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Che Guevara [1] By Huang Jisu, Zhang Guangtian, and Shen Lin[2] Tr. by Jonathan Noble Published by MCLC Resource Center (Copyright July 2006) |
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Che Guevara [1] By Huang Jisu, Zhang Guangtian, and Shen Lin[2] Tr. by Jonathan Noble Published by MCLC Resource Center (Copyright July 2006) |
Fig.1: program from the 2000, Beijing performance.Dedication
Please believe in this person, forever impassioned by the kindness of the poor;
Please believe in this person, inspired to ceaseless travails by the blessings of the poor;
Please believe in this person, who bid farewell to the past and gave his life to the future of the poor.
[Regarding the relationship between the play's characters and roles]
The characters within the play are largely symbols of concepts and do not have a fixed relationship to specific roles. A particular role, for example, can be assumed by I just as well as by III, et al. This is especially true for a number of the longer recited passages, including "Set Sail" and "You may Exit the Theatre," because in such sections the actors function solely as loudspeakers. This drama is motivated by concepts, and the characters and the roles they perform should not be understood in terms of a naturalistic view of theatre.
However, when it's possible to capture on stage a type of social category or trait, the characters and roles are still linked together in an appropriate way. Most of the people on stage are divided into two types—the Pros and the Cons. The Pros act as Pros throughout the entire play, and likewise, the Cons always play the part of Cons. Each type, the same in essence, has different manifestations, similar to the way the reflections of the moon differ in different bodies of water.
Guevara is represented on stage only by an offstage voice.
Prelude
Theme Song: "Che Guevara"
Who lit the dawn's reddish glow on the horizon?
A millennium of dark nights shall today be no more.
Perhaps the light will arrive early;
We can hear you calling out to us—Che Guevara.
Who pointed out to me the sky's shining star?
Heart and soul conquered the excess of vanity.
When at the crossroads searching for our home,
We spot the outline of your figure—Che Guevara.
Who led me to set forth once again?
Belief in justice shall once again be emboldened.
The road ahead needs new footsteps,[3]
Rank and file we follow you—Che Guevara.
Who stands up never to be overthrown?
Blossoms fill the land behind you.
Devotion to revolution turns to steel,
We are as determined as you—Che Guevara.
Chorus:
Red flags wave forth from my firm devotion;
Receiving your gun, I rush toward the battlefield.
Singing my song summons strength;
By walking along your path, we find a new direction.
Act One: Granma Sets Sail
This act primarily addresses the following questions: Given the past forty years, what is the road humanity should now take? Should the Granma have even bothered setting forth on its journey?
Accompanied by the sound of perilous waves, a silhouette of a boat bobs up and down against the backdrop. Stage center, a soldier marches in darkness. The sprinkling of stars, the singing of a heavy-hearted song, and the shimmering footprints in the darkness of night symbolize the remote, strenuous, and harsh path for the cause of justice.
[The actors take turns reciting the parts below]
Fig.2: The Revolutionary "Pros" 2005 Beijing performance's all female cast.One evening, forty years ago, amidst pouring rain and crashing waves, the small yacht Granma was anchored at a small fishing pier in Mexico.
Granma was a small boat. Under normal conditions, the boat could hold only a dozen or so beach bums on vacation. But on this day, more than eighty young soldiers were packed on board.
Their leader's name was Castro. He had just led an uprising in Cuba against its corrupt government. After the uprising's failure, Castro went into exile in Mexico.
A young Argentinean doctor named Guevara was also among the soldiers on board. He had just participated in a battle to defend the progressive government of Guatemala, which was ultimately defeated by the artillery of American jets.[4] When he heard that Castro was preparing for a second uprising, Guevara said to his wife, whom he had just married: "Since these people have the courage to rush into a blazing fire, I shall go with them!" (music plays)
This play, from beginning to end, lacks any sense of suspense. After embarking in the dead of night, Granma sailed into storms and drifted at sea for seven days and seven nights. Guevara suffered from asthma attacks, and the other soldiers vomited from seasickness. Still, they sang the "July 26 Elegy"[5] and recited the poetry of José Martí: "Light from a lamp is no longer enough; the stove's flame must be ignited!"
When Granma eventually reached land, the Cuban government's military had already prepared an ambush. The attack scattered Guevara and the soldiers into the Sierra Maestra Mountains, where they then managed to finally establish a foothold. The fighting gradually turned in their favor, and in just a few years, red flags covered the entire island.
Forty years have gone by . . . during these past forty years, how many dreams have come and gone? How many mountains and rivers have turned a different color? How many people have new hearts and new minds? (the following is spoken to the audience) In those days you always loved to sing "We'll sing our own song." In those days you always loved to sing "Bravely march ahead without fear."[6] Nowadays you just love to praise your daughter for earning US dollars and for marrying a Japanese businessman. Nowadays you just love to shout out how fucking awesome their fighter's guided missiles are!
Granma should never have even bothered setting off in the first place. That's what all the "pundits" are saying these days. Any idea to the contrary would be just making a fuss over nothing. That's what the "visionaries" are thinking these days.
Should or shouldn't the Granma have pushed off on its journey that year? Do we still even care about Guevara's courage? This evening, amid the intoxicating breeze and soothing moonlight, let us once again reflect upon such a question. (all exit)
The Cons enter the stage. They represent disillusionment, regret, and condemnation of the revolution. Sounds, poses, and musical accompaniment, for example, should be adopted to help achieve this signification and characterization. An overall atmosphere of oppressive sadness should also be maintained.
