with eager eyes for nothing!

Exit.⁶

[ACT 1]

The EMPEROR enters and opens for one scene—the EXTRA MALE enters for one scene—the VILLAIN enters and speaks—after the VILLAIN and the EXTRA MALE have disputed each other’s merits—the EMPEROR enters, opens, and stops—after he has ordered an imperial proclamation to be read—the MALE LEAD enters dressed as DU RUHUI—and opens: I am Du Ruhui, and I serve as counselor for the military command. I am in charge of the registers of merit. His Majesty has summoned me by ❍❍ [Sagely Direction]⁷ to establish the merits of the various generals. The mutual accusations this time around are quite extraordinary! I will go according to the guile of each!

([XIANLÜ MODE:] Dian jiangchun)

Just like

A hungry tiger blocking the road:

Who dares “walk the streets of Chang’an”?

He just desires

“To hate the purple and seize the vermilion,”⁸

And stubbornly refuses to recommend capable men.⁹

(Hunjiang long)

A murder may be forgiven,

But who dares mess up another man’s merits?

You just want to contrive plans to have tigers lie in wait,

Use beheading or slowly slicing¹⁰ as a resourceful strategy.

You just say,

“A general noble and bold, awe-inspiring on all eight sides,”

But the Son of Heaven, enlightened as a sage, is supported by the hundred gods!

Let me straighten my gauze gown,

Put on my formal headdress,

Buckle my golden belt,

Grasp my ivory tablet,

And quickly hurry to the jasper steps.

I will establish merit and blame,

And distinguish between true and false.

After performing the rites of greeting the EMPEROR—after the EMPEROR speaks—after the EXTRA MALE and the VILLAIN have spoken:

(You hulu)

Facing this humane and sagely lord who created the empire and laid the foundations,

With his civil officials and military officers on both sides,

They both claim

The three shots that pacified the Heavenly Mountains—neither submits!

There is no need, General, to fight over the registers of merit—

Just be like

A phoenix bird alighting on a wutong tree.¹¹

Other people may have accomplished ten great merits,

He doesn’t even have an inch!¹²

He just wants to release the eagle to grab roe deer or hares on the level plain,

And is unwilling to fish out the giant turtle from the deep blue sea!

(Tianxia le)

Don’t be

A real man, a stalwart hero for nothing—

I have no selfish desire

To give you a handsome appointment.

You do not know the books of Lü Wang about the six ren days avoiding jia,¹³

And yet you want

To lead the Bureau of Military Affairs,

Head the Office of Commander in Chief—

But have

Men without merit ever received a salary?

After the EXTRA MALE and the VILLAIN have spoken—after the EMPEROR speaks—speak: I know what’s on your minds!

(Jinzhan’er)

One of them

Holds on to his crafty schemes;

The other

Relies on the Hidden Correspondences;¹⁴

One of them

Wants to display love and righteousness;

The other

Defies all authority,

And we want them to sign together to be in charge of military supplies!

Have you not heard, Your Majesty,

“Those who are close will always be so;

Those who are distant will remain so”?

The two of them,

Wise and stupid, cannot live together,

Like fire and water cannot share one stove!

After the EXTRA MALE and the COMIC have spoken—the EMPEROR speaks—[sing:]

(Zui fu gui)

The Son of Heaven

Has me head the Executive Office, I receive his salary,

So I should

Effect the Kingly Way, transform customs and morals.

You must have heard:

“If you raise up the crooked and apply them to the straight, the people will never submit,”¹⁵

So let the two of them

Here in front of the palace determine winner and loser.

After the EMPEROR speaks:

He who wins will serve his lord at court in a glorious position;

He who loses will have to hoe and dig in the deepest mountains.

After the EMPEROR has spoken—after the EXTRA MALE and the VILLAIN have spoken:

(Yi wangsun)

Xue Rengui as a gentleman is certain about where to begin;

Zhang Shigui as a scoundrel finds out his gallbladder is completely empty.¹⁶

The first immediately assents to the proposal;

The second is only mumbling and grumbling.

Xue Rengui is secretly pleased,

But Zhang Shigui, like a centipede on a hot spot—no escape.

The EMPEROR speaks—after shooting at the target:

(Zui fu gui)

Xue Rengui’s arrow, loosed, swerves not the slightest,

His technique is out of the ordinary.

Zhang Shigui

Pulls a stiff bow, comes near the target but is nothing special.

Xue Rengui’s

Arrow—clink—sticks fast in the eye of a coin.

Zhang Shigui

Pulls the string full and looses the whistling arrow:

That arrow lands thirty paces from the target!

After ZHANG SHIGUI speaks:—after the EMPEROR speaks:

(Nezha ling)

Under protection of the Sagely Son of Heaven

Who possesses great blessings equal to Heaven

I have been ordered to provide a full account of all merits.

You, General Xue Rengui—

Listen as I appoint you caitiff slayer.

But this other general: no matter where his horse goes,

He finds no gateway to his goal—

Is it not said, “Heaven’s justice always wins”!¹⁷

(Que tazhi)

The [Koguryo]

Wanted to settle their plans and schemes,

To show who would be victorious.

Under the protection

Of the sagely and enlightened Son of Heaven,

And the concerted assistance of the hundred gods,

You slew them until their last men were driven before and pursued from behind,

Chasing them on until not a single one was left!

After the EMPEROR speaks:—speak: Your Majesty, no need to say so.

(Jinzhan’er)

We have revealed winner and loser,

Determined glory and shame.

What is rewarded is done on the basis of each general’s merit:

One

Will be stripped of his office, deprived of his rank;

The other

Will attach the golden fish to his jade belt.

Zhang Shigui,

Fill your belly from a twenty-acre farm,¹⁸

A farmhand with a single hoe.

Xue Rengui, will you not thank him, He who grants this favor?

You take these twelve lances to array in front of your gate,

And these paintings of “Eight Pepper” for your door.¹⁹

After the EXTRA MALE expresses his gratitude for the imperial grace:

(Zhuansha Coda)

His Majesty wants

To repay you for the red of the blood that stains your battle dress,

For the green of your army boots dyed by weeds.

Your single

Heavenlike lance surpasses past and present.

Just look at Zhang Shigui—

His face looks as gray as ashes;

His theft of merit was an infraction of Heaven’s justice.

[Our Emperor] dominates this august metropole,

And the four seas are without a worry,

Thanks to this

Strong imperial abode of a hundred and two mountains and rivers.

Because you ordered the wind and called forth the rain,

He grasped the clouds and arrested the mists,

But without me, how could you get

This one letter of appointment from the Son of Heaven?

Exit.

[ACT 2]

After the EMPEROR speaks—the EXTRA MALE acts out knocking on the gate in a dream—the MALE LEAD, dressed as an ELDERLY PEASANT, and the OLD FEMALE enter:

([SHANGDIAO MODE:] Ji xianbin)

I hear someone

Repeatedly calling my name, “Old Uncle Xue”!

Heaven,

Who is that little good-for-nothing who is pestering me?

I cannot stand on my feet,

As I bend forward and backward;

I cannot walk on my own,

Swaying to the east and the west.

I am so bent by age that my body has wasted away to nothing,

I am so racked by sorrow that my hair has turned right to gray.

Where is my son who has gone off to become a soldier?

Even a man with an iron head would be moved to sad sighs!²⁰

Failing to become

Commander in chief of the six armies,

Probably all you achieved

Was a nailed-up sign, “From foreign parts.”²¹

(Xiaoyao le)

Because you, my son, had to travel to foreign lands,

I’ve been bereft of all energy, robbed of all strength;

And my two souls have scattered.

My son,

Out there you are scorched by sun, scourged by the wind;

Most likely you’re blinded by dust and buried by sand on the battlefield.

How I hoped you’d establish merit with one shot and change our status,

That you’d glorify the ancestors of the Xue family!

But you have left me without kith, without kin,

Without support, without assistance,

Without rice and without firewood.

After the OLD FEMALE²² speaks:

(Wuye’er)

When Bodhisattva, the daughter of Old Master Liu,

Took in Wang Two from our village as her husband,

All relatives and kin were told to put a pin in her hair,

But when she came to me, she was not allowed to bow.

And then when I asked what the reason might be,

One single sentence made tears run down my cheeks.²³

My son, Xue Rengui,

Because of you your father and mother are at a loss!

After the OLD FEMALE speaks:

(Gua jinsuo)

It must be

Because of my earlier karma in an earlier life,

That I owed you an archenemy’s²⁴ debt!

This longing day after day, morning after morning,

Has ruined your father and mother!

My son! Xue Rengui! Where are you?

If you would sneak back to this village,

The smile on my face would squeeze a line right through my cheeks.

But failing to see you, my son,

Makes me cry all the way out the door.

After the EXTRA MALE speaks:—after the OLD FEMALE speaks:

(Houting hua)

A clean break:²⁵

Once you got going, you didn’t think twice;

You followed your whim in a hundred, a thousand ways.

You joined the army at the age of twenty-two,

How come

You show up precisely at thirty-three?

On that day when you left home to set out on “those purple paths,”

You displayed your heroic might in Carmine City.²⁶

By joining the militia and manifesting your skills,

You hoped to change the status of our family—

Who could have ever expected it would be more than ten years!

(Liuye’er)

I was just wondering where my son might be,

Who could have imagined

You would “advance a thousand ranks every day”!²⁷

He

Bows in the dust, extending his legs and stretching his waist.

Let me forgive you for the moment,

I only thought you “had left to deliver a lampstand,”²⁸

But once you had left, you came right back!

After the EXTRA MALE speaks:

(Cu hulu)

You don’t have

To “knead like a cake,”²⁹

To guess like a riddle:

I have assembled my fortune by moving booze and carrying water.

Flattened-out old woks served as sturdy “bottoms” for the ends of my carrying pole,

And so I have acquired this great fortune of two pieces,

Which, if you got them, would bring you only disaster.

After the EXTRA MALE speaks:

(Reprise)

My wife,

Run and buy some wine,

Hurry and kill the pig!

Go to the shop and pawn your old hemp shoes!

You’re afraid Xue Rengui has a capacity for drink like the ocean,

But below the bed we still have five pints of buckwheat.

I have to laugh so much that spittle soaks my chin!

After the COMIC has entered to arrest the EXTRA MALE:

(Reprise)

Seeing him so dreadfully and anxiously open the imperial edict,

Scares me so my face turns a parched yellow.

I see some

Oh-so-vicious constables line up on both sides.

I beg you, this Guanshiyin from south of the southern sea who saves us from suffering,³⁰

I kowtow to you and make my bow:

Set my son free and that good deed surpasses a meal for a myriad of monks!

After [soldiers] have entered and arrested the EXTRA MALE:

(Langlilai Coda)

Rough and rude they push my son out through the village gate,

Brutal and bloodthirsty, they want to kill him.

What I see ahead: agony and pain—his corpse stretched out in a pool of blood—

How can he wriggle his way out of the hempen rope tied behind his back?

The only way in which your miserable life can survive,

My son,

Would be if a writ of pardon came swirling down from highest heaven!

Exit.

After they have exited, pushing the EXTRA MALE off—³¹

[ACT 3]

After the EMPEROR enters and opens—after he has ordered the EXTRA MALE by decree to return to his hometown—after the EXTRA MALE speaks—You, the MALE LEAD, enter dressed as an ELDERLY PEASANT and speak—shout: Bangu’er,³² you’re drunk! Wait for me!

([ZHONGLü MODE:] Fendie’er)

The annual seasons have turned to the Cold Food Festival:

Each family goes to the graves to prepare!³³

They have stewed and fried some food to offer in sacrifice:

Some vegetable-stuffed steamed buns;

Noodles dribbled through a sieve,

Chicken, shoats, dog, and swine.

Who knows what the fuck she has been up to—

She’s drunk so much she really kills the mood!

(Zui chunfeng)

You have lost your paktong³⁴ hairpin,

So your oiled bun droops to one side.

Now, there are drunk wives aplenty at the grave sites,

But none as drunk as you,

As you,

As you!

You’ve drunk so much you reel from east to west,

Bend backward and forward.

You’ve quaffed so much

You’re puking up heaven and earth!

After FEMALE has become drunk:

(Chao tianzi)

Every day

Now here,

Now there,

You drink until you’re drunk as a skunk.

The old sayings and modern proverbs have it right:

In truth,

“Wine is cheap, but yellow mud³⁵ expensive.”

I’ll go over here,

And grab her tightly.

She is a woman without reason!

I’m man enough to curse you,

And man enough to give you a beating,

Give you a beating for being drunk and drunk again!

(Shi’er yue)³⁶

You

Pinch and twist my face,

I

Hold you by your sleeve.

You don’t try to spin flax or weave cloth,

But throw down the shuttle, tip over the loom;

You don’t try

To be pure and honest,

You only want

To share your cups and pass the pot.

[(Yaomin ge)]

In the whole city there is no one worse than you!

When I die, you can stop bringing winter clothes.³⁷

And climb that green hill to turn into a husband-watching rock³⁸—

Don’t do anything more for this old fellow.

Damn,

These women and wives

Only want to be drunk as skunks every day!

After the EXTRA MALE has entered with his party and spoken—act out being frightened:

(Shang xiaolou)

I see people talking,

I hear horses whinnying,

As they come towards me.

I’m so frightened I’m shaking all over,

I’m swaying and unsteady,

My spirit scatters, my souls fly away.

Here; there; nowhere to hide,

So I can only

Kneel, kerplonk, right in front of the horse.

After the EXTRA MALE speaks:

(Reprise)

It’s just

That frown on your brow,

And your pursed lips—

It’s all quite different from your behavior earlier,

All boorish and ill behaved—

But if we little ones misspeak only as little as a hair’s breadth,

Our bodies

Will not be given a burial upon death.³⁹

After the EXTRA MALE speaks:

(Manting fang)

It’s not that

I make all kinds of excuses,

I only fear

My words will not come out right,

Or what I say will be at odds with you.

