LIANG ZHU

A Prayer:
To that Divine couple whose magical union signifies the beauty of this world; whose love play brings about the myriad shades of colour and emotion; whose eternal love for each other is the cosmic inspiration residing in the deepest heart core of all living souls; whose smiles and glances are music and song, poetry and prose, dance and rhythm; to this great love and shimmering radiance that bring joy and hope to us, let this humble effort be offered, let it be blessed, and may it nourish all who partake of it. OM


LiangZhu – Butterfly Lovers • A Love so deep, it lives even in Death

Zhu Yingtai, the heroine
Zhu Gongyuen, retired official, Yingtai’s father
Madam Zhu, Yingtai’s mother
Yin Xin, Yingtai’s maid in waiting

Liang Shanbo, a scholar
Si Jiu, his manservant

Master Zhou, learned master
Master Suan, a monk

Students, dancers, gift bearers, maids, folk et al

LIANG ZHU BUTTERFLY LOVERS was first staged by the Temple of Fine Arts in Kuala Lumpur at the MTC Auditorium on 17 - 20 February 2002. It subsequently toured to Colombo (May), Penang (June), Johor Bahru (August), Singapore (August), Perth (August), Madras (Dec), and enjoyed a second run in Petaling Jaya (May 2003)

Music was composed and arranged by Jyotsna Prakash and Kumar Karthigesu. Dances were choreographed by Umesh Shetty, Geetha Shankaran-Lam, Shankar Kandasamy. Costumes created by Shyamala Narayanan. Set Design by Lam Ghooi-Ket.

The roles of Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai were played by Umesh Shetty and Dhanya Thurairajah

LIANG ZHU 1 Butterflies

Scene opens with theme song. Two silhouettes move across the stage against an ethereal setting of blue and mauve, red and orange. They are butterflies. The theme melody is both nostalgic and poignant, full of longing and love. As the notes soften, they spread their wings and fly away. Then a man appears. He is our storyteller. He picks up the swell of the sweet refrain and sings:

Why should fate be cruel
when love is all we need
all we want is joy but sorrow
sorrow’s face we meet
dreams of love our hearts we weave
dreaming we cant leave
but tis fate that twists and turns our pleas
all we do is break in pain to fly high and free….


Storyteller:
I have a sad story to tell though it didn’t start out sad. A young girl of sixteen, sweet as a rose, bright as the moon, and her heart fragrant in its blossoming was about to receive what the heavens had ordained. But did she know? No. She was like a puppet… like all of us… our strings being pulled and tugged by fate… all we can do is shout. But she did try to pull her own strings you see… she believed that she could make a difference… in her time, no girl would or could have done what she did. She braved dishonour and broke through the cage of convention and tradition in search of her own destiny. That’s Zhu Yingtai for you… that’s her beauty… and she gave up her life, willingly, holding on to the truth that glowed in her heart… and that’s her glory… because she believed in love… Do you? Let me show her to you, this Zhu Yingtai, sweet as a rose, bright as the moon, the day she decided that the fragrance of a rose should waft in the wind, that the rays of the moon should shine on a traveller’s path…

LIANG ZHU 2 Zhu Yingtai

Dance of the Garden: here we see that Zhu Yingtai is a girl of lively disposition though she does well by carrying herself in the manner required of a girl in her position and status. Her accomplishments in literature and music is notable as are her social graces in the company of elders… but it is her spirit that seeks to be free… In the dance, we see her first as a genteel lady, practiced in manners and etiquette, but as the dance progresses, her irrepressible spirit comes through…

Enter Yin Xin, her maid.

Yin Xin:
O miss, your honourable mother has asked me to tell you that she will see you now.

Yingtai:
O good! What do you think she will say to my plan, Yin Xin? Do you think she will agree?

Yin Xin:
I really doubt it, miss. Please forgive my lack of faith but I have never heard of such a thing as a young girl like you leaving home to study… but then you are so clever with words, you always have a way with your mother… surely she will at least consider your wishes seeing how she loves you so much…

Yingtai:
Well I definitely will have to apply both logic and subtle emotional pressure to succeed … actually it is not so much my mother but my honourable father who will prove to be the difficult one… but then I will need to get her on my side if I were to win this first battle of wits with them. Let us go in now?
[Enter Mdm Zhu] O, my mother has come…

Yin Xin:
Madam…

Mdm Zhu:
Yingtai…

Yingtai:
Beloved mother…

Mdm Zhu:
Yin Xin told me just this morning that you have something important to tell me. What is it? Without rhyme or reason… it struck me that perhaps something was amiss or you were unhappy about something… are you alright? Are you not well?

Yingtai:
I am very well, dear mother… just that your child has a wish…
From the ground it first sprouts soft and tender
The bending bamboo from a green shoot grows
Seeking the sun it grows tall and slender
Till it gives shade and song when the wind blows

Mdm Zhu:
What is it you want to say… my dear?

Yingtai:
Like a silkworm feasting on luxuriant leaves
Your child has grown under your tender care
Having spun its silken cocoon bathed in moonlight
It now seeks the sun a beautiful butterfly in the air

[song]
in my heart a small little wish it grows
in my mind a big question has arose
to learn from a great master who knows
moral and ethics, literature poetic
conscience and politics, meaning and music
to that great master in Hangzhou, may I go?

Mdm Zhu:
Who’s heard of such a thing? You’re a girl. Who will protect you? What if something untoward happened to you? In any case, what school will accept a girl as a scholar?

Yingtai:
Beloved mother, if all that the tutor has taught me is true… if all that the learned masters have said is true… then is it not also my duty to study more so that I can be of more use? Must knowledge only reside in the minds of men?

Mdm Zhu:
I know, Yingtai, that you are keen on study. And I am very proud of that… but what is to be done? A girl just doesn’t leave home like that to study. If you were to step out of the house, it is to ride in a flower bedecked palanquin on your way to your in-laws… we will be looking for a matchmaker soon…

Yingtai:
O no! mother… that’s furthest from my mind. Surely the promptings of the soul is more important than the prescriptions of society…

Mdm Zhu:
What soul, my dear…?

