Xiangxi's Liu Sanjie — Tao Mei
Xiangxi's Liu Sanjie — Tao Mei. Xiangxi is a land of folk songs. Zhang Taomei was born amid singing and grew up in it. At age five, a youngest son was born to the Jin family by the Wujiawan ancestral hall; said to have a "heavy fate," he needed a child bride to "ward off ill fortune." One day a short, stout matchmaker came. Tao Mei had long known from her sisters that the matchmaker was no good...
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Xiangxi's Liu Sanjie—Tao Mei
Xiangxi is a land of folk songs.
Zhang Taomei was born amid singing and grew up amid singing.
When she was five, the Jin family by the Wujiawan ancestral hall had a youngest son, and it was said his "bazi was heavy," so they wanted to take a little wife to "chongxi" (ward off bad luck with a wedding). That day, a short, fat matchmaker came. Tao Mei had always known from her sisters that the matchmaker was no good and detested her, so she lay by the window and sang:
A crow lands on a tree branch, a matchmaker woman has come to our home.
The matchmaker is fat and round, her waist as thick as a water vat.
A zhang of homespun cloth to sew a pair of pants, two bolts of guest cloth to add a crotch;
Three chi of straw rope for a belt, four fir trees to make a bed.
This was a "children's song" she sang—childish, yet showing her talent for singing.
At sixteen, Zhang Taomei married. That little husband surnamed Jin was spoiled, loved to fuss and cry, and her parents-in-law took his side. Tao Mei waited on her little husband like a little brother, and sang to him:
A sixteen-year-old wife and a snotty boy, after washing hands and feet, carry him to bed,
In the middle of the night, he gropes for milk to eat, lao lao wei (little brother)—
I am your wife, not your mother!
One year, Zhang Taomei fled her marriage and wandered to Qinglang Beach to sing in a contest. Suddenly, "bang bang—" two gunshots, and a group of armed soldiers rushed into the crowd, pounced onto the song stage, and bound Tao Mei tightly, escorting her out of the singing ground. It turned out that Zhang Bosheng, the head of the Yuanling County Security Regiment, had learned of this and cursed, "Putting on a stage to sing and sell songs, going crazy and whoring everywhere—isn't this disgracing the Zhang family's ancestral name?!" He immediately took a sedan chair to Qinglang, intending to tie Tao Mei to a millstone and sink her in the water to uphold the clan's honor!
Tao Mei knelt down and sang:
Tao Mei was born into a poor family, she has not disgraced the Zhang family's name,
I sing with a muddled mouth, no harlot am I and no madwoman.
Zhang Bosheng roared, "Your mouth pliers (mouth) are still stiff!" and slapped Tao Mei several times across the face. Tears streaming, Tao Mei sang to Regiment Commander Zhang:
A tiger seizing a sheep is no bravery, a mantis stalking a cicada is no hero,
An ox tramples an ant to death—dear uncle (jiaojiao wei)—who praises you as a hero?
Picking grapes by hand shakes the vine, how can you bear to drop stones on one already in the well?
The flesh you cut is your own flesh, why must bean stalks burn each other?
Hearing this, Zhang Bosheng put away his pistol and demanded, "Then why did you run from your marriage? Huh?!" Tao Mei sang back:
My dear uncle, my lord (pronounced "ya," father), your niece has broken no royal law. The turtle ahead crawled a bad road, the turtle behind follows the same path! It turned out that Zhang Bosheng's own mother had also run away from an arranged marriage. Tao Mei meant to needle Zhang Bosheng. But Zhang Bosheng still would not relent, shouting, "Marry a pig, follow the pig; marry a dog, follow the dog; marry a rock, and you must carry it away too; even in death you must fill five feet of earth in the Jin family's grave!" Tao Mei, not to be outdone, sang again:
The fish in muddy water has just cleared its mouth, never again will it enter the cormorant's gate,
Rather starve than eat a cat's food, rather freeze than warm myself at the Buddha's lamp!
Zhang Bosheng was helpless. He waved his hand, "Fine, fine, fine, I won't interfere with you. If you've got the skill, go sing!""
One day, Tao Mei was passing through Shuitongmu Pass in Zhiping Township when she saw a robber tying up an old man, about to rob him. Her chivalrous spirit stirred, and she faced the robber and sang to save the man:
I urge you, sir, do no evil deed, treat your elders as your own father's generation,
If a gentleman's father were robbed, what crime is it to snatch food from his mouth?
Hearing this, the robber was actually cowed by the righteous spirit of a mere woman. Shame covered his face, and he cut the rope and fled.
Not far from Shuitongmu Pass, at Shuangxi Bridge, there lived a mother-in-law and daughter-in-law who often quarreled over trifles. Even the township head could not reconcile them, so they had to ask Tao Mei for help. Tao Mei first sang to the two:
Kind words spoken warm three winters, harsh words wound like June frost,
Villagers love to drink the porridge of smiling faces, relatives and friends will not eat the rice of frowns.