Here in Longmen Township

We have supplied corvée labor for generations,

But our strength is limited, our manpower small.

My uncle has a deformed shin and he limps,

My father is old and weak and handicapped.

I fear my duties and tasks—

In my township everybody knows:

Whatever it is you want me to do, I’ll go along.

After the EXTRA MALE speaks: I know that Xue Rengui!

(Kuaihuo san)

The two of us—

Out on the threshing ground we stripped ears of grain,

And from the tops of trees plucked green plums.

Facing backward we rode on the black oxen, playing the Tibetan flute,

And stole fresh melons to eat, rind and all!

(Hong shaoyao)

The two of us

Have been friends since our earliest days,

And ran around together, everywhere.

From his youngest days

He fervently trained with lance and with staff,

Unwilling

To pull the harrow or steer the plow.

He indeed rejected the farmer’s life

To practice the military arts.

He became the champion of each band or group.

Give him a bow and arrows, and he could shoot;

Give him a broken-down nag, and he could ride it

Without having to use

Either horsewhip or spurs.

(Baolao’er)

A golden-coin-spotted leopard’s tail hanging down from the top

Of the painted shaft of the squared-heaven lance he employed;

Later

He became the best of the volunteers,

To the great pleasure of Commander Zhang Shigui!

He wanted to

Campaign in the south, pacify the north,

Root them out in the west, stamp them out in the east,

And kill every opponent who stood against him.

He could do it all: twirl a lance, use a sword,

Grab the men and arrest the officers,

Snatch their drums and steal their banners.

(Shaobian)

For sure, as a man he made a career for himself,

But he didn’t treat his parents like Heaven and Earth.

The two of them are really wasted and exhausted,

They are so worn they are bent and crooked and their heads hang low.

When in this village

Shan Sa, Niu Biao, Bange, and Wang Liu⁴⁰

Mention him, they heave a heavy sigh.

Raising children is for providing for one’s old age—

He at present rides in the saddle and burdens his horse,

To obtain preferred appointments for his sons and ennoble his wife.

The only way sons and daughters can repay their own parents’ great favors

Is by

Carrying their father and mother on their shoulders,⁴¹ reciting “Amituofo.”

May that scoundrel die quickly and have a tardy rebirth,⁴²

May he be dumped in a ditch or thrown into a pit!

On his final exit,

I am sure, he will be seated on a donkey of wood.⁴³

After the EXTRA MALE speaks:

(Shuahai’er)

His parents suffer bitterly but he enjoys riches and glory,

Of course he’ll be struck by a thunderbolt in high summer!⁴⁴

After the EXTRA MALE has asked a question—speak: I would recognize Xue Rengui, but … After the EXTRA MALE speaks again:

Well you are plumper and fatter than in those days,

And have grown a moustache that covers your lips.

Don’t take offense at the words I maligned you with just now—

It’s because so much time has passed that I couldn’t recognize you.

You on your horse, so high and mighty,

You must remember

How we raced up the trees to grope doves,⁴⁵

And competed to move the roller!⁴⁶

After the EXTRA MALE has asked a question:

(Five from Coda)

Your mother is approaching seventy,

Your father is exactly eighty,

And you have absolutely no siblings of any age!

That

Single, orphaned, lonely, isolated father of yours endures the cold;

That

Old, weak, worn-out, and sick mother of yours suffers hunger.

To no avail you’ve reached the age of thirty;

All in vain

You stand between heaven and earth,

Have eyes and eyebrows, seem to be human.

(Four from Coda)⁴⁷

The two of them really do not have enough clothes to cover their bodies

Or enough food to fill their mouths.

This is something all neighbors and villagers know.

You think I’m lying or prevaricating to your face?

The proverb says:

“The mouths of passers-by surpass a stele!”⁴⁸

What I’ve told you can be known:

They have suffered through stormy cold and steamy summers,

Starvation and bitter toil!

After the EXTRA MALE speaks:

(Third from Coda)

I collected some firewood for them,

And I helped them out with some food,

But even though I

Could find them something to eat, they had nothing to wear.

Your father suffered the cold of deepest winter in the last month of the year

While your mother stirred a whole night’s ashes in the cold stove.

They suffered such hunger their innards shattered.

For them no succulent lamb and white noodles;

They only had

Bland rice and yellowed pickles.

After the EXTRA MALE speaks:

(Second from Coda)⁴⁹

He carried good water for other people,

And exchanged it for filthy;

He also didn’t know how to “buy cheap in the south and sell dear in the north.”

You enjoyed a salary of a thousand bell weights in the jade hall of ministers,

But in your joy completely forgot to return to your parents in their thatched cottage.

They shed tears of desperation,

Only managing vexation and sorrow,

And heartrending sadness.

(Coda)

They wept from deepening dusk until early evening,

Then from early evening until late at night,

Their only thoughts of Xue Rengui who quit home and hearth!

Continues in speech: Now you today have obtained an office, a beautiful girl supports your arm, and a strong warrior offers the whip. Go home as soon as possible!

Your aged parents do nothing but wait for you!

Exit.

[ACT 4]

After EXTRA MALE speaks⁵⁰—MALE LEAD, once again dressed as ELDERLY PEASANT, enters with the OLD FEMALE:

([SHUANGDIAO MODE:] Xinshui ling)

All because of

This son who was to be our provider, I’ve wept until my eyes have grown blurry.

My son,

I’ve been worried for the whole ten years you have been gone.

You have probably returned to the courts of the underworld,

There covered by yellow sand.

What

Has happened to you? Success?

Expel these vexations! When will they end?

(Zhenzhen ying)

You have

Abandoned both your aged parents—

Why didn’t you come home after you had left?

You must be wandering at the ocean’s rim;

You must be stranded at the edge of heaven!

I keep watch for you like a butterfly playing with a flower in a mirror!

My thoughts for you will be my death!

O, son.⁵¹

(Douye huang)

You, my little archenemy,

Have worn me out with thinking about you.

In the Yellow Springs there are no inns,

So at whose house will we lodge later this evening? This very night?

Your parents soon will be seventy and eighty:⁵²

When the time of our death will come,

Who will wear cloth and hemp⁵³ on our behalf?

Who will pour out wine and tea as libations?

(Qing dongyuan)

The way you treat me is impossible to bear:

You tease me,

Treat me like a joke!

In dreams you’ve caused me so much suffering, I’m afraid to sleep.

My son, if you are alive, you’re a flame emerging from cold ashes!

My son, if you are alive, you’re an earthen pot growing tusks!

My son, if you are alive, it can only be a rotten tree putting forth flowers!

My son

Failed to receive the summons of the Son of Heaven

And will become merely a tale for fishermen and woodcutters.⁵⁴

After the EXTRA MALE speaks—after others have spoken—after the whole party comes to a stop—after the EXTRA MALE speaks—

(Qing Xuanhe)

At my house we have no fodder at all,

Where am I going to get a feeder or scythe?

These last few years

We’ve had so many setbacks our family funds are all wiped out!

Continues in speech: I don’t even have a donkey to ride,

So how would I have a service horse or a second horse?⁵⁵

After the EXTRA MALE speaks—speak: Dear officials, have pity! I am so poor that I don’t have a thing!

(Chuan bo zhao)

When I hear

Them say “roots and sprouts”

I’m totally confused for a while:

Why need to brag about yourself,

“Martial arts so accomplished and smooth,”

“Battle strategies so successful,”

“Wearing battle robes and armor when joining the fray,”

“Defeating the Liao army in a single battle,”

And that you have been “tagged to become a Reserve Horse”?

(Qi dixiong)

This just provokes laughing!

Laughing!

What kind of glory is this!

For nothing I’ll suffer the whole village’s cursing!

What I can do is crawl about and creep along to feel for some fish and shrimp,

Or carefully creak along handling a plow handle.

(Luosiniang)

Mine is a plastered mansion, half a hall with a leaky roof,

And I don’t have any wicker stores of grain.

The rats and mice run and rush all around,

Bitterly complaining they’re starving to death!

(Yan’er luo)

I’m wearing a worn-out vest

With nits as thick as hemp.

Pick them out and crush them with your fingernails on the bricks,

You’ll get no fewer than three or four handfuls!

(Dao lianzi)

It is my fate to find no success:

I survive by pushing the plow or turning the mill for others.

A holey bamboo hat is strapped to my head

And my feet tread on old hempen sandals.

After the EXTRA MALE speaks—speak: Is that my son Xue Rengui?

(Meihua jiu)

What do you mean “fine form”?

My posture is way too rustic,

My clothes are a mess.

My eyes are red and blind;

I cling tightly to my staff.

We don’t have half a handful of straw for burning,

And on the earthen kang our items are a scattered mess:⁵⁶

We’re just like beggars!

Despised by the whole village,

So, Xue Rengui, check it out carefully yourself!

(Shou Jiangnan)

How could I dare be a “matching family” to the Great Tang’s ④④ [Son of Heaven]?

If the boy and the girl get into a fight,

There are these melons of purple-gold as big as bowls⁵⁷

That I really fear.

Grandma, don’t scare the little baby!

After the EXTRA MALE speaks:—speak: If you bow to me, that’s not the right way.⁵⁸

(Taiping ling)

Just wait till I’ll have brought home the harvest in autumn,

And I’ll scare up some money and give you some hemp.⁵⁹

And if that’s not enough, I’ll add two loads of melons next year.

That face of hers is perfect,

Her body quite seductive,

And with those artificial flowers in her hair

She resembles the bodhisattva Samantabhadra.

Come on!

Let the two of them⁶⁰ bow to these two toads turned monsters.

After acting out collapsing:

(Desheng ling)

I suddenly saw

A hand as big as a winnowing basket draw near,

Tightly grab the short hair on my head,

And slam me down in front of the steps,

Hitting me right on my old nose!

Why, her father is the current emperor!

Just give it some thought:

How can I, this poor guy, deal with this?

After the EXTRA MALES have acted out carrying the MALE LEAD:

(Dianqian huan)

If the local authorities see this, they’re bound to have me punished.

Continues in speech: Temple festivals have been prohibited!⁶¹

Secretly they carry a local god of the soil right into a house!⁶²

You walk with such a grand air that I cower for fear.

The two rows of the escort are all lined up.

There’s something I want to say:

Let me tell you: Don’t step on the tiles,

Because you’ll slip and slam me down in front of the steps,

And if you don’t shatter my skull,

At the very least you’ll break my nose!

Dispersal Scene

Title:	The general dressed in white: at court his blessings are hidden;
	The black-hearted scoundrel: frost is added on top of snow.
Name:	Taizong of the Tang summons the wise and appoints gentlemen;
	Xue Rengui Returns Home Clad in Brocade.
	A Newly Cut Complete Text

Xue Rengui Returns Home Clad in Brocade

with the complete prompts.

 

A SELECTION OF YUAN PLAYS EDITION OF THE ZAJU XUE RENGUI RETURNS HOME IN GLORY

DRAMATIS PERSONAE IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE

Role type	Name and family, institutional, or social role
MALE LEAD	OLD UNCLE XUE, XUE RENGUI’s father (wedge, acts 2, 4)
MINOR FEMALE	LADY LIU, XUE RENGUI’s wife
OLD FEMALE	MADAME XUE, XUE RENGUI’s mother
OPENING MALE	XUE RENGUI
VILLAIN	KING OF KOGURYO
COMIC	THE MOLIZHI, commander of Koguryo army
EXTRA	XU MAOGONG, chief of staff, duke of Yingguo
SOLDIERS	SOLDIERS in XU MAOGONG’s entourage
VILLAIN	ZHANG SHIGUI, commander in chief
MALE LEAD	DU RUHUI, president of Ministry of War, duke of Cai (act 1)
SOLDIERS	SOLDIERS in ZHANG SHIGUI’s dream entourage
CLOWN	Peasant woman, BANGU
MALE LEAD	Peasant male, BANGE (act 3)

THE ZAJU XUE RENGUI RETURNS HOME IN GLORY

WRITTEN BY ZHANG GUOBIN OF THE YUAN DYNASTY

COLLATED BY ZANG JINSHU OF WUXING OF THE MING DYNASTY

WEDGE

(MALE LEAD dressed as an elderly farmer enters with OLD WOMAN and FEMALE.) (MALE LEAD speaks:) I am registered as an inhabitant of Big Huang Village of Longmen Township in Jiangzhou. Surnamed Xue, everyone calls me Old Uncle Xue. There are four of us in the family, and my old lady is surnamed Li. I have a son called Donkey Xue, whose school name is Rengui, and who has a wife from the Liu family. We come from farming folk, but my child Donkey Xue refuses to make a living as a farmer. Every day he practices thrusting with a spear and twirling his cudgel, practicing some military art or the other. My wife, where did our son go? (OLD FEMALE speaks:) My husband, he went off to the market. (MALE LEAD speaks:) Tell him to come and see me when he gets back. (OPENING MALE, dressed as XUE RENGUI, enters, and recites:)

A horse is saddled for battle, a general wears his battle robes;

At the tips of the willow branch outside the gate, the moon is high.

If a real man wants to wear a seal of noble rank⁶³

A bloodied sword must always hang at his waist.