Yingtai:
I can go in disguise as a boy, can't I? Nobody will find out… I swear…

Mdm Zhu:
You make it sound so simple… it’s almost believable

Yingtai:
I can do it… I have a plan…

Mdm Zhu:
Yingtai, this is crazy talk… and your father will never allow it…

Yingtai:
Please, my beloved mother…
In my heart a little wish it grows
In my mind a big question has arose
Can a girl like me know how life flows
Let me learn it from a master who knows…

Mdm Zhu:
I’ll have to talk to your father… though I doubt he will ever agree…

Yingtai:
If you agree, my mother, then it is just a matter of persuasion…

[Mdm Zhu gives her daughter a look of exasperation and then sighs… and leaves… Yingtai dances with joy…]

LIANG ZHU 3 Everyone has Two Faces

Dance of the Masks: Entering from various parts and at different times, men and women with their profiles first either left or right painted white. It appears then that everyone has a white face. They dance, greet each other etc… maintaining this white profile. Then they change directions to reveal a red profile… they finally face the audience to show their true colours…that they have both white and red profiles… two different aspects of their personality. The question is WHO AM I? When faced with certain situations, who am I? How does an individual cope with the influence of society’s unseen pressure? What is this idea of “saving face” or “losing face”? How true are we to ourselves when we wear masks?

LIANG ZHU 4 Disguise

Mdm Zhu is seen with her husband Zhu Gongyuan in their private living room.

Zhu:
Preposterous! Does she want me to lose face? Has she not thought about the dishonour that will bring to the Zhu clan if anything untoward happened to her?

Mdm Zhu:
I have been through all that with her… but she seems determined. Well, actually it has already been a week since she asked me and I thought I could let some time pass before bringing it up with you… now I am a little alarmed…

Zhu:
Why? What has happened?

Mdm Zhu:
She has been staying in her bed for the last three days… not eating a single morsel of rice nor a single sip of broth… [sighs] this daughter of ours… how can she go on like this?

Zhu:
Does she intend to starve herself to death?

Mdm Zhu:
The way things are going right now… I am afraid she will do just that… I have just seen her this morning… all pale and wan, looking like… O I just don’t know what to do…

Zhu:
What has gone into her? Have we not done our duty by raising her with care and attention? Have we not given her the best? Where have I gone wrong?

Mdm Zhu:
She mentioned something about the promptings of her soul…

Zhu:
Does she not realize how precious she is to us? [sighs] I just don’t understand at all. Perhaps we have given her too much education…

Mdm Zhu:
How can you say that? Yingtai has her charms as a young lady but her virtue lies in her intelligence and scholarship. We know that she has even surpassed her last tutor… it is only natural that she sees her next step as studying with a master…

Zhu:
But she’s a girl…

Mdm Zhu:
Don’t I know it? We still have to look for a way to unravel this tricky turn of events now.

Zhu:
And I was just thinking of sending out a matchmaker to find out our chances of being in-laws with Magistrate Ma, the wealthiest family surely in this province, and this has to happen now…

Mdm Zhu:
Well you better hold your horses then… you don’t want such plans to go wrong, she being in the mood she is in right now…

Zhu:
But we must tackle the situation before us… who can help us?

Mdm Zhu:
Well, yesterday Yin Xin was telling me how increasingly worried she is about Yingtai’s health, and she had suggested that we seek the advice of a fortune teller to look up the position of the stars… I thought it was a good idea. At least it will be some direction… so I have asked her to look for one today…

[enter Yin Xin]

Yin Xin:
Madam, the fortune teller has come.

Mdm Zhu:
Ah, invite him in then…


[Yin Xin exits to bring in the fortune teller – a young scholarly looking man, with gentle features]

Yin Xin:
The fortune teller…

Mdm Zhu:
Please do come in, master, and pray be seated… Yin Xin, please serve tea to the master…

Fortune teller:
O honoured elder and respected madam, I see dark clouds hanging over you… a problem is unloading its burden onto you… never mind the tea

Zhu:
Erh, respected master, we are indeed stuck in a rut, unable to move forwards or backwards… but first, pray tell us what your honoured name is, and do have some tea…

Fortune teller:
Your humble servant is Fu, and named Sheng. My humble knowledge of the stars have been passed down to me by my grandfather, the great Fu Zhong of Wujia, no doubt you have heard of him…

Zhu:
Erh, I am afraid I have not had the….

Fortune teller:
O… but which man of wealth and position has not heard of the name Fu Zhong, astrologer to the generals. Why, battles were won based on strategies inspired by his knowledge of the celestial spheres… but never mind… that was quite long ago… I am sure your present problem is more pressing than your memory of my family history… I will not take offence…

Zhu:
Perhaps you will guide us then…

Fortune teller:
What exactly is your problem?

Mdm Zhu:
It’s our daughter…

Fortune teller:
How old is she?

Mdm Zhu:
When the spring festival comes, she will be seventeen…

Fortune teller:
Her particulars?

Mdm Zhu:
The eighth month, on the first…

[he calculates on his fingers, mumbles to himself]

Fortune teller:
Problem!

Zhu:
Problem!

Fortune teller:
Problem! She is your only daughter, highly intelligent, keen on study, strong willed but patient. Loved by you both like treasure from three generations… but problem…

Mdm Zhu:
Why is that a problem?

Fortune teller:
Right now her stars are badly afflicted and she is now burdened with a sickness that medicine cannot cure. This is only the beginning, the first manifestation of her astrological affliction. Very soon, their negative influence will come down upon your entire family… she must be sent away in order that harmony will be restored both to her health as well as your household…

Mdm Zhu:
O heavens! Why must this happen to us…

Zhu:
Respected master… when… when should we… and where should we send her?

Mdm Zhu:
She mentioned about studying in Hangzhou…

Fortune teller:
That’s a brilliant idea! Leave the house to restore health and harmony to herself and her home and acquire more knowledge on the way… it’s a good step indeed

Zhu:
Well if that’s the only solution, we will have to follow it. But how will she do that? There are no schools for girls?!

Mdm Zhu:
She thinks she can disguise herself as a boy to do that…

Zhu:
Isn’t that a preposterous idea? How can a girl look like a boy?

Fortune teller:
It’s really not so difficult, dear father…

Zhu:
Excuse me, what did you say?

Fortune teller:
Your daughter has proven her point… [removes his scholar’s cap]

Zhu:
You mean, it’s you, Yingtai!

Yingtai:
Isn’t it me?

Zhu:
What a trick you have played on us…

Mdm Zhu:
What a clever trick, my child!

