This is a Chinese historical play dealing with the rise and fall of Wang Mang (44 B.C.-25 A.D.), who came to power as Prime Minister through hypocrisy, political maneuver, and the influence of his aunt, the Empress-Dowager of the Han dynasty (203 B.C.-11 A.D.) Wang Mang was a man of great ambition, aiming to make over the world and become history's paramount leader. His administration was totalitarian: all the land was to be collected and redivided among the people; everything was to be controlled by the government. His reforms attracted many supporters, including Liu Hsin, a great scholar and high official. Wang Mang was determined to become emperor. He did away with any who dared to contradict him. He killed three of his four sons and drove the fourth insane. He schemed to make his daughter empress. Finally he poisoned the young emperor and made himself the ruler (A.D. 11-25). Wang Mang's government and laws were built on brutality and inhumanity. After 14 years of such rule, uprisings broke out everywhere. From the House of Han, a farmer-scholar, Liu Siu, led the Benevolent Army in overthrowing Wang Mang and became the restorer of the Later Han dynasty (25-220).
Dramatis Personae:
FOUR CITIZENS.
AI CHANG, a scheming, degenerate scholar, later elevated to a dukeship, about 40 years old.
WANG HSING, a city-gate watchman, later elevated to the rank of general, about 30.
EMPRESS DOWAGER, Regent to the boy- Emperor, about 70.
EMPEROR, in his teens.
WANG MANG, the Prime Minister and nephew to the Empress-Dowager, about 50, who later becomes the Emperor of the New Empire (or the Hsin dynasty of China, 11-25 A.D.)
LIU HSIN, a distinguished scholar and Lord Chamberlain, about 40, in favor of Wang Mang's reforms.
WANG YI, General-Commander, cousin of Wang Mang and faithful to him, about 30.
CHEN TSUNG, a Censor and faithful to Wang Mang, about 30.
KUNG KUANG, the Grand Tutor to the Emperor, over 70.
HO WU, an old general, loyal to the Emperor.
SHENTU KANG, a young official, loyal to the Emperor.
WANG YING, Wang Mang's daughter, in her teens, who later becomes the Empress.
WANG YU, Wang Mang's eldest son, in his 20s.
WANG AN, Wang Mang's third son, an invalid, in his teens.
WANG LIN, Wang Mang's fourth son, Crown Prince of the New Empire.
LAO PENG-TZU, pet jester of the Empress Dowager, an ageless personage.
LADY PAN, an imperial concubine to the late Emperor Cheng, gentle and learned.
CURATOR of the Imperial Temple. Eunuchs, guards, ladies-in-waiting.
The play takes place in Changan (now called Sian), capital of the Han dynasty of ancient China, during the years from 7-25 A.D.
PROLOGUE
In front of a gate at a city near Changan, the capital of the Han dynasty. It is a spring day in 7 A.D.
As the curtain rises, First Citizen enters from the right with a baked cake in hand and goes to the left hastily. Second Citizen enters from the left.
SECOND CITIZEN: Where do we sign our names?
FIRST CITIZEN: Ah! At the place of Wang Hsing's, the keeper of the city gate.
SECOND CITIZEN: Why do we have to sign?
FIRST CITIZEN: We sign as a petition to the Empress-Dowager to ask her approval of the marriage of the young Emperor to the daughter of Prime Minister Wang Mang.
SECOND CITIZEN: Is she really Wang Mang's daughter? Didn't the Empress-Dowager say long ago that she doesn't want a daughter of the Wang family to be Empress?
FIRST CITIZEN: That's why we citizens have to sign the petition.
SECOND CITIZEN: Oh! I see. (Notices the cake.)
FIRST CITIZEN: (Indicating the cake.) A cake for a signature!
SECOND CITIZEN: And nicely baked, too!
FIRST CITIZEN: (Nodding.) Yea! Go quickly. (Second Citizen exits right and Third Citizen enters from left.)
THIRD CITIZEN: Is it true they give a cake for each signature?
FIRST CITIZEN: Who would lie about cake. (Taking a bite. Third Citizen exits right and Fourth Citizen enters left.)