I am Xue Rengui, twenty-two years old, and I live in Big Huang Village of Longmen Township in Jiangzhou. Both my parents are still alive, but I don’t want to make a living as a farmer, so I spend every day thrusting with my spear and twirling my cudgel, or practicing shooting with bow and arrow. I have fully mastered and completely understand each of the eighteen military arts. I spend every day shooting geese at the river ford for fun. I have heard that a yellow imperial poster has been put up in Jiangzhou, summoning volunteer heroes for the militia. I have a mind to join the army as a volunteer. So let me now return home to report to my parents and then set off on that long journey. Here I am at the gate. (Acts out greeting. Speaks:) Mother, Father, I’m home. (MALE LEAD speaks:) Son, where did you go? (XUE RENGUI speaks:) My dear parents, you don’t understand. A poster has just been put up in Jiangzhou: they’re summoning hardy volunteers for the militia. Your son has mastered the eighteen military arts and boned up on books about strategy. I’ve made up my mind: I want to join the militia. What do you, my parents, think about it? (MALE LEAD speaks:) My son, I’m afraid the two of us completely rely on you to be our one set of eyes and pair of arms. If you join the militia—we’re so old now—who will take care of us if something happens? (OLD FEMALE speaks:) Son, do what your father says. Don’t go off to join the militia! (XUE RENGUI speaks:) Dear father, with all due respect, I’ve learned that what was called the greatest act of filial piety in ancient times was to establish a career and make a name in order to bring glory to one’s parents. To wait on you dawn and dusk, to ask after your well-being or look after your food—these are the most trifling gestures a son can make and cannot be considered true filial piety. Right now is the moment the state needs men to wipe out the eastern barbarians and to pacify the border regions. With the military arts I have mastered and with my unsurpassed wisdom and valor, I am bound to achieve success as soon as my horse reaches the battlefield. And after I attain the measliest office of some kind, I will come back and change the status of our family and bring glory and luster to my parents. Otherwise, I would just stay here at this thatched cottage and be a farmer—wouldn’t that be a total waste of my capacities! (OLD FEMALE speaks:) My son, as long as you give it your all! Just go! (MALE LEAD speaks:) So be it then! You have made up your mind to go! My wife, get together some silver and give it to our son as travel money. My son, be careful while traveling. Whether you obtain an office or not, send us letters as often as you can, so the two of us won’t have to worry. (XUE RENGUI acts out bowing down, speaks:) Today is a lucky day and propitious time. My father and mother, please let me say good-bye to you, as I have to set out on my journey. (MALE LEAD sings:)

(XIANLÜ MODE: Duanzheng hao)

Today you leave your village and farm,

Say good-bye to your hometown,

Bid adieu to your elderly parents.

(XUE RENGUI speaks:) On this journey I definitely want to repay the state for its favors with a loyal heart, expand its territory and extend its borders, and be ennobled as a lord or appointed as a general—then I’ll return. Father, don’t worry! (MALE LEAD sings:)

You want to risk your life on the sandy battlefield.

You are majestically martial,

Filled with an arching spirit,

An awe-inspiring body,

A stern and robust presence!

I’ve no idea when you’ll be able to come home!

My son,

Don’t make the two of us lean against the gate each and every day gazing with hope for your return!

(Exit with OLD FEMALE.)

(MINOR FEMALE speaks:) My husband, I’m here at home and happy to take care of your parents, so please go on without any worries! Let me accompany you to outside that brushwood gate and there say good-bye. (XUE RENGUI speaks:) My wife, Mother and Father have no one else, so please go back and wait on your parents-in-law. There is no need to see me off. (Acts out taking his leave with a bow.) (XUE RENGUI recites:)

As I today leave for distant parts to join the army,

My only hope is that you will serve my parents with filial deference.

(Exits first.)

(MINOR FEMALE acts out being overcome by sadness, recites:)

Even though a couple like intertwined branches in our fragrant years,

For the sake of glory and fame there is no option but separation.

(Exit.)

ACT 1

(VILLAIN, dressed as KING OF KOGURYO, enters, leading SOLDIERS. He recites:)

I alone occupy a small state east of the Liao;

Oh Great Tang, do not blame me for my refusal to submit:

Let it have its million heroic generals—

Who among them dares sneak a peek across the Yalu River!

I am the king of Koguryo. From the time the viscount of Ji was enfeoffed with this territory,⁶⁴ our state has enjoyed an uninterrupted transmission down to Us. For generations We have maintained Koguryo and proclaimed Ourselves the rulers of all lands east of the Liao. East of Koguryo there are still another sixteen kingdoms, and these kingdoms yearly offer tribute to the Great Tang. It is only my country that does not obey the Great Tang. And why? Because We have the Heavenly Mountains and the Yalu River for Our impenetrable natural defenses, which need to be guarded by only a single man! Let the Great Tang have a million men and horses, they cannot fly across these barriers. Recently I also found a great general by the name of Ge Suwen, whom I appointed as molizhi. He has such great valor that even a myriad of men are not his match! I have heard that the Great Tang has lost Qin Qiong to death and worn out Jingde,⁶⁵ and now lacks any heroic or fierce generals. I now have assigned a hundred thousand troops to the molizhi and ordered him to encamp in front of Whitebrow Slope near the Yalu River, there to send out a declaration of war, inciting the famous generals of the Great Tang to engage him in battle. If they can defeat Us, We are willing to offer yearly tribute to the Great Tang just like the other sixteen countries. But if they cannot, We will be the superior state and the Great Tang will be the inferior, so they will have to offer tribute to Us! Wouldn’t that be splendid? Molizhi, where are you? (COMIC, dressed as MOLIZHI, enters, and speaks:) I am Ge Suwen. My chieftain calls for me, so I will have to go over and see him. (Acts out greeting, speaks:) Your Majesty, why have you summoned me? (KING OF KOGURYO speaks:) Molizhi, I have called you only for the following reason. We have heard that the Great Tang lost Qin Qiong to death, wore out Jingde, and now lacks any heroic or fierce generals. So We now assign a hundred thousand troops to you and order you to set up camp in front of Whitebrow Slope near the Yalu River, there to send out a declaration of war, inciting the famous generals of the Great Tang to engage you in battle. If you, as I reckon, will be victorious and successful, you will receive promotions and rewards! (MOLIZHI speaks:) Understood! This very day I will lead a hundred thousand men and horses to Whitebrow Slope near the Yalu River, and challenge the famous generals of the Great Tang to come out and fight me. Officers and soldiers, listen to my orders! (Recites:)

Obeying the orders of my lord, I lead my hardy troops;

At Whitebrow Slope I will erect fortifications and set up camp.

I reckon the Tang does not have a single man who can fight me,

So it’s a done deal: a thousand battles, a thousand victories.

(Exits.)

(KING OF KOGURYO speaks:) The molizhi definitely will be successful in his mission, but I still have to mobilize all the men and horses of my country to follow him in support from the rear.

(Exit.)

(EXTRA, dressed as XU MAOGONG, enters, leading soldiers, and recites:)

Since earliest years clad in brocade wearing a cloak of purple sable;

An armored horse, the western wind, an autumn of grasses sere.

Due to this single three-feet-long sword in my hand

I effortlessly won a noble position.

I, this old man, am Xu Shiji, and my style is Maogong.⁶⁶ My family hails from Lihu District in Caozhou.⁶⁷ Because of my support of the Great Tang I have been appointed to the office of chief of staff and ennobled as Duke of Yingguo. Lured by the molizhi of the land to the east of the Liao who challenged us to battle, Commander Zhang Shigui led an army out to meet him head-on in front of Whitebrow Slope near the Yalu River, but he was greatly defeated. Suddenly an officer in a white robe rode out to take the challenge and with three arrow shots pacified the Heavenly Mountains. He inflicted a defeat on the Liao troops, and led our army back to court. I have been appointed by His Majesty to determine promotions and rewards on the basis of merit here in the office of commander in chief. Zhang Shigui still claims it was all his merit. Then there is this petty officer Xue Rengui, who explains it was his merit. I’m still not certain which claim is true, I have given orders to summon those two men. Soldiers, keep watch in front of the gate, and report back to me when these two men arrive. (SOLDIERS speak:) Yes sir! (VILLAIN, dressed as ZHANG SHIGUI, enters and recites:)

I am supreme commander and my surname is Zhang;

From birth I’ve loved to chew on candy.

As soon as I hear the call of the battle drum,

The skin of my face is first to turn as yellow as wax.

I am Commander Zhang Shigui. When I led my troops and engaged in battle with the molizhi, I never had any idea I would lose to him. Who could have known that in the thick of battle suddenly a flying knife would come my way? I was so scared my soul fled from my head, so I pulled my horse around and gave it free rein to run away. If that minor officer in a white gown Xue Rengui had not come out on his horse and taken on the challenge, how could I have escaped with my life? At present Xue Rengui has settled the Heavenly Mountains with three arrow shots and sent the molizhi in retreat. These were of course all his merits. But who has witnessed these feats? I will snatch them away for my own! I have reported these feats of arms to His Majesty, and he has now ordered Xu Maogong and Du Ruhui to determine promotions and rewards on the basis of merit here in the Office of the Commander in Chief. I’d better go. Well, here I am. Soldiers, please report that Commander Zhang Shigui has arrived. (SOLDIERS act out reporting, speak:) Sir! We report to Your Excellency the Chief of Staff that Zhang Shigui has arrived! (XU MAOGONG speaks:) Tell him to come inside! (ZHANG SHIGUI acts out greeting him.) (XU MAOGONG speaks:) Commander, that pacification of the Heavenly Mountains by three shots—whose merit was that? (ZHANG SHIGUI speaks:) Chief of Staff, if it hadn’t been for me, Zhang Shigui, how would Koguryo have so quickly submitted? In this battle, the pacification of the Heavenly Mountains by three shots and the defeat inflicted on the molizhi are all due to my merit. Who else was there apart from me, Zhang Shigui? (XU MAOGONG speaks:) Was this really your merit? There are people who say it is the merit of a minor general in a white gown, Xue Rengui. (ZHANG SHIGUI speaks:) That’s right. This is all my merit. I was wearing white that day! (XU MAOGONG speaks:) I don’t believe it. Soldier, call in Xue Rengui! (SOLDIER speaks:) Xue Rengui, where are you? (XUE RENGUI enters, recites:)

As a general I pacified the Heavenly Mountains with three shots;

As a hero I reentered through the passes of the Han,⁶⁸ singing a long song.

Only then did I know that the many strange features of distant parts

Cannot be captured in the minute space filled by brush and ink.

I am Xue Rengui. I have served under Commander Zhang Shigui from the time I bid adieu to my parents to join the army. Going off to campaign against Koguryo, the harbor⁶⁹ was secured by me, and after I had pacified the Heavenly Mountains with three shots, I forced the molizhi to retreat, and I led the army back to the capital in victory. Today merit will be determined in the Office of the Commander in Chief; promotions will be granted and rewards handed out. The chief of staff has called for me, so I must go. Here I am! Soldiers, report that Xue Rengui has arrived. (SOLDIER acts out reporting, speaks:) Sir! I report to Your Excellency the Chief of Staff that Xue Rengui has arrived! (XU MAOGONG speaks:) Tell him to come in. (XUE RENGUI acts out greeting, speaks:) For what commission did Your Excellency the Chief of Staff summon me, Xue Rengui? (XU MAOGONG speaks:) The pacification of the Heavenly Mountains by three shots and the defeat inflicted on the molizhi—whose merits were these? (XUE RENGUI speaks:) The pacification of the Heavenly Mountains by three shots and the defeat inflicted on the molizhi are both due to my merit. But it is not just these—every one of my fifty-four feats of arms in crossing the sea to pacify Liao have been falsely claimed by Zhang Shigui. If you hadn’t asked me today, Chief of Staff, I would not have dared raise the issue. Chief of Staff, please set the matter straight on my behalf! (XU MAOGONG speaks:) Zhang Shigui, if you want to falsely claim his merit, that is not a minor matter indeed! How could you claim this merit as your own? But who was in charge of the battle formations that day? (XUE RENGUI speaks:) The official who supervised the battle that day was Du Ruhui. Chief of Staff, if you do not believe me, just ask the army supervisor to come over, and you will learn the truth. (MALE LEAD enters dressed as DU RUHUI, and speaks:) I am Du Ruhui, and my style is Keming. I hail from Duling in the Metropolitan Prefecture, where my ancestors have lived for generations. Together with Fang Xuanling⁷⁰ I am in charge of imperial administration. The emperor in his grace has appointed me to the office of the president of the Ministry of War and ennobled me as Duke of Cai. Because Koguryo has lately refused to obey the commands of the court and has invaded our borders, His Majesty dispatched generals to lead an army on a punitive campaign against the eastern regions. There was one minor general in a white gown, a certain Xue Rengui, who pacified the Heavenly Mountains with three shots of his bow and forced the molizhi to retreat. These feats of arms are truly no minor merits. Now Xu Maogong at the Office of the Commander in Chief has sent people to invite me over, I trust, for the matter of determining merit. I’ve personally seen the heroic courage of the molizhi—who could have forced him to retreat except for Xue Rengui?

(XIANLÜ MODE: Dian jiangchen)

He was just like a ferocious tiger blocking the road:

Who’d dare resist?

There was one soldier in a white gown

Who courageously charged forward,

And fought so hard that molizhi had no way to flee!

(Speak:) But that Commander Zhang Shigui falsely claimed Xue Rengui’s merits. I’ve witnessed these feats of arms on the battlefield with my own eyes, so how can he falsely claim them? (Sings:)

(Hunjiang long)

Such men may be pardoned for murder,

But he deliberately muddles up another man’s merits!

Coveting a single moment’s title or reward,

He plies a hundred tricks of bribery and lies.

I simply ask you: Whose strength was it in front of Nine-Mile Mountain?⁷¹

Yet you want to be portrayed in the Gallery Soaring Beyond the Mists!⁷²

Kowtowing below the golden steps I will provide a detailed exposition—

How can you turn white into black and black into white?