Then she turned and sang to the daughter-in-law:
A daughter-in-law who curses her elders curses heaven itself; holding salt in your palm, your heart is also cold (salty),
In the blink of an eye you'll be a parent too, little sister—the fire is singeing your eyebrows!
Having admonished the daughter-in-law, she then advised the mother-in-law:
Mother-in-law and daughter-in-law quarrel, don't hold a grudge; hoe grass on a rainy day and it turns green (kin) behind your back,
The daughter-in-law walks and the mother-in-law holds the umbrella—auntie—the great should shelter the small.
She sang for a day and a night, and the two were so moved they embraced and wept.
One morning, a dissolute young man stopped her, grinning lewdly, and sang to her:
Sister walks all crooked and askew, must have had a strange night, I think.
It's not that I, your man, wrongly accuse you—where did the mud on your back come from?
Tao Mei picked up the tune and replied:
When I carried you, I knocked out your teeth; I was picking bitter melon in the back garden,
The bitter melon grows at the foot of the wall, the mud on my back was rubbed off the wall.
At Shuangxi Bridge there was a doddering old man named Gong who loudly cursed Tao Mei's singing as "corrupting public morals" and even set up a prohibition sign on the main road. But Tao Mei sang and sang, and that smooth, round song eventually won him over. One day he too secretly hid in the crowd to listen. Tao Mei shot him a glance and sang at him:
If you want a sweetheart, take an old man; shave your beard neat and trim,
Three parts looks and seven parts dress—grandpa—dressed up you're only seventeen or eighteen!
The crowd roared with laughter, leaving the old man red-faced, not knowing whether to sit or go. Tao Mei sent him another song:
If you want a sweetheart, take a bearded man; on his beard there's honey,
Lie till midnight and smack a kiss—grandpa—like a straw raincoat falling into a wine jar!
After that, the old man never dared to cross swords with Tao Mei again.
One year, Tao Mei was ferrying a boat at Qinglang when she met several playboys who wanted to get fresh. Tao Mei took out a pack of "Beauty Brand" cigarettes made in Nanjing and passed them around. She handed out several, leaving only one, and a few fellows couldn't get one. The playboys grabbed at her and tried to be rude again. Tao Mei bit her lip and sang:
Nanjing turned out a "Beauty," ten eyebrows and nine of them empty,
In the past, I entertained guests all by myself; today, I've offended a whole boatload of people.
With such a song and a bow, they felt too embarrassed to make any more trouble.
While fleeing from an arranged marriage and wandering, Zhang Taomei met a famous singer who shared her ideals, and the two became companions on the road. Later, Zhang Taomei became pregnant. On the day of childbirth after ten months, she tied the baby to a wooden board and set it adrift on the river, letting it float away. Crying and singing, she sang:
Swim slowly, crawl slowly, and after death, find a good family.
It's not that your mother's heart is cruel; I have no husband, and you have no father (pronounced 'ya', meaning father).
It means I have no husband in name, and you have no father in name. Since you cannot be born into the world, I too cannot face others. The song expresses the hatred and helplessness toward feudal marriage and the sorrow of a mother abandoning her baby, sung with heart-wrenching tenderness and perfect reason.
Taomei's older sister, fearing that her younger sister might be bullied or disgraced while wandering and singing outside, urged her to come home. Taomei sang:
Sister, rest assured, with a righteous heart, why fear a ghost knocking at the door?
I sing to make a living out of sheer necessity; I, Taomei, sell my songs but not my body.
In Xiangxi, there was a great bandit named Song Guanyun, who called himself a commander and was stationed in Qijiaping. Because his face was pockmarked, his nickname was 'Dong'er Mazi' (Pockmarked Dong'er). Hearing that Taomei was pretty and sang well, he sent armed soldiers to 'invite' her to sing. Taomei asked, 'What shall I sing about?' Mazi said, 'Just sing about the river journey!' Taomei glanced at him sideways and sang:
Rain hits the sandbar, dot by dot appearing. Watermelon is tasty, but one fears cutting it open.
In March, I found yangque mushrooms. Those who can write essays draw circles upon circles.
These four lines are a riddle song, each pointing at the pockmarks, yet none mentioning the word 'pockmark'. Dong'er Mazi listened with smiles all over his face and mouth: 'I don't have half a drop of ink in my belly, and you still praise me for being able to write essays? I can write dog-fucking essays!' Taomei sang again:
On flying cliffs and steep walls, a thousand fields of grain, carrying plow and harrow, one can't even get near the edge.
In the five barren months and sixth month, the fields are full of water; in the tenth and twelfth months, they're scorched and dry.
This was another pockmark riddle song, but the pockmarked man still didn't catch on. Taomei made up her mind and sang plainly:
Pockmarked brother, oh pockmarked brother, a pockmarked man needs lots of water to wash his face.
One pockmark needs a bowlful, ten pockmarks need a whole pot.