Con I (The Five Greats[7]):
Forty years, four hundred years,
Gone by are four thousand years.
Some people are higher, yet some are lower.
There's just no way to change gears.
All Cons[8]:
This is humanity, this is the world, don't expect a new day.
This is the law, this is the rule, the order we must all obey.
Con II:
How stupid! How stupid!
The utopian nonsense those asses spout,
Is just a bubble of idealistic crap.
Con III:
A bummer! A bummer!
Only now waking up from the revolutionary dream,
You've already missed the first bus to prosperity.
All Cons:
This is humanity, this is the world, don't expect a new day.
This is the law, this is the rule, the order we must all obey.
Con IV:
Why bother? Why bother?
Who banks checks from the new world?
Who guarantees the new world's solvency?
Can't you see that the new world has crashed![9]
Con II:
Move on! Move on!
Hurry and dig up a return boat ticket.
Hurry and sell off stocks in the bullish market.
Hurry and apply for a visa to the old world!
All Cons:
This is humanity, this is the world, don't expect a new day.
This is the law, this is the rule, the order we must all obey.
Con III:
Don't daydream or space out again.
Life is a big match,
Either advance to the next round or be eliminated.
You have to be damn wicked, wicked to a tee!
All Cons:
If you don't look out for yourself, you will be crushed!
Don't waste your breath!
All Cons:
This is humanity, this is the world, don't expect a new day.
This is the law, this is the rule, the order we must all obey.
Five Greats:
Workers must practice kneeling like before;
The penniless shell out to get back on track.
WE the rich buy out the voices of YOU the poor!
I'm going to exploit you! (to Con II) ——
Con II: (pausing for a while) I simply can't wait for the day! (Con III joins him)
Five Greats: (to Con III) Do I oppress you?
Con III: (with teeth clenched) The sooner the better! The sooner I can start flying high!
Five Greats: (to Con IV) You want another guided missile? (Con IV—nodding her head like a lovesick girl—tightly grasps the hand of the Five Greats)
The shrill pitch of an anti-aircraft alarm is heard. The lights dim. All exit the stage. The post-bombing ruins of Iraq and Yugoslavia are projected onto the curtain.[10] Residents of Belgrade—with targets on their chests—appear at a concert in a plaza and on top of a bridge holding each other's hands. (It may also be appropriate to project an image of Chinese students protesting in front of the US embassy). The curtain gradually turns to a burning blood-colored red. A number of small, white concentric circles—bull's-eyes—are projected on the curtain as the audience hears the sound of airplanes whizzing by. The voice of a pilot comes from offstage: "I've locked in on the target. Prepare to launch the missile." A loud boom is heard and all of the lights in the theatre turn a snowy white. Heaps of US dollars (in large denominations) flitter down from the theatre's roof onto the stage and the audience. Accompanied by baroque music, images of the following scenes are seen on the screen: International Monetary Fund representatives wining and dining with government leaders of member nations at a lively banquet, a long line in front of the US embassy's visa office, tourists from third world countries making a pilgrimage to Disney World, Westernized youth with blonde-dyed hair strutting about town, and glamour boys and girls in the television program "Let's Be Happy Together.[11]"
All Cons: (the night watchman's clapper is heard several times)
Oh—how—this—terrible—life—never ends!
Con II:
Such a dark night! Such a strong wind! Such high waves!
Such a small boat! So few people! Such worthless guns! (Accompanied by the rhythm of "This is humanity, this is the world")
An image of the cruiser Aurora firing upon the Winter Palace is projected on the screen.
Con III:
So you launched an attack on that beach;
So you made it to those mountains;
So you took control of that island—
Still you will never reach the other shore.[12] (Accompanied by the rhythm of "This is humanity, this is the world")
Images of Lenin giving a speech, a mass street protest, and a sea of red flags are projected onto the screen.
Con IV:
The outer skin may change, but what of the flesh inside?
The brew may change, but what about the medicine?
If dogs can't learn new tricks—then why would people?
Even if you blow up billions of red balloons,
You can never blow red into these filthy people, filthy hearts, filthy land, and filthy heavens! (Accompanied by the rhythm of "This is humanity, this is the world")
An image of the collapse of the Berlin Wall is projected onto the screen.
Con II:
Don't provoke humanity; don't provoke selfishness;
Don't provoke history; don't provoke the inevitable;
Don't provoke the status quo—every bit and piece of the total sum.
Don't provoke the way things will have to be for ages to come.
Images of the Aurora being auctioned off as a cruise ship, beggars on the street, and hookers soliciting customers are projected.
Con III:
Might as well save your dreams for your pillows;
Might as well keep your feet planted on the ground;
Might as well follow tradition and be safe and sound;
Might as well send Granma back to floating as a yacht all around.
All Cons: Hey!—the shore—is—behind us![13] (A gong forlornly resounds once. The Five Greats lead the Cons to exit the stage. The lights are dimmed. A follow spot illuminates the Pros entering the stage.)
All Pros: (in the direction of the audience) Guevara, just now, after mentioning the lessons learned during the past forty years and the experiences of the past four hundred years, four thousand years, they advised us not to dream of a new day and not to strive after the impossible. Don't go to Cuba and Congo again. Don't go to Bolivia again. That's right. Right here is the Boulevard of Peace[14] that leads to all places. It has both solid and broken lines; red and green traffic lights. Motor vehicles drive fast, while the motor-less move at a crawl. But over there . . .
Con II: I know you are not afraid of a world filled with pain and suffering or to put your life on the line!
Con III: It has been only forty years—but how many boats now head for New York? Count them! How many roads now lead to Paris? Just add them up!