FOURTH CITIZEN: Where is the cake? Where can I get some?
FIRST CITIZEN: Go and sign the petition quickly. (Points right and then exits left. Fourth Citizen walks right and meets Second Citizen and Third Citizen entering from right.)
THIRD CITIZEN: (With cake in hand.) They really give you the cake! (Exits right.)
SECOND CITIZEN: (Biting his cake.) Good!
THIRD CITIZEN: It's all right.
SECOND CITIZEN: Tell everyone to come sign. (Both exit right. Wang Hsing and Wang Sheng enter from right. Wang Hsing has a document folder in his hand, and a basketful of baked cakes hangs from Wang Sheng's neck.)
WANG HSING: Wang Sheng, you had better go back and get more cakes. It looks as though many more are coming to sign. (Enter Ai Chang from the city gate.)
WANG SHENG: Oh! Here comes Mr. Ai. (He bows to Ai Chang.)
WANG HSING: (Bows.) Mr. Ai.
AI CHANG: You, Wang Hsing! You, Wang Sheng! How many have signed?
WANG SHENG: They are still coming.
WANG HSING: There are many thousands. (Hands the document folder to Ai.) This is the ninth folder and each contains more than a thousand names.
AI CHANG: We ought to get ten thousand signatures in this city.
WANG SHENG: If we get more cakes, you can have as many more names as you want.
AI CHANG: You'd better get the cakes and get busy. If you give good service to the Prime Minister he will reward you liberally. (He produces two bags of silver from his sleeve.) This bag of silver is for you, Wang Sheng. (Deposits bag of silver in Wang Sheng's palm.) Hurry up and get those cakes.
WANG SHENG: Thank you, Mr. Ai.
AI CHANG: This bag of silver is for you, Wang Hsing.
WANG HSING: Thank you, Mr. Ai, and thanks to the Prime Minister.
AI CHANG: When the Prime Minister's daughter becomes Empress, there will be more where this came from.
WANG HSING: Thank you.
WANG SHENG: Thank you very much.
AI CHANG: But you must listen to me.
WANG SHENG: Of course, just give us your orders.
WANG HSING: Give us your instructions, Me. Ai. We shall listen only to you.
AI CHANG: Tell the people of this city the Prime Minister is the reincarnation of the Yellow Dragon. When he wields power, all citizens will live in peace and prosperity.
WANG HSING: The poor will be rich; the despised will be noble, the lean will be fat; the short will be tall; the ugly will be beautiful; the foolish will be wise; and the dead will be resurrected. (He gestures as he speaks.) How's that?
AI CHANG: Well, not so bad.
WANG SHENG: And I shall give them my best cakes to eat. That will make them agreeable!
AI CHANG: Good! Good! You two won't wait long for riches and high position. (Laughs.)
WANG HSING: Ha! Very good!
WANG SHING: Very good! (Both are elated.)
AI CHANG: (Loudly.) Good indeed! Without me, can you be promoted and enriched?
WANG HSING and WANG SHENG: (Stand at attention.) Your honor!
WANG HSING: We shall obey Your Honor's order. (Both bow deeply to Ai Chang.)
Curtain
ACT I
Scene One
A few days later. The Central Throne Hall of the Han Palace. As the curtain rises, the court is in session. The Empress-Dowager is seated on the Dragon Throne with the Boy-Emperor at her left. Courtiers stand on either side -Wang Mang, Liu Hsing, Wang Yi, and Chen Tsung at the left, and Kung Kuang, Ho Wu, and Shentu Kang at the right. Eunuchs and ladies-in-waiting are behind the Emperor and the Empress-Dowager.
EMPRESS-DOWAGER: It is reported that the people petition for Prime Minister Wang Mang's daughter as Empress. What do you have to say? I shall deign to listen to your opinions.
WANG MANG: Your Majesty! Your servant's humble daughter is unworthy of this highest honor and position. Please choose the rightful Empress from those beautiful and virtuous maidens sent from various regions of the empire.