Yin Xin:
Well done, miss…

Yingtai:
So off I go… to that great master who knows… in Hangzhou…

Zhu:
But… but… aiyah!

LIANG ZHU 5 The Pavilion of Destiny

Enter the storyteller with a bundle on his back… the scene is one of tranquil beauty. A running brook with two willows leaning over it…a pavilion in the near distance, surrounded by flowering shrubs… and in the far distance, rolling hills that look blue behind their misty shroud. He puts his bundle down and sighs with relief… and takes out a clacker and begins to snap a rhythm with it…

Storyteller:
It’s me again. I am traveling with my master Liang Shanbo. We are on our way to Hangzhou in search of that great master Zhou Sijang. My master has asked me to run ahead of him to see if there is a place where we can rest for a while. And as you can see, there it is… the pavilion of destiny. I am here now, and you are here… but my master is not here yet… so let me tell you something about Liang Shanbo… [he uses the clacker… clack! Clack… clack clack!]

Liang Shanbo Liang Shanbo
Here’s the story of my Liang Shanbo
Dutiful son, loved by all
Loves to read, music even more
Thinks a lot but smiles for all
Gentlemanly to the core
O Liang Shanbo Liang Shanbo
That’s my master Liang Shanbo
Birds and flowers, he loves them all
Hills and clouds, more he adores
Thinks of study from spring to fall
O’er every good book he will pore
My Liang Shanbo Liang Shanbo
Who wouldn’t love my Liang Shanbo…

[Enter Liang Shanbo, a youth of eighteen, fresh faced, bright eyes, sprightly step with a touch of restraint… at the moment, he is filled with the excitement of finally going to Hangzhou to study under the great master Zhou.]

Liang Shanbo:
White clouds sail across the sky
Birds are winging high and free
Leaves are waving, trees are swaying
Flowers blooming wild and free
Wind is swinging the willow
The willow bows so courteously
And the brook it sings so joyously
All around me, tis heaven’s beauty
That I’ve never seen…

Si Jiu, did you find us a place to rest awhile…?

Si Jiu:
[sotto voce] that’s my name. [to Liang Shanbo] Yes, master…

Shanbo:
And here you are… did you find a place…

Si Jiu:
There it is, master. A pavilion just right for you…

Shanbo:
Why, how fortunate we are… it seems to stand there waiting for us to enjoy this place with ease… who will share this beautiful place with me? I suppose it will only have to be you, Si Jiu…

Si Jiu:
Perhaps not, master… [Enter Yin Xin and Yingtai dressed as men. Yin Xin wears a grey servants jacket and black pants while Yingtai is in a long scholar’s dress of light green silk. And she holds a fan.] Looks like, you may have company after all…

[Yin Xin has noticed the two men at the pavilion, and points them out to Yingtai. They hesitate to impose upon Shanbo as general courtesy to strangers requires one to be respectful of other people’s privacy. Shanbo, seeing that Yingtai is dressed like a scholar and a gentleman, decides to invite Yingtai to share the pavilion.]

Shanbo:
May I ask this gentle brother if he has come a long way? And if that is so, he must be tired and in need of rest. Let me invite him with great respect to share this beautiful pavilion with humble me…

Yingtai:
Indeed, gentle brother, you are most kind. I have walked a long way… it is true. And in great need of a place to rest. Your invitation I will accept with deep gratitude… but I hope I will not be imposing upon you too much…

Shanbo:
O please! Not at all… not at all.
Every journey brings new awakenings…
the heart must strive for understanding…
a man who sees beauty but walks in loneliness,
must share it with another to enjoy happiness…

Yingtai:
A poet! How fortunate for me.
I thought a lonely path I’d be walking…
to reach what my heart was keen on achieving…
but now a kindred spirit has blessed my journey,
heaven is kind indeed to brighten my destiny…

Shanbo:
May I ask, gentle brother… what is your respected name? And which way are you going?

Yingtai:
My family, good brother, comes from the Zhu village, and my name is Yingtai. I am on my way to Hangzhou, to the great master Zhou Sijang under whom I hope to study…

Shanbo:
Marvelous! What luck! I am going there, too. O please forgive my lack of manners… Your humble brother comes from the Liang village, and my name is Shanbo. I too have hopes to study under master Zhou Sijang… Perhaps we can travel together. In the company of a good friend, time flows like a running brook, and a long journey is shortened with cheerful conversation…

Yingtai:
Let it be as you wish, brother Liang… I am in need of good company myself. Meeting a man of honour is akin to finding treasure…

Shanbo:
How courteous you are, brother Zhu. Today, fortune is smiling on me… and look around us, it seems the whole world is smiling with colour and light…

Yingtai:
You are so happy, brother Liang, and how is fortune smiling on you?

Shanbo:
I am an only son and have always wished for a brother with whom I can share my thoughts and ideas… it appears that my wish has been granted…

Yingtai:
Surely, you do me too much honour, brother Liang…

Shanbo:
I think I may have embarrassed you with my frankness… please forgive me…

Yingtai:
Please say not so…

Shanbo:
Something inside tells me that henceforth I shall be happy…
[he begins to sing and his song is picked up by Yingtai. Together they stroll into the distance, with Si Jiu and Yin Xin following]

White clouds sail across the sky
Birds are winging high and free
Leaves are waving, trees are swaying
Flowers blooming wild and free
Wind is swinging the willow
The willow…

Yingtai:
…..bows so courteously
And the brook…

Shanbo:
….. it sings so joyously

Both:
All around me, tis heaven’s beauty
That I’ve never seen…

LIANG ZHU 6 Study

We are in master Zhou Sijang’s school now and there are lots of students. Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai are caught up in the excitement of the school. First, we see the students of the school in various activities – studying, singing, playing games, exercising or playing chess under a tree. As the scene opens, the music is sweet and low, a flute perhaps, but there from the beginning is already a hint of fun and frolic. So the flute is joined by a pipa or a drum, and it swells… the students do their thing with gay abandon but every time a teacher passes by, they resume their positions of study and contemplation in a split second. This is accompanied by a chant that they intone sonorously in unison, swaying their bodies in rhythm.

