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Tacoma Method

A two act opera with prelude

Zhang Er

Copyright © 2017 Zhang Er

Characters Voice Type

Little, May’s household servant Tenor

Lum May, a local merchant Baritone

Mrs. May Soprano

Sing Lee, a labor contractor and land owner Tenor

Mrs. Lee Soprano

Mayor Weisbach Tenor

Kevin, a foundry worker and labor organizer Tenor

Judge Wickersham Bass

Father Hylebos Countertenor (or mezzo-soprano)

Ezra Meeker, a businessman in hop industry Baritone

Mrs. Meeker Mezzo-Soprano

Chorus, dragon dancers and marching bands (or video footage of same on screen); Orchestra

(to be completed)

Statement about the work:

We seek to tell the regrettable story of Chinese expulsion from the young American Northwest

city of Tacoma in Washington Territory (now Washington State) in 1885, 3 years after the

passage of Chinese Exclusion Act, the only Federal Law legalizing discrimination by race after

the end of the American Civil War. Using archival materials including photographs, newspaper

articles, interviews, and court statements, we reconstructed scenes from the past in order to

understand the events and forces at play leading to the final tragedy. “Tacoma Method” was the

word coined at the aftermath of the expulsion. Beyond the historical facts, we attempt to explore

the insiders of that long-ago Chinese community to find out who these strivers were, why they

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came to Tacoma, what their life in their newly found country was like, and how they dealt with

the animosity from white settlers who wanted to drive them away.

The violence towards new immigrants and the presumed “whiteness” of American, alas, remain

relevant in the 21st century, as witnessed by the current immigration debate and the indignities

suffered daily by so many Latino immigrants and other racial minorities. The fear that drives

humans to exclude by culture, ethnicity, religion, social constructions of race or by other means,

is tangible and amongst us, requiring constant vigilance and resistance from thoughtful citizens

of this nation of immigrants. It’s our hope that Tacoma Method will shed light on this all-too-

human fear toward “others” and will perhaps lessen it by offering an opportunity for reflection

upon our common, if seldom told history.

Plot Synopsis

Prelude:

Native Americans in full tribal attire flank the stage on both sides, while historical footage of the

Western frontier is projected on a screen across the stage which is periodically interrupted by

pre-recorded still or moving images from the opera, while the orchestra works its magic to paint

a soundscape of cultural encounters and conflicts foreshadowing the eventful opera.

Act One: February 1885, Chinese New Year celebration. It is the Year of the Rooster, which is

generally believed to bring on unrest and discord.

Scene 1: The May's residence at the waterfront. Mr. and Mrs. May are dressed up in elaborate

New Year’s outfits, receiving kowtow greetings from their equally well groomed young children

under the supervision of their nanny; the children receive gifts of “red bags” and New Year’s

blessings from their parents. Mrs. May’s red robe attracts the attention of the children and she

tells them the history of the family heirloom.

Scene 2: Mr. and Mrs. Lee visit their old friends and business partners, the Mays. They

exchange New Year's greetings over tea and sweets; the gentlemen discuss current events,

especially concerning the surge of settlers in Tacoma. They are troubled by labor unrest and job

shortages, and the anti-Chinese labor incidents in the Washington Territory and in other parts of

the Western frontier. They decide to contact representatives of “six companies” which manage

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Chinese labor in the US and local authorities to secure their property and business. The ladies

discuss their children’s schooling and muse over the future generation’s prospects in America.

Scene 3: At the waterfront: The New Year’s party hosted by the Chinese community to welcome

the newly arrived settlers to Tacoma and ease tensions. The mayor of the newly expanded

Tacoma, Weisbach, makes a speech, accepting toasts from his Chinese hosts half-heartedly,

referring to the Chinese as “celestials”, slaves to the Chinese emperor in comparison with free

willed white voters recently arrived in Tacoma. Judge Wickersham, Weisbach’s legal consultant,

makes veiled comments against Chinese labor practices, and Father Hylebos, sympathetic to

the Chinese, prays for peace for the coming year. Among the onlookers is Kevin, a charismatic

International Workingman’s Association organizer, just arrived in town, milling among the crowd

and muttering derogatory comments about the Chinese, drawing laughter from the crowd. The

chorus’s singing peters out in discord.

Intermission

Act Two: The Chinese Must Go

Scene 1: Later in 1885, in Mayor Weisbach’s store a secret meeting is held between the mayor

and several workmen of IWA, including Kevin, to plan actions against the Chinese. Weisbach

gets ready for another fight for his liberal ideals. Across the street, a mass meeting commences

in the Alpha opera house to resolve the Chinese problem. An ordinance requiring 500 cubic feet

of air per person in a bedroom is presented by Judge Wickersham as a way to legally deter

Chinese laborers in town and a raid on Chinatown is planned. The town’s people and the “better

elements”, business owners, debate over the right of the Chinese to stay in Tacoma. Mayor

Weisbach champions the rights of the working class. His speech draws cheers from the crowd,

led by Kevin. An action committee is selected to resolve the Chinese problem. The meeting

ends in a torch-lit parade along Pacific Ave. The defeated business owners, among them Mr.

and Mrs. Meeker weight their options.

Scene 2: Fall 1885, a flurry of activities among all parties involved: Mr. May speaks with Mayor

Weisbach; the mayor leads the “health inspection” of Little Canton; Lee telegraphs to the

territory governor asking for protection. Sensing hardship ahead, Lee laments the changing

times. Wire communications shuttle among the Governor, the Secretary of the State, the six

companies’ representative, and the Chinese Consoler in San Francisco. The citizens take up

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arms and are deputized. Father Hylebos speaks to his congregation; Judge Wickersham

debates the town’s businessmen; Kevin and his fellow workmen go door to door to press

business and home owners to fire their Chinese labors. They confront Mrs. Meeker armed with

a long gun defending her home and Chinese helpers. Mrs. Lee and Mrs. May agonize over

whether to stay or to go.

Scene 3: On Nov 3, 1885, after a shrill whistle, a pistol and hatchet waving mob headed by

Kevin gathers at the intersection of 7th and Pacific Avenues, and marches towards Chinatown

intending to drive the Chinese residents to the train station. Mayor Weisbach, and Sheriff Byrd

are among the spectators. Father Hylebos makes one last plea to avoid bloodshed. Judge

Wickersham, watching the march from the sidelines, muses on the fate of the Chinese.

Scene 4: At the waterfront of old Tacoma, Mrs. May is dragged out of her house in public while

her husband pleads with the mob. He spots the mayor in the crowd and pleads his case only to

receive insults. Mr. May bursts into tears. Mrs. May suddenly seizes a hatchet from one of the

rioters and charges into the crowd, howling like an animal. She is restrained and carried inside

the house by her husband and a few sympathetic neighbors, while the looting and the mob

scene continues. She returns moments later in her family heirloom red robe, which freezes the

crowd in shock. As she boards the train in despair she bids farewell to her home and to her

American dream. She vows to remember the humiliation and warns future generation of the evil.

Chinatown is in flames. Native Americans in full tribal attire look on from the flanks of the stage.

The sound of the moving train becomes deafening as the train passes by at high speeds,

leaving the mob behind on the platform.