This time, Commander Mazi finally understood and cursed angrily at the sky. One of his subordinates, a lame adjutant, grabbed a gun and limped toward Taomei. Taomei knew that this adjutant had been lamed by a pistol shot when he was caught visiting the wife of the township head, so she sang off the cuff:
How strange, how strange, truly strange, one leg never touches the mud.
When walking, it's like a sheep shaking its head; when standing, it's like a horse resting its hoof.
A young man got lost and shouted to Taomei, 'Hey! Hey! Which way to Qinglang?'
In this countryside, calling 'hey hey' is a term used by a wife to call her husband or a husband to call his wife.
You see how impolite this young man is. Taomei replied in song:
Hey your father, hey your mother, why not just call me sister-in-law?
Don't take the two grassy paths; the main road leads to Qinglang.
She both taught him a lesson and showed him the way.
Once, Taomei saw a young man carrying a load fall flat on his back, and passersby all laughed heartily. But Taomei laughed and sang a song:
Brother took a tumble and fell, sister's whole body tingled with numbness.
What a pity for a fresh meal, missing a tender winter melon.
Fresh beef stewed with tender winter melon is a famous Tujia dish. The young man, hearing himself compared to a calf, flew into a rage and shouted at Taomei, 'I'm so upset I could spit blood, and you're saying I ate amaranth!' Taomei stepped forward and saw that what had spilled was a load of rapeseed oil, so she quickly changed her tune and sang:
Brother, brother, don't be upset; oil was spilled on the slippery rock.
I guarantee your seeds will be good next year; pound a few more times to get it all out.
When the Lijiaqou Bridge was completed, the headman invited scholars and literati from all around to compose poems and couplets for the bridge (actually for himself), requiring the four characters 'Li Jia Gou Qiao' to start each line. Taomei happened to pass by and asked, 'I'm not good at writing; would singing do?' The headman saw a shabbily dressed village woman and sneered, 'Your mouth isn't on my body!' Taomei smiled and sang:
Li Bai wrote a hundred poems after a measure of wine; every household turns to good deeds.
The winding stream flows on forever; the bridge is level and the road straight for ten thousand years.
After singing, without even saying goodbye, she drifted away alone.
That time, none of the works by the scholars and literati were preserved; only this song remained.
After Liberation, Zhang Taomei joined revolutionary work and became the village women's director. In 1951, she went to Yuanling County for a major cadre training session. After the meeting, she took a boat back along the Yuan River with Li Hongshan, the county organization minister and district party secretary. Standing at the bow, Taomei thought of her decades of wandering and of Chairman Mao saving her from a sea of bitterness, and tears welled up. Old Li said, 'Taomei, if you have something in your heart you can't say, just sing it!' Taomei was moved, took the oars, and while rowing, sang loudly:
Say carefree, and carefree it is; a little boat drifts on the water.
I'll fling the old oar aside, turn the boat around, and hug the anchor!
A double entendre: she wants to fling off Chiang Kai-shek and join Chairman Mao in revolution!
(Collected by Xifang Zi)
[Appendix] About Zhang Taomei
Zhang Taomei's real name was Zhang Youtao. She was born in 1915 AD, and her family had lived for generations in Wujiawan Village, Qijiaping Township, Yuanling County. She was illiterate, yet clever and quick-witted, able to recite from memory such ancient works as the Zengguang Xianwen, the Book of Songs, and Tang poetry, and she also knew well stories of earlier and later dynasties such as the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Journey to the West, and Water Margin. At the age of four she was already carried on adults' backs to weddings and festive gatherings in the countryside, where she would 'speak tea' (a folk marriage custom), sing birthday songs, and sing gate-blocking songs, blessed with a naturally golden voice. When she grew up, she married into the Jin family; because of an unhappy relationship with her husband, she remarried and moved to Yuanguping (present-day Yuanguping Town, Yongding District, Zhangjiajie City, formerly part of Zhiping Township), where she began a wandering life of singing. Zhang Taomei held singing contests many times, defeating hundreds upon hundreds of singers and becoming famous across several counties. Because of the singing contests she held and the songfests she opened, places such as Yuanguping, Chixi River, Dongxi, Tanping, Bajia River, and Matou River turned into bustling market towns. Zhang Taomei's songs were rooted in folk life; because she often used the techniques of comparison and evocation, her language was full of double meanings, humor, and wit, giving much food for thought, and possessed extremely high aesthetic and artistic value. After Liberation, she took part in county and provincial songfairs, and later moved with her former husband to the Congshumian gold mine for many years. Decades of wandering and family tragedy left her depressed and ill. On June 16, 1959, she died of illness in her hometown of Wujiawan at the age of 44. Zhang Taomei was the most influential singer of her generation in Xiangxi; her songs influenced the next generation of singers, and she enjoyed such honored titles as Song Immortal, Song King, Song God, Song Madwoman, Song Devotee, and the Liu Sanjie of Xiangxi. In the borderlands of Yongding, Yuanling, Cili, and Taoyuan, her name was known to virtually every household.