Generals Of The Yang Family, The: Four Early Plays

Four Early Plays

Wilt L Idema, Stephen H West

• Publisher: WSPC
• Year: 2013
• eBook ISBN: 9789814508704
• Topic: Biological Sciences
• Subtopic: Science General
• Index: Biological Sciences

This book offers a complete translation of four early plays of the Yang Family Generals. The story of the Yang Family Generals, particularly its female generals, was a perennial favorite on the Chinese stage in the 19th and 20th centuries. In detailing the role of this military family in the Song-Khitan wars of the late 10th and early 11th centuries, these four plays are all in the form of zaju, a type of play that originated in the 13th century. These plays are from the 15th and 16th centuries and allow a glimpse into earlier renditions of the Yang Family saga, which is a decidedly more male-centered tradition than that performed in the Qing dynasty.This volume offers the only complete English-language translation of these early plays. These plays allow access to the earliest phase in the development of the Yang Family saga. The plays provide information on the staging of large battle scenes on the stage and have considerable literary and cultural value. Contents:

• The Eighth Great Prince Opens a Proclamation and Saves a Loyal Vassal
• At Bright Sky Pagoda Meng Liang Steals the Bones
• Xie Jinwu Underhandedly Tears Down Clear Breeze Mansion
• Yang Six Lines Up His Troops to Defeat the Heavenly Array
• Appendix 1: A Summary of Expanded Account of the Loyalty and Bravery over Successive Generations of the Yang Family
• Appendix 2: A Summary of the Relevant Chapters from An Account of [The Prince] of Southern Song and a Summary of An Account of the Northern Song
• Appendix 3: The Ming Play The Three Passes
• Appendix 4: The Theft of the Bones: Three Versions
• Graduate and undergraduate students, academic researchers and scholars who are interested in Chinese literature and Chinese theater, Chinese military and martial culture; general audience interested in Chinese folklore and Chinese history.

The Eighth Great Prince Opens a Proclamation and Saves a Loyal Vassal

The Play
The Eighth Great Prince Opens a Proclamation and Saves a Loyal Vassal

Opening Act

OPENING MALE HAN YANSHOU enters, leading BARBARIAN SOLDIERS. HAN YANSHOU speaks:

North of the border soldiers are strong and display their dazzling might,
At the foot of the mountain each morning we flaunt our awesome power.
Black flags flutter in the wind, as though touching the clouds;
Tasseled horse-whisks twirl in circles, as red as a raging fire.

I am Han Yanshou,¹ the Chief Instructor and Grand Marshal of the Six Tribes. For generations we have lived in Yunzhou north of the border.² We live deeply hidden in the border wilds, and have long stayed with the most distant barbarians.³ The land is adjacent to the boundless deep mountains, where the Black River churns its waves in a raging current. Our horses are fat and our bows are stiff, our officers are brave and our troops are strong. Each and every one closes his gown on the left,⁴ and all of us plait our hair in two braids. Our green felt caps resemble lotus leaves on a thousand ponds trembling in a light breeze; our snow-colored fur coats are just like ten thousand pear blossoms reflecting the sun at dawn. I have a hundred thousand men of self-sufficient troops⁵ and a thousand generals under my command. Now when earlier the infantry and cavalry of the Great Song invaded the lands north of the border, I had the higher and lower generals of the Great Song all bottled up inside the walls of Youzhou.⁶ Who could have known that Yang the Eldest, the first son of Great Lord Yang would dress up like their Great Man⁷ and would come out of the northern gate, fooling all of us. When he engaged in battle with us, our men and horses were an enormous number, and I stabbed that Yang the Eldest to death with my long lance. Yang Two perished through a short sword, and Yang Three was trampled to mud by our horses. No one knows the whereabouts of Yang Four.⁸ They opened the southern gate, and with the officers protecting their Great Man, they fought their way out, wasting a lot of my men and horses. Because all of this, I constantly carry this grudge in my heart and am determined not to let it go. I want once again to lead a great army and go to war against the Song. Only then will my life’s ambition be fulfilled. Even though that may be so, I will still get together with the major general under my command, Tu Jinshu, to deliberate. Early in the morning I already ordered someone to summon him, but he hasn’t shown up yet. Little barbarian, keep watch, and report to me when Tu Jinshu arrives, BARBARIAN SOLDIER speaks: Understood! CLOWN, costumed as TU JINSHU enters and speaks:

My hair is trained to hang in braids, I speak no truth;
A strip of skin, that’s slick with oil,⁹ is tied around my waist.
Reeking of flesh, smelly and foul, everyone avoids me,
And with my filthy¹⁰ padded hide jacket I grind them to death.