Con IV: Tell me the truth, don't you feel discouraged?
Con I: Given a choice today, would the Granma still have set sail?!
The actors exit. A follow spot shines on the soldiers who are spread out at the back of the stage. Guevara's voice resounds from offstage behind the audience.
Offstage Voice: Indeed, this is a long voyage and the horizon is still not in view. It is a clash between two unequal powers—a fight against the almighty.
Pro I: Just like the foolish old man who was determined to move mountains.[15]
Pro II: Just like the bird that was set on filling up an ocean one stone at a time.[16]
Pro III: Just like a lone island up against the vast sea.
Pro I: Just like a newborn up against four thousand years of history.
Pro II: Just like devotion up against History.
Pro III: Just like hope up against Reality.
Pro I: Just like seeds adrift in the wind up against the dunes of a great desert.
All Pros: Perhaps, even in a thousand years, it can't escape from the dark eve!
Offstage Voice: There's a chance just as long as it heads for the East!
All Soldiers: It perhaps may not find the other shore in ten thousand years—
Offstage Voice: There is only hope if we keep looking! (music begins)
The drumbeat of "This is humanity, this is the world" is heard from the distance.
Offstage Voice: Don't ask if we should light a fire, but rather, first ask whether or not the cold darkness still exists. Don't ask if we should load a bullet, but rather, first ask whether or not oppression and exploitation still exist. Don't ask if there is a future for the cause of justice, but rather, first ask whether or not inequality still exists in this world. (spoken with resolve)
The drumbeat of "This is humanity, this is the world" is heard from the distance.
Offstage Voice: In the face of a violent storm,
Pro I: Birds can fly away.
Offstage Voice: In the face of flooding waters,
Pro II: Beasts can run away.
Offstage Voice: In the face of great evil,
All soldiers: People—have nowhere to hide!
The revolutionary elegy "July 26th" resounds. All soldiers shoulder their rifles.
Offstage Voice: Wherever there are bullies and tyrants,
Pro I: Our blood shall boil for the cause of justice.
Offstage Voice: Wherever there are those who bring ruin upon one's country and people,
Pro II: We shall bristle with anger for the cause of justice.
Offstage Voice: Wherever wine and meat are left to spoil behind vermilion gates,
Pro III: We shall unsheathe our weapons for the cause of justice.
Offstage Voice: Wherever people freeze to death on the roadside,
All Pros: Shall the Granma set sail thither!
Silhouettes of the guerillas setting off are projected. We hear sounds of the boat's foghorn, paddle-wheel turning, the murmuring of mothers and crying of babies, the westerly wind and winter thunder, the honking of wild swans in flight, banging and crashing, and the singing of the revolutionary elegy "July 26th".
Offstage Voice: Set sail!
All Pros: Set sail! Set sail!
Pro I: Head toward the peasant rebellion led by Chensheng and Wuguang in Daze Village![17]
Pro II: Head toward Spartacus at the Coliseum!
Pro III: Head toward the Three Stone Bridge of today and yesteryear.[18]
Head toward the cruel rent collectors.[19] (the lines below are spoken in turn and then the other actors join in one at a time)
Head toward the place where Negro slaves were kidnapped and detained.
Head toward the place where indigenous peoples were banished and murdered.
Head toward the place where weak nations fought against the British and Japanese.
Head toward the place where poor villagers fought against taxes and levies.
Head toward the place where the Jews were forced into a blind alley.
Head toward the place where the Palestinians are homeless.
Head toward the place where the Paris Commune fighters were finally defeated.
Head toward the place where President Allende[20] is forever memorialized.
Head toward the place where in the former Yugoslavia mothers silently shed their tears.
Head toward the place where Tomahawk cruise missiles filled the air.
Head toward the place where despots and tyrants have sex day and night.
Head toward the place where ordinary people are mercilessly trampled upon.
Head toward the place where rich ladies throw money around like dirt.
Head toward the place where the wretched suffer through days as if they were years.
Head toward the place where a single official seal makes one rich.
Head toward the place where a lifetime of grueling toil amounts to nothing.
Head toward the place where a moral conscience is smothered and extinguished.
Head toward the place where darkness and evil are staging a comeback.
Offstage voice: Head toward the place that needs fire, needs light, and needs my voice!
All Pros: Head toward the place that needs daggers, needs swords, and needs my fighting blows!
ACT 2: The Long Road of Life
This act recounts the reasons why Che Guevara became a revolutionary. It combines narration with discussion to provide an account of his distant journeys as a student, his contact with people suffering from hardship and poverty, and his sincere feelings and convictions that convinced him to "stand by the side of the people." Returning from the past to reality prompts a public debate regarding the wealth gap. The stage, placed at a 45-degree angle to the audience, forms a street that divides the world into two sides—north and south.
Song: "The Long Road of Life"
There is a street,
Called the Long Road of Life.
It is four thousand years long,
And is exactly as wide as the world.
On the north side of the street,
Live a few rich people.
On the south side of the street,
Live countless poor.
The poor and the rich;
The south and the north.
Oppression and exploitation;
Struggle and resistance.
Just like this, time and time again.
Just like this, we have lived for thousands of years.
Che Guevara was born in Argentina in 1928. He was a descendant of immigrants from Europe. His aristocratic family was heir to a viceroy who had owned a ranch and tea plantation.[21]
A woman's voice saying "Sorry, bye[22]" comes from offstage by the northern side of the street and is followed by the sound of a door closing. "A child of the East," with a blonde-dyed wisp of hair—played by Con II—frantically walks over holding a mirror in her hand. She can't help becoming enraged by what the speaker is saying, and she comes on stage in a tizzy.