This is no more than “hating the purple and seizing the vermilion”!⁷³

(Speaks:) I reached the Office of the Commander in Chief while I’ve been talking. Soldiers, report that Du Ruhui has arrived. (SOLDIER acts out reporting, and speaks:) Chief of Staff, sir, I report that Army Supervisor Du has arrived. (XU MAOGONG speaks:) Invite him in. (MALE LEAD acts out greeting, and speaks:) Duke Ying, why did you summon me? (XU MAOGONG speaks:) I wouldn’t dare invite you with no reason. On that day, the pacification of the Heavenly Mountains by three shots, and the defeat inflicted on the molizhi—Duke Cai, only you were in charge of the battle formations, and you must have seen things clearly. Now Zhang Shigui claims that it was his merit, but Xue Rengui also explains it is his. It is hard for me to make a decision at the moment on something so far away, so I would like Duke Cai to provide me with a true account. (MALE LEAD speaks:) These are all feats of arms by Xue Rengui. (ZHANG SHIGUI speaks:) Your lordships, today all civil officials and military officers are assembled here. Who else in this battle could have come close to the molizhi except for me, Zhang Shigui? The pacification of the Heavenly Mountains with just three shots and the defeat inflicted on the molizhi are clearly both my merits. So why do you now want to snatch them away from me and reward that Xue Rengui? (MALE LEAD speaks:) Zhang Shigui, these are both feats of arms by Xue Rengui. How can you falsely claim them as yours? (XUE RENGUI speaks:) Lord Army Supervisor, you are an enlightened minister. When some time ago we crossed the sea to pacify the Liao, I, Xue Rengui, established fifty-four great merits, but Zhang Shigui has falsely claimed them all. Lord Army Supervisor, please be so kind as to serve as my witness! (MALE LEAD sings:)

(You hulu)

On that day the battle lines were drawn on the banks of the Yalu.

(ZHANG SHIGUI speaks:) If you say that the merit of the pacification of the Heavenly Mountains by three shots wasn’t mine, whose was it? (MALE LEAD sings:)

Now you’re facing the civil officials and military officers.

(XU MAOGONG speaks:) Pacification of the Heavenly Mountains by three shots: this was the greatest merit. But you are wrangling over it, so how can I know whose merit it was? (MALE LEAD speaks:) I have witnessed this with my own eyes. This is truly Xue Rengui’s merit. (Sings:)

The three shots pacifying the Heavenly Mountains precisely resembled pearls on a string!

(ZHANG SHIGUI speaks:) I am an officer with the rank of commander, so I can be listed on the register of merits. That Xue Rengui is only a foot soldier running before the cavalry, so how could he be listed in the register of merits? (MALE LEAD sings:)

There is no need for you, General, to fight over the register of merits.

No matter what, isn’t it always the phoenix that winds up on the wutong tree?⁷⁴

(ZHANG SHIGUI speaks:) When Xue Rengui got to Koguryo, he broke out in hives all over his body, and all he did every day was scratch himself. How many times did he fight? He didn’t even have an inch of arrow, so what merit could he have? (MALE LEAD sings:)

That Xue Rengui had ten great merits,

You are the one without an inch of arrow.

You just want to play that Zhao Gao who called a stag a horse in the court of Qin—

Why can’t you imitate the Longbo and pull leviathans up from the depths?⁷⁵

(ZHANG SHIGUI speaks:) It’s not that I, Zhang Shigui, like to brag, but who can ride a nag like me? Pull a stiff bow like me? Eat cold food like me? Chew fat onions like me? If you have good wine, pour me three pints. I am a truly stout fellow made of ringing iron! (MALE LEAD sings:)

(Tianxia le)

You dare brag about being a real man, a stalwart hero?

Unlike all others?

Just mull it over!

Are you some Yang Youji who can hit a poplar leaf from a hundred paces away?⁷⁶

(ZHANG SHIGUI speaks:) When Xue Rengui got to Koguryo he spent all his time catching locusts, feeling around for crabs, and digging out crickets. When was he capable of fighting? (MALE LEAD sings:)

And who was leading the grand army?

And who was running the marshal’s office?

(ZHANG SHIGUI speaks:) Don’t you boast! Where is your merit? (MALE LEAD speaks:) You tell me! (Sings:)

Who requests a salary without first showing merit?

(ZHANG SHIGUI speaks:) Let’s evaluate me: on the civil side, I am conversant with the Three Strategies,⁷⁷ on the military, I understand the Six Tactics.⁷⁸ I’m there with the best! (MALE LEAD speaks:) Shut up! (Sings:)

(Nezha ling)

If we were to speak of the civil:

Can you compare to Guan Zhong and Bao Shuya?⁷⁹

(ZHANG SHIGUI speaks:) And as for the military? (MALE LEAD sings:)

If we were to evaluate your martial qualities,

Are you a match for Zhou Yu or Lu Su?⁸⁰

(ZHANG SHIGUI speaks:) And what about my intelligence and capacity for planning? (MALE LEAD sings:)

As for that:

Can you match Recumbent Dragon or Fledgling Phoenix?⁸¹

(ZHANG SHIGUI speaks:) When it comes to military books and battle tactics, I’m stuffed to the gills! Sometime later on I will be appointed as minister, ennobled as lord, and get a really important office! (MALE LEAD sings:)

If you are going to resemble Zhang Liang,⁸²

You’d better leave the court and go back to the hills

To study a few more battle plans and military books!

(ZHANG SHIGUI speaks:) I hold the office of a commander, yet I don’t measure up to some village peasant who started out as a common soldier? As foul as my temper is, would I submit to this? (MALE LEAD sings:)

(Que tazhi)

You say that he was a lowly peasant,

Who began a common soldier.

(Continues in speech:) Just think of Zhuge Liang!

If he wasn’t hiding his traces in Nanyang,

Could he happily have plowed and hoed?

(ZHANG SHIGUI speaks:) So what happened to him later? (MALE LEAD sings:)

His fate changed, he met up with an imperial ruler,

Who in a single year thrice visited his thatched cottage.⁸³

(ZHANG SHIGUI speaks:) That Zhuge Liang hoed the field and tilled the land, and that First Lord Liu⁸⁴ wove mats and plaited sandals—why would you want to mention such people? (MALE LEAD speaks:) Since ancient times loyal ministers and great generals come from poor families. I will tell you one more example. (Sings:)

(Jisheng cao)

Once long ago, I remember, Marshal Han

Begged food from a washerwoman.⁸⁵

If Xiao He⁸⁶ had not recommended him as the generalissimo,

Could the Prince of Han have done in Double Pupils?⁸⁷

This shows that the loyal and great mostly come from impoverished households.

(ZHANG SHIGUI speaks:) Army Supervisor, if it were up to me we would separate Xue Rengui from the army and send him back home to plant his crops as he did before. Now that would bring pleasure to my heart. (MALE LEAD sings:)

Your road laid with gravel would overturn a bridge of purple-gold,⁸⁸

That’s no match for that washing pool for soaking hemp that sets up a heaven-bearing pillar!⁸⁹

(XUE RENGUI speaks:) Chief of staff, there’s no mistaking what the army supervisor saw, how can you register my merits under Zhang Shigui’s name? This would make a mockery of the Tang emperor’s divine sageliness! It also would mean that the enlightened ruler would be unaware of the corruption of his underlings. (XU MAOGONG speaks:) Stop! Stop! You two generals stop arguing! Duke of Cai, if you want to settle these merits, it’s easy enough. We will set up a target with a red bull’s-eye, on that we’ll place a golden coin, then set up the target at a distance of one hundred paces, and have them each fire three arrows. We will list the merit of pacifying the Heavenly Mountains with three shots under the name of whoever hits the golden coin in the center, and he will be promoted and rewarded. But whoever cannot hit the golden coin will be dismissed from office, have his salary discontinued, and have his status reduced to that of a mere commoner. (MALE LEAD speaks:) Chief of staff, you are right! (ZHANG SHIGUI speaks:) So now you order Xue Rengui and me to shoot at this target of a golden coin. Well, Chief of staff, please allow me to ask: How about the one who can hit the target? How about the one who cannot hit the target? Even those who made it into the Gallery Soaring Beyond the Mists couldn’t hit such a target. Xue Rengui, just settle down! You wanted to claim my feats of arms as your own merit and now force me to hit the target. You shoot first! (MALE LEAD speaks:) Chief of Staff, let’s watch as they shoot their arrows, and then we’ll know the truth. (Sings:)

(Jinzhan’er)

The two of you compete to win or lose,

In this way finding out the truth.

(XU MAOGONG speaks:) We need to get this cleared up today, before we can distribute rewards in accordance with merit. (MALE LEAD sings:)

In this way the register of merit will be free of the slightest error.

(XU MAOGONG speaks:) The one who cannot hit the golden coin will be dismissed from office and deprived of rank; the one who hits the golden coin—let him wear a purple gown and golden belt. (MALE LEAD sings:)

Miss the target and be stripped of office and rank;

The one who can hit the target: a golden fish⁹⁰ will hang from his jade belt.

(XU MAOGONG speaks:) The one who cannot hit the target will be reduced in rank to the status of mere commoner, while the one who hits the target will be appointed to a position above those of the Three Dukes.⁹¹ (MALE LEAD sings:)

For the one who cannot hit the target a thatched homestead, three qing of land,

And for tools to hold in his hand, a single hoe.

The one who’ll hit the target definitely will achieve “twelve lances arrayed in front of your gate,”⁹²

“Eight Pepper patterns” arrayed on your door.⁹³

(XU MAOGONG speaks:) Now move the target with its red bull’s-eye out. Can you see that golden coin on the target? Each of you will shoot three arrows in this match. (XUE RENGUI speaks:) Chief of Staff, this is fair. Get me my bow and arrows, and I will shoot three arrows. (Acts out shooting and hitting the target three times.) (SOLDIER acts out reporting, speaks:) Chief of Staff, Xue Rengui has hit the bull’s-eye with each of his three arrows. (XU MAOGONG speaks:) A fine general! He has hit the center of the golden coin! Zhang Shigui, it’s your turn to shoot. (ZHANG SHIGUI speaks:) He shot his arrows? His bowmanship is just the same as mine. (XU MAOGONG speaks:) Just keep quiet and shoot your three arrows! (ZHANG SHIGUI speaks:) In my opinion none of those who first made it into the Gallery Soaring Beyond the Mists could hit such a target. Xue Rengui, just settle down! You wanted to claim my feats of arms as your own merit and now force me to hit the target. Well fine, I’ll shoot. Push the target out! (SOLDIER speaks:) Check out the target! (ZHANG SHIGUI speaks:) What is the distance of this target? (SOLDIER speaks:) It is one hundred paces. (ZHANG SHIGUI speaks:) Bring it back seventy or eighty paces. (SOLDIER speaks:) That’s too close! (ZHANG SHIGUI speaks:) You come somewhat closer. If I manage to hit the target, I will be your son! Soldier, get me my bow and arrows. I’ve been a commander for thirty years, but I’ve never realized that a bow is actually so stiff. I’ll shoot! A hit! (SOLDIER speaks:) A miss! (ZHANG SHIGUI speaks:) It’s not that I didn’t hit the target, it’s just that the target is too far away. Let me shoot one more time. (Acts out shooting again, speaks:) Hit! (SOLDIER speaks:) Miss! (ZHANG SHIGUI speaks:) This bow is not my bow! The strength of my bow is that of three and half quarts of rice.⁹⁴ Let me shoot again. (Acts out shooting again, speaks:) Hit! (SOLDIER speaks:) Another miss! (ZHANG SHIGUI speaks:) Now what? Didn’t I say I couldn’t hit it? (XU MAOGONG speaks:) Bah, you missed every shot. Soldiers, arrest Zhang Shigui! (SOLDIER speaks:) Yes sir! (Acts out arresting ZHANG SHIGUI.) (XU MAOGONG speaks:) At the command of His Majesty I determined the proper course of action here in the Office of Commander-in-Chief because the two generals were fighting over merit. It turned out that Zhang Shigui falsely claimed the merits of Xue Rengui. According to military law he should be beheaded, but for the time being he will spared from the sword and reduced to the status of commoner. “A thatched homestead, three qing of land / And for tools to hold in his hand a single hoe.” Soldier, take him outside. (SOLDIER speaks:) Yes sir! (ZHANG SHIGUI speaks:) Xue Rengui’s original status was that of a farmer, yet he is now made an official. My original status was that of an official, yet I am made into a farmer. Chief of Staff, you are truly muddleheaded! Fine! Fine! Fine! He has had his say now, but I’ve yet to have mine! (Recites:)

In my capacity as commander I was way too vicious:

This morning I’m stripped of my office and become a farmer.

No need for me to study anymore the Yellow Lord’s Three Strategies—

When I get home I’ll guzzle down tofu and three flagons of wine!

(Exits.)

(XU MAOGONG speaks:) Today merit and crime have been made clear, so I’ll have to return to His Majesty and report.

(Exits.)

(XUE RENGUI speaks:) Army Supervisor, today would have never happened if it hadn’t been for you! Some other day I will have to repay your favor doublefold. (MALE LEAD speaks:) General, it is well deserved! (Sings:)

(Zhuan Coda)

You will accomplish what was begun with the bloodstained red of your battle dress

The green of your campaign boots tucked into the stirrups,

That one “square-heaven” lance of yours⁹⁵ surpasses past and present.

Look at that merit-stealing thief with a face like dung

Exiting the yamen gate like a scurrying pig or fleeing wolf!

Quite unlike you, filled with joy,

With well-wishers pressing around you, front and back.

That phrase “For a single general to achieve success myriads of men must die” means nothing here!⁹⁶

(XUE RENGUI speaks:) I can’t think of any kind of merit that I may possess to earn Your Excellency’s recommendation? (MALE LEAD sings:)

It’s all because you opened the borders and expanded our territory,

Grasped the clouds and controlled the mists,

Supported by the sagely enlightened Son of Heaven and the hundred gods.

(Exits.)

(XU MAOGONG enters and speaks:) Xue Rengui, because you have achieved such great merit by pacifying the Heavenly Mountains with three shots and vanquishing Koguryo, by order of His Majesty you are hereby appointed as the empire’s commander in chief of the infantry and cavalry. Face the court and give expression to your gratitude. (XUE RENGUI acts out expressing his gratitude, and speaks:) Your Excellency Chief of Staff, many thanks for your recommendation! (XU MAOGONG speaks:) Commander in Chief, His Majesty offers you three cups of wine. Soldier, bring the wine. (XUE RENGUI speaks:) Chief of Staff, I can’t drink. (XU MAOGONG speaks:) This is His Majesty’s command. Who would dare to refuse? (XUE RENGUI speaks:) As it is His Majesty’s command, I will drink this wine. (Acts out drinking the wine, and speaks:) Aiya! I’m drunk! (Acts out falling asleep.) (XU MAOGONG speaks:) The commander in chief is drunk and has fallen asleep. Soldiers, don’t make any noise, and report to me when the commander in chief wakes up. I will go to the rear hall.