I am Tu Jinshu. As far as my person is concerned: if it’s hard to walk, then I ride my molin.¹¹ Whenever I have nothing to do, I go for a ride in the mountains. But that horse got fed up and knelt down and tumbled me onto the ground where I broke my head wide open. I struggled up on my feet and was covered in blood. I had a hole in my head but no headache. I was just on the other side of the hill watching camels climb up the trees to play, when Han Yanshou sent someone to summon me. I don’t know what’s up, but I have to go. Well, here I am already. Little barbarian, go and report that your uncle has arrived. — BARBARIAN SOLDIER speaks: — Understood! — Acts out reporting and speaks: — Grand Marshal, Tu Jinshu has arrived at the gate. — HAN YANSHOU speaks: — Tell him to come in. — BARBARIAN SOLDIERS speak: — Understood, he can come in. — They act out greeting. — TU JINSHU speaks: — Grand Marshal, buddy, I’m here. You must want to go hunting somewhere for fun and take me along for even more fun. — HAN YANSHOU speaks: — I wouldn’t summon you for nothing. It’s because the Great Song dynasty led their infantry and cavalry in an expedition against us northern barbarians. I had their generals bottled up in Youzhou, but all our northern barbarian generals were fooled by Yang the Eldest in disguise and the khan of the southern dynasty was saved. Even though we snatched away four generals of the Yang family, we northern barbarians also lost many men and horses. I really cannot let go of this in my heart. I have summoned you to discuss this. I want to lead a large army and violate the borders of the heavenly court.¹² We have to come up with a marvelous plan—how should we employ our troops? — TU JINSHU speaks: — Grand Marshal, that’s what I have been telling myself too. But alas, those father and sons, are truly heroes. So, Grand Marshal, what is your plan? — HAN YANSHOU speaks: — Great Lord Yang and his sons, I figure, are dashing and brave beyond compare. It is impossible to confront them in battle, but we can take them by strategy. I will assign you three thousand horsemen, and you will engage the generals of the Yang family, father and sons, in battle on an open field with long-distance weapons.¹³ In that confrontation you are not allowed to win; you must lose. I don’t want you to win: you must throw away your spears, shed your armor, pretend to lose, fake a defeat. They will surely pursue you with all their troops, and you will trick them, father and sons, into entering Tiger Maw Crossed Fangs Gulch on Double Wolf Mountain,¹⁴ so they will have no way to go forward or back. I will follow behind leading our barbarian officers, high and low, and dispose a million manly troops to pin them in. Crossed Fangs Gulch will be as tight as an iron bucket! I’ll make sure that they have no provisions and fodder on the inside, and that no troops come to their rescue on the outside. They then will realize that their position is isolated and their strength exhausted and that they will be unable to resist the enemy—even if they put on wings, they would not be able to fly over us northern barbarians! What do you think of this plan? TU JINSHU speaks: This plan is truly marvelous. Let’s start the battle! — HAN YANSHOU speaks: — Tu Jinshu, I assign you three thousand horsemen. Hide yourself around Double Wolf Mountain and engage Great Lord Yang in battle. But be careful and alert: use your troops according to plan. — TU JINSHU speaks: My boy,¹⁵ I know. I should be Grand Marshal, HAN YANSHOU speaks: Look at this fellow! I am the Grand Marshal. You bring up the rear! If you come back victorious, I will back you up soon afterward. — TU JINSHU speaks: — Grand Marshal Han without reason wants me to bring up the rear. Well fine! I’ll go along with him now.

Throughout my life by nature I’ve been sloppy;
Without any good reason he tells me to fight.
But if I’m captured by someone from the south,
I can be sure they will finish me off, hala!¹⁶

Exits.

HAN YANSHOU speaks: — Tu Jinshu has left to engage Great Lord Yang in battle. The latter is bound to fall into my trap. So I will lead my barbarian generals and back up Tu Jinshu.

Grandly leading barbarian troops I jump into the saddle for battle;
Bronze spears and iron bucklers ring and clang.
By a faked defeat, a false loss, I will execute my scheme:
The Yang family—father and sons—will be trapped by us barbarians.
They will hotly pursue us and deeply enter Crossed Fangs Gulch,
Disposing my troops I’ll pin them down at Double Wolf Mountain.
This scheme for capturing those tiger generals is great enough
To broadcast my fame through heaven and earth and all of the cosmos too.
My precious sheathed sword is keen enough...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Halftitle
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Introduction
• Table of Dynasties
• Conventions
• 1. The Eighth Great Prince Opens a Proclamation and Saves a Loyal Vassal
• 2. At Bright Sky Pagoda Meng Liang Steals the Bones
• 3. Xie Jinwu Underhandedly Tears Down Clear Breeze Mansion
• 4. Yang Six Lines Up His Troops to Defeat the Heavenly Array
• Appendix 1: A Summary of Expanded Account of the Loyalty and Bravery over Successive Generations of the Yang Family
• Appendix 2: A Summary of the Relevant Chapters from An Account of [The Prince] of Southern Song And a Summary of An Account of the Northern Song
• Appendix 3: The Ming Play The Three Passes
• Appendix 4: The Theft of the Bones: Three Versions
• Bibliography
• Index