Con II: What kind of hereditarianism are you preaching? Don't try to impress me with talk of your family being the "last imperial princes" and The Last Daughters of Privilege"![23] After all, I'm a Francophile! As for moi, I should have been born (pointing at the Northside) in Champs-Elysees. In a waning aristocratic or nouveau bourgeoisie family—whatever! In any case, everyone in the family would have golden-blonde hair and aqua-blue eyes. The family has two Chinese, both of whom are servants! (pounding on her chest and stomping) But why on earth did I have to be born as a pure east Asian mongoloid in Beijing's Drum Tower Alley[24] so close to Zhoukoudian![25] During the Tang Dynasty, it was possible to interbreed with the non-Han. But, since China at the time was so prosperous, it was just as easy not to. The Eight Power Allied Forces was an opportunity that couldn't be missed![26] Other than the Japanese, the rest of the gang were from the West. That, though, was a real "clash of civilizations" — just the right moment for a "libratory struggle" to support the cause of eugenics![27] Haven't you heard about those children in south Vietnam who were left behind by American soldiers, and after a blood-test were then reunited to end up earning American dollars! Why didn't one of my great-grandmothers hiding out down a well think of this? Now it drives me crazy to look in the mirror! No matter whether you hum the "Marseilles," sing the "Star Spangled Banner," or say from memory the Declaration of Independence backwards as fluently as you recite the line "so bright is the moonlight at the foot of my bed,"[28] (pointing at the mirror), your face is still the same! Even if you live in a narrow Beijing alley but your heart is in Buckingham—and you are impressed by the sight of the Eight Allied Forces and think F-4 Phantoms are so cool looking—your face is still the same! No matter how you try NOT to be yourself while you are still clearly yourself, and no matter how you become more like them THAN EVEN they are, though you are definitely NOT them, (looking perplexed in the mirror) that face is still the same! No matter how much you curse China, blaspheme China, offend China, dupe China, disgrace China, shame China, kick China, bite China, shred China, fuck over China (smashing the mirror), you—still—have—that—same—fucking—face! (exits whaling) And THEY still dare suspect you of intending to immigrate . . .
Pro A: Guevara was born on this side of the street, yet he adopted a new type of family and chose different types of relatives. Anyone in the world who suffered and was exploited—regardless of whether in Argentina, Cuba, Venezuela, India, China, or the Republic of Equatorial Guinea—was part of his family. A European with the last name of Guevara once asked him: "Are we related?" Guevara responded: "Probably not." But if you shake from anger whenever you hear of an injustice in the world, then I think we must be. (music plays) What made him like this? Where did he get such strong beliefs?
While still a student, Guevara twice crossed the South American continent as a "penniless traveler" and witnessed the suffering of a different world. (stage darkens and music begins)
Pro B: Once during your travels you spent the night with a poor person in a cement pipe. The poor person mocked you for not going back home, while bemoaning about not having any home to go back to himself. You gazed at a new kind of moonlight in the cold wind. You contemplated a new type of world under that cold moon.
Pro C: You had once visited a copper mine in Chile and stayed in a Party member's mineworker's shanty. You heard from him about how much copper flowed to the wallets of American capitalists and how many workers were buried in the barren hillsides. The night was too dark, and he built a fire for you. The weather was too cold, and you draped your clothing over his shoulders. You were so frozen that you couldn't stop shivering. But you felt the fire of the underclass world burning in your chest, and the blood of the underclass flowing through your body.
Pro A: You once stood on the roadside in Bolivia and saw how the minister greeted the peasant's representative. The world's filthiest parasites were dressed to the nines, yet the most innocent laborers in the world were disinfected and sprayed with pesticides. Then you think . . . this society has turned everything upside down. Then you realize . . . the only thing that can change everything is gunfire.
Pro B: You arrived at the leper village in Peru to treat the sick. Among those lonely and desperate souls, you saw friendship, camaraderie, and compassion, so rarely seen among piles of money.
Pro C: When you left, the rain had poured for many days, and the wooden raft built by the lepers carried you away. The hands waving to you from the bank were not just bidding you farewell but also beckoning to you. Midstream your solitary image reflected both an old and new person.
Pro A: You said that since the world is divided into two parts, you'd choose to share the same fate as the people. You said that since the struggle would require a fight, from here on out you would become a fighter.
Offstage voice:
Farewell, days of leisure.
Farewell, days of wealth.
Farewell, days of refinement.
Farewell, days of self-indulgence.
All Pros:
Farewell, mom and dad.
Farewell, my high school sweetheart.
Farewell, my homeland Argentina.
Farewell, my pitiable Latin America.
Farewell, last four thousand years.
Farewell, old world.
Singing: "Actually In This World We Are All One"
Actually in this life,
We are all just one person.
Actually in this world,
We are all just of one heart.
If there is just one person in poverty,
Then this life is hell.
If there is just one evil person,
Then this world can't be heaven.
Singing: "You've Walked Life's Long Road"
You walked life's long road,
Life inspired you.
You walked life's long road,
Life permeated you.
You walked life's long road,
Life shaped you.
You walked life's long road,
Life possessed you . . . (light dims)
Lights come on. The sound of a clapper is heard from the street. The Five Greats (Con I) and all of the Cons—who are now playing the role of bootlicking academics—enter along the north in a tizzy. The drama returns to today's debate on the inequality between the rich and poor.
All Cons: All's at peace!