EMPRESS-DOWAGER: The Prime Minister is certainly modest and sincere.
SHENTU KANG: The Prime Minister is right. Your Majesty has already decreed that no daughter of the Wang family should be chosen Empress. And the Prime Minister's daughter is accordingly disqualified.
LIU HSIN: That was only because Her Majesty and His Excellency the Prime Minister were magnanimous and unselfish, and wanted to set a good example of impartiality.
WANG YI: But now it is the people's will that His Excellency's daughter be the Empress. So she will be the Empress of the people's choice.
CHEN TSUNG: Your Majesty! There are tens of thousands of petitions from the four corners of the empire, and more streaming in. And that tremendous crowd of people in front of the palace - they refuse to go home unless His Excellency's daughter is crowned Empress.
LIU HSIN: The people's opinion is not to be ignored, Your Majesty.
WANG YI: Please, Your Majesty, accept the petition of the people.
SHENTU KANG: But the Imperial decree! Can it be withdrawn so easily?
EMPRESS-DOWAGER: Well, what do you say, Grand Tutor Kung and General Ho?
HO WU: Your Majesty, should His Excellency the Prime Minister's daughter be the Empress, she should be chosen without an Imperial decree to disqualify her. Should she not be the Empress, then the people's petition, Your Majesty ... If your Majesty wants to know the truth, the petition amounts to nothing.
CHEN TSUNG: Dare you say that!
SHENTU KANG: Why not? If nobody dares to say anything, the court will soon turn into a stage for shows.
CHEN TSUNG: You insult the court!
SHENTU KANG: You degrade the court.
CHEN TSUNG: Traitor! That's what you are.
SHENTU KANG: Running dog! (They rush at each other in great rage, but are restrained by the others.)
EMPRESS-DOWAGER: Stop that!
WANG MANG: Your Majesty! Your servant should die a thousand deaths that my humble daughter should cause such an, unpleasant scene. The old general is right. Wang Mang's daughter is unworthy and must be disqualified. She has no virtue, no beauty, no talent.
EMPRESS-DOWAGER: Prime Minister, please! Grand Tutor Kung, won't you say a word?
KUNG KUANG: (Coughs.) Perhaps ... (Coughs again.) Perhaps .. Your Majesty will let His Majesty the Emperor express his own opinion.
EMPRESS-DOWAGER: Well, child, what's your opinion?
EMPEROR: I have no opinion of my own.
EMPRESS-DOWAGER: You haven't, eh?
EMPEROR: But please let my mother, Princess Wei of Chung-shan, come to the capital. I will agree with Your Majesty's choice for anyone to be Empress, if only Your Majesty will send for my mother.
EMPRESS-DOWAGER: Your mother— the court has decided that Princess Wei of Chung-shan shall not move into the capital.
EMPEROR: Who is the court? Whose idea is it I may not see the mother who gave me birth? Didn't you, Grand Tutor Kung, teach me that filial piety comes before all other virtues?
KUNG KUANG: Yes, Your Majesty, I did teach you that.
EMPEROR: Then why am I not to see my own mother and wait on her day and night? (Kung Kuang coughs, and the Emperor turns to Wang Mang.) Prime Minister, you tell me why.
WANG MANG: Your Majesty, your humble servant was not the only one to make the decision that Princess Wei should stay where she is. Your Majesty must remember that since you inherited the throne, Your Majesty is no longer the son of Princess Wei, and therefore does not owe the Princess filial piety.
SHENTU KANG: I cannot agree with the Prime Minister. The relation between mother and son is natural. And so filial piety is natural. Even when we are enforcing reforms, we cannot go against nature and compel blood kin to separate.
EMPEROR: Indeed. You may fool the whole world with your reforms, but you cannot dupe me.
EMPRESS-DOWAGER: Emperor! You are beside yourself! Where did you learn that?