Acknowledgement: many scenes are based on description and documents presented in Puget’s Sound

by Murray Morgan, in the chapter “The Chinese Must Go”, pp 212-252, University of Washington Press,

ISBN 0-295-98303-5; and in Straw Hats, Sandals, and Steel by Lorraine Barker Hildebrand, chapters 10-

13, pp 37-62, The Washington State American Revolution Bicentennial Commission, Tacoma, 1977. The

librettist wants to thank Lucas Smiraldo, Gregory Youtz and Noel Koran in their support and initiation that

made this project possible.

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Prelude:

Native Americans in full tribal attire flank the stage on both sides, while historical footage of the

Western frontier is projected on a screen across the stage: virgin forests meeting the sea, orcas

breaching, railroad construction, Chinese laborers wearing conical straw hats with tools in hand

standing near the newly laid rail tracks; old Chinatown street scene photos around 1885;

Western settlers in horse-drawn wagons, proud men and women posing in front of fallen giant

trees, farmhouses; the city of Tacoma itself in 1885, along Pacific Avenue; above all the rushing

new trains. This footage collage is periodically interrupted by pre-recorded still and moving

images from the opera in black and white, the dragon dancers, torch lit parade, Chinese

gentlemen in silk long robes, historical image of flyers with heading of “Chinese Must Go”,

raiders on horse backs, flowing hair and ghostly face of Mrs. May, bounded feet, Mayor

addressing the crowd, Chinatown in flames. The orchestra works its magic to paint a

soundscape of cultural encounters and conflicts foreshadowing the eventful opera.

Act One: Chinese New Year celebration 1885.

Scene 1

Music starts softly yet with uneasiness and an unresolved development of a Chinese traditional

New Year’s tune.1

It’s the early morning of the Chinese New Year, February 1885. As the light gets brighter, the

audience sees Little Canton in Old Tacoma at the waterfront: rows of low shacks along the train

tracks which stretch across the center of the stage. There are a few two or three floored houses

among the shacks. Bamboo benches and stools line the narrow street. A white out space on a

wall where community announcements in Chinese characters are posted is visible. To stage

right, the May's residence is a handsome two-story house with a balcony overlooking a tidy

yard. There is a well-groomed vegetable garden and a locked storage shack in the yard.

Little (May household’s servant in plain cotton clothes is clumsily starting a wood stove under an

oil lamp in the kitchen. He has trouble with the kindling and uses a Chinese Pukui Fan to fan it,

making a comic scene. Finally the fire catches. He sighs in relief and puts a kettle on the stove.

He hums while working then mimics a preacher’s dramatic voice):

We are saved! (He crosses himself multiple times, each time in a different way)

1 Xi Yang Yang, “jubilance” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ojJsctMAqU--

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Which way is it?

Oh, Father Hylebos has to teach me again.

Upstairs, Mr. and Mrs. May chat softly while Mrs. May is helping her husband dress2. It seems

that Mr. May is teasing Mrs. May about her new earrings dangling from her ears. They are both

in their crisp New Year’s outfits of satin silk with flowery decorations. Mr. May is in a full-length

dark robe under a long jacket decorated in a red pattern over western style leather shoes. Mrs.

May wears a red calf-length robe with dark pants and silky slippers on her bound feet. Their hair

has just been done. He wears his queue at his back. She wears her hair in a tight bun with

jewelry pins. Little brings tea up to their room.

Little (with a deep bow):

Gong Xi Fa Cai, Master and Mistress.

I wish you an auspicious day!

Mays (bow slightly and Mr. May hands him a red bag):

Thank you, Little. Gong Xi Fa Cai.

Mrs. May pours the tea and with both hands she serves the cup to her husband. She is about to

pour the second cup when children’s voices are heard. Mr. and Mrs. May walk downstairs and

sit down on a pair of chairs in the Chinese-style formal living room. Blush branches of flowering

quince occupy a vase on the table.

Children (a boy and a girl, aged 5 and 7, dressed in colorful short silky jackets and pants and

flowery slippers. Their hairstyle is that of American children at the time. They are followed by

their nanny who is dressed in a long silky jacket and pants of subdued color with simple

decorations):

Mommy, Daddy, Happy New Year! Gong Xi Fa Cai! (They kneel down and kowtow

three times to their parents under the nanny’s instruction)

Nanny:

2 For period styles, please refer to Genthe’s Photographs of San Francisco’s Old Chinatown, ISBN 0-486-24592-6;

Dover Publications, Inc. New York; and Old Photographs of Qing Dynasty 1860-1903; Chinese United Book No. 880047.131; Forbidden City Press

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Gong Xi Fa Cai, Master May and Mistress May. (She bends her knees half way, and

bows deeply).

Mr. and Mrs. May in unison:

Gong Xi Fa Cai, Children. Gong Xi Fa Cai, Nanny. (They bow slightly to the Nanny).

Mr. May (brings out three red bags from the sleeves of his robe and one by and one gives them

to the children and the nanny):

For you, for you, for you

Back home in Tang Shan, all are waiting

For the rooster to herald the new spring—

Let’s set off the firecrackers to drive off the old (he opens the front door and throws a

string of lighted firecrackers into the yard. The children laugh and run into the yard

excitedly.)

Let’s open the windows to welcome the spring breeze (he opens the windows)

Let’s put up the freshly written couplets (he picks up red paper posters of Chinese

characters, and with the help of the children and the servant, puts them on the front gate

of the yard, the doors of the house and the storage shack. He then steps into the street

and posts a big character Ji (good omen) on the community bulletin board.)

Look, look, the first sun rises in the new year

Heaven blesses

Thousand families thousand good wishes

Happiness and prosperity

Rooster of gold

Mrs. May (who stops her amiable chatting with the nanny and stands up):

Rooster of peace (She looks at her husband meaningfully)

Mr. and Mrs. May, Nanny, Little, and children who are joined by neighbors:

The first sun rises in the new year

Heaven blesses

Thousand families thousand good wishes

Happiness and prosperity

Rooster of gold

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Rooster of peace

For you, for you and for you!

Gong Xi Fa Cai!

Mr. May walks into the street and carries offerings (flowers and fruits) to the temple gods. He

greets neighbors, laughs often and hands out red bags to children. It is obvious to the audience

that he is well respected in the neighborhood as people bow to him lower and let him pass first.

He is heading to the temple along the tracks at stage center.

Children (gather around their mother to have the New Year’s breakfast brought in by Little. The

special sweet treats delight them. While eating, they touch their mother’s robe and beg):

Mommy, tell us the story again, the story of the red robe.

Mrs. May (music changes tune, into a nursery rhyme style):

The heavenly weavers of seven sisters

went to bathe in the heavenly lake

Then came along Niu Lang who chases

after his cow herds. Oh, bless my eyes, what are these?

Ghosts or fairies? How beautiful they are to my eyes

How lovely they are to my heart. “One! Two! Three! Four!

Five! Six! Seven!” (Children count with her)

How nice it would be if I will have one of them

as my wife? Which one?

Aha, here are their robes, (Children chime in)

“Red! Orange! Yellow! Green!

Indigo! Blue! Purple!”

Seven colors of the rainbow—

Which one? Purple is holy and full of power

Blue dreamy but cool

Indigo soft and pure

Green calms

Yellow cheers

Orange forecasts harvest is here

But red

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Red is warm is hearth is the sunrise is near

Red is my dear!