(Exits.)

(XUE RENGUI acts out having a dream, and speaks:) I’m Xue Rengui. I’ve been away from home for ten years. My father and mother are old now and have no one to take care of them. Today I will secretly leave the border regions and, with some twenty or thirty cavalry men with light bows and short arrows and with fine steeds and trusted men, go back home to see my parents. (Recites:)

Because the merit of my three shots established peace,

I’ve been appointed commander in chief to guard the borders.

For ten long years I never dreamt of going home,

And in sadness I heed the cry of the “compassionate” crow out beyond the sky.⁹⁷

ACT 2

(OLD FEMALE enters and speaks:) I am Donkey Xue’s mother. Ten years have passed since our son joined the army and we have never even received a letter. The two of us are now advanced in years and we thankfully rely on the care of our daughter-in-law. After we eat breakfast there’s nothing left for evening. We scorch the earth to sleep, and cook the dirt to lie down.⁹⁸ I keep an urgent lookout but never see my son return. Nor do I have a clue whether he obtained an office or not. Aiya! My son Donkey Xue, pining for you has done me in! (Acts out weeping.) (XUE RENGUI enters and speaks:) I, Xue Rengui, am coming back to see how my parents are doing, and here I am already! Ah, my old home. Open the gate! Open the gate! (OLD FEMALE speaks:) Who is calling at the gate? Let me open the gate. (Acts out greeting, and speaks:) Officer, who are you? (XUE RENGUI speaks:) It’s me, Donkey Xue! (OLD FEMALE acts out weeping, and speaks:) My son, how I longed for you! Let me call your father. (Acts out calling, speaks:) Old Uncle Xue! (MALE LEAD enters dressed as an elderly peasant, holding a cane, and sings:)

(SHANGDIAO MODE: Ji xianbin)

Who keeps calling “Old Uncle Xue”!

(OLD FEMALE speaks:) That was me calling you! (MALE LEAD sings:)

I would have said that it was that little good-for-nothing pestering me again!

I can’t move: I bend forward then backward;

I can’t stay still; I sway to the east and the west.

I am so bent by age that my skinny and shrunken old body has wasted away to nothing,

I am so racked by sorrow that my dry and desiccated beard and hair have turned all gray.

(Acts out weeping, and sings:)

Oh, my son who has joined the army!

Alas,

Where can he be?

Even if I were a man of iron or stone I’d be moved to sad sighs.

You failed to become commander in chief of the six ministers!⁹⁹

(Acts out weeping, and sings:)

Alas, my son,

All you achieved was a nailed-up sign, “From foreign parts.”¹⁰⁰

(XUE RENGUI speaks:) Father, how did you get so old you seem barely alive?¹⁰¹ (MALE LEAD sings:)

(Xiaoyao le)

Aiya! My son,

Ever since you joined the army and left for foreign parts,

I’ve every day been bereft of all energy, robbed of all strength;

I’ve lost my souls and my spirit has scattered.

Aiya! My son,

Who knows where you might be scorched by the sun, scourged by the wind,

Or gambling for glory and fame, so that joy will follow upon suffering.

I only hope that the success of a single shot by you will change our status,

That you’ll glorify our ancestors and all preceding generations!

But at present I’m without kith, without kin,

Without support, without assistance.

(Acts out weeping, and sings:)

Aiya! My son,

Every day we have no rice and have no firewood.

(MALE LEAD acts out greeting OLD FEMALE, and speaks:) My wife, what are you calling me for? (OLD FEMALE speaks:) My husband, you are always in a stew no matter what you do. Why are you crying and weeping like this? Where were you when I was calling for you a moment ago? (MALE LEAD speaks:) I was over at the eastern side of the village, having some wine at a wedding party. (OLD FEMALE speaks:) My husband, if you were over at the eastern side of the village having some wine at a wedding party, whose daughter was bringing home whose son? Tell me the whole story! (MALE LEAD speaks:) My wife, listen to me. (Sings:)

(Wuye’er)

Bodhisattva, the daughter of Old Master Liu,

Took in Wang Two from our village as her husband.

And all her kith and kin put a pin in her hair.

(OLD FEMALE speaks:) Did that girl bow to you? (MALE LEAD speaks:) My wife, you’ve hit the nail on the head! She first bowed to her father-in-law, to her mother-in-law, to the elder uncles, to the younger uncles, and to all the aunts, but when she came to me and started to bow, I heard them say: “Don’t!” (Sings:)

But when she came to me, they stopped her from bowing,

And I asked, “Why did you stop?”

(Speaks:) The people more advanced in years didn’t say a word, but those younger folks all together started to make a ruckus and said: “Don’t bow to that old geezer. He has only one son, who went off to the army ten years ago and may be dead. If you bow to him, who will be left to carry on our family’s rites? This single sentence—(Sings:)

Once it was said, it made tears fill my cheeks.

Aiya! Donkey,

Because of you your father and mother are overcome by depression!

(OLD FEMALE speaks:) My husband, be happy! Donkey Xue has come back! (MALE LEAD speaks:) Where is he? (OLD FEMALE speaks:) My son, come and bow to your father! (XUE RENGUI acts out greeting MALE LEAD and bowing to him, and speaks:) My father, I have come back to see how you and mother are doing. (MALE LEAD speaks:) You ungrateful little thief, you’ve really come back! Wife, let me give this scoundrel a beating! (OLD FEMALE acts out dissuading him, speaks:) He just got home! How can you beat him? Husband, still your anger! (MALE LEAD sings:)

(Houting hua)

A clean break: once you got going, you didn’t think twice!

(Acts out raising his cane. OLD FEMALE acts out grabbing it.) (MALE LEAD speaks:) Wife, let go! (OLD FEMALE speaks:) Husband, still your rage! (They act this out three times.) (MALE LEAD sings:)

I’ll beat you in a hundred, a thousand ways for following your whims!

(MALE LEAD speaks:) Donkey, how long have you been gone? (XUE RENGUI speaks:) Your son has been away for a full ten years. (MALE LEAD sings:)

You joined the army at the age of twenty-two,

How come you show up precisely at thirty-three?

(XUE RENGUI speaks:) Father, because I fulfilled the duties of loyalty, I could not fulfill those of filial piety. (MALE LEAD sings:)

On that day when you left home to set out on “those purple paths,”

You displayed your heroic might in Carmine City,¹⁰²

And showed off your martial skills in Longmen Township.

You said you would promptly change our family status—

Who could have ever expected that another ten years would pass!

(Shuang yan’er)

You are exactly like Zhao Gao, who delivered a candlestick but never returned.¹⁰³

Aiya! My son,

I thought that father and child were cut off forever

And didn’t believe that you would be here in the flesh.

Your mother has lost all her strength,

And your father’s hair has turned gray.

(XUE RENGUI speaks:) Father and Mother, you should know that I did not come back home openly, but slipped away from the border regions to see how you were doing, so I am going to have to leave. (MALE LEAD speaks:) Wife, treat our son to a meal! (OLD FEMALE speaks:) With what, husband? (MALE LEAD sings:)

(Cu hulu)

Buy some wine

And kill a chicken.

(OLD FEMALE speaks:) What should I buy some wine and a chicken with? (MALE LEAD sings:)

At the eastern side of the village,¹⁰⁴ pawn that old pair of hempen sandals for me!

(OLD FEMALE speaks:) Even if I can buy a little wine and some snacks, it won’t be enough for him to get drunk. Donkey can hold his liquor! (MALE LEAD sings:)

You say that Donkey Xue can hold an ocean of liquor. …

(Continues in speech:) No problem! (Sings:)

We still have those two pints of buckwheat under the bed.

Oh, my son,

I have no idea which wind blew you, swirling and twirling, home!

(ZHANG SHIGUI, leading SOLDIERS, suddenly enters, and speaks:) Isn’t that Xue Rengui? Listen to His Majesty’s command: because you neglected your military duties and slipped away to go home, His Majesty has ordered me to arrest you and take you back to the palace for punishment. Soldiers, grab Xue Rengui and bind him up tightly. (XUE RENGUI acts out panicking and weeping, and speaks:) What to do now? Father, who can save me? (MALE LEAD sings:)

(Reprise)

Seeing him so dreadfully and anxiously open the imperial edict,

Already scares me so much that my face turns a parched yellow.

(ZHANG SHIGUI speaks:) Soldiers, arrange yourself on both sides and don’t let that old geezer approach. (OLD FEMALE acts out weeping.) (MALE LEAD speaks:) My son! (Sings:)

I see those oh-so-vicious constables line up on both sides:

None can help but Guanyin of the southern sea who saves everyone from suffering.¹⁰⁵

(ZHANG SHIGUI speaks:) Keep that old geezer away and don’t let him snatch the criminal away! (MALE LEAD sings:)

I’m so scared I kowtow to you and make my bow—

(Continues in speech:) Your Excellency! (Sings:)

You forgiving my son,

Would far surpass [in merit] feeding a myriad of monks.

(ZHANG SHIGUI speaks:) Soldiers, take him away! (XUE RENGUI speaks:) My father and mother, I cannot take care of you! (MALE LEAD acts out weeping, and sings:)

(Langlilai Coda)

Rough and rude they push my son out through the gate,

(ZHANG SHIGUI speaks:) Drag him outside, kill him, and be done with it. (MALE LEAD sings:)

He, wide-eyed in terror, is about to be killed—

Uselessly I strain my mind and muster my thoughts—what can be done?

(ZHANG SHIGUI speaks:) Bind him up tightly, don’t let the scoundrel escape! (MALE LEAD sings:)

All I know is that it’ll be hard for him to wriggle out of the hempen rope tied behind his back.

Who will come to forgive my child?

Aiya! My son,

The only chance for us to meet again is that highest heaven sends a writ of pardon!

(MALE LEAD and OLD FEMALE exit.)

(ZHANG SHIGUI acts out pushing XUE RENGUI and speaks:) Don’t pretend this is happening only in your sleep and in a dream!

(Exits.)

(XUE RENGUI acts out waking up, and speaks:) I slept really well. Well, so it turned out to be a dream of Southern Branch,¹⁰⁶ but it terrified me! A moment ago I had three cups of wine and got drunk, accidentally fell asleep, and went straight home in a dream. When I saw my father and mother they were so poor and miserable! When will I be able to see them? (Acts out being sad.) (XU MAOGONG [enters and] speaks:) I am Xu Maogong. I wonder why Xue Rengui in the front hall is so upset? I’ll have to ask him why. (Acts out greeting, and speaks:) Commander in Chief, why are you so upset? Perhaps because you find your office too small? (XUE RENGUI speaks:) Your Excellency Chief of Staff, if you don’t mind a long story, please listen as I give you a full account at leisure. (Recites:)

From my earliest youth I grew up in a farming village,

And all my life I knew only the taste of village wine.

When did I ever smell the carefully sealed imperial brew?

When I had taken three cups, I was as drunk as a skunk!

My single soul, my true nature, traveled back home,

Where I was happily reunited with my father and mother.

But suddenly we heard a loud shouting outside the gate,

Announcing the arrival of Commander Zhang Shigui.

He said that I had left the border regions on my own,

And that he had been dispatched to punish me.

He bound my arms behind my back and brought me before the steps—

With one blow of the sword my skull was shattered!

All of a sudden I woke up with a start from my dream,

I had been sleeping in the army headquarters’ front hall!

From afar I gaze at my hometown—where may it be?

Thinking of my father and mother, my tears fall freely.

I implore you this, Chief of Staff, who opened the borders and expanded the territory:

Take pity on me, Xue Rengui, who abandoned his village and left his home.

(XU MAOGONG speaks:) So that’s the situation! I will propose to His Majesty that you, Commander in Chief, be allowed to return to your hometown, clad in brocade. I will also give you my own daughter as your wife, so she can accompany you and meet with your parents. The husband glorious, the wife noble, and both enjoying Heaven’s favor—wouldn’t that be wonderful? (XUE RENGUI speaks:) Many thanks, Your Excellency Chief of Staff. I dare not stay longer or tarry. With a hundred ounces of yellow gold and a thousand jugs of imperial wine I will return home to see my parents. (XU MAOGONG recites:)

Because you pacified the Heavenly Mountains with three shots,

You were given the golden seal and appointed as general with all honors.

(XUE RENGUI recites:)

Once long ago, weeping and crying, I abandoned my father and mother;

On this day, laughing and smiling, I return in glory, clad in brocade.

(Exit.)

ACT 3

(COMIC, dressed as PEASANT WOMAN, enters, and sings:)

(SHUANGDIAO MODE: Douye huang)¹⁰⁷

Where, oh where?

To the west of the jujube orchard!

My mother told you to come on home early,

Afraid that wolves and tigers would bite you.

Pick the jujubes, pick the jujubes, pick your mother’s brains!

You say you never picked any jujubes?

Where did those pits in your mouth come from?

I round things up, set them right.

If I see a wolf,

I’ll spring across the wall,

And scare your mother!

(Speaks:) Bange, I am leaving for the graves. You also should hurry up! (MALE LEAD enters dressed as BANGE and speaks:) You should wait a minute for me. Today is the Cold Food Festival. The weather is really nice. (Sings:)

(ZHONGLü MODE: Fendie’er)

Today the sun is warm, the wind light;

Each family goes to the graves, well prepared!¹⁰⁸

They have prepared some festival foods:

Some vegetable-stuffed steamed buns;

Noodles dribbled through a sieve,

Chicken, shoats, dog, and swine.

What stupid thing is she up to now

That she has drunk so much she’s killed the mood!

(Zui chunfeng)

You just had to lose your paktong¹⁰⁹ hairpin,

So your oiled bun sags to one side.

Plenty of people visit the graves,

But none the likes of you,

You!

Drinking until you cannot even walk,

Cannot even stand:

Drunk and drunk again!