Chant:
When the wind blows, who knows where it goes
As the river flows, will white clouds choose to follow
Climb the far mountain descend the dale
But tis the heart that should be in repose…

The moment the teacher is out of sight… they are all up in a jiffy… back to their fun and games. In the middle of all this, we see Liang Shanbo having a good time… midway, Zhu Yingtai enters and seems unsure of how to be a part of it. However, with a bit of prodding from Liang Shanbo, she is off to a flying start. There are moments in the game, football(?), when there is physical contact between her and the others – someone bumps into her roughly and Liang Shanbo is immediately there to help her. There are moments when Liang Shanbo bumps into her or she bumps into him and they ask each other if the other is ok. Finally, their team wins and as they are about to celebrate, Master Zhou appears and immediately there is a hushed silence. The students pay their respects hurriedly and take leave.

Master Zhou: [to the students in a gentle manner]
Twilight is upon us… it is best to call it a day…

Students: [individually and severally]
Yes, Master Zhou… good night…

[Master Zhou nods at each student and strokes his white beard. As Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai pay their respects to him, he notices them.]

Master Zhou:
Liang Shanbo… Zhu Yingtai… two good friends. I have noticed that the both of you are very serious about your study here, and I have observed that you both help each other. This is commendable. In fact, I am very pleased that your rooming together has brought about rapid progress in your studies… let it continue…

Liang Shanbo:
Thank you, Master Zhou, for your kind words…

Master Zhou:
It is getting dark… both of you should be going in…

Liang Shanbo & Zhu Yingtai:
Yes, master… [they bow and exit hurriedly as Master Zhou strolls in the opposite direction.]

LIANG ZHU 7 The Heart Is Like the Moon

All are in bed. All the lights are out. Then we see the soft glow of a lantern. Yingtai enters with the lantern. Unable to sleep, there is something within her heart that needs to be expressed. She stands alone in a melancholic mood, and then she sits on the garden bench, and begins to look at the butterflies drawn on the lantern…

Zhu Yingtai:
What does it mean, this feeling
That each time he calls me
My heart goes soaring
What can it be, my feelings
That each time I see him
My mind goes reeling
Could this be love?
Who will tell me, I’m asking
How will a girl like me
Say her heart’s yearning
Whom shall I ask, I’m wond’ring
Who will listen to me
Listen to my longing
Could this be love?

[as she says this, the full moon comes sailing out from a cloud, and she is bathed in soft moonlight. For a moment, she gazes at the beautiful scene, and then, something dawns on her…]

Lead kindly light, lead kindly light
from darkness unto light
O lead, lead me on…
Lead, lead me on, lead, lead me on
On to wisdom, on to light, lead, lead me on
Lead, lead me on, lead, lead me on
On to love, on to light, lead, lead me on
Lead kindly light….

[Liang Shanbo enters, and looks at Yingtai wondering why she is out in the night air. Then he sees the full moon and is also struck by its beauty]

Liang Shanbo:
How beautiful! The grand harmony of heaven is radiant as day as earth’s silent night breathes in repose, drifting away…

[Yingtai is momentarily startled by his presence and is a little embarrassed but then she realizes that Shanbo is too intent on the full moon to notice her discomfiture… she relaxes and watches him.]

Zhu Yingtai:
Heaven’s light shall lead the way, her fullness has much to say…

Liang Shanbo:
How beautiful, Brother Zhu, the way you have finished my couplet for me… it is no wonder that I am so fond of you. By the way, why are you not in bed?

Zhu Yingtai:
I woke up from a dream that I was a butterfly, visiting the flowers in this garden. And there was another butterfly, too. Then I became aware that I was a butterfly thinking that I was a human being… then I woke up… and I came out hoping to find an answer to that strange dream…

Liang Shanbo:
How profound! Are we in reality, butterflies or human beings? What a thought!
[he muses for a moment; trying to unravel that, but then shrugs his shoulders.]
How curious! Maybe now I will find no sleep…

Zhu Yingtai:
It’s just a dream, Brother Liang… [but she knows otherwise… ]

Liang Shanbo:
Who was the other butterfly?

Zhu Yingtai:
I don’t know… [but she looks at him meaningfully though it is lost on him]

Liang Shanbo:
Why didn’t you ask him?

Zhu Yingtai:
I couldn’t speak… whom do you think it was?

[Liang Shanbo looks at her as if to speak but is speechless]

Liang Shanbo:
How would I know? I wasn’t even in your dream! But, what a beautiful, butterfly dream...

Zhu Yingtai:
Butterfly dream!

Liang Shanbo:
Dreaming you are a butterfly, thinking you are a human being… how profound!

Zhu Yingtai:
You think so?

Liang Shanbo:
I wouldn’t mind being a butterfly, flitting around, looking at the flowers in here… [he yawns]

Zhu Yingtai:
Maybe you should go and dream then… maybe we can dream together and become the two butterflies in this garden…

[they laugh… and Yingtai begins to go inside]

Liang Shanbo:
You go on ahead, Yingtai, I’ll admire the moon a little longer…

Zhu Yingtai [yawning]:
Composing more poems for me to finish? Alright… good night, then.

Liang Shanbo [as he looks at Yingtai going in]:
What does it mean, this feeling
Our moments together
My heart stops beating
What can I be thinking
I’m fond of my brother
So why is my mind reeling
What could it be? [he pauses, thinking hard]

This is even more confusing than his butterfly dream! [he heads for his bed]

LIANG ZHU 8 Question? Answer!

It is the mid-Autumn Festival and the whole school is celebrating. The students bring lanterns and dance boisterously around as they decorate the place. They bring in wooden benches and tables, teapots and teacups, and some musical instruments – all to serenade the autumn moon. The teachers are seen having tea or playing chess. There is an air of festivity… then one of the students quickly dons a master’s robe and comes down centrestage. He play-acts as one of the teachers, gesticulating with his hands, and the rest laugh. The master laughs but realizes that he is the target so he grunts and shows mock anger. The student becomes quiet and begins to recite a poem.

Student:
A solitary figure I am
Set on a journey – who knows where
Cool earth neath my feet
The wind whispers – who knows what
Stars on the canvas of night
Eloquent silence – there, everywhere
The full moon unveils itself
And my heart is full. Filled.