Why, the seventh daughter in red

Of the mighty Jade Emperor, went home

With the cowherd! She bore him a daughter and a son

Seven years passed on earth, seven days in heaven

She has to return to her heavenly duty

to weave colorful clouds for the sunrise and sunset

and the rainbow of seven colors after the shower. She takes off

her red robe, nods to her daughter:

Whenever you are wearing the red robe

the heavenly weaver, the seventh daughter of

the mighty Jade Emperor

will see you, will hear you

will answer your wishes

will aid you in your need

even if you are far away from home!

Now you are the keeper of the red robe (Mrs. May touches her daughter’s hair).

Children:

Mommy, Mommy

How did Seventh sister go back to heaven?

Mrs. May (thinking for a moment, whimsically):

She wove herself a flying carpet

Soaring…

Scene 2 (immediately following Scene 1)

Little shows Mr. Sing Lee and Mrs. Lee into the sitting room. The children leave with their

nanny. Mrs. May sends Little to fetch Mr. May, while she stands up, exchanges greetings and

pours tea for her guests. The Lee’s are younger than the Mays and they are similarly dressed in

their New Year’s outfits of satin silk. Mrs. Lee looks slightly pregnant upon close inspection.

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Mr. and Mrs. Lee (bow):

Gong Xi Fa Cai, Jie Jie, Elder Sister3.

Mrs. May (bow back):

Gong Xi Fa Cai, Sing. Gong Xi Fa Cai, Mei-mei. Your elder brother is visiting the temple

just now—

Mr. May (hurries back, enters the door, shakes hands with Sing Lee and bows to Mrs. Lee):

It’s so gracious of you to call on us on the New Year’s Day.

Mr. and Mrs Lee (bow once again):

Gong Xi Fa Cai, Elder Brother.

Tea and sweets are served by Little and the gentlemen sit down in the sitting room as the ladies

go upstairs to have a private conversation. The audience hears parts of their conversations in

turn. A few kids from the neighbors join the May’s children playing in the sunny yard, chatting

and singing among themselves while the nanny sits and knits on a stool next to the door.

Mr. May (sits across a table from Mr. Lee, pours more tea to Lee’s cup):

Any news from home on your recent trip to the Old Gold Mountain, San Francisco?

Mr. Lee:

My shipment was delayed for a month thanks to the Battle of Fuzhou4

With the French this time along the Min River and Taiwan Strait

The entire Fujian Fleet was drowned at the sea

Qing Empire is bleeding dearly I am afraid…

Tea will be pricey this year (he brings out samples to show to May)

The rice too. The news is.

The harvest is poor without rain

3 Mr. May and Mr. Lee are friends and trade partners with no blood relationship. However, it’s customary to call each other brothers. The younger one refers to the older one as elder brother, the older one calls the younger one by his name. Their wife become sisters. 4 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Fuzhou

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Peasants starve. The news is.

They sell their daughters on Guang Zhou streets

Too much misery to report on a New Year’s day. (change the subject)

You heard of the amendment to the Chinese Exclusion Act…

Mr. May:

Papers, documents, witnesses

A Chinaman can’t be trusted even to tell his own name!

Hai (he sighs deeply), when the empire is weak

all the subjects are treated as sick—

Huang Yan Xiang, the famous herbal doctor

was mistaken as an “unskilled” smuggler

and sent back to Quan Zhou.

Poor fellow, with his bottles of portions

jars of herbs in hundreds confiscated

It’s lucky that we came here early before all this nonsense

While, (trying to be cheery) with so many white men

yellow faces come to town

thanks to the completion of the Trans Pacific

Your tea perhaps will fetch

a better price (he sniffs the tea samples)

***

Mrs. May (sits next to Mrs. Lee, holding her hands):

So what will be the name of the new baby?

What a blessing to hear such a good news

On New Year’s day!

Mrs. Lee:

We wrote home to Sing’s elders

to choose an auspicious name—

Cheng Gong, achieve beyond doubt, or

Yao Zong, brighten thy ancestors, or

Tian Ren, heavenly benevolence

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Hope and expectations for the next generation

We couldn’t reach a decision

Elders who have a long view

shall guide us, if they will

although they may not know

the life on American shore.

An auspicious name

will promise an auspicious life

will ensure longevity, prosperity and happiness

Isn’t it right? Sister?

Mrs. May (nodding in agreement):

A good nanny from home you also need

But hard to secure indeed

Now they are categorized as “unskilled”, barred from entering.

Our little ones are about to attend school

You could give ours a try? She is good.

Mrs. Lee:

Attending school? Ling Ling?

How interesting! Where? At the church?

***

(music thickens with tension)

Mr. Lee (unfolds a newspaper clipping and reads to May):

They shot into the miners’ tent, killed six of them

The rest escaped into the night

Lived to tell the tale in Chinatown. No arrests made (he folds up the paper)

These newcomers are like a gang of hooligans

yet without one to head them. Who should

We appeal to to catch the murderers?

To get compensation for the families of the dead?

Six companies are protesting to Governor Squire—

Now these migrants are coming

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to town angry. As many are hungry

with no money while Jobs is scanty

I am worried.

Mr. May (lightheartedly):

No need.

Mayor Weisbach and his legal counsel campaign on

Progress with law and order. I don’t trust him but

his store is next to mine on Pacific Avenue.

I will speak with him. General Sprague

the old Mayor, though retired, is an old friend too.

Tacoma is a city with a literary class

We know all their leaders. You came here

nearly 15 years ago-- earlier than

most of them, after all. You own more than half

of Little Canton and hundreds of acre more.

***

Mrs. Lee (the ladies are sorting through some baby clothes. Mrs. Lee holds up a small pink

garment):

Ling Ling will grow up an American

Are you sure? Ling Ling?

An American lady?

A new fashioned lady

speaking English and going to school? (pause, as if just realize something, turns to Mrs.

May incredulously)

Not binding her feet?

Mrs. May:

Shirr, Lum doesn’t know.

Why, yes, with her big feet (chuckling to herself)

she will stand fast on the flying carpet

to travel to marry to build

a life American. Besides

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American men don’t like bound feet

Father Hylebos says.

Look at these shoes! (She opens a closet, finds a parcel, unties the parcel. Inside the

parcel there is a box, and she lifts the lid of the box with care and takes out a pair of

fashionable red leather boots with heels)

The other day Mrs. Meeker

The Hop King’s wife, worn them to our shop

How beautiful! (She holds the boots up to admire them in the sunlight)

For Ling Ling, (proudly) to grow up

an American lady!

Mrs. Lee:

Wow, how would one wear these?

double size of my bound feet! (She caresses the shining red leather, measuring its

length with her fingers)

Mrs. May and Lee:

How beautiful! (They hold up the boots)

For Ling Ling (dreamingly)

an American lady

with a double size of

my bound feet, double

my dream sweet

She will stand fast

with her big feet

How beautiful!

For Ling Ling (proudly)

an American lady, with these boots

on the flying carpet

journeys to marry, to build

an American life good, a high hope

but maybe, just maybe

she will double my dream

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double my aim

How beautiful

***

Mr. May and Lee:

We will try our best at tonight’s banquet

Civility and reciprocity, said Confucius

Do not impose on others what one doesn’t desire—

Good wine and good dishes for good wishes

Let no one go hungry tonight.