(PEASANT WOMAN speaks:) Bange, hurry up! Let’s go look at the sprouts. (MALE LEAD speaks:) Do you see that? Who’s coming there in the distance? (PEASANT WOMAN acts out panicking, and speaks:) Bange, that’s a whole bunch of people. That’s really scary! (MALE LEAD sings:)

(Shi’er yue)

It must be bunch after bunch out “trodding the green”;¹¹⁰

Band upon band seeking out the paddies along the paths:

All I see is a cloud of red dust rising up.

(XUE RENGUI enters, astride a horse and leading troops, and speaks:) I am Xue Rengui. Preceded by my ceremonial guards, I leisurely travel on. (MALE LEAD sings:)

So it turns out to be a mounted warrior, speeding on like a flash of lightning.

His entourage wears brocade from top to bottom,

So why is the general alone wearing a plain white top and bottom?

(Yaomin ge)

Wow,

Could it be that the god of snow has descended from heaven?

(XUE RENGUI speaks:) Hey, you, farmer, stop! (MALE LEAD sings:)

When he shouts his booming voice resembles spring thunder!

(XUE RENGUI speaks:) Don’t get flustered, I just want to ask you a question. (MALE LEAD sings:)

It scares me so much my mind and my courage both quiver and quake in delirium;

My hands and feet tremble and shake like an idiot.

Let me steel myself—

How can I move my body?

Best I fake drunkenness without the need of wine!

(XUE RENGUI speaks:) Hey fellow, I want to ask you something! (MALE LEAD sings:)

(Shang xiaolou)

Suddenly I hear him talk, his horse whinny:

A power and prestige of terrifying power!

It scares me so much I quiver and quake,

Am flurried and flustered,

And only want to wail and weep, cry and sob.

Here; there; nowhere to hide,

And this makes me kneel, kerplonk, right in front of the horse.

(XUE RENGUI speaks:) You fellow, I have some questions for you. And don’t come up with all kinds of excuses. (MALE LEAD speaks:) How would I dare? (Sings:)

(Manting fang)

How would I dare make all kinds of excuses?

I only fear my words will not come out right,

Or what I say will be at odds with you.

(XUE RENGUI speaks:) Are you a local? Or are you a sojourner? What labor service are you on? (MALE LEAD sings:)

We, your children, are inhabitants of Longmen Township and fulfill our corvée.

(XUE RENGUI speaks:) What are you doing here in such large groups all together? (MALE LEAD sings:)

Today is day one-oh-five, Cold Food Festival:

Those who are visiting the graves are our fellow villagers—

When drinking wine we use earthen jugs and pottery bowls.

Your Excellency must be here to collect taxes due,

So I will go to the village and report your arrival.

Your Excellency,

Just say what you want, and I will do it!

(XUE RENGUI speaks:) Let me ask you: Old Uncle Xue in this village had a son called Donkey Xue. Do you know him? (MALE LEAD speaks:) Your Lordship, I know that Xue Rengui! (Sings:)

(Kuaihuo san)

Out on the threshing ground the two of us stripped ears of grain,

And from the tops of trees plucked green plums.

Facing backward we rode on the black oxen, playing the Tibetan flute,

And stole fresh melons to eat, rind and all!

(XUE RENGUI speaks:) As you were such a good friend of Donkey Xue’s, what craft did he learn in his youth? (MALE LEAD sings:)

(Ya gu’er)

He, he, he—from his earliest youth—

He, he, he did not behave in a proper way!

He fervently trained with spear and with staff,

Unwilling to pull the harrow or steer the plow.

He indeed rejected the farmer’s life,

Practiced the military arts,

And became champion of each band or group.

You gave him a bow and arrows, and he could shoot;

You gave him a fiery steed, and he could ride it,

And he employed a squared-heaven lance with a painted shaft.

(XUE RENGUI speaks:) Who now takes care of his father and mother? Tell me everything, and I will listen carefully. (MALE LEAD speaks:) That elderly couple are now quite advanced in years. They only had this one child but he joined the army; for ten years they’ve had no news. His parents at home lack rice and firewood, and they anxiously keep watch for a return still unseen. What suffering! (Sings:)

(Baolao’er)

As soon as that child had become a grown man,

He didn’t treat his parents like Heaven and Earth.

I have no idea who his lover may be in some whorehouse or other,

But he never remembers their profound favor of feeding and raising him.

How pitiable, his father and mother,

Advanced in years, bereft of strength,

Nothing to rely on, nothing for support.

That scoundrel should die before his time,

And be tossed in a hole or dumped in a ditch—

He is truly a good-for-nothing!

(XUE RENGUI speaks:) You fellow, would you still recognize that Donkey Xue? (MALE LEAD speaks:) How would I not be able to recognize him? If I would see him, I would go and punch him in the face about fifty times! (XUE RENGUI speaks:) You fellow, now lift your head and open your eyes. I am that Donkey Xue, am I not? (MALE LEAD speaks:) If I had known that from the start, I wouldn’t have said a word! (XUE RENGUI speaks:) And you have cursed me enough. How could you know that at present I am the commander in chief of the infantry and cavalry of the whole empire, and that at the command of His Majesty I am returning home clad in brocade to visit my parents at home. (MALE LEAD sings:)

(Shuahai’er)

While your old parents suffer bitterly, you enjoy riches and glory,

And your appearance has changed into a heroic and stalwart figure.

Well you are plumper and fatter than in those days,

And have grown a moustache that covers your lips.

Don’t take offense at the words I maligned you with just now—

It’s because so much time has passed that I couldn’t recognize you.

(XUE RENGUI speaks:) I will not blame you. Forgive me for not coming down from my horse. (MALE LEAD sings:)

Ai!

Just look at his high and mighty air on horseback!

How we raced up the trees to grope for doves’ eggs,

And went into the muck and mire to snag frogs.

(XUE RENGUI speaks:) How have my father and mother been doing since I joined the army? Tell me everything and I will listen carefully. (MALE LEAD sings:)

(One from Coda)

Your mother is more than seventy,

Your father is exactly eighty.

And you have no siblings of any age:

In his dilapidated house your father bitterly suffers the cold of deepest winter;

While your mother stirs a whole night’s ashes in the cold stove.

They suffer such hunger their innards are shattered.

For them no succulent lamb and white noodles;

They get through with bland rice and yellowed pickles.

(XUE RENGUI speaks:) Do my father and mother ever think of me? (MALE LEAD sings:)

(Coda)

They weep from deepening dusk till early evening,

Then from early evening till late at night,

They weep for that Xue Rengui who quit home and hearth!

(Speaks:) Your father and mother are leaning on the gate from early till late, waiting for Donkey Xue, without any idea when he may return. How terrible! (Sings:)

Your aged parents do nothing but wait for you!

(Exit together with PEASANT WOMAN.)

(XUE RENGUI speaks:) So my father and mother are suffering in such a terrible way. How could I dare tarry here any longer? I have to hurry back home to see my father and mother. (Recites:)

Returning from Koguryo I enjoy my lord’s favors:

A hundred ounces of yellow gold, a thousand jugs of wine.

When I come home I will present these to my two parents:

This will best being a peasant by a long shot!

(Exits.)

ACT 4

(DU RUHUI enters and speaks:) I am Du Ruhui. After Xue Rengui had defeated the troops of Koguryo, pacified the Heavenly Mountains with three shots, and returned to court, he was appointed commander in chief of the infantry and cavalry. Xu Maogong’s daughter was bestowed upon him as his wife, and he was ordered to return to his hometown clad in brocade. Now I have been ordered by His Majesty to relay to Xu Maogong by edict that he should proceed straightaway to Longmen Township in Jiangzhou to ennoble Xue Rengui’s family and distribute rewards. I have transmitted this edict to Xu Maogong, and I can tarry here no longer since I have to return and report to His Majesty. (Recites:)

All because Xue Rengui crossed the sea and fought against Koguryo,

And repeatedly established great merits on the banks of the Yalu River,

He was bestowed yellow gold to return home and celebrate his parents’ old age,

He will be given further noble rank, heavy reward, and then summoned back to court.

(Exits.)

(MALE LEAD, dressed as elderly peasant, enters with OLD FEMALE and MINOR FEMALE, and speaks:) I am Old Uncle Xue. My wife, it’s been ten years since our son joined the army and we have received no news nor has he come back home. Will this ever end? (OLD FEMALE speaks:) My husband, it is all your fault! You let him go off and join the army! If you are having a hard time now, what can you say? Husband, last night I had a dream that our son had obtained an office. Could it be that he has enjoyed such luck? (MALE LEAD speaks:) Dreams are the longings of the heart. My son, come home quickly whether you got an office or not. This yearning for you is killing me! (Sings:)

(SHUANGDIAO MODE: Xinshui ling)

Because of you, a son who was supposed to be our provider, I’ve wept till my eyes have grown blurry.

Alas, I’ve been worried for the whole time you’ve been gone.

My son, if you haven’t gone off to the courts of the underworld,

Why have you tarried for ten years at the edge of the earth?

How can that be so-called “high rank at court or in the provinces”?

It makes me so vexed—when will it end?

(OLD FEMALE speaks:) He’ll come back in none of our lifetimes, so there’s no point to your vexations. (MALE LEAD speaks:) Let me get some sleep. (OLD FEMALE speaks:) My husband, you get some sleep. I’ll keep watch at the gate. (XUE RENGUI enters with YOUNG FEMALE and SOLDIERS, and speaks:) I’m home. Soldiers, take my horse! Isn’t that person outside the gate my mother? (OLD FEMALE speaks:) You, official coming from over there, who are you? Don’t scare me, this old woman! (XUE RENGUI speaks:) Mother, do you recognize your son Xue Rengui? Today I’ve come home after obtaining an office. (OLD FEMALE speaks:) Of course you are my child Xue Rengui! I will go and tell your father. My husband, congratulations! Our son has come home after obtaining an office. (MALE LEAD speaks:) Is that true? My wife, let’s go outside see if it is true. (Acts out greeting, and speaks:) Which one is Xue Rengui? (XUE RENGUI speaks:) I am Xue Rengui! Receive your child’s obeisances. (MALE LEAD sings:)

(Dianqian huan)

Our son has finally been able to come home:

But what honor guard of men and horses is that in his entourage?

(XUE RENGUI speaks:) Father, I can’t believe ten years have passed. (MALE LEAD sings:)

These ten years have become an empty tale:

What is true? What is false?

I harbored doubts that the magical magpie would leak any secrets at the evening yamen session,

Or that the daddy longlegs would spin its web at the front of the eaves,¹¹¹

But my dreaming soul could not abandon them.

A few days ago my eyes fluttered and jumped;

Last night the candlewick’s snuff suddenly popped.¹¹²

(XUE RENGUI speaks:) Father, after I had pacified the Heavenly Mountains with three shots and inflicted a defeat on the molizhi, I was appointed as commander in chief of the infantry and cavalry of the whole empire, and by imperial decree the daughter of the Duke of Ying was awarded to me as a wife. Today I have come back to my hometown clad in brocade to see my father and mother. Miss, please bow to my parents. (MINOR FEMALE acts out bowing, and speaks:) Father-in-Law and Mother-in-Law, please allow your daughter-in-law to perform eight bows. (OLD FEMALE speaks:) So you are the daughter of the Duke of Ying. That is really too much of an honor for us! (MINOR FEMALE speaks:) Today father and son and husband and wife are all reunited. My dear parents-in-law, please be seated, and allow your daughter-in-law to congratulate you with a bow. (OLD FEMALE speaks:) My son, we owe much to our daughter-in-law for taking care of us old folks in the last ten years. (MALE LEAD sings:)

(Tianshui ling)

We have experienced interminable years,

Desolate winter months,

Long hot summers,

Hopefully gazing in expectation with aching hearts and eager eyes.

For all the work and all the provisions during that time,

The gathering of leeks, the harvesting of vegetables,

The sewing of clothes, the mending and patching,

We relied on your first wife, the woman Liu!

(XUE RENGUI speaks:) First wife, I am deeply grateful to you for taking care of my parents for these ten years. Miss, you and I should show our gratitude by making a bow to Madame Liu. (YOUNG FEMALE speaks:) Elder Sister, I am deeply indebted to you for taking care of our parents-in-law. Allow your younger sister to make a few bows. (FEMALE speaks:) Miss, I am only the daughter of common folks, while you are the precious darling of a family of officials. Please take your ease. (TWO FEMALES act out bowing together.) (MALE LEAD speaks:) My daughters-in-law, from now on the two of you should not make any distinction between first and second, nor any between elder and younger. It would be best if you would treat each other as sisters. (MALE LEAD sings:)

(Zhegui ling)

It has to be stressed our family already had a wise and worthy daughter-in-law,

But who could know that by imperial grace

You would be gifted with such a pretty beauty?

One is a staunch and courageous man,

One, the wife who withstood poverty,

And one is the daughter of a prime minister.

That one knows the rites, displaying modesty;

This one is very caring, free from any mistake.

The two of you are both admirable and praiseworthy,

And without blemish or flaw.

This one, a village wife,

Lifted the tray as high as her eyebrows;¹¹³

That one, an official’s daughter,

Resembles a flower added on to brocade.

(XU MAOGONG enters leading soldiers, and recites:)

Yesterday I left the Phoenix Towers,¹¹⁴

Today I arrive here in Dragon Gate.

One entire family enjoys happiness,

For a thousand years we will praise the emperor’s grace.

I am Xu Maogong. Xue Rengui achieved merit in the campaign against Koguryo, and he has gone back to his village clad in the brocade that he was granted. Now I have been ordered by His Majesty to take this edict to Longmen Township, to ennoble and reward his parents and his wife Madame Liu, and to summon him back to court. Now I have arrived at his gate. Soldiers, report that Xu Maogong has arrived bearing the order of His Majesty. (SOLDIER speaks:) Sir! Commander in Chief, Xu Maogong has arrived in front of the gate at the order of His Majesty. (XUE RENGUI speaks:) Prepare some incense, and let me welcome him in person. (Acts out greeting.) (XU MAOGONG Speaks:) Xue Rengui, I have been ordered by His Majesty to deliver this edict, ennobling and rewarding your whole family. (XUE RENGUI speaks:) Your Excellency, if I had known you were coming, I would have met you further out on the road. Please forgive me for this crime. (MALE LEAD, OLD FEMALE, and FEMALE act out changing into cap and gown.) (MALE LEAD sings:)

(Xi Jiangnan)

Oh, could anyone guess that such glory would come our way?

