This is the second scene of my wuxia retelling of Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus. In the source material Titus returns home after years of war, bring with him all the bodies of his fallen soldiers (he refers to them as his, “sons;” some folks have taken this literally, which would mean Titus had somehow fathered hundreds and hundreds of boys in his free time, since the crypt is nearly full after decades at war). With him in chains is the defeated Goth Queen, Tamora, along with her three sons (Demetrius, Chiron and Alarbus), as well as Tamora’s lover, Aaron the Moor (and yes, Aaron is a highly problematic character … which is a polite way of saying racist as fuck). In order to appease the dead, Titus has Alarbus butchered as a sacrifice. We are also introduced to Lavinia, Titus’ daughter.

Because this version is wuxia and has most of the genders flipped, instead of slicing and dicing Hēi Dú, General Tiān Mǔ orders her oldest daughter, Tiě Yīng, to shatter Hēi Dú’s meridians, leaving her as a living corpse entombed with the glorious dead.

ACT I · SCENE II.

[剑冢森森，魂灯荧荧]
[A forest of grave-swords; ghost-lanterns flicker blue.]

[祖剑堂 · 地宫]
[Ancestral Sword Hall · Underground Crypt.]

[战鼓渐歇，丧钟低鸣。地宫穹顶垂百剑，剑柄为碑。二十石台空置，待天母众女。青烟如蛇，盘绕尸骨未寒之刃。]

[War drums fade into funeral gongs. A cavern lit by yin-blue lanterns, its walls studded with hundreds of upright swords, each a warrior’s grave-marker. Twenty empty stone plinths await Tiān Mǔ’s fallen soldiers. Incense coils like serpents around blade-cooling flesh.]

[铁链声响。铁链与铁翎押阵，铁山刀卫捧灵位与佩剑次入，后随铁英、铁血。天母戎装未卸，甲上犹带草原尘沙。大狼与其女[灰毒、蓝毒、黑毒]棘链缚身。末入巴悉拉，景教十字暗芒浮动。]
[Chains clank. Tiě Lián and Tiě Líng lead the procession, followed by Iron Mountain Blades bearing spirit tablets and sheathed swords. Tiě Yīng and Tiě Xuè enter next, then Tiān Mǔ, her armor still crusted with steppe dirt. Behind them, Dà Láng and her daughters (Huī Dú, Lán Dú and Hēi Dú) shuffle in manacles. Last comes Bǎ Xī Lā, his Nestorian cross glinting like a hidden knife.]

[众人迫大狼一族跪于五眼蟾蜍铜魂炉前。]
[The prisoners are forced to kneel before a bronze soul-brazier shaped like a five-eyed toad.]

天母 / TIĀN MǓ.

[举碎玉令，诵咒如刃。]
[Raising her broken Jade Seal, chanting like a whetstone on steel.]

“玄女兵主——“
“Xuánnǚ, Dark Mother of War—”

“开黄泉之扉。“
“Open the Yellow Springs’ gate.”

[抚剑墙，声裂金石。]
[Her palm scrapes along blade-embedded walls, voice splitting metal and stone.]

天母 / TIĀN MǓ [cont.]

“吾女今与鬼同行。“
“My daughters walk with ghosts now.”

“以刃镇幽冥。“
“Let their swords guard the underworld’s edge.”

[铁山刀卫置灵位于石台，朱砂名讳如血。无棺椁，以剑代尸。]
[The Iron Mountain Blades place spirit tablets upon the plinths, each name inscribed in cinnabar. No coffins; the dead are honored as ancestral swords, not corpses.]

天母 / TIĀN MǓ [续]
[抚空台，甲缝渗沙。]
[Her armored fingers brush an empty plinth, steppe-dust sifting from the joints.]

“祖剑冢啊…“
“O sacred crypt …”

“汝怀吾欢，亦纳吾悲。“
“You who cradle my joy and grief alike.”

“为何贪噬无厌？“
“Why must you feast so ravenously?”

铁英 / TIĚ YĪNG.

[执刃穿魂幡，幡动如濒死之息。]
[A dagger-pierced soul-banner trembles in her grip like a death rattle.]

“母亲，赐一囚破丹田。“
“Mother, grant us a prisoner to shatter.”

“以炁饲亡魂。“
“Let her qi feed the dead.”

“化其息为香。“
“Let her breath become their incense.”

天母 / TIĀN MǓ.

[戟指灰毒，甲上反光如狼瞳。]
[Her gauntlet points to Huī Dú, armor-scratches glint like wolf-eyes.]

“取可汗长女。“
“Then take the Khagan’s eldest.”

“草原狼种，正合燃薪。“
“a steppe-wolf’s whelp, fit kindling.”

大狼 / DÀ LÁNG.

[锁链暴起，棘刺入肉。]
[Chains rattle as manacles bite deeper into flesh.]

“这也配称‘道’？“
“You call this Taoism?!”

“分明是屠场！“
“This is butchery!”

[唾血]
[Spits blood.]

“玉皇必降天罚——“
“The Jade Empress will curse your—”

天母 / TIĀN MǓ

[抬手如闸，声寒于铁。]
[A raised hand silences like decapitation.]