Con I: Peace? Why does my left eyelid always twitch?
Con II: It means you'll be rich![29] Take a look! All our stocks on the Dow Jones are bullish—like the new colonialism stock, the old hegemony stock, new libertarian stock, old guard conservatism stock, "all belongs to me in peaceful years" stock, "offer you some during turbulent times" stock, "rich whites and rich blacks join hands" stock, "poor house cats and poor street cats are different" stock, in addition to the "long ago became worthless" stock and the "just bought fluctuating up and down" stock. All of them are really hot, which completely proves my theory that "history ends here."
Con I: Then why is my right arm numb?
Con III: Is it a tingling sensation like ants crawling? Your qi must be flowing![30]
All Cons: Capitalism has entered the transcendent realm! (A few modern-day youth appear on the Southside. They are wearing simple clothing and look like work-study students and dreamy poets.)
Con I: You should know better to keep up your guard during times of peace! (instructing everyone) These silly fools are only good enough to be sent to teach in a socialist country. (Notices that the youth are using a measuring tape to measure the distance between the northside and southside. The youth proceed to first measure the closer distance, then go on to measure the more distant area.) What happened! What are they doing?
Con II: Youngsters, it looks like you are interns who have graduated from the Civil Engineering Academy with a major in road construction, right?
Youth A: You could say that. We are thinking about how the world should be built and how this road should go. (The Five Greats are shocked)
Con III: What are you measuring?
Youth B: The wealth gap.
Con I: What's wrong with the gap?
Youth A: The gap keeps getting larger and more and more outrageous.
Con I: (asking another youth) What book are you looking at?
Youth B: The Biography of Guevara.
Con A: That's great. People who love to read and think are few and far between. They are the future pillars of society.
Youth C: You don't mean the pillars of this society? (The Five Greats summon the bootlicking academics over to their side)
Con I: It's too dangerous! A group of potential Guevaras!
Con II: This is a "case for the emergency funding of thousands of bombs to eliminate ‘eyesores,' ‘body aches,' and ‘spoiled food.'" Approve it! After all, this time we don't need to sugarcoat it![31]
Con I: Better to work on the mind first! Here is a project fund for "exploitation and oppression are good." I'll see who can wash their brains to the color of the star spangled banner. (Tossing out a handful of paper money. Accompanied by elegant chamber music, the academics scramble about the floor after the bills. They exit following the Five Greats.)
All of the academics finish the project, and they process from the grand door in turn to present their "research results." "There is a chance sooner or later" and "everyone has a share," etc. are written in big letters on white paper. "Person ≠ person," the first to come on stage, enters into a debate—resembling a prologue—with Youth A. In reading the lines below it is important to pay attention to the relationship of the lines on both the vertical and horizontal axes.
person ≠ person:
Youth A:
You're not me—
Yet all are homo sapiens just the same.
And I'm not him—
Yet all are omnivorous pack animals just the same.
Black is just not as good as yellow—
Yet all are quadrupeds and have five senses just the same.
A pity that yellow is not as good as white—
Yet all have seven feelings and six desires just the same.[32]
Thin arms can't wrestle thick arms;
Yet all take care of the young and elderly just the same.
The dull-witted just have to follow the clever-minded.
Yet all are men or women who will get married just the same.
Do your parents own what my parents own?
Yet all will live and die just the same.
You fuckin' want to have what I already fuckin' have!
Yet all come and go just the same!
Youth A grabs the hand of person ≠ person. The following exchange, which talks about body parts—hands, feet, eyes, mouths, and ears—also takes the form of a dialogue.
Youth A: (angrily) All are hands just the same! Some hands spend millions and make billions. Money rains down at a twist of the wrist!
person ≠ person: (mockingly) That's right. Hands are just hands! Some start out groping for quarters but end up with only pennies. What's that called? Lousy hands!
Youth B: (melancholically) All are feet just the same! Some prefer to let one's feet blister to prevent one's shoes from scuffing. The road of life is merciless!
person ≠ person: (proudly) Exactly, all are feet! I just want Australian leather and Italian shoemakers. Different feet have different fates!
Youth C: All are eyes just the same! You till the yellow earth your entire life. You mine sooty coal your entire life. You can stand your backbreaking life, but you can't bear to let your children suffer too. The earlier you can shut your eyes and rest in peace the better. (helplessly)
person ≠ person: Of course all are eyes! A moon above the pyramids exudes a feeling of elegance. Nothing's more idyllic than a glistening snow-covered Mount Fuji. You've seen the Alps in the autumn but not yet in the spring. What if some day you suddenly keel over or become blind? (worriedly)
Youth A: All are mouths just the same! For some, breakfast and dinner are tubers. The steamed dishes are tubers; the boiled dishes are also tubers. Year after year and decade after decade of tubers. That is the only way to deal with the hungry mouths.
person ≠ person: Of course all are mouths! Today we can have Tan Family cuisine, and next time we'll have Mao Family cuisine.[33] Prefer Shanghai or Japanese cuisine? Just have Russian cuisine when you want a richer flavor and Indian cuisine when you want more spice. Food is a culinary art!
Youth B: All are ears just the same! Here the police are cursing, the neighbors are arguing, the wives are complaining, the children are wailing, the sick are moaning, and the penniless are begging. How come it's hell here while it's heaven over there! (upset)
person ≠ person: All are ears just the same! There's the Sichuan Opera Turandot, the opera Turandot, the Imperial Ancestral Temple's Turandot, the Venetian Turandot, the light opera Turandot, and the musical Turandot. These Turandots are each unique in a different way![34] (Satisfied. A battle of words follows)
Difference = Nature = Should: Here on top is the head, the feet down below. Do the head and feet belong to the same class? Can a popsicle vendor make the same amount of money as a computer whiz?