[There is a moment of silence after this… and then everybody claps with shouts of “well done! Well done!” and “Tien Wen is our poet!” and then another song is presented. This time is Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai. Yingtai is quickly dressed as a girl – with a robe and a sash to cinch her waist and then a headdress or an ornate hair pin! She looks almost ridiculous. They sing and dance as a pair of lovers amidst initial giggles. But in the middle of the song, Liang Shanbo begins to notice that Yingtai is very good at pretending to be a girl! And he is puzzled. Her hand gestures appear very practiced and graceful. The song becomes a dance… Dance of the Lovers]

Liang Shanbo:
White clouds sail across the sky
Birds are winging high and free

Zhu Yingtai:
Leaves are waving, trees are swaying
Flowers blooming wild and free

Liang Shanbo:
Wind is swinging the willow
The willow…

Yingtai:
…..bows so courteously
And the brook…

Shanbo:
It sings so joyously

Both:
All around me, tis heaven’s beauty
That I’ve never seen….

[Everyone is very impressed with their song and dance… and some give Yingtai a hard slap on the back. Liang Shanbo gazes at Yingtai… now even more confused about his feelings for her. A wandering monk enters the garden. He is invited to join the festivities. He demures.]

Liang Shanbo:
O Venerable master Suan, it’s been a long time since you last visited here. Will you not join us in serenading the autumn moon?

Master Suan:
I was sitting in contemplation under a tree by the waterfall downstream when I felt that I had to come here to answer a question. [He looks around and gazes at Yingtai meaningfully]

Student:
What question, Master Suan?

Master Suan:
What will be asked and who will ask it? I am already here… [The students look at each other curiously]

Student:
Is it you, Shanbo? Are you the one with the question? Come on, ask it now! So we can hear the answer.

Master Suan:
I have come to answer only one question… and I have only one answer.

Liang Shanbo: [hesitating]
Erh… I … uh… I don’t have any question…

Master Suan:
You don’t!

Yingtai:
I do. [Everyone looks at her, surprised, waiting] I have a question, Master Suan, if you permit it… [He is quiet, then a slight nod of the head.] They say that when a silkworm spins its cocoon, it does so to disguise itself and hide from danger, pretending to be dead. But in its deep sleep, it eagerly awaits the day when its transformation is complete, and it then emerges as a butterfly, ready to soar above the trees. But, if fate is cruel, and it comes to pass that the silkworm sleeping in its cocoon is destroyed before it can even become a butterfly, will it get another chance? How many lives does a silkworm have?

Master Suan:
A silkworm is one of Life’s most wondrous creatures. It came from Love and it lives because of Love. Deep, deep within the silkworm, it knows that love is the force that makes it do what it does… so it spins its silken cocoon with great love, knowing that it will one day become a butterfly. [He pauses.] A silkworm has many lives, so many until it is satisfied with being different butterflies. It knows this deep, deep within but its instinct is to spin, and then to sleep, and then to transform, and then, to fly free. In between, when it forfeits its life due to fate, it returns very soon, as another silkworm, to work out its destiny. Death is an illusion… only love is real… for love is eternal. When it finally breaks through the thousand knots as a butterfly, is not the silkworm’s death-like sleep in the cocoon an illusion?

[The students are all speechless at this revelation. And Yingtai understands but not truly, for what the monk has just said must be experienced. And in that moment of puzzlement, in which she thinks she understands his words, he smiles at her, and all she can do is nod.]

Yingtai:
Thank you, Venerable Master, thank you for your wisdom.

Master Suan:
Fear not, young man, true freedom can only be found in the heart… difficult but not unattainable. Your question has been answered but one day you will understand the answer. For now, follow your heart, and it will lead you to your dream. [He looks at all the eager and perplexed faces around him.] Alright, my young friends, I will take my leave now. [He pauses, and then to Yingtai] Butterflies are meant to be free… and will always be free. [He gets up and then walks away without turning back.]

[The students then start the Dance of the Lanterns. The dance gives thanks to the fullness of the moon and the wisdom imparting light that it gives. In the middle of the dance, Yin Xin enters with a letter for Yingtai which she reads. Her mood changes and she is a little disturbed. She takes a look at Shanbo who is watching her, and leaves. Shanbo follows. The dance continues until it comes to an end and everyone disperses.]

LIANG ZHU 9 Parting

Yingtai has been summoned to return by her parents. She is ready to leave and Shanbo has insisted that he accompanies her part of the way. Yin Xin and Si Jiu enter with two or three bundles. Si Jiu offers to help Yin Xin.

Si Jiu:
Here, Yin Xin, let me help you with some of that. Then you won’t feel too tired.

Yin Xin:
I won’t be too tired, Si Jiu, but thanks for asking.

Si Jiu:
I wonder how far my master will accompany Master Yingtai. I hope it will be as far as the pavilion where they first met.

[Shanbo and Yingtai enter. Their theme song comes up sad and full of pathos. They walk together, unable to express the turmoil within – so many things to say but so few words to say them with. They move together as if setting out on a journey: Dance of the Lovers. Unable to contain his feelings, Shanbo finds expression in poetry.]

Shanbo:
White clouds sail across the sky but no birds want to fly
The stream has been laughing but friends must say goodbye

Yingtai:
Autumn leaves fall in sorrow; falling to winter’s coming
The earth sleeps silent, waiting to greet the smile of spring

Shanbo:
The bamboo seeks the sky; sets its hopes so high
The willow bends and sighs, only the river hears it cry

Yingtai:
The wind knows the bamboo, softly its praises whistling
The river hears the willow, gurgles to its sighing

[They have reached the pavilion of destiny where they first met. Yin Xin and Si Jiu put down their luggage and sit by a tree, quietly watching their two masters – each feeling sad but not daring to voice their feelings. Shanbo and Yingtai enter and look around them, refreshed by the change of the surrounding trees and yet, sad at their imminent parting.]

Yingtai:
This is where we first met, Shanbo. Two scholars searching the path to knowledge…

Shanbo:
This is where we first met, Yingtai. Two friends bowing to each other with deep affinity… three autumns… [there is a lump in his throat]

Yingtai:
Three autumns: each one lovelier than the last. Under the moon, we set brush to paper, composed poems to windsong and zither, raised cups together as friends and brothers.

Shanbo:
Too soon the years have flown… we’ve filled our hearts with laughter, forgetting that this day will come… now duty has come calling, and return you must…

Yingtai:
Too deep our affection has grown… and now parting brings us sorrow, wishing there should be no tomorrow.

[There is a moment of silence. Both are thinking about what each will do without the other. Their eyes meet for a moment of eternity.]

