Romance of Western Bower by Yuanchong Xu

Author:Yuanchong Xu [Xu, Yuanchong]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: China Intercontinental Press
Published: 2012-01-01T08:00:00+00:00

ACT V

Scene 1 Report of Success

Master Zhang enters and says:

Half a year has passed since I left my dear Young Lady last autumn. Thanks to the protection of my forefathers, I have passed the civil service examinations and am waiting for the imperial appointment now. I am afraid my Young Lady may be anxious about the result, so I hasten to write a letter and send it by my lute-boy to her and her mother lest they should feel anxiety. Now the letter is written. Where is my lute boy?

Lute-bearer says:

Here I am at your order.

Master Zhang says:

Take this letter to the Mid-river Prefecture without delay! When you see your young mistress, tell her that I send her this letter for fear she should be anxious.

He sings to the tune of ENJOYING FLOWERS:

When we met last,

Flowers fell fast,

The green moss was dotted with petals red.

After we parted,

The broken-hearted

Evening mist congeals into leaves dead.

Seeing mume flower,

I know half a year’s passed.

Can I not send a letter to her bower?

He says:

Boy, when you have told her the news and get a reply, You should return without delay.

(Exit)

Lute-bearer says:

With this letter I must hasten to the Mid-river Prefectune by starlight as by daylight.

(Exit)

Yingying enters with Rose and says:

It is half a year since Master Zhang went to the capital and I have received no letter from him. I have been ill at ease in these days, reluctant to make my toilet and careless whether my waist grows slim or my skirt becomes loose. O how much I am vexed!

She sings to the tune of GETTING TOGETHER:

Though from my eyes I keep sorrow apart,

It still remains in my heart.

Even if my heart can get rid of it,

It would then make my eyebrows knit.

I try to forget it in vain,

Lovesickness haunts me again and again.

How can my eyebrows not be weighed down

By such a painful frown?

New sorrow comes after the old,

They mingle and become twofold.

The old looks like the high mountains perceived in dream;

The new runs onward like the endless flowing stream.

Rose says:

When my Young Mistress was out of sorts, she would recover after a short rest. But how much she is wasting away this time!

Yingying sings to the tune of FREE ENJOYMENT:

When previously I pined with grief,

I used to find relief.

This time it’s seized on me.

Where could I be carefree?

Alone I mount to my boudoir and look,

Roll up and hang the curtain on its hook.

In vain on hills and rills I gaze;

Green trees are veiled in haze.

Withered grass blends into the skies;

A lonely boat along the ferry lies.

She says:

My clothes seem not to become me.

Rose says:

My Young Mistress, you are too slim and frail for your dress now.

Yingying sings to the tune of GOLDEN CHAIN:

My skirt in pomegranate hue

Has been slept into rouged wrinkles new.

My lilac-buttons more than meet

The button-hole in form of lotus sweet.

Like pearls unstrung, my tears

Have wet my fragrant silken sleeves.

My eyebrows knit like willow leaves;

Slimmer than golden flower my face appears.

The Lute-bearer enters and says:

By my Master’s order, I am bringing a letter to my young mistress.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.