Scene 36: Gazing at the Slipper
Scene 36: Viewing the Sock
<To the tune Shangdiao Guoqu·Wu Xiao Si> [(Old woman, playing the part of an innkeeper, enters)] At the post station on the slope, the lane and gate are quiet and secluded; I picked up and kept the Imperial Consort’s brocade sock. Now I reopen my shop and sell wine anew; travelers coming and going all flock here. I get by for the moment, without worry. I, Mother Wang, have always run a small, quiet wine shop here below Mawei Slope. Since An Lushan raised his rebellion, the common people fled. At that time, I hid in the station’s Buddhist hall and saw beneath the pear tree a single brocade sock, which Lady Yang had dropped. I kept it until now—who would have thought it would become a treasure? Now that General Guo has defeated the rebels and recovered the capital, peace has returned, and I have reopened my wine shop here. Every household, near and far, upon hearing there is a brocade sock, all come to the shop to drink and beg to see the sock. Besides the wine money, there is an extra fee for viewing the sock. Business is very lively. [(Laughs)] You could say I’ve come into my luck. This morning I set up the shop; visitors should be arriving soon. [(Exits briefly)] [(A young man in a scholar’s cap and ordinary clothes enters and walks forward)]
<To the tune Zhonglü Guoqu·Zhu Ma Ting> The imperial carriage journeyed west; the ancient post station harbors deep regret for a thousand years. I sigh over a peerless beauty cut down, like the desolate Green Tomb, like a purple jade sunk beneath the waves. I, Li Mo, was previously trapped in the capital by the chaos of war and could not leave. Now, as peace gradually returns with joy, I heard that in Mother Wang’s shop below Mawei Slope, a single brocade sock of the Imperial Consort Guifei is kept. Therefore, I have come to borrow it for a look. Ah, a Daoist nun is coming from over there. [(A clown, playing a Daoist nun, enters)] The vicissitudes of the world have all turned to tears; only the brocade sock remains for people to see. [(They meet)] [(Young man)] Reverend, where do you come from? [(Nun)] I am the abbess of the Nüzhen Abbey in Jinling. I came to the capital to request the Buddhist canon but was blocked by the war and could not return. Now I have heard that in Mother Wang’s shop there is Lady Yang’s brocade sock, so I have come especially to beg a look at it. [(Young man)] So you have also come to see the sock. Please accompany me, then. [(They walk together)] [(Together)] The beauty has gone, vanished without a trace; it wounds the heart that in this rustic shop, remnants of brocade remain. For now, let us buy wine and slowly pour it out; for a time, let us examine and savor it carefully.
[(Young man)] This is the place. We may as well go straight in. [(They enter the shop together)] [(Old woman comes forward to greet them)] Please sit inside. [(Young man and nun sit down)] [(A male role, playing Guo Congjin, enters)] I, old Guo Congjin, am overjoyed that the war has subsided. I am going to Mount Hua to burn incense. Passing by the foot of Mawei Slope, I have grown tired. There is a wine shop here; let me have three cups before I continue. [(Enters the shop)] Innkeeper, bring out the wine. [(Old woman)] I have wine. [(Guo exchanges greetings with the young man and the nun)] Greetings. [(Young man speaks to the old woman)] Mother Wang, we have come here, first to drink wine, and second, because we heard you have the Imperial Consort Taizhen’s brocade sock. We would like to borrow it for a look. [(Old woman laughs)] I do have one brocade sock. But as for me, old woman, <to the previous tune> I have treasured and guarded it deeply, wrapped it in layer after layer and kept it until now. I want its fragrant marks not to fade, its powder and luster always to remain, and dust and dirt not to invade it. Truly it is worth loving and worth venerating; travelers who want to see it all vie to come and drink. Sirs, as long as you don’t begrudge the money in your purses, I am willing to let you examine and savor it carefully.