WANG MANG: (Kneels before Empress Dowager.) Your Majesty! Your servant has so unwittingly enraged His Majesty. I should die a thousand deaths. Would Your Majesty please relieve me of my duties, and replace me with the virtuous and capable, who may be of more service to the empire. It may be feasible to send for Princess Wei. Upon my resignation, the maternal imperial uncle, Wei Pao, may be appointed Prime Minister and be in charge of state affairs.
EMPRESS-DOWAGER: Prime Minister, don't let yourself be agitated by a mere child. Now, no more fuss about Princess Wei's coming to the capital.
EMPEROR: Your Majesty! Do you forbid reunion with my mother? Shall we ever see each other again? (Cries.) All right! If my mother is not allowed to come, I'll return to her in Chung-shan. I don't care about being the Emperor. (To Wang Mang:) And I care less about marrying an empress!
EMPRESS-DOWAGER: Emperor! Hold your tongue! (The Boy-Emperor continues to weep and cough.) I have harbored high hopes for you. I brought you to the throne when you were only nine, and I meant to educate you and bring you up to be a good Emperor. But you have disappointed me! (The Emperor is now choked with weeping and coughing.) See, you'll make yourself sick again. Retire to your palace, and no more of this silly talk. (Exit Emperor followed by some eunuchs. Lengthy silence.) Now, I have made my decision. The people's petition is accepted .. And the Prime Minister Wang Mang's daughter will be the chosen Empress.
WANG YI: Your Majesty be praised!
LIU HSIN: Your Majesty has indeed made a wise decision.
CHEN TSUNG: Long live Your Majesty! And long live the future Empress!
WANG MANG: (Seeing that the other three courtiers do not make any response.) But Your Majesty
EMPRESS-DOWAGER: No more of this, Prime Minister. Prepare your daughter and wait for the lucky day of the imperial wed ding. (She retires with a flourish.)
CHEN TSUNG: Congratulations, Your Excellency-Prime Minister, and father-in-law of the State!
LIU HSIN: Congratulations!
WANG YI: How wonderful is the will of Heaven! No matter how far away the thing seems to be, Lord Heaven always brings it back and sets it right.
SHENTU KANG: The will of Heaven! Ha!
Ha! Old Lord Heaven always plays the fool in a well-plotted show. (Exit, laughing.)
CHEN TSUNG: (Gazes at Shentu Kang's back and then stamps his foot.)Damn!
WANG MANG: (Seeing that Ho Wu is leaving, he goes over to him.) Be careful, old general. (Trying to support the old man.)
HO WU: Oh, thank you. And congratulations. (Exit.)
CHEN TSUNG: I won't humble myself before that stubborn old rogue.
WANG MANG: (Going toward Kung Kuang.) How is the Grand Tutor today?
KUNG KUANG: I'm all right, Your Excellency. And may I congratulate Your Excellency.
WANG MANG: Thank you, Grand Tutor. (He supports the old man and accompanies him to the door.) Good-bye, Grand Tutor.
KUNG KUANG: Good-bye, Your Excellency. (Exit.)
WANG YI: It's a real success!
CHEN TSUNG: A real success indeed! A daughter of your family for the Empress, my dear Minister Wang Yi!
WANG MANG: Don't you say that, Censor Chen Tsung! Do you think I am happy to bear all these grudges and criticisms! Do you think I want to marry my daughter to that sickly ill-tempered invalid? It is all for the sake of the empire and the reforms.
WANG YI: Certainly.
LIU HSIN: Yes, the reforms. To restore the Peace and Golden Age of the Great Ancient Emperors.
WANG MANG: To restore the ancient Golden Age is to create the new. This old dynasty of the House of Han is rotten and stinking. It's time for a change. A great change!
CHEN TSUNG: Yes. We will change every inch of the land, every town, every village, every person, every law, every custom, every convention. We will tear down everything. And we shall destroy anything that blocks our way.
WANG MANG: And with these iron hands we shall erect a new empire, the greatest empire that history has ever known. It will be a new era, a new culture, a new race of men-all beautiful, all bright, all glorious.
LIU HSIN: All beautiful!
WANG YI: All bright!
CHEN TSUNG: All glorious!
