《孔雀东南飞》(3)
孔雀东南飞
4 英语
The Bride of Jiao Zhongqing
Southeast the love-lorn peacock flies. Alack,
At every mile she falters and looks back!
At thirteen years Lanzhi learned how to weave;
At fourteen years she could embroider, sew;
At fifteen music on her lute she made;
At sixteen knew the classics, prose and verse,
At seventeen they wed her to Zhongqing,
And from that day what joy and pain were hers!
As work kept Zhongqing in the yamen far,
His absence made her love the deeper still.
She started weaving at the dawn of day,
Worked at the loom until the midnight hour.
The tapestries beneath her fingers grew,
Yet Zhongqing's mother sore berated her—
Not for poor work or any tardy pace,
But she was mistress: brides must know their place.
At length in sorrow to Zhongqing she said,
"If I have failed to serve your mother well,
Useless to stay....Please go and tell her so.
Should she think fit, I fain would go away."
The husband, shame-faced, on this errand went.
"Mother," he said , "no lordly post is mine.
To wed Lanzhi was more than I deserved.
As man and wife we love each other so
That naught but death itself shall sever us.
Less than three years have we been wedded now;
Our life together is a budding flower.
Lanzhi methinks, has done her best, no less.
Why treat her, then, with such unkindliness?"
To which the shrewish mother made reply,
"Dull are your wits and foolish, O my son!
Your wife lacks graces and she lacks good sense.
See her for what she is , self-willed and vain.
The very sight of her offends my eyes.
I wonder that you dare to plead her cause!
A proper wife I have in mind for you...
Yonder she lives, a maid called Qin Luofu,
A matchless beauty, upon my word,
And I have ways to compass her consent.
Now listen! We must get your slut away!
Yes, go must she, and go without delay!"
For filial piety he knelt down,
And pitiful yet firm was his appeal.
"Mother, if 'tis your will, cast out Lanzhi,
But do not think that I will marry twice!"
At this the mother's fury knew no bounds.
She ranted wildly, strumming on her stool:
"Is reverence for aged parents dead?
Defend a wife and flout a mother's wish?
This stranger in the house I will not bear,
And none henceforth to thwart my will shall dare!"
Zhongqing fell dumb before his mother's rage,
Made her a bow profound and went his way.
In tears and sorrow he sought poor Lanzhi,
Though little comfort for them both he knew.
"The thought of parting rends my heart in twain!
And yet my mother will not be gainsaid.
My duties at the yamen call me hence.
'Tis best you go back ato your brother's home.
My yamen tasks complete, I will return
And take you with me to our home again.
It has to be, alas! Forgive me now,
And doubt not I will keep my solemn vow!"
Lanzhi made answer sorrowful and low:
"Nay, take no care to come for me again.
'Twas in the depth of winter, I recall,
I first came to this house a timid bride.
I bore myself with filial reverence,
Was never obstinate, self-willed or rude.
For three years, day and night , I toiled for her,
Nor heeded how long that sorry state might last,
My only care to serve your mother's will
And to repay the love you bore to me.
Yet from this house I now am driven out....
To what avail to bring me back again?
I'll leave my broidered jacket of brocade,
(Its golden lacings still are fresh and bright,)
My small, soft canopy of scarlet gauze
With perfumed herbs sewn in its corners four.
My trunks, my dowry, too, I leave behind,
As fair as ever in their silken wraps ---
Things, some of them, I had a fancy for,
Though now neglected and untouched they lie.
True, they are only cheap and tawdry wares,
Not nearly good enough for your new bride.
But you may share them out as tiny gifts,
Or, if you find no fit occasion now,
Keep them, my dear," she said , her eyes all wet.
"And her who owned them do not quite forger."
When the loud cock-crow marked another day
Lanzhi arose betimes and dressed herself.
She put on her embroidered skirt of silk.
And silken slippers pleasing to the eye,
Studded her braided locks with jewellery,
Hung pearly earring in her little ears,
With touch so delicate applied the rouge
Until her lips, already perfect, glowed.
Her fingers had a tapering loveliness,
Her waist seemed like a many-colored cloud.
A peerless beauty did she look, and sweet
The grace with which she moved her little feet.
To Zhongqing's mother then she bade farewell
In tender words that found a churlish ear:
"Lady, I am of humble origin,
Not well instructed and not well brought-up.
Stupid and shallow and inept am I ---
A sorry mate for any noble heir.
Yet you have treated me with kindliness,
And I ,for shame , have not served you well.
This house for evermore today I leave,
And that I cannot serve you more I grieve."
Then, trickling down her cheeks warm tears,
She bade farewell to Zhongqing's sister dear:
"When to this house I first came as a bride,
Dear sister, you wer just a naughty child.
See, you have grown well nigh as tall as I.