[(Young man)] Naturally. Besides the wine money, we will give you an extra reward. [(Old woman)] In that case, let me go and fetch it. [(Exits briefly)] [(Returns holding the sock)] The jade foot has stopped wearing it, yet it still carries its fragrance; wrapped deep in silk gauze, one can smell its scent. Sirs, the brocade sock is here. Please have a look. [(Young man takes the sock, unfolds it, and looks at it together with the nun)] Ah! Look at the exquisite brocade pattern, the fine craftsmanship. Its luster still remains, its extraordinary fragrance has not dissipated. Truly, it is not a thing of the mortal world. [(Nun)] Truly a fine fragrance! [(Guo drinks without paying attention)] [(Young man stands up holding the sock to look at it)]
<To the tune Zhu Yun Fei> Look at the thin lining of fragrant silk, like a fairy cloud, light and soft. In former times, in the golden hall, its small steps were seen by none. Pitiful today, by the wine-stove side, it is casually unfurled. Only the traces of thread and needle-stitches are all piled up into heart-wounding grief and resentment. A pity for the peerless beauty, a peerless wrong; in vain remains a thousand-year-old fragrant trace, a thousand-year-old tale. [(Guo speaks angrily)] Aiyah, sir, why look at it! I think the Tianbao Emperor, only because he doted on the Imperial Consort Guifei, spent his mornings in pleasure and his evenings in revelry, ruining the court’s governance. This caused rebellion to rise on all sides, and the common people to suffer in misery. I am old, my years nearly spent, and I have encountered this turmoil and flight. Today, seeing this brocade sock, I cannot but feel intense hatred!
<To the previous tune> Think of that day, a single pinch of newly cut silk, fitting the red lotus flower as it bloomed on the ground; covered by six panels of xiangjiang silk skirt, when she moved, the sovereign loved it first. Aiyah, extreme joy brought about calamity, and the myriad people suffered harm. Today, the events are past and the person is gone; a single object remains in vain. I suddenly see the fragrant sock and grieve anew; recalling the peril, I still wipe my tears.
[(Old woman)] Aiyah! This gentleman, upon seeing the brocade sock, why is he angry? Could it be that he is unwilling to pay the viewing fee? [(Guo)] What viewing fee? [(Old woman)] So you are just a country bumpkin, you don’t even know about a viewing fee. [(Young man)] This is a trivial matter; no need to quarrel. [(To the nun)] Reverend, please also examine it carefully. [(To the old woman)] Let me pay everything together. [(Hands over the sock)] [(Nun takes the sock and looks at it)] Aiyah! I think of the Imperial Consort Taizhen, a peerless beauty; her elegance and charm have vanished in an instant. Today, though this sock remains, the lovely lady cannot be found again. Truly, it is cause for sighing.
<To the previous tune> Look at the inlaid emerald and hooked red; the leaves and flowers are still exquisitely made. But the pair of shining feet is nowhere to be seen; a single orphan phoenix remains. In vain it has drifted down, its regret endless. A lingering dream at Mawei, a beauty who could topple kingdoms and cities—what use are these phantoms? Do not face these remnant threads to recall former traces; you must believe that splendor and glory chase the morning breeze.
[(Hands the sock back to the old woman)] Mother, I think the Imperial Consort Taizhen was originally a reincarnated immortal. I wish to beg you to give away this sock, to take it to the Nüzhen Abbey in Jinling, and offer it to the immortals. I wonder if that is possible? [(Old woman laughs)] I have no sons or daughters; my livelihood for the rest of my life depends on this sock. I really cannot comply with your request. [(Young man)] I am willing to pay a high price to buy it. How about that? [(Guo)] A thing that leaves such a stench—what use is it? [(Old woman)] I am not selling it either. [(Guo pays the money)] Here is the wine money. [(Young man pays the money)] The money for viewing the sock is all here together. [(Old woman receives the money)] Many thanks.
[(Young man)] “Do not tire of a drunken scene, though spring breezes often blow.” (Bao Rong)
[(Nun)] “How many pearls and emeralds fell upon the fragrant dust?” (Lu Lun)
[(Young man)] “Only the crescent moon remains, curved beside the slope.” (Li Yi)
[(Guo)] “Outside the suburb, the clamorous crowd leads the sightseers on.” (Song Zhiwen)