Shanbo:
In a few days I will have to sit for the civil examination. If not for that, I will gladly accompany you all the way home… [He breaks off, unable to speak…] When I succeed in winning a position as magistrate’s officer, I shall come and visit you…

Yingtai:
Then when you come, Shanbo, I shall give you my twin sister’s hand in marriage so that our affection for each other will be sealed.

Shanbo: [he is speechless for a moment]
How generous you are, Yingtai. I am feeling sad and silly having to say goodbye to a good friend, and you are making me happy by offering your sister in marriage to me… how can I be so deserving?

Yingtai:
By just being you, Shanbo, patient, kindhearted, simple, honest and sincere…

Shanbo:
But how will she like me?

Yingtai:
Let me be the matchmaker. She is my twin sister and bound to like whom I like. She is a bit shy but when I tell her about you, she will accept you wholeheartedly.

Shanbo
When should I come to visit you, then?

Yingtai:
As soon as possible. As soon as you have achieved your position in court, come in your officer’s garb and claim my sister’s hand. This is a vow I am making to you now, sealing our affection and friendship.

Shanbo:
I accept, Yingtai. Let it be as you have spoken.

[There is a pause.]

Yingtai:
Now Shanbo, I must be on my way…

Shanbo:
And I must be on my way…

[Yingtai exits with Yin Xin as Shanbo and Si Jiu watch them go. Shanbo raises his hand to wave goodbye but then there is such a deep sense of emptiness that he lets it fall down by his side immediately. The theme music comes up again as the scene fades to black.]

LIANG ZHI 10 Dance of the Gift Bearers

The shrill sound of the long reedhorn and the following gongs herald the arrival of a wedding party. As the lights come on, we see a procession of gift bearers, all in auspicious red. There is a big show of the pomp and wealth that they are bringing with them, and people on the street are all totally impressed to say the least. After all, this is the Ma family, sending the wedding gifts to the Zhu family home. The gift bearers perform an exquisite dance that takes our breath away. It is so grand and elegant, it must be the most beautiful scene ever. In the middle of all this, Liang Shanbo enters, dressed as a court official, with the signature jade-decorated black hat. He watches the procession go by and is quite impressed himself. As the procession leaves, he asks a passerby for some directions, and then exits in the opposite direction.

LIANG ZHU 11 Match! No Match!

There is turmoil in the Zhu house. Without her knowledge Yingtai’s parents have accepted the proposal from the Ma’s for their son Ma Wen Cai. She is flabbergasted and is refusing her father’s command to marry Ma Wen Cai.

Zhu:
How dare you!? This is absolutely preposterous! This must be the best match of the century, and you are refusing it! What right have you to refuse it?

Yingtai:
You did not ask me, father. If this was to be my wedding, and I know it will not be, why wasn’t I told about it? You are talking about me getting married – that gives me the right to accept or to refuse! How could you do this behind my back?

Mdm Zhu:
Yingtai, you have always been a reasonable girl… and finding a match is both a duty and a privilege for parents. For your father, this is a very special joy… think of the honour and esteem the Zhu family will enjoy with this match.

Yingtai:
It seems that you have been thinking about honour and esteem but not me…

Zhu:
Ungrateful! I can see that we made a mistake sending you off to that school for three years. You have learned nothing. Instead of behaving as a good daughter, you behave as though you have not an iota of learning inside your head. For all the love and care your mother and I have showered upon you, you dare accuse me of thinking about honour and esteem and not you? Preposterous!

Mdm Zhu:
You mean finding the best match in the province for you is selfish of us?

[Yingtai is in tears now and tries to steel herself…]

Yingtai: [quietly]
I don’t want to be matched…

Mdm Zhu:
Then what are we supposed to do with all the gifts that the Ma have just sent…?

Zhu:
The whole province is up with excitement by just looking at the gifts… can you imagine what it will be like on the wedding day? And she doesn’t want to be matched.

Yingtai: [quietly]
Send them back.

Mdm Zhu:
What! Send them back? How can we send them back? What will people say? You want to make us the laughing stock of the province?

Zhu:
She’s possessed and gone off her senses! What have I done to her that she now repays my kindness with this stupid… this… this… you are just trying to kill me!

Mdm Zhu:
You better tell us the reason before your father bursts a blood vessel…

Yingtai:
I won’t marry Ma Wen Cai.

Mdm Zhu:
Why?

Yingtai:
Because I have Liang Shanbo…

Mdm Zhu:
And who is this Liang Shanbo…

Yingtai:
He and I were classmates for all these three years… and I have promised I will marry only him.

Mdm Zhu:
What! But you swore to me that you would not reveal your true identity to anybody? And you promised that you would keep to yourself, not letting anyone touch you! When you returned, you told me you kept your promise.

Yingtai:
Those promises I have kept to the letter. He doesn’t know that I am a girl!

Mdm Zhu:
That’s truly laughable! Then how have you promised that you will marry only him?

Yingtai:
I promised him my twin sister’s hand when he comes.

Mdm Zhu:
You don’t have a twin sister?

Yingtai:
Liang Shanbo is kind, gentle, honest and sincere. In these three years, being his classmate and roommate, I have discovered him to be a true gentleman, generous and sensitive, dutiful and talented. Mother, I did not tell him my true identity because I promised you. When we parted, I knew that I could give my heart only to him and no one else. I made him promise that he will visit me and I promised my twin sister to him – in my heart, I had promised myself to him…

Zhu:
This is so utterly ridiculous! I am not going to listen to it anymore. [He leaves the room angrily.]

Mdm Zhu:
Yingtai, I understand what you are saying… but such things are not done. Right now Liang Shanbo is not a reality but the gifts and the proposal from the Ma’s are. We cannot make these things disappear. This is a very serious matter, Yingtai. Can you imagine what will happen if we do send the gifts back. It will be a terrible insult to the Ma’s, the wealthiest family in the province… it will be very difficult for your father…

Yingtai:
To you Shanbo is not a reality but to me he is as real as my heartbeat. I don’t even know the Ma’s and it is not my intent to insult them. But I would rather die than be married to Ma Wen Cai.

Mdm Zhu:
Where is Liang Shanbo now?

Yingtai:
He will come… I know he will come. [A maid enters nervously, looks at Yingtai…]]

Maid:
Madam, Liang Shanbo has come to ask for our young master Zhu Yingtai.

