The Columbia Anthology of Yuan Drama by C. T. Hsia & Wai-Yee Li & George Kao

Author:C. T. Hsia & Wai-Yee Li & George Kao [Hsia, C. T. & Li, Wai-Yee & Kao, George]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780231122665
Amazon: 0231122675
Barnesnoble: 0231122675
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Published: 2014-04-15T04:00:00+00:00

ACT 2

(ELDER enters with his wife, MADAME ZHAO, and son, MASTER LI.)

ELDER: I am Li Maoqing; I purchased the residence of the Yangzhou Rascal and paid him for it. Of course he did not do any business with that money! In all likelihood those two scoundrels have swindled him again. If that wastrel does not reform, I will have failed to merit my old friend’s trust. What should I do?

MASTER LI: Father, I have been in business for some time now with only poor results. I must have been born with bad luck.

ELDER: You are wrong, my son. Of those who do business, there is one type who is willing to advance and who dares to take chances; he bears the wind and braves the snow, endures the cold and suffers the chill. There is another type who fears the wind and is afraid of the rain, so much so that he does not even go out of his gate. Thus of Confucius’s three thousand disciples, only Zigong was proficient in increasing his stock, and he became very wealthy as a result.59 How can success stem from one’s fate and not from personal endeavor? (Sings:)

[Zhenggong mode: Proper Decorum]

I believe that the rich are those who work hard;

Poverty does not depend on one’s fate.

We must shape our destinies through our own efforts.

Some may say that poverty and wealth are determined before birth,

But no—if they were, we could just sit tight and wait!

MADAME ZHAO: Husband, describe to our child how you earned money when you were a youth.

ELDER (sings:)

[Rolling Silken Ball]

I remember, in my youth, fierce were my blood and spirit;

I’d fight hard for even a fly’s head worth of profit.

Aiya!—that’s why my old body’s all worn-out now.

I’d risk life and limb in dens of tigers and wolves;

I cared not at all whether it was night,

Or whether it was daylight,

Whether it was rainy, or it was fair.

On the field of profit and fame I raced back and forth;

When did I ever know a single day of peace?60

I would be away for ten years or for five,

And so my present prosperity

Was built up through myriad pains and countless sufferings.

It is frightening to think of them all!

(CUIGE enters.)

CUIGE: I am Cuige. After Rascal sold our house, he took the money and went to Moonlight Tower with those two loafers, his so-called friends. There they drank and caroused with Miss Ever-Ready. I don’t dare keep silent about it, and so I’m going to report it to Uncle Li. And here I am already. Please announce me, Little Brother: say that Cuige has come to see Uncle.

MASTER LI (reports:) Father, Cuige is at the gate.

ELDER: Send her in.

MASTER LI (goes out:) Cuige, Father says for you to come in.

CUIGE (greets them:) Uncle, Aunt, myriad blessings.

ELDER: Why have you come, child? (CUIGE weeps.)

ELDER (sings:)

[If a Scholar]

I see that she cannot speak, breath catches in her throat;

I see that she cannot wipe away the tears streaming down her cheeks.

CUIGE: I am so angry at him that I could die! (Cries aloud.

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