Here is the menu (Picking up a sheet of hand-written calligraphy from the table, the two

gentlemen scrutinize it in low voices. The cook is summoned to the sitting room).

***

Children play tag in the yard, running in circles and their laughter gets louder to the festive

music of Xi Yang-Yang.

Scene 3 (following previous scene, later in the same day)

The festive music is getting louder as percussion instruments lead an outdoor parade of dragon

dancers coming down the street outside the May’s house. Mr. May hurries outside to open the

gate and welcome the dancers into his yard. They dance around in front of Mr. May and Mr.

Lee, the two most prominent businessmen in town, as the ladies look down from the upstairs

balcony. After the dance, the gentlemen each present a red bag to the lead dancer, who bows

respectfully and the dancers take their leave as people gather and follow them offstage.

Night falls instantly. People are holding paper lanterns as they move about on the street. A

group of Westerners appears from stage left, following a single bright kerosene lamp held by

clumsy Little who stops at the far side of the track, makes a comical face and turns the lamp off.

The Westerners are fidgeting in the dark, grumbling.

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Westerners in the dark:

What? I told you a Chinaman can never be trusted! Full of Devils’ tricks! Where is that

damn servant boy? Wait till I get hold of his pigtail! Be patient, Gentlemen—

At that moment, splendid fireworks are thrown into the air and light up the stage. Firecrackers

are heard. Mr. May, Mr. Lee and several other Chinese gentlemen in their full length robes and

silk jackets walk over from the Chinese side of the tracks to greet their Occidental guests. Their

servants carrying lamps, take care that their guests won’t trip over the uneven boardwalk that

leads to the Chinese residences along the shore.

Chinese Gentlemen (shake hands with the Occidental guests and bow deeply. They accompany

their guests into the May’s residence, where a huge round table is set for the banquet. Guests

and hosts are seated with polite deliberation):

Welcome, Mr. Mayor. Welcome Father. Welcome Judge. Welcome Doctor. Welcome Mr.

and Mrs. Meeker. Mr. Sheriff, Welcome Sir. Welcome...

(they all sit down. Among the visitors, Father Hylebos, Mr. and Mrs. Meeker apparently

know their hosts well. Mrs. Meeker sports a pair of reddish cowboy boots under her long

skirt. They bring presents for the host and exchange private greetings and hold

conversations. Even a helper recognizes Mr. Meeker as his current employer in the hop

business and bows deeply to him. Mr. and Mrs. Meeker’s package was sent to Mrs. May

upstairs, where it was admired.)

Mr. May (stands up to offer a toast joyfully):

Happiness and prosperity!

What else is there in life

Friends, old and new?

What a distinguished gathering in Little Canton

Heaven blesses

My humble home shelters

Our humble wishes: peace and harmony

Please excuse these humble dishes?

Mr. Lee (stands up to offer a toast):

The Rooster heralds a new beginning

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of Tacoma on the western frontier

under the leadership of our new Mayor.

A shy pearl

we Chinese offer

our humble tribute

in a necklace full of gems

to Lady Pacific in her boundless

beauty and wealth!

Chinese gentlemen (stand up and sing in unisons):

The Rooster heralds a new beginning

of Tacoma on the western frontier

A shy pearl

we Chinese offer

to Lady Pacific in her boundless

beauty and wealth!

Gong Xi Fa Cai!

Mayor (a prosperous middle aged man, bearded, balding, dressed in a fine wool suit, stands up,

gestures to quiet down the party):

What a rare event to be in the company of

Our celestial guests!

Year of the Rooster?! Is that what we are served?

Delicious, a celestial rooster?

(I am joking of course—)

You have indeed transposed well

your home custom here, Lum and Sing.

When you return home, please bring

My greetings to your master, the Chinese Emperor

It’s been years since I was received by him in his court

(upon hearing this, the Chinese gentlemen stand up and bow once more deeply to the

Mayor).

To the prosperity of the expanded new Tacoma

To citizens who place their trust on me to lead them

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Lady Pacific?

The ceaseless waves of

change and expansion are her principle.

To change and progress

Gan Bei! (He toasts and sits down)

Judge (looks around in discomfort, without touching his food or drink, and murmurs to the

Mayor, darkly):

This place scares me.

Who are they? All smiling, and bowing?

Self-assured, playing host?

So many of them too, coolie slaves laid off

From the Pacific railroad no doubt (His eyes follow the busy servants who fill people’s

cups and bring out new dishes).

Am I still in my own town?

Strange air. Exotic aroma

How long have we tolerated this?

So soon after the Indian War?

The yellow peril follows the red skin

When will there be a break for MY people?

(upon the Mayor’s urging, he stands up, offers a toast tentatively):

To the new era of progress and industrialization

The era of steam engines and railroad

Waves that wash away the old, stale, and unfit.

To the era of equal protection of

The American CITIZENRY under the law

Gan Bei!

Father, Mr. and Mrs. Meeker (stands up and bows to his Chinese hosts):

(Mr. Meeker) For peace and prosperity of all

(Father) For harmony among brothers under God

(Mrs. Meeker) For our children

Gan Bei!

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(From upstairs window, Mrs. May and Lee can be seen seated around a table with the children

and the nanny, having their New Year’s dinner, although we can’t hear their conversation. They

are drawn closer to the window when firecrackers are heard on the street amid loud percussive

music, as the dragon dancers circle back onto the stage followed by many Western onlookers.

Among them is Kevin, a dynamic International Workingman’s Association organizer in his 20s,

newly arrived in town, carrying a battered suitcase and looking tired and famished.

The dancers are taking a rest in front of May’s house. Mrs. May sends clumsy Little down to

bring out bowls of noodle soup for them. Kevin is given a bowl as well. Tea is poured for

everyone.

Kevin (finishes his food quickly, takes a sip of the tea, then calls out to Little, speaking voice):

Don’t you have something stronger? Boy, pour me some of your master’s good liquor!

(He chomps on the tea cup and bites a piece off it to the gasps of the onlookers. He

looks around to make sure all eyes are on him, and then spits the broken pieces on the

ground.)

The name is Kevin. I came here to look for jobs, just like most of you (He addresses to

the Western onlookers). City of Destiny, wow, what a promise! All these steamers, and

railroads, all the gaslight and noise. Well, I will tell you what I found, up and down the

dock (he lowers his voice in a mysterious air)—the yellow faced Chinamen with their

filthy pigtails and shifty peepers! Ha! Coolies! They would work for nothing. (He suddenly

seizes Little’s queue, pulls hard). How much are you paid? (Little holds on to his queue,

cries out in pain, and refuses to answer). See, he doesn’t know what that mean! (Kevin

suddenly looses his grip, Little almost falls down among the laughing crowd). Run back

to your master, you filthy slave, ask for his good liquor, not this horse pee to fool our

brothers.

(The crowd yells, “yeah”. Someone says, “Leave him alone. The idiot is harmless”).

(Kevin steps on to the bench where he was sitting) Harmless? Who said that? How can

we survive while these slaves steal our jobs? They are an injury to our liberty and right

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(pause), to our wages at any rate. We need to organize. We workingmen of the civilized

world, we need to face the owners who want to reduce us to Coolies. Together we can

take back the jobs from these Chinamen. Join the IWA, the International Workingmen’s

Association. Workers build the world; working together we will take it back from the

capitalists, cooperates, and the government. We are the power. We are the anarchist

with the capital A. Join the IWA, the bottom will rise!