Youth II: Of course the head is not the feet and the feet are not the head. But without the feet, the head can hardly move and is no better than a flat ball. Your brains have arteries and veins. And our feet have blood and flesh as well. Your face needs powder, and our shoes need polish. Why should the wealth of three thousand of the well-heeled equal the total household income of three billion poor soles? Don't tell me such a gap is natural when in reality it is a man-made chasm!
Everyone has a share: Hey, hey, hey, no one said to only let the Smiths get rich and not the Jones. How many CEOs and tycoons started out as penniless paupers? (takes out a deck of cards and shuffles them) Everyone has an equal opportunity, (dealing out cards to each person) just like everyone has an equal chance to buy lottery tickets. Didn't that kiddo Bill Gates pick the card to be the world's wealthiest person? (turning over one of the cards) Whoah, a black joker!
Youth C: (tearing up the card) In the end only a few people end up making money while millions of people lose money. Why should we turn life into a casino where everyone is a gambler?
There is a chance sooner or later: Don't be so anxious. The sooner we, at the head, move into a garden villa, the sooner you, at the rear, can enjoy coal-burning stoves. Isn't that better than building a fire with wood? Leftovers are quite nutritious. Just heat up Laozi and Zhuangzi for a meal! Real healthy!
(The Pros enthusiastically clap and drag "there is a chance sooner or later" to their side and ask him to repeat himself)
There is a chance sooner or later: "We, at the head—"
All Youth: "They, at the head!"
There is a chance sooner or later: "You, at the rear—"
All Youth: "We, at the rear!"
There is a chance sooner or later: "Leftovers—" (Sooner or Later has a worried and sad expression) "will just have to do."
Rich and Poor Dialectics: The rich and poor should be looked at dialectically: The rich have certain problems of the rich, while the poor have certain benefits of the poor. The rich have many headaches, while the poor have fewer irritations. The jewel shopkeeper is always on edge, while rarely do you hear of a theft at a junkyard. Superstars stand on a lonely pedestal afraid of tumbling down and breaking into a million pieces. How can they feel as secure as ordinary people who upon falling only get a scratch? The king and the minister are sent to the guillotine when ousted from power. When coal is replaced by gas, those who had rolled charcoal can still roll sticky-rice balls.
There is a chance sooner or later: Shut up! Dialectics require that you view things dialectically! You—us, eat garlic and kiss—(all Cons: "Sweet!") But not cool. Eight of us in one room—(all Cons: "Cozy!") But crowded. We—they, eat the eight delicacies[35] and a Manchu-Han banquet[36] until their stomachs burst—(all Pros: "Looking to die!") But it's bursting with flavor. They have their stomachs pumped until their kidneys are pumped out too—(all Pros: "Lost out!") It's worth it! Why do they risk everything in the name of pleasure? Why are they attracted to sin like a moth darting into a flame? There must be something awesome about it! Excuse me, I have to return to my team. (running off)
The beginning of man: Equality is certainly not the original nature of humankind. Inequality is the fundamental quality of society. It seems as if the iron rice bowl[37] contained sleeping pills. Anyone who ate from it only wanted to sleep and not work. Then you eat a meal specially catered for you, and you feel like you took Chinese turtle essence and heroine. You wish your nose and ears could turn into feet so that you could dash toward golden cups and silver bowls as if there were no tomorrow!
Youth A: Equality is certainly not the nature of this type of person. Inequality is precisely the characteristic of this type of society. This type of person is shaped by society. This type of society is what you need. Fortunately it has only been four thousand years, and humanity still has a chance to grow melons, apples, pears, and peaches instead of marijuana and opium. It is yet too early to talk about the laws of nature and humanity. How many thousand-year-old stone memorials are still standing? Not a single one of the emperors ordained to rule forever is still alive. The sky and earth are vast. Let's keep on going!
Fig.3: The Cons (left) listen impatiently to the revolutionary youth.
Poor and Rich aesthetics: You stand up for the poor but find the wealthy disagreeable? Then let me ask you, who picks locks to rob homes, the poor or the rich? Who lifts cucumbers from the market? Who darts through red lights on bicycles and J-walks? Who with their naked torsos and latrine-sputtering swearing is a blemish to society? Who pees outside on the ground whenever they feel like it? Who, after all, wants knowledge but has no knowledge, wants culture but has no culture, wants ideals but has no ideals, wants refinement but lacks refinement, wants taste but lacks taste, wants opportunities but fails at everything? Who is shortsighted like rats and just as tight as chicken's innards with money? Who is useless but gets angry, eyes turning red from jealousy, and picks fights with friends who are getting ahead in this world? Let me ask one more time: Who is more civilized and polite, the rich or the poor? Who has greater respect for rules and is more law-abiding? Whose heart is more generous and vision more forward-looking? Whose temperament is kinder and disposition more refined? Who better understands Kant, Wittgenstein, and Derrida? Who is better able to appreciate Monet, Debussy, and Shakespeare? Who more enthusiastically participates in charitable events and donates funds to build hospitals, libraries, schools, and laboratories?