Curtain
Scene Two
A few days later. A room in Wang Mang's official mansion. A door on the left leads to the interior chambers, and another, in the center, leads to the corridor outside which overlooks a corner of the garden. Wang Mang and Ai Chang are coming in from outside.
AI CHANG: Ha! Your Grand Excellency! Believe it or not, there are signs in the skies. That streak of white light has appeared several mornings in succession. When the sun rises, there comes a white light, just like a bolt of white sheeting, spanning the sky.
WANG MANG: Can there be a sight so phenomenal?
AI CHANG: It is not only a sight, it means good luck. You know, that streak of white light is called the Heavenly Dog.
WANG MANG: Heavenly Dog?
AI CHANG: By Heavenly Dog is meant Heavenly Son. That is to say, a new Son of Heaven is soon to ascend the throne.
WANG MANG: A new Son of Heaven?
AI CHANG: (Looks at Wang Mang from the corner of his eye and laughs.) Yes, a new Son of Heaven. It is coupled with the grand dragon that has been talked of everywhere.
WANG MANG: You are very well versed in astronomy, Master Ai Chang.
AI CHANG: Much more than that, Your Grand Excellency. A great scholar should be well versed in everything. Great learning includes so much-astronomy, geography, history, religion, even trades and tricks, everything. I'm not one of those mediocre bookworms like that family tutor so-called Professor Wu Chang of yours, who struggles to memorize only silly notes and nauseous rhymes. Great scholars aim at great things. So I notice this most significant sign in the sky. This sign, Your Grand Excellency, the Heavenly Dog-it appears in the southeast. Isn't Your Grand Excellency's dukedom in the southeast?
WANG MANG: (Delighted.) Old But Master Ai Chang, heavenly secrets must not leak out.
AI CHANG: Ha! Is Your Grand Excellency afraid of letting it be known to the public? But it is written in the skies and heard in the ears of the people. They are only too glad to flock t? Your Grand Excellency's banner, and hail Your Grand Excellency as King of Kings. (Enter Chen Tsung.)
CHEN TSUNG: Your Excellency!
WANG MANG: What is it, Censor Chen?
CHEN TSUNG: I've just discovered a most dangerous conspiracy.
WANG MANG: Conspiracy?
CHEN TSUNG: Yes. Wei Pao, that brother of Princess Wei's-he bas come to the capital again.
WANG MANG: Again? Didn't I warn him not to come again, ever?
CHEN TSUNG: But be has been in the capital several days, secretly looking for ways to approach the Empress-Dowager and plead for permission for Princess Wei to join her son.
WANG MANG: It is I who say no. There's no use of pleading. Didn't Her Majesty the Empress-Dowager give her final word - no more fuss about this whole business? Whosoever goes against Her Majesty's will shall be severely reprimanded.
AI CHANG: Right. They must be severely reprimanded.
CHEN TSUNG: Your Excellency. It is also reported that Ho Wu and Shentu Kang communicated with Princess Wei. One of their letters has been handed to me.
WANG MANG: Keep it for the time being. Ho Wu has served five emperors. Her Majesty the Empress-Dowager is a kind woman and always cherishes old courtiers. We don't want to hurt her feelings.
CHEN TSUNG: No, not for the whole world. Her Majesty's feelings-I've studied them minutely and thoroughly.
AI CHANG: That's a secret for success.
CHEN TSUNG: It seems, Your Excellency, that your eldest young lord is also involved in this case.
WANG MANG: What? Who?
CHEN TSUNG: Your eldest son, Wang Yu. Yesterday Wei Pao even went to your house. They met secretly in the study of Professor Wu Chang.
AI CHANG: That pedant-bookworm?
WANG MANG: How stupid! You tell that good-for-nothing son of mine to come here.
CHEN TSUNG: Yes, Your Excellency. (Exit.)
AI CHANG: And I'll bring Wei Pao to you.
WANG MANG: You know where Wei Pao is?
AI CHANG: Oh, yes, Your Grand Excellency. An intelligent man must keep his eyes wide open to everything, big or small, to know where a little mouse hides himself as well as to recognize the signs in the skies. (Exit. Wang Mang sits down, pondering. Enter Wang Ying, his daughter.)