Ouch, what are these on my hand (again, he waits till everyone is looking at his hand,

which he dramatically raises in front of himself under a lantern)? Fleas, crawling from

that leprous colonialist. Leeches sucking our blood dry…

Gentlemen at the banquet come out of the May’s house, shake hands, bow, and say their

farewells. Dragon dancers pick up their costumes and instrument and the crowd joins in.

Chorus:

Rooster of gold

Rooster of peace

Gong Xi Fa Cai

The promise of the New Year!

Kevin on the sideline looking at the Chinese gentlemen in robes:

That’s how they get so fat!

Mayor:

Self preservation (he starts shaking hands with the onlookers. Kevin strikes up a

conversation with the Mayor. Journalists with notebook and a camera come up to the Major to

take his statement. He poses with Kevin shaking hands for the camera).

Judge:

Equal citizenry

Kevin and Western onlookers (raising their fists):

Workingmen’s power

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Mr. Meeker:

Peace and prosperity for all

Father:

Among brothers under God

Mrs. Lee and May (from upstairs window):

Our children, our future

Mrs. Meeker:

Our children, our future

Mr. Lee and May:

Happiness and prosperity for all…

(As they sing, people start to get into groups, with Chinese on stage right, Westerners on the

stage left; Father and Mr. and Mrs. Meeker stand at stage center. Tension builds in music and

movements, as the chorus dissolve into chaos).

(intermission)

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Act Two The Chinese Must Go

Scene 1 An early evening, two months later, in down town Tacoma.

Pacific Avenue is lined with shops and street lamps (projected image?). To stage right is the

Alpha Opera House. Across the street to stage left is a general store, a two floored building with

a downstairs shop front and an upstairs sitting room and bedrooms. On the street-level

windows, “J. Robert Weisbach, Groceries, Provisions, Furnishing Goods, Clothing, Glassware”

is lettered in gold. The setting is flexible, within the opera house, cushioned red chairs are lined

up on the stage to the right; A stands center stage can be used either as a podium for the

speaker in the opera house or as a counter in Weisbach’s shop, and a few wooden chairs are

on the left of the stage in the Weisbach’s shop and household.

Kevin and a few workmen are deep in conversation with the Mayor inside Weisbach’s shop as

the curtain rises. Drinks are served by the Mayor. Well-groomed in a new leather jacket, Kevin

sits tall and gestures with cool confidence.

Kevin (in eager voice):

Yes, sir. The direct action, a workingmen’s movement, just like what I saw in Eureka last

month. We will take care of it. That is the best tool IWA has to recruit and beef up our

ranks (workmen nod in unisons). Good riddance, finally!

Mayor:

(sarcastically) “The Better Elements” wanted this town hall meeting tonight. We will let

them talk their talk. We will let them hear peoples’ voice. Be natural, you boys, on your

best behavior to appear reasonable. We have no need for angry words but decisive

action AFTER the meeting (pause), according to the law.

Kevin:

Yes, sir, according to the law. I do hate their guts though, these capitalist pigs. The

Meeker’s who employ hundreds of Chinamen, (snaring) The Hop King of the World, ha,

who needs a king now?!

Mayor:

Leave the Meeker’s alone—they are old timers, pioneers who journeyed here bare-

handed just like you. Now he’s made his fortune and if he was not leading an undertaking,

he was sure to be a busy member of some committee working on it. We eventually have to

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count on him to run the town. Resist they may try, Meeker’s can’t change the outcome of

our struggle. But, the transnational corporations, the transpacific Six Companies, and

land speculators, masters of the slaves. They are our enemy.

(The workmen drain their cups, stand up, shake hands with the mayor in solidarity and walk

over to the opera house side. Many people start to gather on the stage. Mayor Weisbach slowly

walks upstairs to change and get ready, pondering).

Mayor (stretches his back, flexes his muscles and overlooks downtown Tacoma from his

upstairs window):

Another battle commences, old timer (checks himself in the mirror)

Do you still have it in you?

From Borbetomagus, "settlement in a watery area"

Worms on the west bank of the Rhine

the oldest jewel in all of Europe

to Tacoma, Mother of Waters

the newest star in the galaxy of civilization

From Young Europe to the Greenback Party

Liberty, equality and fraternity--

The noble banner of humanity

held firm above my head, always

In this crusade we engage the united capital on this coast

and a government that cares more

to expand oversea markets and profits

for the “better elements”, than for

the working men. A hard fight.

A good fight.

Chains, prison and exile

were my reward. Now

the cries of the Chinamen will be

burdens I am glad to bear

Poor sacrificial offerings, surely

Yet, I am not afraid

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There must be an eternal justice

for my people, for my town.

The trumpet blows, flags unfurl

Liberty, equality and fraternity--

Tacoma, the old revolutionary

Is ready to serve!

While singing the last lines, he walks to the front gate of the Opera House, and shakes hands

with people entering the hall; among them are Judge Wickersham, Father Hylebos and the

Doctor, Mr. Ezra Meeker and Sheriff Byrd from Act I.

Workman One (stands up from his seat):

The question before us is not whether the Chinese should leave, but how?

Chorus (as the registered voters of Tacoma attending the meeting, sitting and standing in the

crowded opera house; Kevin is among them as the leader. The Chorus starts in chaotic

discourse, then as the scene moves forward, becomes more and more forceful and in unison):

How, how to rid us of these aliens, unsightly, foul smelling, untrustworthy, heathens?

Rats. They spread the contagion of their filthy numbers to swallow us up. Their shacks

are now spilled out on to our streets. Hundreds are crowded into these filthy tenements;

packed in their sleeping apartments and in their noisome dens of opium joints and

pestilent prostitution, like decaying salmon for dogs boxed up for shipment. Why permit

an army of leprous, prosperity-sucking, progress-blasting Asiatics to befoul our

thoroughfares, degrade the city, drive out our people, break up our homes, take

employment from our countrymen, corrupt the morals of our youth, establish opium

joints, and taint with their brothels the lives of our young men? How, how to expel them?

Judge Wickersham (clears his throat and takes the podium):

Legally! For the sake of law and order, I motion the City Council to adopt sanitation

ordinances: prohibit wash houses not connected to the city sewer or located in

structures other than of brick or stone; prohibit sleeping quarters with less than 500 cubic

feet of air per occupant!

The Doctor:

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I second it.

Mayor (stands next to the Judge):

The City Council will vote on it tomorrow. I promise you I will use the mayor office’s

authority to reinforce the law. I will personally raid the Chinese quarter. Who is coming

with me (gestures to the crowd)?

Chorus:

Me. Me. Me. Let’s raid the dragon’s lair.

Workman Two:

After we burn down Chinatown, the Tacoma Land Company (sarcastically) can furnish

land for a Chinese colony or we can ship them 250 miles due west.

Chorus (laughter in waves):

Ha-Ha-Ha. Into the Pacific they go.

Father Hylebos (stands up from his seat in the audience):

Peace. The Chinese have a right to be here. Many came here earlier than most of us. A

treaty between the two governments guarantees their safety.