Youth A: You have squeezed the poor dry. What do they have left to let them be philanthropists? The poor want to understand and analyze philosophy, but they can't afford to pay tuition. They also want to enjoy Italian opera, but they can't afford to buy the tickets. They also know that wearing tuxedos and evening gowns looks good and that arguing with neighbors over the outhouse is silly. They also know that it's better to be altruistic and donate money while it's bad to steal and pickpocket. The poor are unsightly in thousands of different ways, but in the end it's all just because they don't have any money. It's all due to your endless craving for more money! It's all because of the exploitative and oppressive way of the world!
History only acknowledges the real heroes: If Meng Jiangnu's husband had never been exploited, how could you stroll about the Great Wall on your honeymoon today?[38] If Egyptian pharaohs hadn't oppressed its people, how could one go sightseeing today at the pyramids? History only acknowledges the real heroes! Just let Lei Feng's mother cry.[39] Just let Yang Bailao lament.[40] The sun has risen, the wind has stopped, and the tears and grieving have been wiped away by time. Don't be so sentimental!
Youth B: This theory is as poisonous as centipedes and scorpions! You say it with such literary grace! Let me tell you, Lei Feng's mother cried and it wasn't for naught. Yang Bailao cried out, and it wasn't for naught. Do you still remember the fate of Huang Shiren?[41] Haven't you heard how Louis XVII was dethroned? Just wait until the laments turn to condemnation and tears turn to flames. Don't think they'll be soft on you!
The Ideology of "Since": Since the whip can't be avoided, you should think about not being the one who is whipped but the one who uses the whip. Since the saddle cannot be avoided, you should think about how to ride on top of the saddle rather than being ridden on. Since there is such a huge difference between the northside and the southside, you had best think about how to cut ties with the southside and hurry and emigrate to the northside. I've already made a path for you . . .
All Youth: Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!
Five greats: You're all techies! Welcome!
All Youth: There are 4 billion of us. Can you take us all?
The Five Greats: Make a checkpoint. The dirty clothes and old pants can come through, but don't let any riffraff or other slackers by.[42]
Con B: (hanging on the wall of the wealthy on the northside) If I can't be rich, then I'll become their mistress. If I can't run a bank, then I'll rob a bank. If I'm not born rich, then I'll move into a wealthy area. If you don't let me move in, then I'll sneak in! If I can't get in above ground, than I'll make a tunnel! I'll speak of equality only when I've got nothing left! If one's got what it takes, then who the fuck would settle for being left behind as just some Joe Schmo! (knocked down by Con III but still looking for an opening in the wall through which to crawl through)
The Five Greats: (ordering those around) This kiddo's not of great value, but he's a great representative. Let him in!
Progress: Wring him! Hold him! How can a proletariat represent advanced productivity! They are the only ones who are backwards! They are all rubbish! If they keep their jobs, then technology would never progress and business revenues would never increase. Don't bother sympathizing with them! Who is the most advanced? Those capitalists—"knowledge capitalists"—in this era of the knowledge-based economy—that are headed by him! (pointing to The Five Greats)
Youth C: Since you play the stock market, of course you should buy those stocks that bring you wealth and power. Since you have to bum rides, might as well pick Lincolns, Benzs, and Cadillacs. The proletariat may not represent so-called advanced productivity. But I just want to ask: have they received a fair return for what they put in? I just want to say: even if you do business, you should still keep ethics in mind!
The Five Greats: Hey, there's the smell of rebels and hooligans in the air. Are you planning on taking a share of our stuff! Get the guns! (the sound of gunshots ring out and the stage darkens)
Act Three: Building the New Society
The set, a "construction site," is highly symbolic—not just symbolizing the construction of a building but also of society itself. The front and middle parts of the stage form two distinct spaces: the front part is the narrative space of the fifties and sixties and the middle part is a space of reflection in the eighties and nineties. The gunshots heard at the end of the last act gradually change into the triumphant beating of gongs and drums. The colors on the stage are bright and lively.
Pro A: The Cuban Revolution has won! The Cuban people can now stand up! The reactionaries have been toppled and the imperialists have all run away![43]
Then, a series of piercing gunshots ring out from the left side. Pro B runs in that direction. The gunshot sounds gradually disappear.. Pro B bolts back over from the left.
Pro B: The hopes of the imperialists and all reactionaries are still alive. There's no way they will simply retreat from the stage of history. They want to strangle Soviet power while in its infancy; they want to contain the new China; they want to overthrow the Cuban Revolution. Their calculations are all wrong!
A series of piercing gunshots ring out from the right side. Pro C runs in that direction. The gunshot sounds gradually disappear. Pro C bolts back from stage right.
Pro C: Turbulence and then failure, repeated by more turbulence and failure again, until finally extinction. That is exactly how all imperialist and reactionary cliques will be forced to exit from the stage of history.
The sound of gunshots rings out again followed by a prolonged echo. Pro A appears to have been hit. The stage lights start to change to cold colors.
Pro A: One Liu Qingshan.[44] Just one!
Another gunshot rings out. Pro A's steps are heavy.
Pro A: Two Liu Qingshans. Only two?
Another gunshot rings out and is then followed by a continuous stream of gunshots. A feeling of gloom envelops the stage.
Pro A: Liu Qingshan again . . . (The beat of "this is humanity, this is the world" is heard from a distance. An image of Cheng Xitong[45] and his coterie in court are projected)
Pro B: After the rebel army attacked Havana, one of the soldiers asked Guevara for leave to visit his family. Guevara refused to give him permission.
Pro C: Hadn't the revolution already been victorious?
Offscreen voice: Political power had been won but the revolution had just started.