YING: Father.
WANG MANG: My child.
YING: Are you very busy, father?
WANG MANG: Never too busy for you, my girl.
YING: Father, I want to talk with you.
WANG MANG: What do you want to talk about? Come. Sit down, here.
YING: I had a dream last night, father.
WANG MANG: A dream? What kind of a dream?
YING: That you loved me no more, father, and threw me away.
WANG MANG: (Laughs.) You silly little girl, why did you dream that? You really do not want to be the Empress?
YING: I only want to stay at home, and wait upon you and my mother.
WANG MANG: (Takes her hand.) You are a pious, loving daughter, I know that. But when a son is grown, he is to take a wife, and a daughter must marry a husband. And you are now chosen to be the Empress. Don't you know how hard your father has worked for this imperial marriage of yours? I had go through many turns and twists in order to reach my goal.
YING: But why, father?
WANG MANG: (Starts and smiles.) I have four sons, but only one daughter. How can I not love the pearl on my palm?
YING: Then, father, please let me stay home with you for the rest of my life.
WANG MANG: Don't be silly. Try to be a virtuous Empress, attain a good name, and bring honor to your father's house. This is the best that a pious filial daughter can do.
YING: The classics say that when at home, a daughter should be pious to her father and mother, and when married, pious to her parents-in law.
WANG MANG: That's right.
YING: But the Emperor's mother, Princess Wei, is not in the capital. How can I do my filial duty to her?
WANG MANG: 'Oh? Do you think that way, too? The Emperor was adopted as heir and son of the late Emperor Cheng. Princess Wei of Chung-shan long has ceased to be his mother.
YING: But the love between mother and son is natural and cannot be dissolved.
WANG MANG: What? These are not your own words! Did your brother tell you that?
YING: Oh, no, father, no. In the deep of night, when I cannot sleep, I can only think of such things. (Weeps.)
WANG MANG: Why do you weep?
YING: I'm afraid!
WANG MANG: Afraid of what? (Pats her shoulder.) You foolish child! What girl does not envy you? And here you are weeping!
YING: Father! (Cries again.)
WANG MANG: What are you afraid of?
YING: I'm afraid of the Emperor. When he thinks of his mother and misses her, day in and day out, he'll hate me. And he'll hate you more, father.
WANG MANG: (Displeased.) Who told you to say this? Your brother? The tutor, Professor Wu?
YING: No, nobody. I thought of it myself. And the more I thought of it, the more afraid I became. I thought of the days when I would be away from home, and how I would miss you, father, and my mother. Then I thought of the Emperor. His Majesty has been away from his mother many long years. How he must have missed her! And the more he missed his mother, the more he would hate you, father, and the more he would hate me. I would become the sole target of all his displeasure and hatred.
WANG MANG: He would not dare. You are the daughter of the Prime Minister Wang Mang. Who would dare to offend you? Go back to your own rooms. Have no fear. Just leave everything to your father.
YING: (About to leave, turns.) But father, what do you say about Princess Wei's coming to the capital?
WANG MANG: Well, the court will discuss the matter later.
YING: You promise, father?
WANG MANG: But after your marriage you must persuade the Emperor to be patient and not make scenes. (Pauses.) Tell him of your father's ideals. Tell him my only wish is to make a better world. I will turn the Empire of Han into the greatest empire in history and make him the greatest Emperor, if he just believes in me and behaves himself.
YING: I'm sure he would, father, if he could see his mother.
WANG MANG: All right. Go now.
YING: Yes, father. Goodnight, father. (Exit. Enter Wang Yu, the eldest son of Wang Mang.)
YU: Father, you sent for me?
WANG MANG: Tell me! What is it you have done?
YU: What have I done, father?
WANG MANG: What was Wei Pao doing here, yesterday?
YU: Wei Pao? Who told you, father? It must be that Censor Chen Tsung!
WANG MANG: What were you planning with Wei Pao? Why did you have anything to do with him against my will? Why? Answer me! Why?