“天道不悯豺狼。“
“The Tao has no mercy for wolves.”

“汝女之息，当饲吾殇。“
“Your daughter’s breath will feed my dead.”

铁英 / TIĚ YĪNG.

[并指为鹤喙，点向灰毒后腰。]
[Fingers coiled like a crane’s beak, pressing to Huī Dú’s spine.]

“道予炁，道夺炁。“
“The Tao gives qi. The Tao takes it.”

[三击如钟。]
[Three strikes toll like a funeral bell.]

铁英 / TIĚ YĪNG [cont.]

“命门。” [Mìngmén.]

[闷响，灰毒气息骤滞。]
[A dull thud—Huī Dú’s breath seizes.]

铁英 / TIĚ YĪNG [cont.]

“脊中。” [Jǐzhōng.]

[玉裂之声，肌骨僵锁。]
[A crack like splitting jade, her body locks rigid.]

铁英 / TIĚ YĪNG [cont.]

“大椎。” [Dàzhùi.]

[折骨脆响，银炁自七窍喷涌，旋入魂炉。]
[A final snap, silver qi erupts from her pores, swirling into the brazier.]

[炁凝‘仇’字，瞬散。铁山刀卫置灰毒于碑前，形存神灭，永跪为鬼奴。]
[The qi forms the character 仇 《vengeance》 before dissolving. Huī Dú’s hollowed body is propped before the plinths; a living ghost forced to kneel eternally.]

天佑 / TIĀN YÒU.

[三叩入殿，额抵冷石。]
[Entering with three kowtows, forehead pressed to stone.]

“母亲…“
“Mother…”

[捧纸马，声颤。]
[Clutching paper effigies, voice trembling.]

天佑 / TIĀN YÒU [cont.]

“儿带冥驹，助姊远行。“
“I bring paper horses for their journey.”

[天佑一边吟诵诗歌，一边焚烧人像。]

[Tiān Yòu begins burning the effigies while reciting poetry.]

天佑 / TIĀN YÒU [cont.]

“双蛇缠…” [Two snakes entwined …]

[纸灰突燃碧火。]

[The ashes flare emerald.]

天佑 / TIĀN YÒU [cont.]

“无首尾 …” [Neither head nor tail …]

[焚纸，灰烬化鹤形——白思之徽。]
[The ashes twist into a crane—Bái Sī’s crest.]

天佑 / TIĀN YÒU [cont.]

“唯饥无宴。” [Only hunger without feast.]

[魂炉中五眼骤睁。]

[The toad-brazier’s eyes snap open.]

[天佑退后，诗成谶言。]
[Tiān Yòu staggers back, the poem now a curse spoken out loud.]

天母 / TIĀN MǓ.

[捧子面，甲锈沾颊。]
[Cupping his face, her gauntlet leaves dried blood like tear-stains.]

“吾儿…“
“My son…”

“男儿总被讥弱。“
“The world calls boys weak.”

“然你乃吾德所铸之身。“
“But you are my virtue made flesh.”

[低语切齿。]
[A whisper like grinding steel.]

天母 / TIĀN MǓ [cont.]

“活得比我久。“
“Outlive me.”

[按剑柄，刃吟如泣。]
[Her palm on a sword-hilt, the blade hums a mourner’s tune.]

天母 / TIĀN MǓ [cont.]

“安息吧，吾刃。“
“Rest, my blades.”

“未斩之恨，生者必断。“
“The living will cut what you could not.”

[所有人都退场。]

[Everyone exits.]

[门阖。终余：灰毒游丝之息，与万剑饥鸣。]
[The doors seal. Last sounds: Huī Dú’s shallow breath in the dark and the swords’ hungry humming.]

֍

Notes.

Unlike Aaron the Moor, whose presence in the play is never really explained (except for being Tamora’s baby daddy) Bǎ Xī Lā (the name he adopted since arriving in China), is in fact European, a Nestorian Christian missionary, with a demonic apatite for destruction (thank you, Guns and Roses). Other terms that need to be explained are:

Tiān Mǔ refers to her soldiers as, Iron Mountain Blades (for no other reason than I thought it sounded interesting). In traditional Chinese medicine, meridians are invisible pathways in the body through which vital energy circulates. This energy is called Qi (气) an energy field … created by all living things; it surrounds us and penetrates us and binds the galaxy together. If that sounds a bit Star Wars-ish now you know where Lucas stole his idea from, you’re welcome. Paper horses (纸马) were burned to transport the souls of the deceased to the afterlife.

The only part that gave me pause was trying to come up with a description of how meridians would be cut or severed, since in the wuxia kung fu movies I’ve seen someone declares that they’re using, “the Quivering Palm” (or something) and a glowing CGI cloud then leaves the body. Personally, I am very fond of the description used in Airplane! (1980):

“It starts with a slight fever and dryness of the throat. When the virus penetrates the red blood cells, the victim becomes dizzy, begins to experience an itchy rash, then the poison goes to work on the central nervous system, severe muscle spasms followed by the inevitable drooling. At this point, the entire digestive system collapses accompanied by uncontrollable flatulence until, finally, the poor bastard is reduced to a quivering wasted piece of jelly.”

… but I suppose there are better descriptions out there, somewhere.