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.]