Pro A: (illuminated by a fixed spotlight) Building the new society is an uphill battle. Thousands of years of exploitation and oppression have become a structure as firmly and deeply rooted as Mount Tai.[46] It hides behind the rhetoric of "humanity" and uses the authority of tradition. Within every nook and cranny, within each one of our past and present thoughts, within everything that remains hidden away far and wide, it stages a vengeful counterattack against the new Society. The old society is not simply on the other side of the mountains or across the ocean. It is not simply in your gun's range or on your radar screen. Rather, it hides within the air you breathe and permeates the blood that circulates through your mind. When the time comes for you to assail the "enemy," most likely you will have already become one of them. When you remove the veil of the "new," perhaps we will only see that old face of yours!
Four people imitate a children's game of a horse-riding mime. Three people,, who are dressed in riding outfits, play the body of the horse, while the other person wears a horse's mask. The three "riders" have golden saddles and silver stirrups hanging from their bodies. The "horse" on top keeps on kicking the "riders" down below and sometimes motions to the east or points to the west. The "riders" cannot avoid going in the wrong direction, and when they do, they are then kicked and beaten by the "horse." Moreover, the horse's head bullies its side, which then bullies its backside, thereby forming a system that is not so different from the old world's class system. In a nutshell, this scene depicts the bureaucratic new bourgeoisie's betrayal of the socialists' idealism and the alienation of mass's interests.[47]
Pro B: Facing the containment, acquisition, appeasement, and revolution of the old society, the stockholders—naturally attaining status and wealth, private homes and automobiles, servants and masseurs—quickly gained advantages from the return on their investments. How is the way they manage themselves different from that of the Old World? Haven't just the author changed and the cover become new? They are, more precisely, just a "bootlegged" copy of the Old World. [48]
A magician garbed in red and waving a red magic wand hops onto stage. Behind him two apprentices push a large cabinet, rotating it onto the stage. "Yours, mine, all of ours" is written in big letters on the face of the cabinet. After moving into position, they remove the cabinet's front, rear, left, and right panels in front of the audience. After showing that it has nothing inside, the cabinet is reassembled. The two apprentices carry a plate to collect money from the audience. The audience checks their pockets and takes out whatever cash they have. The money is placed inside the cabinet. They place three or four locks and seven or eight seals on the cabinet's doors. Then the magician covers the cabinet with a red cloth. He holds the magic wand and points to himself, points to the audience, and then points to the sky and the ground. An orchestral cadence sounds, and the magician lifts the red cloth off of the cabinet and the apprentices tear off the strips, opening the locks one by one. The cabinet's doors are opened and there is nothing inside. The magician and apprentices look all about in confusion. Then, the charlatans exit the stage. Shortly thereafter, they are tied up with their hands behind their backs and pushed across the stage. Following their exit, three bullet shots ring out. The actors during these two sections should act with intensity and not allow their acting to turn into slapstick. The feeling should be akin to that of Animal Farm. In addition, since the actors used in these two acts are all from the group of Five Greats, one should make sure there is enough time between the two acts.
All Pros: But the true revolutionaries are deep in thought about what to do.
Mass Criticism: What the hell can be done! Power becomes useless if it isn't used. Even mid-level officials know this now. He's embezzling money, so you had better embezzle too. Only A-holes don't embezzle.
These are all everyday discussions that take place at the dinner table and in front of the television. Some could be recorded and played back in the theatre. Ideally, they will include the voices of men and women and people of all ages speaking in a variety of accents and accompanied by the sounds of daily activities, such as stir-frying and babies crying.
Pro C: Actually nothing better can be done. The Revolution in the 20th century was really half-baked and naive.
Several soldiers are carrying logs on their backs in the construction site. As the earth spins, day turns into night and night into day. This cycle is repeated many times.
Pro A: Guevara and his comrades in Cuba's leadership organized cadres to take part in physical labor as a way for them to be among the people. Every season Guevara would voluntarily do physical labor for 240 hours. He spent ten days each month for eight hours a day toiling in the construction sites, factories, or sugar cane fields. This is quite unbelievable considering that he had asthma and was a major government official obligated to affairs of the state. He often had to roll down his pants to conceal his mud-covered boots and brush dirt of his clothing before rushing off from construction sites to meet entourages of foreign dignitaries. (the sound of brushing off clothing is amplified)
All Pros: (sitting on top of a pile of logs and bricks) Actually all that we possess is a type of apprehension. We are afraid of leaving the sides of the people. We are afraid of representing the people to only end up neglecting them and betraying the ideal of the revolution. (music plays)
Pro B: Guevara and his comrades were hardworking and down-to-earth. They put the public above their private needs. He strictly forbade his family from enjoying any special treatment. His family could only buy what the government rationed. He said that a revolutionary must understand sacrifice. When he led government representatives to attend international meetings, each person would only be given a few US dollars. (The sound of metal coins falling into a terracotta urn is amplified. These sounds are repeated several times.)
Mass Criticism: He wants to be upright and honestly serve the public. What if he doesn't want to? How many people can be like Guevera! The great pandas have a preserve, but does Kong Fansen have one also?![49] Studying Lei Feng's example just lands one in an insane asylum. (This is also a recording.)
All Pro: Actually all that we possess is a type of apprehension. (exits)
The beat of "This is humanity, this is the world" is heard from a distance. A group of good-for-nothings, led by the Five Greats, enter the construction site.
The Five Greats: We'll be waiting for the sun to freeze over before the new house will be built. Tear it down![50] (Pulling out a plank from the structure)
Good-for-nothing A: (Picking up an armful of bricks) I'll first use these to pave over the old road.
Good-for-nothing B: I want to build a villa in the same style as those in the foreign concessions.