Now I must bid a hasty , long farewell;
Yet,if you love me,sister, for my sake,
Be gentle to your mother, care for her.
When all the maidens hold their festivals,
Forget not her who once looked after you."
With blinding tears and with a heavy heart
She took her seat then in the waiting cart.
For fear of prying eyes and cruel tongues
Zhongqing would meet her where the four roads met.
On the rough road her carriage pitched and shook,
The wheel-rims clattered and the axle creaked.
Then suddenly a horseman galloped up,
Down leaped the rider eagerly --- 'twas he!
They sat together and he whispered low:
"My love shall last to all eternity!
Only a short while with your brother stay,
The little while my yamen duties take.
Then I'll come back ... Let not your heart be sore!
I'll claim you for my very own once more!"
Poor Lanzhi, sobbing, fondly plucked his sleeve.
"Oh, what a comfort to me is your love:
And if you cannot bear to give me up,
Then come, but come before it is too late!
Be your love strong, enduring as the rocks!
Be mine resistant as the creeping vine!
For what more fixed than the eternal rocks?
Yet when I think upon my brother, lord
And tyrant of his household, then I fear
He will not look on me with kindliness,
And I shall suffer from his rage and scorn"
At length in tears the loving couple parted,
And lengthening distance left them broken-hearted.
When Lanzhi, all unheralded, reached home,
Doubt and suspicion clouded every mind.
"Daughter!" her mother in amazement cried.
"Alas! what brings you unattended back!
At thirteen, I recall, you learned to weave;
At fourteen you could embroider, sew;
At fifteen, music on the lute you made;
At sixteen knew the classics, prose and verse.
And then at seventeen, a lovely bride...
How proud I was to see you prosper so!
Yet, dear, you must have erred in deed or word.
Tell me the cause of your return alone."
Said Lanzhi, "Truly I am brought full low,
Yet in my duty did I never fail.”
The mother wept for pity at her tale.
Upon the tenth day after her return
There came one from the county magistrate,
A go-between, to woo her for his son,
A lad who had bare twenty summers seen,
Whose good looks put all other youths to shame,
Whose tongue was fluent and full eloquent.
Her mother, hoping against hope, said, "Child,
I pray you, if it pleases you, consent."
To which, in tears again, Lanzhi replied:
"Dear mother, when I parted with Zhongqing
He said, 'Be faithful!' o'er and o'er again,
And we both vowed eternal constancy.
If I should break my word and fickle prove,
Remorse would haunt me till my dying day.
Can I then think to wed again? No, no!
I pray you tell the matchmaker so"
So to the go-between the mother said:
"O honored sir, a stubborn child is mine,
But lately sent back to her brother's house.
A small official found her no good match ---
How should she please the magistrate's own heir?
Besides, she is in melancholy state:
Young gentlemen require a gayer mate."
So the official go-between went off
And , ere reporting to the magistrate,
Found for the sprig another fitting maid,
Born of a nearby family of note;
And, haply meeting with the prefect's scribe,
Learned that His Excellency's son and heir,
A worthy, excellent and handsome youth,
Himself aspired to wed the fair Lanzhi.
So to the brother's house they came once more,
This time as envoys from the prefect sent.
The flowery, official greeting o'er,
They told the special reason they had come.
The mother, torn this way and that, declared:
"My child has vowed she ne'er will wed again.
I fear I know no way to change her mind."
But Lanzhi's brother, ever worldly-wise,
Was never slow to seize a heaven-sent chance,
And to his sister spoke blunt words and harsh:
"See you not, girl, how much this profits you?
Your former husband held a petty post.
Now comes an offer from the prefect's son:
A greater contrast would be hard to find.
Turn down this offer if you will, this prize,
But think not I shall find you daily rice!"
What must be, must be, then thought poor Lanzhi
"Brother," she said, "what you have said is good.
I was a wife and now am none again;
I left you once and then came back again
To dwell beneath you hospitable roof.
Your will is such as cannot be gainsaid.
True, to Zhongqing I gave my plighted word,
Yet faint the hope of seeing him again!
Your counsel I must welcome as a boon:
Pray you ,arrange the ceremony soon."
When he heard this, the official go-between
Agreed to everything the brother asked.
Then to the Prefect's house they hurried back
To tell the happy outcome of their work.
It seemed so good a marriage for his son,
The Prefect thought, that full of sheer delight
He turned the pages of the almanac,
And therein found the most auspicious date
To be the thirtieth of that same month.
Whereon he summoned his subordinates:
"The thirtieth is a heaven-favored day,"
Said she, "and that is but three days away.
Have all in readiness to greet the bride."
The household was abuzz from floor to roof
As was befitting for a noble match.
There were, to fetch the bride, gay gondolas
Fresh-painted with designs of lucky birds
And silken pennant fluttering o'er the deck.
