Authors: Yan Lianke
On stage, they were performing
Seven Head Turns
, also known as
The Middle Shadows Path
.
15
The play featured a disabled woman named Cao’er, who was paraplegic, blind, deaf, and mute, and although she suffered unimaginable torment while alive, after her death she had the opportunity to become a wholer blessed with a beautiful singing voice. That is to say, she had the opportunity to go to heaven. It took seven days to traverse the flower- and grass-filled path from the mortal world to heaven, and as long as she followed her guide along this path for seven days without glancing back, she would be able to leave behind this sea of bitterness. But during those seven days, she discovered that she couldn’t bear to abandon her blind husband, her deaf-mute son, or her paraplegic daughter, and that she couldn’t bear to give up her family’s pigs, chickens, cats, dogs, cattle, and horses. She therefore glanced back at every step. When, on the seventh day, she finally reached the gates to heaven, she ended up going through the wrong door and missed her chance to be reincarnated, and as a result she returned to earth once again as a severely disabled woman.
Cao’er performed the role of this disabled woman named Cao’er, and a man who frequently performed with her played the part of the high monk who was leading Cao’er to heaven. One of them was in the mortal world, kneeling at the funeral altar and chanting Buddhist sutras, while the other was in the spectral world, singing as she advanced toward heaven. As they walked, they conversed and sang:
THE HIGH MONK SINGS:
The bodhisattvas and other spirits have mercy
And protect everyone who attempts to cross the sea of bitterness.
Cao’er has been disabled her entire life
So she should be able to escape this bitter world and enter paradise.
You walk along the flowery path.
As you continue forward you are not allowed to look back.
This was the first of the seven days
But seven days later you will cross the shady path.
CAO’ER SINGS:
The fragrance along the sunlit path assails the nostrils,
A blue aroma.
I comfortably walk forward
But my husband is weeping in front of the coffin.
What I smell are flowers and grass,
While what he smells is incense.
I’m heading to heaven to enjoy happiness,
How could I leave him, blind, to take care of our children?
(She looks back)—Oh, my husband!
THE HIGH MONK SINGS:
Cao’er, you can hear clearly while walking along the shady path.
Today is already the second day of the first week.
The flowers and grass are still as fragrant as before,
But you still can’t resist looking back.
CAO’ER SINGS:
The sun is rising on the second day of the first week.
The sun looks like gold and the moon like silver.
The left side of the road is lined with red peach blossoms,
The right is lined with new pear blossoms.
This is the red and white road to heaven,
But my deaf-mute son won’t have a mother to look after him.
As his mother, how can I proceed?
Seeing my motherless son,
I can’t help worrying who will interpret for him when he can’t hear,
And who will speak for him when he can’t talk?
When they are still young, who will make them clothes?
And when they grow up, who will serve as their matchmaker?
(Pauses, looks back)—My son!
THE HIGH MONK SINGS:
Today is your third day on this shadowy path.
Cao’er, you must be sure to listen carefully along the road,
The flowery and grassy path to heaven.
After seven days you will enter heaven.
In the meantime, if you are thirsty there are sweet pomegranates
And if you are hungry there is fried wheat grain.
For the past three days you have enjoyed yourself as if it were New Year’s.
But if you look back you will not able to cross heaven’s gates.
Remember this, remember this:
You hold your fate in your own hands.
CAO’ER SINGS:
Every day I spend on the shady path,
Is like the first day of the new year.
White clouds, blue skies, and a golden sun,
But my daughter struggles to walk with her crippled legs.
If she rips her clothes, who will mend them?
When it is time to eat, who will bring her chopsticks?
I cry out to my daughter:
You are weeping in front of your mother’s coffin.
(Looks back, says)—Oh, my dear daughter!
THE HIGH MONK SINGS URGENTLY:
Cao’er, Cao’er, you heard clearly,
Of the seven days, you have already used up three,
And the fourth is already more than half over.
When you turn back there is no shore and no brightness,
When you were alive you had no legs with which to walk,
But now in the shadows you can walk like the wind.
When you were alive, all you could see was a sheet of darkness
But in the shadows you can see a sheet of light.
When you were alive you couldn’t hear the thunder,
But in the shadows you can hear a pin drop.
When you were alive you would open your mouth but no words came out.
Now in the shadows you open your mouth and a beautiful song pours forth.
Remember, remember, remember,
If you turn back, you will face a sea of endless bitterness and eternal regret
Like grass without roots,
Like a tree without a trunk,
Like rice sprouts without water,
Like a river without a shore, without movement, and without moisture.
If you look back, you will see endless bitterness and eternal regret.
If you continue forward you will encounter a deep sea of good fortune.
Think carefully before you act,
And don’t let this opportunity become lost in the shadows.
CAO’ER SINGS:
Alternating between wandering and continuing forward,
Alternating between cloudy rain and clear skies,
Alternating between floral fragrance
And bitter tears of exhaustion.
When I reach heaven will I be as blessed as the eastern sea?
If I return to the mortal world will I experience a sea of eternal bitterness, and will my sleeves be wet with tears?
I wander and wander and wander some more.
I walk forward, then double back, my heart not at rest.
If my husband’s clothes get dirty, who will wash them?
If my children get hungry, who will cook them noodle soup?
When the pigs enter the pigpen, who will shut the gate?
Who will give the chickens their feed?
Who will give the ducks their slop?
Who will cut some grass for the ox?
Who will give the horse some grain?
Who will give the cat some water?
Who will cut the dog’s dirty fur?Who will sweep the courtyard in the fall?
Who will stay home to watch the house during the busy summer months?
Oh, my home, my home, my home,
How can I bear to enjoy my fortune alone, and abandon my home?
(Looks back, says)—My home, my sweet home!
THE HIGH MONK SINGS:
You will walk along the shadowy path for seven days.
On this fifth day it is drizzling.
You mustn’t miss this opportunity.
If you look back again, you will miss this opportunity.
The heavenly gates in front of you will then be shut.
CAO’ER SINGS:
The flowers are not as fragrant as they used to be,
The grass is no longer as green.
If I look back and waver, I will miss this opportunity.
After reflecting, I can’t bring myself to look back.
THE HIGH MONK SINGS:
Five days have already passed, and now it is the sixth.
Yesterday you did not look back, and today the rain and wind will cease and the sun will come out.
The grass is still as green as before,
And the flowers are still as fragrant.
The bodhisattva and other spirits are already at the gates waiting to welcome you.
The gates to heaven are shining a light in your direction.
CAO’ER SINGS:
Six days have already passed.
When the sun sets it will leave a rosy glow.
I hesitatingly proceed forward.
I anguish over whether or not to look back.
THE HIGH MONK SINGS:
The seventh day is already upon us.
The purple cloud and rose-colored dawn.
The gates to heaven are wide open.
Cao’er, you should go forward.
If you step forward you will be as fortunate as the eternally flowing eastern sea
But if you step back you will endure a sea of endless bitterness.