Even a simple village peasant of weathered face and hoary head like me

Can be robed in scarlet, carry an ivory tablet, and be belted in raven-black silk.

My son, you should be happy now:

Not in vain did you once study the martial arts!

(XU MAOGONG speaks:) Xue Rengui, let your whole family kneel facing the palace. Listen to His Majesty’s edict:

Because of your merit that arches over the world, We raise your noble rank to that of Koguryo-pacifying duke, and you are given tax rights over ten thousand households. Upon your father and mother are bestowed a hundred ounces of yellow gold. Both Madame Liu and Madame Xu are bestowed the noble rank of lady of Liao. You will have to return to court within the next three months. Express your gratitude for the imperial grace!

(They all act out expressing gratitude.) (XU MAOGONG speaks:) At that time, I remember, the molizhi had bivouacked his troops in front of Whitebrow Slope on the banks of the Yalu River and challenged the famous generals of our Great Tang to battle. At that time some of the famous generals of our Great Tang had passed away, and some were just too old. It was all due to your three shots, Commander in Chief, that we were able to inflict a defeat on the molizhi and that you achieved this great merit. It is not without reason that today His Majesty has raised your office and distributed rewards. (MALE LEAD sings:)

(Gu meijiu)

So the Great Tang lacked famous generals,

And our son was ready to show his mettle.

It was just because he requited the state with his whole loyal heart

And fought a pitched battle with the troops of the Liao,

That we can finally put an end to this warfare.

(XUE RENGUI speaks:) Father, when I crossed the sea I established fifty-four merits in the campaign against Koguryo, but they were all falsely claimed by Commander Zhang Shigui. If His Excellency the Chief of Staff had not clarified merit and crime, how could I have lived to see this day? (All act out expressing their gratitude to XU MAOGONG.) (XU MAOGONG speaks:) This was all because His Majesty ordered me to promote and reward in accordance with merit. Why should I be thanked? (MALE LEAD sings:)

(Taiping ling)

Even though the Son of Heaven of the Tang determines life and death,

How could he be a match for the dirty tricks of Commander Zhang?

If it had not been for the divine perspicacity of you, Chief of Staff,

The merits of our general clad in white would have surely been wiped out.

Today our ranks are raised, our rewards are increased:

We enjoy such spectacular success!

Oh, how can we ever rightly pay our great benefactor back?

(XU MAOGONG speaks:) Commander in Chief, to have one’s whole family enjoy glory and status and to be summoned to court are the most joyous events of a man’s life. Today let’s slaughter a sheep and brew wine in order to have a large celebratory banquet! (Speaks in ballad verse:)

The white-clad general is peerless in this world;

He pacified Koguryo and his prestige shook the border regions.

He supported us until the cosmos was peaceful and stable,

And polished our luster until the sun and moon shone with brilliant light.

Old Uncle Xue, like the tree of long life, will never age;¹¹⁵

Madame Xue will share this joy in the daylily hall.¹¹⁶

A prime minister’s daughter happily takes second place;

A wife from the porridge days shows herself very wise.

By imperial decree the whole family is ennobled and given riches;

Now their status has been changed, their glory is exceptional.

If Xu Maogong had not ordered a shooting match at the army headquarters,

Could Xue Rengui have returned home clad in brocade?

Title:	Xu Maogong orders a shooting match at the army headquarters.
Name:	Xue Rengui Returns Home in Glory.

The End of The Zaju Xue Rengui Returns Home in Glory

    1.  See Ouyang and Song 1975, vol. 10, chap. 111, 4141.

    2.  See Zhao Wanli 1957.

    3.  See Anon. 1979.

    4.  Du Ruhui was one of the high ministers in the early years of the Tang dynasty.

    5.  No mention of her presence is made in the intervening acts.

    6.  In this text the stage directions are printed in regular-size characters, and they are (usually) separated from each other and from dialogue and song by open spaces. The “exit” at the end of this wedge and at the end of each act is written immediately following the last word of the preceding song and in smaller size and flush right in the line.

    7.  See chap. 2, n. 21.

    8.  Originally a phrase meaning to hate that the upright have been replaced by the deviant, it later came to mean exactly the opposite, “hated purple has replaced vermilion.” Here, to take what is not rightfully his. The original quote is from Analects 17.18, “The Master said, ‘I hate that purple has usurped the place of vermilion, that the tunes of Zheng have been confused with classical music, and that the clever of tongue are undermining both state and clan.’” See Slingerland 2003, 207.

    9.  This is speaking about Zhang Shigui.

  10.  Use capital punishments.

  11.  The phoenix will eat only the purest of sustenance and not compete with other birds for unclean food like “rotten mice.” In other words, Zhang Shigui as a general should not fight with a common soldier such as Xue Rengui over merit.

  12.  Despite the change from the second-person pronoun to the third-person pronoun these two lines would appear to refer to Zhang Shigui, just like the preceding two lines. The change in the use of personal pronoun may indicate that in the preceding lines Du Ruhui was trying to argue with Zhang Shigui but now has turned away from him in desperation and voices his personal opinion of the man.

  13.  Lü Wang 呂望, also known as Lü Shang 呂尚, Jiang Shang 姜尚, Jiang Taigong 姜太公, or Jiang Ziya 姜子牙, was a hermit who spent his days angling until he was brought to court at the age of seventy by King Wen of Zhou. At age eighty, Lü Wang assisted King Wu in his conquest of the Shang and establishment of the Zhou dynasty. The six ren are the six ren days in a sexagenary cycle. This was a prognostication procedure for auguring fortune on the battlefield. In the ten heavenly branches, jia, yi, bing, ding, xu, ji, geng, xin, ren, and gui, the last two are attached to “water” among the Five Phases (water, fire, wood, metal, and earth). Ren is active (yang) water and gui is passive (yin) water, so ren is the preferred sign. Since there are six ren cycles in a sixty-day cycle, they represent auspicious days. Two bowls are used, one inscribed with the ten heavenly stems, the other with the twelve earthly branches; heaven is placed on top and rotated, and the resulting cyclical signs determine auspicious times to move. “Escaping the jia” (dunjia 遁甲) (“following the jia,” xunjia 循甲, in some readings) is another method of prognostication, in which one avoids yin combinations of the cycle of sixty as days on which to act.

  14.  A work of military strategy attributed to Lü Wang.

  15.  Analects 2.19; see Slingerland 2003, 14; here slightly changed in its intent, “If you raise up the crooked and wrong the upright, the people will never submit.”

  16.  That is, Xue understands the proper rituals concerning archery. The gallbladder was believed to be the seat of courage.

  17.  Understanding the phrase tianli he ru 天理何如 in this context as the second half of the phrase qi yu renxin tianli he ru 其於人心, 天理何如, “What is heaven’s will compared with the desires of men?” This is spoken in reference to Zhang Shigui.

  18.  Ning 1988, 2:3, has altered the original text here—Bao zhuang sanqing di, / fushou yizhang chu 飽莊三頃地, / 伕手一張鋤—to Baozhong sanqing di, / fushou yizhang chu 刨種三頃地, / 扶手一張鋤, which would change the meaning to “take this twenty acres on which to plant your seeds / Support your hands on a single hoe.” Unfortunately, Ning’s reading would remove the parallelism of the lines. We have followed the original text.

  19.  In legend, “Eight Pepper” (Bajiao 八椒) is the eighth son of the dragon and is something like a freshwater snail, because it seals up its mouth like a snail does. Because of this peculiar quality, the term “pattern of eight jiao” (bajiao tu 八椒圖) or simply “pepper pattern” (jiaotu 椒圖) became attached to the creatures that hold the ring on a door pull, probably from the idea that they will not open their mouths to release the ring. The pattern itself is a whirl of small spirals that crown the heads of the animals and look like small snails.

  20.  An obvious pun on the expected phrase, “Even a man with an iron heart will be moved.”

  21.  The sign on the grave of someone who died and was buried far away from home.

  22.  The original has here “official” role type (gu 孤) rather than “old female.” We have emended it following Ning 1988,2:11.

  23.  Elders with children were believed to bring luck to the bride; to be childless was considered unlucky.

  24.  The word “archenemy” is often used for “lover,” but here the old man uses it in reference to his son. The term designates a person to whom one is tied by karma from a former life.

  25.  Following Ning 1988, 2:12, emending he jiu le 合旧子 to geshe le 割舍了.

  26.  Jiangzhou 絳州, here translated literally to capture the play on color words. “Purple paths” are the roads in the outskirts of a city.

  27.  This sentence is clearly intended ironically.

  28.  That is, that he had left for good; from the common saying “Old Zhao went to deliver a lamp stand; once gone, he never returned” 趙老送燈台，一去更不來.

  29.  “To knead” also has the meaning “to guess.”

  30.  The bodhisattva Guanyin (or Guanshiyin) is one of the most widely venerated deities of East Asia. In China, one of her main pilgrimage sites was Putuoshan, a small island off the Ningbo coast. Guanyin as she manifested herself on Putuoshan was venerated as Guanyin of the Southern Sea.

  31.  This passage provides an excellent example of how little the concept of “act” comes into play in Yuan editions that are designed as role texts. After the last aria, we have a stage direction placed at the end of the aria in smaller font that is a simple imperative, “exit” (xia 下). This is then followed by a sequence of stage directions concerning the other actors with aspect markers (“After …”) before the next imperative (“You enter … and speak” [Shang yun 上云]). The first of these stage directions, “pushing the extra off,” concludes the scene of the arrest; the second (“after the emperor enters and opens”) begins a new scene in which Xue Rengui narrates his dream to the emperor and is allowed to return home (“announces the decree”) and then thanks the emperor for his grace (“after extra male speaks”). The next imperative is directed again to the male lead. Thus, there is no clear act division, only a series of actions that the male lead must pay attention to as he rests (and, as in this case, changes costume) offstage after being carried off by soldiers. This is, thus, a clear example of the fact that these stage directions are meant for the male lead only (the imperatives) and that act divisions are arbitrary and further that scenes intervening between musical suites are merely consecutive entrances and exits conceived of as independent scenes that do not necessarily stop or start where a later editor makes an act.

  32.  Bangu (伴姑) is a conventional stage name for a young peasant woman, here perhaps used ironically for his old wife. The term is often used for a daughter, the mate to the term for a young son, Bange (伴哥), which is used in the Selection of Yuan Plays edition of this play.

  33.  The Cold Food Festival was celebrated on the 105th day following the winter solstice. During this period in the third month of spring one was not allowed to light a fire for three days. In the late imperial period Cold Food became increasingly identified with Qingming (Clear and Bright), which was celebrated on the third day of the third month. On this day families would visit the graves of the ancestors to clean and repair the graves, offer sacrifice to the ancestors, and have a picnic in the open air.

  34.  An alloy of tin and lead used in soldering. Traditionally also used as a cheap substitute for silver.

  35.  Used to seal a jug of wine.

  36.  In the original the tune title given here is Yaomin ge, and what we have marked here Shi’er yue and Yaomin ge are one song under the latter title. We are following the emendations proposed in Ning 1988, 13, which is based on Zang Maoxun’s emendations in A Selection of Yuan Plays.

  37.  The tale of Meng Jiangnü 孟姜女 is one of the most popular themes in Chinese popular literature. During the reign of the cruel First Emperor of the Qin dynasty, Meng Jiang’s husband was drafted to work on the construction of the Great Wall. When winter approached, Meng Jiang made the long and arduous trek from her hometown to the northern border to take her husband winter clothes. When she arrived at the work site, she learned that her husband had died from exhaustion and that his remains had been buried in the Great Wall. She wept by the side of the wall until it collapsed on the spot where her husband had been buried. In this way, she became a model of wifely devotion. See Lee 2005 and Idema 2008.

  38.  Many places in China claim that a local rock is the transformation of a faithful wife who, long ago, when her husband failed to return from a trip, climbed a hill each day to watch for his return—until she turned to stone.

  39.  That is, as soon as we little people displease those in power, we will be punished in a most cruel way.

  40.  These four names are all conventional names onstage of country folks.

  41.  See Fumu en zhong jing 父母恩中經 (Sutra on the Great Favors of Our Parents): “Even if someone would carry his father on his left shoulder and his mother on his right shoulder and the skin was ground away to the bone and the bone was pierced to the marrow and he walked around Mount Sumeru for a hundred thousand kalpas while blood flowed down and immersed his ankles, he still would not be able to repay the great favors of his father and mother.”

  42.  That is, may he suffer for a long time in hell before being reborn.

  43.  Criminals who had been condemned to death were taken from prison to the execution grounds riding a wooden donkey.

  44.  It was widely believed that the thunder gods executed unfilial sons by striking them with their thunderbolts. Emending bude 不的 to shaobude 少不得, following Ning 1988, 2:14.

  45.  “Groping doves” probably means groping under a dove on her nest in order to steal the eggs.

  46.  Emending liuzhou 六軸 to liuzhou 碌軸, following Ning 1988, 2:14. The roller is a heavy tree trunk used to crush grain or flatten earth.

  47.  The original writes here ersha, “second from coda.”

  48.  Inscriptions on stelae often exaggerate or provide a completely false picture of a man’s qualities, but the opinion of the common people will be honest and correct.

  49.  The original writes here “fourth from coda.”

  50.  Most likely the actor performing Xue Rengui enters the stage to announce his intention to visit his parents now the construction of a new mansion is complete and then leaves the stage.