Kevin (sarcastically):

Are you sure it is not a counterfeit crafted by the President? Or a fake news? (The crowd

roars with laughter)

Judge Wickersham:

No, we can’t dump them in the ocean. We can’t build a wall along the ocean either. In

fact, the Chinese themselves tried that long ago against the Mongolians to no prevail.

But we can persuade property owners not to sell nor rent to Chinamen. Remember what

a Chinaman on your block can do to your property values! Be warned-- there are

already five thousand Chinese prostitutes in California infecting the sons of the very best

people.

Chorus:

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Five thousand Chinese prostitutes! More than five hundred Chinamen in our midst! Their

laundry houses, their pig slops, human excrement, redolent of dried fish, dead chicken,

and garbage. A health menace. The Chinese Must Go.

Businessman One (stands up in the mid of the crowd):

My good people, Tacoma has more urgent need of abatement than the presence of the

Chinese. Liquors are sold on Sundays and to the minors. Gambling is universally

permitted in saloons. Houses of prostitution are in conspicuous places. They are

operated by Occidentals, not the Orientals. These are the result of criminal negligence of

city officers, not the Chinese.

Chorus:

They take our jobs and pollute our culture. Roaches and rats. A health menace. A yellow

peril. The Chinese Must Go.

Father Hylebos (walks to the podium, takes a deep breath):

Among you I have many friends--

Good Christians in the eyes of God

At the moment of our trial

Speak up

Speak in God fearing obedience

Speak in love for thy neighbor

“With malice toward none

With charity for all”—

(pauses, looks around-- dead silence in the audience)

Your silence

A loud cry against the Chinese

who came to our shore

to search for a better life

just like you and me…

(shaking his head, he is defeated and sits down).

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Ezra Meeker (an old timer and a well-respected major businessman in the hop industry, stands

up and walks to the podium):

I spring from and am of the labor class. My sympathies are with you and my every action

has been to favor our own people. Yesterday I had 730 people in my employ; only 28

were Chinamen who were in an out of the way place where nobody wanted to go. I am

in favor of the Exclusion Act that bars them coming. But that is very different from what

you propose here in an unlawful manner (transition to sing in aria)

“You must go” to

a person who is here under our laws

entitled to the protection of our laws

to the rights guaranteed to all living

one nation, indivisible

with Liberty and Justice to all

under our laws.

Mark my words—

this intimidation movement

(for whose benefit I cannot fathom as there will be plenty jobs for everyone of the seven

thousands Tacomanes including the few hundreds of Chinese)

choreographed by the Mayor

will incite lawlessness

chaos and bloodshed (he turns to face the Mayor but is drowned out by the chorus led

by Kevin)…

Chorus:

The Mayor, The Mayor.

Mayor Weisbach (bows slightly):

Mr. Meeker, Father, Judge, Citizens of the new Tacoma, it’s well and good of you to talk

about the rights of the Chinese to be in town, but what’s overlooked here is the right of

self-preservation! (Applause.) The community has a right to protect itself! (Applause.)

So many of our own are jobless, foodless, roaming the streets empty handed,

powerless… The Chinese came here to steal your cream and on their return to China to

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laugh at your folly. (Groans) I have been to their country (pause)—Let me tell you, they

are a different breed. I say, the Orientals should return to the Orient (Applause).

(He paces around and stands tall behind the podium with determination)

I am not here to incite violence but it behooves us to rid ourselves of this curse. (Foot

stamping.) If the people are in earnest, if they are Free Americans in fact, they will not

yield up their homes and businesses to the filthy horde. I don’t know who should be

punished most, the corporations who enslave them or the Chinamen themselves. But I

know there is no room in the new Tacoma for a Mandarin class from the past. (Facing

the audience as if speak to the Chinese, menacing) The time has come when you can

no longer be allowed to run this city!

Chorus:

No. No. No. No room for a Mandarin class. The Chinese Must Go.

(Workmen Group One, raising their hands) IWA is for it!

(Workmen Group Two) New Era Brotherhood is for it!

(Workmen Group Three) Carpenter’s Union!

(Group Four) Typographic Union!

(Group Five) Fire department!

(Group Six) Independent Labor Party!

(Group Seven) German Society!

(Group Eight) Hibernians!

(Group Nine) Turn-Verein!

The Chinese Must Go! A health menace. A yellow peril. The Chinese Must Go!!

While singing, they vote to adopt a resolution that Chinese should be excluded from Tacoma by

November 3 and an action committee is formed, appointed by the Mayor. Kevin and his cohort

of workmen, the Doctor, and the Judge are all members. Father Hylebos muscles his way into

the committee. The crowd swarms out of the opera house, lights up torches and marches down

the Pacific Ave, shouting and cheering led by a marching band and the committee.

Mr. Meeker and 4-5 businessmen in suits and tie are left in the empty opera house, grim-faced,

and they turn to each other. Light dims around them as they are joined by Mrs. Meeker who

rushes in against the marchers.

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Mrs. Meeker (cowboy hat, tight coat, long skirt and boots, breathless):

Well, well, you ought to see the sight outside the hall—

Every socialist and anarchist who could walk or

steal a ride to Seattle was a self-elected delegate—

Long-haired men and short-haired women

Follow the populist Mayor

Torchlight in hand and marching band at the front. Quite a party

up and down the Pacific Ave.

You’d think it’s a July 4th parade.

“The Chinese must go! The Chinese must go!”

They seem intoxicated or quite mad—

I wonder how many Chinamen have they really met?

What happened? You gentlemen caved (she scrutinizes the men’s faces one by one)?

Ezra Meeker (painfully looks at his wife, then turn around as if addressing the audience):

Nightmare of working class rule

Nightmare of mob democracy

Regretful

Mark my words—

this intimidation movement

choreographed by the populist Mayor

will incite lawlessness

riots and bloodshed.

The recollection of this regretful day

Should not be forgotten

Under the pressure of a busy life…

Mrs. Meeker and the businessmen join in:

The recollection of this regretful day

Should not be forgotten

Under the pressure of a busy life

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Scene 2: Fall 1885. The scene is short and at a quick pace, with tense music and screen

images mixing with characters acting downstage. Some of the actions occur simultaneously.

There are various posters on the street/screen demanding the Chinese to leave town.

Mr. May (in his routine western suit which he wears when he is in his store) hurries to Mayor

Weisbach, holding a flyer:

Is this true?

Mayor:

It is.

Mr. May:

How can you allow the city ruled by the workingmen? We pay alien taxes for each man

in Chinatown, and for sales, and services! Think of the loss of revenues!

Mayor:

Lum, it’s the new age. They are the voters I represent. Chinamen are not counted in

ballot box unfortunately.

Mr. May:

Is the city prepared to compensate us for our losses?

Mayor (with contempt):

Do you think beyond dried mushrooms and pig’s ears?

**

The Mayor, the Doctor and Sheriff Byrd, wearing “Health Inspector” arm bands, inspect Little

Canton and post signs of “Condemned” on shacks.

**

Mr. Lee (in business suit, telegraphs in his office using a Morse Key):

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To territory governor Squire:

We are forced out. Need protection. Do I have it?