Yingtai:
Liang Shanbo!

Mdm Zhu:
What a coincidence! Well, you’d better explain the whole situation to him. I hope he has more sense than you on this matter… I shall leave you alone. [She exits.]

LIANG ZHU 12 Reunion

[Yingtai quickly repairs her face, at once bewildered by the desperation of the situation as well as the joy and excitement of seeing Shanbo again. There is also the possible awkwardness of Shanbo seeing her as a girl for the first time. In order that it will not be too difficult for Shanbo when he arrives, she decided that she should stand not facing the doorway but with her back to it so that he would have at least a moment to collect himself upon seeing her. Shanbo enters. He sees her immediately and is a little puzzled that Yingtai is not there except this lady with his back to him.]

Shanbo: [apologetically]
Please forgive me for my intrusion but I thought I was being brought to see Brother Yingtai… [she turns around and smiles at him and he is momentarily stunned] He is not here and I have intruded… [he stops, now speechless, staring at Yingtai]

Yingtai:
Brother Liang… please come in and be seated..

Shanbo:
You call me the way Yingtai calls me! Amazing! How did you know that it is I? I know you must be Yingtai’s twin sister, seeing how much you look like him, but we have never met before.

Yingtai: [assuming a pose which she normally strikes while they are studying together]
White clouds sail across the sky; birds are winging high and free
Leaves are waving, trees are swaying; flowers blooming wild and free

Shanbo:
How did you know that song? Yingtai must have taught it to you. [she shakes her head] You sing it beautifully…

Yingtai: [she quotes from the poem they had composed upon parting]
Three autumns: each one lovelier than the last. Under the moon, we set brush to paper, composed poems to windsong and zither, raised cups together as friends and brothers.

Shanbo: [the memory comes pouring out; the words fall effortlessly from his tongue and it slowly dawns on him that…] Too soon the years have flown… we’ve filled our hearts with laughter, forgetting that this day will come… now duty has come calling, and return you must…

Yingtai: [she continues, staring into his eyes, waiting for that moment of full recognition]
Too deep our affection has grown… and now parting brings us sorrow, wishing there should be no tomorrow.

Shanbo: [amazed, but softly]
Yingtai!

Yingtai:
Shanbo.

Shanbo:
You are a girl… you’ve always been a girl.

Yingtai:
The girl with the butterfly dream…

Shanbo:
Dreaming you are a butterfly, thinking you are a human being… [silence]

Yingtai:
I see that you have succeeded. Congratulations. I am deeply touched that you remembered….

Shanbo:
You have always been a girl, Yingtai! [Still finding it incredible, after all these years.] My brother Zhu Yingtai whom I have lived and studied with for three years… I’ve been a fool… not knowing… how dull and stupid can I be!?

Yingtai:
No! please don’t say that… I did not mean to fool you… it was a disguise that was required of me… please forgive me, Shanbo…

Shanbo:
No, Yingtai, I do not mean that. I saw but I did not see… I knew but I did not know…how could I have… [he breaks off, shaking his head]

Yingtai:
Because you are a true gentleman; sincere and pure in your heart… those three years were the happiest time of my life… because I was with you. That was why, when we parted, I gave you that promise…

Shanbo:
You promised to match me with your twin sister so that our affection for each other will be sealed…

Yingtai:
I am my own twin sister… [he is now totally speechless; so amazed and deeply moved at the same time, he begins to laugh through his tears – that the friend whom he had loved all along will now be his beloved!]

Shanbo:
Zhu Yingtai, how glorious you are… how enchanting you are! Stupid me, haha ha! I saw so many things but I didn’t see… no, I didn’t see at all. [he gazes at her, still finding the whole thing incredible.] Now I have come in my officer’s garb… to redeem the promise from my brother Zhu for the hand of his twin sister Yingtai….


[Dance of Reunion : In a sweep of emotion, Shanbo begins to dance – the theme of the lovers sweeps them away, now in a reconciliation of their unexpressed feelings of love for each other – and Yingtai almost flies, almost free, almost like a butterfly… and when the music fades, there is a moment of eternity in which they gaze into each other’s eyes… until Yingtai remembers. And she looks away.]

Shanbo:
What is the matter, Yingtai?

Yingtai:
Though butterflies can fly, horses are far swifter
Though my heart is given, their gifts come faster

Shanbo:
What do you mean, Yingtai?

Yingtai:
I will marry no one else but you… [as she says this, the light changes… and the sound of the wedding procession is heard – the reedhorn blaring a sense imminent doom. Yingtai runs out in tears but she has to confront the wedding procession and the gift bearers.]

LIANG ZHU 13 Heartbreak

Dance of Separation: the gift bearers enter dramatically and we see Yingtai struggling to get away. In the midst of all this, Zhu Gongyuan and his wife play forceful roles in making her succumb. Yingtai struggles but to no avail. The dancers carry her away, and almost immediately returns, now dressed in black, and begin to crowd Shanbo. Their oppression overpowers him and he is finally left alone – crushed and broken on the ground.

The music has changed and we see him in a pool of light, surrounded by darkness. He tries to get up and the effort makes him cough painfully. He struggles with a handkerchief from his jacket to cover his mouth… with a heave and a spasm of pain… there is blood on the handkerchief.

The theme music is heard again, very sad and very slow. And in the half darkness, we can see Yingtai dancing slowly with another man who wears a mask. But her dance is that of a spiritless being, turned and twisted this way and that way. Sometimes there is resistance, a flicker of emotion but this immediately subsides behind the mask of emptiness. At one point, she faces Liang Shanbo and reaches out to him but is snatched away. The man lifts her above his head, triumphant but she looks lifeless! They leave. And Liang Shanbo, having seen all this, slowly gets up, coughs, and struggles away out of sight. We hear the dying wail of the violin as the light fades away.