There were gold carriages with jade inlay
And well-groomed horses of the finest breed
With saddles shining, harness all arrayed!
As for the presents, strings of cash they told
Three thousand, bolts of silk and brocade
Three hundred. And among those precious gifts
Were globe-fish brought from some far distant clime.
The welcoming cortege, five hundred strong,
Would gladden all eyes as it passed along.
In the bride's house the troubled mother said:
"Lanzhi, the Prefect's messengers have come.
The welcoming party will arrive full soon.
'Tis time you donned your bridal finery.
You have agreed ... No time to tarry now!"
Lanzhi, too sad to utter any word,
Sobbed neath her kerchief to conceal her grief,
Her pale, pale cheeks all wet with bitter tears.
She dragged a chair with heavy marble seat
Towards the window where there was more light,
Took silk and scissors, measure, needle, braid,
Cut out in grief and wet her thread with tears.
Ere noon a jacket new and skirt she made;
By eve a wedding gown was all complete.
Then in the twilight, desperate, forlorn,
Out at the gate she stole to weep alone.
Then, suddenly, her sobbing died away...
Far off she heard a horse's anguished neigh!
Oh, that familiar neigh! Yet why so sore?
Indeed Zhongqing was riding fast that way.
The master had heard news, lost heart, asked leave.
The very steed, too, his forebodings shared.
At last, her straining eyes perceived him clear:
His presence filled her with both joy and pain.
Patting the horse, she heaved a woeful sigh.
"Zhongqing, my darling, at our parting dire
None could foresee the course events would take.
You cannot guess my abject misery,
But all we hoped is now an empty dream.
My mother you knew well. my tyrant brother,
'Twas he who schemed to wed me to another.
Now that the die is cast by fate austere,
What more can you expect of me,
my dear?"
Zhongqing, heart-stricken, forced himself to say,
"May you know every happiness, Lanzhi!
The rock stands fixed, unyielding evermore,
But oh! I fear the fibres of the vine
Have lost their toughness all too easily...
May you be rich and live in happy state,
But as for me, why, death shall be my fate!"
That stung her to the quick, but she replied,
"Why say such cruel things to me, my dear?
We both are shipwrecked on the sea of life,
Our vessels foundered by the ruthless gale.
Life has enjoined that man and wife must sever:
Let us both die, and be one flesh for ever!"
Long hand in hand they stayed before they went
With mournful steps and slow their different ways –
Two lovers, parting, knowing all too well
That death alone could make them one again.
All roads to joy fast blocked, they did not quail,
But vowed to terminate their tragic tale.
When Zhongqing, heavy-hearted, reached his home,
Straight to his mother's room he went, and bowed.
"The weather changes, mother. Bitter cold,
A terrifying wind sears leaf and tree.
The frost congeals the orchids, all the flowers,
And Zhongqing's life, too ,draws unto its close.
His sole regret is leaving you alone,
But 'tis his own desire to end life so –
No ghost, no devil, mother, hold him thrall!
Your son is like the rocks of Nanshan Range,
Immutable in death, immune to change."
The mother heard these words in sore amaze,
But guessed their cause, and pitied him in tears.
"My son, sole heir of noble family,
What great and glorious prospects lie ahead!
Why for a wanton should you think to die,
One so inferior in every way?
As I have told you, in the neighborhood
There dwells a paragon of loveliness.
Soon will I send a go-between to her,
And long and happy years be yours, my son!"
But he kept silence, bowed right low, and left,
Long, long is empty room he paced, and thought
A myriad thoughts of Lanzhi, love, and death.
Oft glanced he sadly towards his mother's room;
The world seemed shrouded in a pall of gloom!
The day for Lanzhi's splendid wedding came,
She lonelier than ever mid the throng.
She waited, waited till the night should fall.
At last the turmoil ceased, the guests thinned out.
"This is the day," she mused, "My journey's end.
My soul will wander, though my corpse remain."
The pond's dark waters beckoned, cold and chill.
Barefoot she waded in, and all was still.
Though for the news Zhongqing was half-prepared,
It nowise lighter made the dreadful blow.
Beneath the courtyard trees release he sought,
He turned southeast, and then the rope went taut...
Linked in a common grief, the families
Buried the lovers beside Mount Huashan.
And all around the graveyard grow dark pines,
Through all the changing seasons ever green,
With cypress interspersed and parasol trees.
Like lovingly the leaves and sprays caress;
And in the foliage dwell two little birds,
That mate for life, whose very name is love.
They cross their bills and sing to one another
Their soft endearments all night long till dawn,
And passersby stand spell-bound at the sound,
And lonely windows wake to hear and muse
Upon this story of a bygone day
Which shall endure till all shall pass away.
( END)