YU: You know why, father. I can never believe it is right to separate the Emperor from his mother. The Emperor is no longer a child. When he is grown up, and actually rules the country, he will take his revenge.
WANG MANG: You're afraid of his revenge?
YU: He harbors much hatred. As soon as he holds the reins of the government, we shall be persecuted. That's why I try to make friends with Wei Pao now. Later there may be a place to go for help.
WANG MANG: You stupid, cowardly, good-for-nothing! What can that helpless baby from Chung-shan do to rule this immense empire? Do you suppose the empire must always be under the rule of the House of Han?
YU: Father! (Amazed, looks sternly at Wang Mang.)
WANG MANG: Your sister is going to be an Empress. Have you any ambition to be Emperor?
YU: Father! What's this you are saying?
WANG MANG: You're utterly hopeless. You could only think of a way to bow and beg. Can't you think of a brighter future, when all the world would be prostrate before you?
YU: But father, there's always the law—the law of Heaven.
WANG MANG: The law of Heaven? Heaven already has made its sign. The last days of the House of Han have come.
YU: Father! You're not thinking of ... It's dangerous to think that way, father! (Kneeling.) Please, father! Think of my sister, who is going to be the Empress! You don't want to ruin her! Think of my two younger brothers, if not of me! In case ....
WANG MANG: I am thinking of you, though you could not grasp the significance of this great task I have visioned. I was thinking all the time that you might inherit from me and continue my work!
YU: I'm willing to continue your work, father, even your reforms.
WANG MANG: But with what? I have worked hard from the bottom, and struggled for many years to gain what I have now. I was an orphan. My uncles held high position but I was oppressed and bullied by their vanity and haughtiness. I toiled and I worked, and one day Her Majesty the Empress-Dowager took notice of me. I won her confidence. But I cannot live forever, and my work needs to be carried on. When I am gone, everything will vanish with me. And you will be left empty handed.
YU: Please do not worry about me. I can be satisfied with very little. I do not seek riches, power, or position.
WANG MANG: It is not those vainglorious things you should seek. It is the whole world and its everlasting future. This is my life mission, and it is yours, too. It has got to be accomplished and be continued. I am only smoothing the way for you, so that you will be in a position to carryon the task.
YU: It sounds so wonderful, father. But I cannot see how it could be accomplished in a wrongful way.
WANG MANG: Nothing is absolutely right and nothing absolutely wrong. It is but a question of necessity.
YU: That is beyond the teachings of the sages
WANG MANG: The sages! Even the sages never comprehended such a magnificent realm as I am to create.
YU: You claim yourself greater than the sages?
WANG MANG: Are you mocking me?
YU: Not I, father. But history will.
WANG MANG: You petty-minded slave of convention. Haven't you heard of the Law of Change? Don't you know anything about creativity? Do you ever comprehend the significance of a great mind and a great task? Why must it be that the son is so unlike the father?
YU: I do not have your greatness of mind, father, and I don't think I can comprehend your great task. But this much I know, a little deviation from the Way leads to unfathomable damnation.
WANG MANG: This is what Wu Chang, that tutor of yours, has poured into your idiotic head. I shall uproot his teachings. (Re-enter Ai Chang.)
AI CHANG: Your Grand Excellency, I've brought Wei Pao here. He is nursing in his mind the idea that he is an honorable guest of the house, by the invitation of Your Grand Excellency.
YU: And you cheated him, and lured him into your diabolical net! You devil! You abominable cur! (Re-enter Chen Tsung, followed by Wang Mang's two younger sons: Wang An and Wang Lin.)
CHEN TSUNG: (Hands a document to Wang Mang.) Your Excellency, this is a communication from Princess Wei to the Empress-Dowager. I just found it in the study of Wen Chang the tutor.
WANG MANG: Lock the man up with Wei Pao.
YU: Oh no, father! Professor Hu is one of the most learned scholars in the country.
WANG MANG: The country has no more need for such pedant-bookworms! Censor Chen Tsung! See to it that all the students of this Wu Chang are arrested and their schools closed.