To Six Companies

To the State Department

To Editors of New York Times, New York Herold, New York Tribune

Mr. Lee (lamenting, while continues to telegraph):

The tide has turned. Mystery of the Pacific

The ocean of tranquility

Why have I lost your favor?

Your gentle waves carried me here

Two decades ago—

Virgin forest met the ocean

Salmons return fat

Jump in tens of thousands

Beavers, orcas, mighty eagles

soothed a traveler’s unsteady spirit

Mountain high, ocean deep

Leafs shine and fruits heavy

this land sprouts all seeds

this land (he looks around pondering)

Richness abounds

Yet where is the art

to can calm

these restless white men

Mystery of the human heart

“Thirty years east of the river

Thirty years west of the river”

Mystery of time or

Manifest of destiny?

Progress? Or fate?

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Goodbye, Little Canton

I have built you, loved you

Now I have lost you.

**

Secretary of State Thomas Francis Bayard wires Governor Squire (images of a frantic Morse

Key and projected text):

Every power of law should be lent to secure them from assault

**

Governor Squire wires Secretary Bayard (same presentation as before):

No need to send US army to the territory. No violence, no loss of property, no

bloodshed.

**

White citizens purchase handguns and rifles to arm themselves, including some businessmen

and the Father who purchases two pistols.

**

Sheriff Byrd deputizes workmen, businessmen and Father Hylebos.

**

Chinese consoler in San Francisco wires State department (images of text and Morse Key):

Urgent. Chinese citizens threatened…

**

Father Hylebos speaks to his congregation with his new pistols bulging from his robe:

Amen.

**

Judge Wickersham debates town’s businessmen:

We have tolerated them long enough.

**

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Kevin meets his fellow workmen:

Yes, we are ready. Let’em have it.

(they walked in a tight knot to confront Mrs. Meeker who dresses in an overall carrying a

large pitch fork)

Mrs. Meeker (with a superior air):

Mr. Meeker is in New Orleans

with the Washington Territory's Expos

Then a book tour to London

My Chinese workmen stay till his return

STOP. One step on to my porch

you will have this. (she drops her fork and quick draws two pistols from her pockets. Kevin

and his gang step back in surprise.)

My Chinese workmen Will. Stay. Stay. (she steps forward towards the unwelcome visitors.

They retreated off stage)

Till they are ready to leave (she shakes her head and sigh audibly).

**

Chinese workers are packing and leaving, saying goodbyes to their neighbors:

See you in Portland

San Francisco

New York

Canton

**

Chinese men and women burn incense in temples and kneel down to pray.

**

Mrs. Lee (holding an infant) to Mrs. May (Sitting on chairs, both ladies are dressed in silk

garments similar in style but plainer than in Act One. A vase of dahlias is on the table between

them where the tea is served by Little who now wears a big cross on a chain):

What shall I do, Elder sister? Sing is so worried about Junior.

Mrs. May:

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It’s safer to join Sing in Vancouver. You have houses there. Take Nanny with you. She

can help you with the baby on the road.

(Nanny steps forward to take Junior from Mrs. Lee)

Mrs. Lee:

You and brother? Come with us.

Mrs. May:

This is my home (she looks around her)

Lum’s shop and my garden.

Rosehips and holly berries

Autumn dahlias brighten

my day. Among Doug Firs

golden bamboo rustle

at the ocean’s brim.

Over the Pacific white waves roll

Where can I go?

Back to China?

Wars, famine, plagues

dying bodies on the street

It will not happen, Mei-Mei

It cannot happen.

Lum went to the Mayor.

Father Hylebos promises

to contact General Sprague.

The government will come to protect us.

This is America.

They are Americans (She looks at her children who are playing around her

unknowingly).

The Constitution will protect

Our street.

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Mrs. Lee (wishfully):

It will not happen, Jie-Jie

It cannot happen.

The government will come to protect us.

This is America.

The Constitution will protect

Our street.

Little:

God will protect our street! (He crosses himself, while pouring tea and accidentally drops

the teacup)

Mrs. Lee (staring at the broken pieces on the ground, then at Mrs. May, apprehensively):

You are not afraid?

(light off suddenly)

Scene 3: Nov 3, 1885.

The early morning of a chilly and overcast day; Similar setting, at Pacific Ave as in Act Two

scene 1, but without interior furniture. Quiet but agitated, repetitive music gradually gets louder.

In a dense mist, a shrill whistle is heard. Young workmen rush onto the stage, pistol, clubs,

crowbar and hatchet in hands. Kevin is at the head of them. They march two by two in silence

towards the waterfront. Crowd starts to gather, watching them pass.

Chorus (crowd of on-lookers, mostly women):

They are removing the Chinese! Yeah, Yeah

Sweep away the slaves that have taken bread from our mouths

Our eyes will no more meet the unclean Chinamen

Our nostrils no more the vile odors of Chinese wash-houses

Good riddance!

Mayor Weisbach (stands with Sheriff Byrd in front of Weisbach’s shop watching the marchers):

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Do you consider this a mob?

Sheriff Byrd:

No, they are too orderly to be a mob.

(They nod to each other and start walking along the street to keep pace with the marchers).

Father Hylebos (pushes through the onlookers and tumbles in front of the marchers. He wears

his deputy badge on his robe and holds a big club, his double pistols sticking out of his rob,

upraising two fingers in blessing):

Kevin, Jim, Mike, Shorty

May the Grace of God be with you

And by the Eternal, you will need it

If you lay a violent finger on one of those

yellow brothers of yours

Obey His law even as you defile the laws of man

Cherish this life for the sake of the afterlife

You hear me!

(He is pushed aside and swallowed by the crowd. Rioters march on. It starts to rain.)

Judge Wickersham (holding an umbrella, stands away from the crowd):

No. It’s not because Tacoma

would be overrun by criminals

a foreign race of base and immoral character

but we would be confronted

by millions of industrious

hard-working

honest

sons and daughters

of Confucius

A Chinaman can live on

what an American family would throw from its table. He and

every member of his family can work

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from early morning till late at night.

If given an equal chance

they would outdo us in the struggle for life

gain possession of the Pacific coast of America’s might…

No. We cannot compete

not because of their baser qualities

but because of their better qualities.

I am not afraid to do them the credit—

I fear their good qualities

much more than I fear their bad ones.

No. Sons and Daughters of Confucius

No. I say NO.

Scene 4 (immediately following the previous scene, the same day)

Shouts, cries, footsteps, crashing noises are heard among the chorus’s singing as the stage is

lighted by fading light indicating the rainy afternoon is quickly approaching its end. Rows of low

shacks blend into the rain and mist near the water’s edge (Act One Scene 1 setting). Many

shacks are marked “Condemned”. Notices of removal are visible on the community information

board. Chinese men and women are trudging through the mud carrying their meager

belongings, clothing and bedding rolled into bundles, baskets filled with household utensils,

chickens, vegetables and sacks of grain. Some wear the conical straw hat, and straw rain

ponchos. A few are still in their working clothes (domestics, laundrymen, shop clerks, waiters,

handymen etc.). Women and children are in their flowery outfits and cotton slippers. All are

drenched, in rain, tears and mud. Rioters in dark raincoats wave their pistols to herd them

along, occasionally push them into lines. (Some of the rioters are on horseback.)