LIANG ZHU 14 Death

Si Jiu enters, holding a bundle. His eyes are full of tears and his heart is bursting…

Si Jiu:
See what I mean?! Why must life be like that for two young and gentle people? Why must fate be so cruel when love is all they wanted? To be happy together. Do they not deserve joy? Why must they see sorrow’s face? How they have loved… how he had loved her without knowing so and how she had loved him without telling him so! Must love bow down to wealth, honour and esteem? Must these things kill the very force that makes us breathe, that makes us want to live and laugh? [He breaks down and begins to sob…. Then he takes out a piece of white cloth and ties this on his head..]
He is gone now…
Liang Shanbo Liang Shanbo
Here’s the story of my Liang Shanbo
Dutiful son, loved by all
Loves to read, music even more
Thinks a lot but smiles for all
Gentlemanly to the core
O Liang Shanbo Liang Shanbo
But now, he is no more…

Having found love and then having it torn out of his heart broke him. It killed him. [he sobs loudly] It killed him… [He gathers himself, wipes his tears.] With his dying breath he begged his parents’ pardon for not being able to fulfill their wishes for him, for not being able to live long enough to look after them as a dutiful son would. Then he made a last request. That his grave should face north on Golden Dragon Mound next to the river. And he told me that I must let her know… and I am going to do that now. [He exits.]

LIANG ZHU 15 Wedding or Funeral?

In the half-light, we see silhouettes of people entering as if in preparation for something. This is Yingtai and her maids who are about to dress her up as a bride. She is in white, her hair now tied up in a low bun. She is a picture of cold, numb despair – a wall of brittle plaster, covering a bleeding heart. A chair is brought and placed in the center, and she stands before it. Two maids bring forward her red bridal dress and puts it on her. She is still, like a mannequin. Then she is made to sit and a maid brings from a tray, the bridal headdress. As this is about to be placed on her, Yingtai breaks down and sobs. The maids try to console her… and she quickly regains her composure. As the sparkling headdress is tied onto her head, her eyes are filled with tears.

Yin Xin enters hurriedly and comes to Yingtai. We can see that she has been crying but she quickly wipes her face.

Yin Xin:
Miss, Si Jiu has come. He has a message for you… [at this Yingtai immediately gets up, looking agitated.]

Yingtai:
Send him in.
[Yin Xin beckons towards the door and Si Jiu appears with the white band on his forehead and burlap over his jacket. He sees Yingtai, his eyes filled with sorrow and he hangs his head. Yingtai turns to look at him and seeing him in mourning clothes, she gasps, her hand to her mouth, and biting the knuckles of her fingers to stop herself from crying aloud… a strangled cry of pain and she staggers but she holds on. Her maids are agitated.] Where? Where, Si Jiu?

Si Jiu:
At Golden Dragon Mound, Miss, on the river, facing north… [Yingtai whimpers in pain.]

Yingtai:
What else?

Si Jiu:
He said to tell you that he will be waiting for you…

Yingtai: [she sobs.]
Shanbo! [Si Jiu hangs his head and exits.]

[Sounds of the reedhorn and the cymbals are heard. The wedding palanquin is ready. Enter Zhu Gongyuan and his wife in a flurry of gay excitement. They are dressed in wedding finery.]

Master Zhu:
Yin Xin, is your mistress ready? Is Yingtai ready? The palanquin has arrived. The time has come. [Yin Xin hesitates and is about to say something…]

Yingtai:
Will the procession pass by Golden Dragon Mound?

Master Zhu:
Golden Dragon Mound? Yes, the procession will pass it on the bank of the river. Why?

Yingtai:
I am ready, father. [he is delighted at her acquiescence and easy obedience, unaware of her turmoil.]

Master Zhu:
Very good. Excellent! We shall send you off with blessings and good wishes. [as he leaves with his wife and Yingtai follows..] Finally, heaven has eyes… what a good day this is… from now on, we will have no more worries. [Exit]

LIANG ZHU 16 Freedom

[As they exit, the scene fades to blackout and the sound of the wedding procession fills the air once again – the reedhorn, the gong, the cymbals heralding the forthcoming happy event. As the light slowly comes back on, we see the procession in silhouette… downstage left, we see the grave mound of Liang Shanbo with the inscription of his name on a tablet in front of it. The palanquin enters and there is a sudden loud clap of thunder. A strong gust of wind blows the banners of the procession helter skelter. This increases in intensity, even as thunder and lightning shake the earth. The palanquin bearers are unable to move forward. Yingtai emerges from the palanquin and sees the grave mound. There is a sudden lull in the wind and the storm and she steps out. She moves forward towards the mound and the storm resumes but she is unaffected. In fact, she is gliding gently as if walking on air, and as she does this, she removes her wedding dress and her headdress. These are blown away. The gift bearers try to grab at her but they are unable to because of the powerful wind that drives them back. She reaches the mound and sees the tablet with Liang Shanbo’s name. She hugs the grave and cries.

Yingtai:
Three autumns: each one lovelier than the last. Under the moon, we set brush to paper, composed poems to windsong and zither, raised cups together as friends and brothers.
Too soon the years have flown… we’ve filled our hearts with laughter, forgetting that this day will come… now duty has come calling, and return you must…
Too deep our affection has grown… and now parting brings us sorrow, wishing there should be no tomorrow. [she falls on the ground, grief stricken.]
[All of a sudden, there is calmness, and none of the procession party can be seen. The light changes to serene greenish blue. The monk Master Suan enters, stands in a pool of light and watches Yingtai.]

Master Suan:
Death is an illusion… only love is real… for love is eternal. When it finally breaks through the thousand knots as a butterfly, is not the silkworm’s death-like sleep in the cocoon an illusion?

[Yingtai looks up as she hears this and looks at the monk. He nods. Just then, a butterfly appears upstage, flying around gracefully. The light on Yingtai flickers and she seems to hear something. Her expression tells us that she is listening to an inner voice for her face changes from anguish to tears of joy. She stands up, facing the mound.]

Yingtai:
Liang Shanbo Zhu Yingtai – together forever!

[There is a loud clap of thunder, the skies grow dark all of a sudden, and the grave mound splits open. The monk stands there with his eyes closed and his hands in prayer position. Zhu Yingtai jumps into the grave and it closes on her instantaneously! And the wind dies down, the sky slowly becomes brighter, as the procession party rush forward to the grave mound, looking for traces of Yingtai, and digging the ground in amazement and anguish.
Music fills the air, as the sky becomes more and more beautiful. The monk comes out of his prayer pose and turns around upstage. Two butterflies emerge – they are Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai. They fly together, dancing to the music of their love for each other. They circle the whole place with joy and the monk exits, with a smile on his face. The music soars and so do the butterflies. The mortals watch in amazement. And the butterflies are free to fly…]


THE END