CHEN TSUNG: Yes, Your Excellency. Your order will be carried out at once. There must be over a thousand bookworms who have studied under Wu Chang.
AI CHANG: They are so arrogantly conceited and so superciliously self-important! They are rotten garbage from a rancid dungeon, and should have been swept out long ago.
WANG MANG: They'll be swept away and I'll have new scholars to teach the new learning.
YU: No, father! Please! These scholars are the brains and soul of the race. If you harm them, you will hurt the vitality of the nation. (Kneels down and pleads.) Oh, father! (The two younger sons also kneel before their father.)
WANG AN: Father!
WANG LIN: Father! Please don't kill Professor Wu!
WANG MANG: (Kicking at them.) Get away from me, all of you!
YU: Kill me, father, if you like, but not Professor Wu and his students.
WANG MANG: You'll have that privilege. Censor Chen Tsung! Take him and lock him up with the rest.
CHEN TSUNG: Your Excellency, the eldest young lord is only led astray by Wu Chang. Can you not be lenient.
WANG MANG: No! Don't you try to plead for him, just because he is my son. Wang Mang knows only the law of the state, and does not concede to personal feelings. That time when my younger brother caused the death of a slave girl I told him to take his own life. And now ... (Looks at Yu.) No! No mercy whatsoever!
YU: Second brother! Would I have drunk that poisonous "Chen" wine with you.
WANG MANG: (In an afterthought.) All right. If you prefer the poisonous wine. Here it is. (Takes a small vial from a bookcase.) This was left over from your younger brother's drink. Take it! (Yu takes the vial.) Drink it. You'll have to die, sooner or later. You'd better die before my eyes. Drink it! Drink!
YU: Yes, I'll drink. (Puts vial to mouth, and drinks. Then he cries out.) Father!
WANG AN: Brother!
WANG LIN: Oh, eldest brother! (The two boys support him as he exits, followed by Chen Tsung. Wang Mang staggers to a chair.)
AI CHANG: (After long pause.) Your Excellency. Whatever is done, it is done. (Another pause.) Please, your lordship, be of good cheer.
WANG MANG: (Struggles and sits up. Stretches.) Of course!
AI CHANG: Only a great man may accomplish great deeds. But Your Grand Excellency, the last mile is always the hardest. Providence is like a fleeting moment, which disappears if not well taken hold of. Today's incident is nothing. There is a worse enemy. He's like a cub lion. So long as he lives, there's no peace for Your Excellency. And as soon as his claws and teeth mature, you'll become his prisoner. And as soon as his claws and teeth mature, you'll become his prisoner.
WANG MANG: (Interested.) According to your opinion, what then?
AI CHANG: It's always best to hit first.
WANG MANG: But how?
AI CHANG: (Picks up the vial which Wang Yu had thrown on the floor.) With the same poisonous "Chen" wine. Nothing
could be simpler. Time is important. The Empress-Dowager is aging, and you're her nephew, her next of kin.
WANG MANG: Though her nephew, must I help myself to the Dragon Throne?
AI CHANG: There are ways and means. In my humble house, there is a heavenly gift...
WANG MANG: What heavenly gift?
AI CHANG: It's a golden cabinet, wherein it is clearly inscribed that the Lord of Heaven instructed me to proclaim that the House of Han must abdicate the Dragon Throne to the House of Wang.
WANG MANG: Does it say this so explicitly?
AI CHANG: Only a little more poetically, but it's all inscribed in the golden cabinet.
WANG MANG: When will the message of the golden cabinet be made known to the people?
AI CHANG: As soon as the cub lion is finished.
WANG MANG: Master Ai Chang, you're a man of great intelligence! I shall make you the chief scholar of the New Empire, and grant you a dukedom of a hundred miles.
AI CHANG: That is also inscribed in the golden cabinet, Your Excellency - oh, Your Majesty!
WANG MANG: Majesty! Ha! Majesty!
AI CHANG: (Prostrates himself.) Long live Your Majesty!
Curtain
End of Act: I