  51.  Here we have, along with Zheng Qian, abided by the original printing. Zheng Qian 1962, 225, points out that this is a version of the tune Desheng ling but has a completely different metrical system. He can find no other equivalent but wisely leaves it untouched. Xu Qinjun 1980, 2:405, and Ning 1988, 2:7, suggest that there are characters missing in this line. They are making these suggestions, however, on the basis of parallel texts and rhyme formularies, which are either anachronistic or based on ideal models (in the latter case, ideals broken with regularity in the early Yuan texts).

  52.  Emending shangba 上八 to qiba 七八.

  53.  Clothes of the simplest materials and without any adornment (therefore white) are worn when in mourning.

  54.  “A tale of fishermen and woodcutters” refers to a tale of past glories.

  55.  We follow the emendation and interpretation of Ning 1988, 2:15, which points out that in Yuan-dynasty times farmers were required to provide the government with one horse in time of need and to keep a second horse in reserve. The word for “second horse” (fuma) has the same pronunciation, however, as the common designation for a son-in-law of the emperor, which was also “reserve horses” (fuma 駙馬), an abbreviated form of the title commander of the reserve horses (fuma duwei 駙馬都尉), which was an honorific title commonly awarded to the husbands of imperial princesses.

  56.  A kind of stove that has a large square earthen platform with a heating chamber underneath, used both to heat a room and to serve as a bed.

  57.  Globed staffs used as (ceremonial) weapons.

  58.  This is the possible moment for Xue Rengui’s bride to enter onstage. Also note that a proper marriage demands the exchange of gifts between the family of the groom and the family of the bride. So as long as the father of the groom has not presented gifts to the bride’s family (and which then often become part of her dowry), the marriage cannot be concluded, and it would not be right for the bride to bow to the groom’s father as her father-in-law.

  59.  Tentative translation. The choice of “hemp” (ma 麻) may simply be a matter of satisfying the requirements of rhyming.

  60.  For lai er da 來二大we read lai er ren 來二人. The modern editors of this text read er (二) as a reduplication sign (=) following lai, but the size of the character argues against such a reading. The size suggests that the character er is part of the text of the aria. Da is probably a mistake for ren. At this moment Xue Rengui and the princess, as groom and bride, bow in front of Xue’s father and mother as prescribed by marriage protocol.

  61.  “Temple festivals for supplicating the gods, questioning the divinities by use of the planchette, gathering at night and only dispersing at dawn, and also those people who wound their own body, hang themselves from hooks and flagellate their back and beg for money obstrusively—these too should be prohibited.” Fang Linggui 方齡貴, Tongzhi tiaoge jiaozhu 通制條格校注 (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 2001), 673, as quoted in Wang Shipei 2008, 146n21.

  62.  The old man is carried in a sedan chair, we may assume, to a new house that Xue Rengui has had prepared in advance.

  63.  The seal of office, usually a small brass square cuboid, was worn at the waist on a belt.

  64.  According to Sima Qian’s Records of the Historian (Shiji), the Viscount of Ji was a virtuous uncle of Zhou’s, the evil last ruler of the Shang dynasty (1460–1045 BC). When the Shang dynasty was overthrown by King Wu of the Zhou dynasty, he enfeoffed the Viscount of Ji as the independent ruler of the Korean Peninsula. See Sima Qian1959, vol. 5, 1620, and Ssu-ma Ch’ien 1995a, 269–76, for the story of the Viscount of Ji.

  65.  Qin Qiong 秦瓊 (d. 638) and Yuchi Gong 尉遲恭 (Jingde 敬德; 585–658), later widely revered as door gods, were both major generals in the founding of the Tang (617–906).

  66.  Xu Shiji 徐世勣 (594–669) was one of the major generals in the founding of the Tang dynasty. In recognition for his contributions to the founding of the dynasty, he was granted the imperial surname Li and is therefore also known as Li Ji 李勣.

  67.  On the Shandong Peninsula, directly across the bay from the Korean Peninsula.

  68.  In poetry, the Tang is often referred to as the Han dynasty (206 BC–AD 220) because of their comparability in terms of longevity and extent of territory.

  69.  According to both the Xue Rengui zheng Liao shilüe and the Xue Rengui kuahai zheng Liao gushi, Xue Rengui took the lead in establishing a beachhead for the invasion fleet despite stiff opposition from the Koguryo defense troops. In the first work he leads five hundred soldiers in landing on the beach; in the second work he downs the commanding Koguryo officer with a single shot.

  70.  Fang Xuanling 房玄齡 (579–648) was one of Li Shimin’s most trusted advisers and rose to the highest administrative positions in the central bureaucracy following the establishment of the Tang.

  71.  Nine-Mile Mountain is the sight of fierce battles between Liu Bang, the founder of the Han dynasty, and his main rival, Xiang Yu; a common metonymy for “battlefield.”

  72.  The Lingyan Ge (凌煙閣), a gallery in which Li Shimin 李世民, the founding emperor of the Tang, had portraits painted of twenty-four meritorious officers and officials who helped him found the dynasty. Here used metaphorically to indicate honors heaped on high ministers in historical remembrance. For a study of the imaginative re-creation of the portraits in the gallery and the discursive space that the name implies, see Burkus-Chasson 2010, 163–255.

  73.  See n. 8.

  74.  The phoenix does not compete for foul food with lesser birds.

  75.  Following the death of the First Emperor of the Qin dynasty, the eunuch Zhao Gao controlled the court. When a stag was presented to the Second Emperor and Zhao Gao called it a horse, none of the courtiers dared contradict him. Longbo, here used as the name of a person, is actually the name of a mythic country inhabited by giants who pull up six leviathans at once when fishing.

  76.  Yang Youji is an archer of legendary fame who was able to hit a poplar leaf dead center one hundred out of one hundred times. A Chinese “pace” (bu 步) is the equivalent of two steps, roughly five feet.

  77.  The Three Strategies (Sanlüe 三略) is a handbook of military tactics ascribed to the Yellow Lord (Huanggong 黃公 or Huangshi Gong 黃石公), a mythical Daoist sage who taught Zhang Liang (d. 186 BC), one of Liu Bang’s main advisers in the early Han. On Zhang Liang, see n. 82.

  78.  A military manual attributed to Lü Wang.

  79.  Guan Zhong 官仲 (d. 645 BC) and Bao Shuya 鮑叔牙 are exemplary friends of ancient times. When Guan Zhong took more than his fair share of profits from a common trading enterprise, Bao did not complain because he knew that his friend had to take care of his ailing mother. This pair later came to signify a friendship that accepts the idea that one person is due more than the other and that equality is not the issue.

  80.  Zhou Yu 周瑜 (175–210) and Lu Su 魯肅 (172–217) are the two best-known strategists serving Sun Quan 孫權 (182–252), the ruler of Wu in the Three Kingdoms. See Idema and West 2012, passim.

  81.  Recumbent Dragon is Zhuge Liang 諸葛亮 (181–234), the famous strategist serving Liu Bei 劉備 (161–223). Fledgling Phoenix is his fellow strategist Pang Tong 龐統 (179–214). The story of Pang Tong and his wise counsel to Liu Bei is well described in the anonymous Ming play Liu Xuande Goes Alone to the Xiangyang Meeting (Liu Xuande du fu Xiangyang hui 劉玄德獨赴襄陽會); see Idema and West 2012, 152–96, esp. 175–78.

  82.  Zhang Liang (Zifang) was descended from one of the ministerial families of the kingdom of Han, one of the three states that had resulted from the tripartition of the dukedom of Jin in the fifth century BC. After the First Emperor had annihilated his home state, Zhang Liang tried to have him murdered but failed in this attempt. Later Zhang Liang served Liu Bang in establishing the Han dynasty. But once the dynasty had been established and Liu Bang grew suspicious of his erstwhile supporters, Zhang Liang retired from the court, according to legend, to become a hermit. By the end of the Western Han his identity as a Daoist was firmly established, and in his eulogy to the “Marquis of Liu, Hereditary House 25” (Liuhou shijia ershiwu) in the Records of the Historian, Sima Qian expresses some skepticism about the prevailing idea that Zhang received the texts of the Laozi from Laozi himself, which was firmly part of the tradition by that time. See Ssu-ma Ch’ien 2002, 99–114. One of the commentarial notes to this passage cites a work that declares, “The Lord of the Wind was the commander of the Yellow Emperor’s army, and he later transformed into Laozi, who bestowed his text on Zhang Liang.” In later religious traditions Zhang Liang became a Daoist immortal. He once displayed his humility by retrieving a slipper that Master Yellow Stone had thrown down a bridge, and the latter instructed him in military strategy (that is, the Three Strategies).

  83.  For the early career of Zhuge Liang and the third of the three famous visits, see Zhuge Liang Burns the Stores at Bowang (Zhuge Liang Bowang shao tun 諸葛亮博望燒屯) in Idema and West 2012, 204–27.

  84.  First Lord Liu refers to Liu Bei, who came from a humble background. See Idema and West 2012, xv–xvii, and the description of Liu Bei’s early life in the Ming play Liu, Guan, and Zhang: The Tripartite Oath of Brotherhood in the Peach Orchard (Liu Guan Zhang Taoyuan san jieyi 劉關張桃園三結義) and in the Records of the Three Kingdoms in Plain Language (Sanguo zhi pinghua 三國志平話), in Idema and West 2012, 1–39 and 321–23, respectively.

  85.  Han Xin 韓信 (d. 196 BC) rose from being a beggar to one of the three prominent generals under Liu Bang 劉邦 (256 or 247–195 BC), founder of the Han dynasty.

  86.  Xiao He 蕭何 (d. 193 BC) is best known in later times for the severity of the law code that he had promulgated.

  87.  The Prince of Han refers to Liu Bang, and “Double Pupils” refers to Xiang Yu 項羽 (232–202 BC), his main rival to replace the Qin.

  88.  In the Tang capital of Chang’an, the home of the prime minister was linked to the palace by an elevated gravel road. Here, “Your fine background leads to destruction” (a bridge of purple-gold [that arches across the sea] means a stalwart minister or famous general.)

  89.  That is, the washerwoman who aided Han Xin.

  90.  A small golden tally in the shape of a fish worn at the belt of high officials.

  91.  The Three Dukes is a collective reference to the highest dignitaries of the empire.

  92.  A ceremonial guard.

  93.  See n. 19.

  94.  The stiffness of a bow was measured in terms of the weight that had to be suspended from the string in order to make the bow curve. Three and a half quarts of rice would be a ridiculously low weight for a good stiff bow.

  95.  A long lance with a sharpened metal tip with two crescent-shaped blades attached toward the top.

  96.  This line quotes the last line of the first of two quatrains by Cao Song 曹松 (ca. 830–after 901) titled “Two Poems of the Year 819” (Jihai sui liangshou 己亥歲兩首). This poem can be translated as follows:

Marsh and city, rivers and hills are caught up in the schemes of warfare;

Common people cannot live happily even as woodcutters and fishermen.

I beg you, sir, do not talk about the business of achieving noble rank:

For a single general to achieve success, myriads of men must die.

  97.  So called because it was believed that fledgling crows would return to feed their parents in the nest as they had been fed when they were chicks.

  98.  That is to say, they are so poor they have no proper bed and have to sleep on the ground, which they warm first with a small fire.

  99.  The six ministers are the commanders of the king’s six armies.

100.  See n. 21.

101.  Spoken by Xue Rengui to himself.

102.  See n. 26.

103.  See n. 28.

104.  The term we have translated “village” here is dian (店), which means the area of a small village occupied by people who are not farmers: they are shopkeepers, tradesmen, etc.

105.  See n. 30.

106.  This was, first, a famous story by the Tang writer Li Gongzuo 李公佐 (778–848) and then a series of plays about a person who fell asleep and dreamt that he went to a land called Acacia Peace (Huai’an 槐安). He married the princess of the state and was made magistrate of Nanke (literally, “Southern Branch” 南柯), where he enjoyed wealth and nobility. Later, he was defeated in a battle, his wife died, and he came under the king’s suspicion. Dispirited, he returned to his own home, and then awoke from his dream to find that Nanke district and the state of Acacia Peace were nothing more than ant colonies in the roots of an acacia tree—here, of course, meant to signal that human life is nothing more than a dream, or that a lifetime can be lived in the space of a dream.

107.  As Shao 1955, 86, remarks, this rendition of Douye huang appears to be an inserted popular song from the Ming. Not only does it not rhyme with the rest of the suite but also the metrical structure of the song is different from the metrical structures for the tune by this title found in the music formularies of northern and southern drama. The song occurs in one other Ming drama, in act 2 of Liu Xuande Drunkenly Flees the Yellow Crane Tower (Liu Xuande zui zou Huanghe lou 劉玄德醉走黃鶴樓), where it is followed by a second song, titled “Sprout Lyric” (He 禾詞); see Anon. 1958a, 15a–16b. The lyrics of the two songs show a few variations that involve transcriptions of common words but are otherwise nearly identical.

108.  See n. 33.

109.  See n. 34.

110.  “Trodding the green” (taqing 踏青) refers specifically to taking in the sights of spring at the time of the Qingming Festival; it resulted in far more social occasions than the family-centered rituals at the grave site.

111.  The magpie was thought to have extrasensory powers that enabled it to tell when a loved one would arrive; it revealed the arrival by its call at evening court. The daddy longlegs (xizhu’er 喜蛛兒) is also known as the “happy one” (xizi 蟢子) and would spin a web when a wish was granted.

112.  Two more happy omens.

113.  Meng Guang, the wife of the first-century poor recluse Liang Hong, displayed her respect for her husband by lifting the tray as high as her eyebrows when serving him his food.

114.  Phoenix Towers is one of the many terms to designate the imperial palace.

115.  The Chinese mahogany tree (Cedrela sinensis) grows very slowly and is reputed to live for thousands of years; the “noumenal cedrela” is a tree that exists in ancient legend that never dies. It is used as a metaphor for the father.

116.  Daylilies are planted in front of a mother’s apartment because one of the alternative names of this plant is “forget all worries.”