Onlookers gather around the Chinese: one helps to carry the belongings for the Chinese;

another hands out a loaf of bread; most come to look at the spectacle, especially at Chinese

women’s bound feet, which make them walk in minced steps having to hold on to their children’s

shoulders. A few Western housewives are rummaging through vacated shacks, looking for

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souvenirs, religious statues, a Chinese tea pot or a cup and porcelain rice bowls, chattering

among themselves excitedly.

Chorus (onlookers, mainly women):

They are removing the Chinese! Yeah. Yeah.

IWA, IWA. Working men rise!

Oh, Tacoma, may you be given the distinction

To free yourself from the evil condition--

Oh, what a future, free of Chinamen.

Good riddance!

The chorus’s singing dies down as everyone stops by the commotion in front of the May’s

house. The front gate is wide open. The door to the family’s storage shack in the yard is being

kicked down and throngs of rioters are rushing in to help themselves to empty its contents of the

best general store in town.

Mrs. May (who has locked herself and her children in the upstairs bedroom. She is sitting on her

bed with her head bending down to her knees in a fetal position. Her two frightened children are

standing nearby as the rioters are searching through the house downstairs. She raises her head

and look over Little Canton. Her singing starts and ends in whispers):

Oh, Tacoma

Mother of Waters

From two rails built by bare hands

of the Chinamen, you grew into

An observant Chinatown, a place

We called home. We labored, we built

I poured tea to welcome all.

Oh, Tacoma

Mother of Waters

Now you are big and

Strong, muscles and steel.

Why do you envy my little cup?

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Mr. May (in his routine western suit, waves both hands in the air and runs back and forth among

the overturned furniture, broken windows and rioters, between the bedroom inside the house

and the storage shack in the yard. He cries in a very loud voice):

Oh, no. Oh, no. Please leave my house. Let me talk to my wife. This is my property.

(He spots Mayor Weisbach among the crowd).

Mr. Mayor, speak reason to these men. We Chinese have a right to stay. The old Mayor

General Sprague said so. The American law protects my home.

Mayor (obviously irritated by the mentioning of his old rival General Sprague):

General Sprague has nothing to say. If he says anything we will kick him out (stares

down on May), too. The American law? (he points to Judge Wickersham who is standing

a few steps away near the gate, holding an umbrella and arguing with Father Hylebos)

See, he is the law. To the gate you go.

Father:

My God, Judge, is this America?

Judge:

It’s the ordinance. It is the determination of the people.

Father:

But WE must do something. Sheriff! (he calls out to Sheriff Byrd who stands on the side

walk watching the Chinese exodus and hearing the call of Father Hylebos he walks

away.)

Judge:

You can’t stop this now. Surely, you do not intend to disturb the orderly march of the

people? The Sheriff is keeping the peace.

Father:

You call this peace? My Lord! (He throws up his hands and prays earnestly)

Mr. May (bows and pleas):

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Mr. Mayor, look at these Chinamen, humble servants of Tacoma, even women and

children, in the mud. Look at this sad spectacle. Give me three days, Mr. Mayor. Leave

my wife to me. Stop them from taking my property. Please.

Mayor:

No days, Lum. You’ve got no days. You were warned and you didn’t listen and you didn’t

leave. Now you have no days, no property. I told you you must go. I mean my words

shall be kept good. (seeing Mr. May’s tears, full of contempt) Lum, are you a crying baby

or a man?

Kevin (standing among the rioters, jeering):

Lum is a lump of coal, a big baby wearing pants. Lum is a Chinaman. Run back to your

master, you worming coolie slave, Ha, ha.

The crowd is laughing with him and chanting, “The Chinese must go!” “The Chinese must go!”

Thugs finally succeed in breaking down the bedroom door and half dragging half carrying Mrs.

May out of her bedroom into the yard. Her hair is undone, covering most of her face and her

clothes are torn at places with only one slipper on her feet. At the sight of his distraught wife, Mr.

May kneels down in the mud in front of Mayor Weisbach. Little mimics his master to kneel down

and begins to take turns kowtowing and crossing himself feverishly.

Mr. May and Little (pleads):

Give me three days, Mr. Mayor. The American law protects us.

Mayor:

You have no days, no property. This must be done, unpleasant even to me.

Mr. May sinks to the ground and sobs audibly.

Hearing her husband’s sob and seeing his discomposure, Mrs. May, as if wakening from a

daze, suddenly raises her head, shakes loose the hands on her shoulders, and dashes into the

yard. She seizes a hatchet from one of the rioters and charges into the crowd. She chops and

slashes howling like an animal. The rioters retreat from her in shock. She is quickly restrained

by Mr. May and the servant and carried inside the house by a few sympathetic neighbors. Her

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two children are crying and hugging their mother. The looters carry away more goods from

May’s house while singing.

Chorus:

Two pieces silk crêpe trousers female, two pieces black silk, six silk handkerchiefs, two

crates of jackets, 10 blue cotton shirts, eight pieces black cotton trousers, 12 pairs

Chinese cotton stockings, two leather trunks Chinese, wool grey dress female, four

flannel jackets, three pairs embroidered shoes, one dressing case, six white cotton

shirts, one carpetbag, two white woolen blankets, two red woolen bedcovers, one

feather mattress, one spring bed, two tables, six chairs, two stoves, four pictures in

frames, one large mirror, two woolen trousers, perishable goods aplenty!

Filthy rich Chinaman! With mad madder mistress!

Mrs. May appears at the doorway in her family heirloom red robe, with her long hair loosely

flowing, framing her ghostly pale face. The crowd freezes in shock.

Mrs. May (crosses the threshold, steps into the yard, walks to the gate, on to the street and

toward the waiting train, one step at a time deliberately as she sings with each step. Her body

bends back and forth as she gestures and sings, in stark contrast to her subtle and tranquil

manner earlier. She looks like a bundle of flame in the dark night. She carries the parcel with the

red boots with her):

Mad, mad, am I mad?

Ha. You, you, you are mad! (she points to the Mayor, the Judge, Kevin one by one)

The world is mad. This moment mad

This rain, this darkness

Over my eyes. Where is the light? (She looks around in the crowd, then raises her eyes

to the sky)

Oh, Moon, you hide your face

To spare us in our shame.

Oh, Celestial Weavers

Seven sisters, stop your spindles

Listen to me!

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Stand up, husband (She seizes Mr. May’s hand, drags him up from his kneeling

position).

This day of humiliation we shall remember

Our children too: Shun this place

Where hearts shattered

Lives crashed

Dreams die.

Vast is the Pacific, but when

the tide is out

Only mud left (She surveys the chaotic scene of her home)

Ugly waste—(She lets go her parcel)

It’s time to go.

Farewell my American dream

Farewell my American home

Farewell my neighbors of ten years.

Shun this place

Shun this place, children!

Where the moon goddess hides her face

Cold and damp, reason recedes

Drunken madness walks the street

Where our indignation kindles the rain

That bursts into flame! (She is now standing on the train platform, gestures wildly at the

“Little Canton” that starts to burn).

City of destiny?

Whose? For these children (she lowers her eyes on her children)?

For my daughter Ling Ling?

Pei! (She spit to the ground)

Inferno of hatred chars the soul

You cast the mother away

You cast the mother away

Reason left us.

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Mad. Mad. Mad.

You, you, you (she points at the crowd)

will perish in your own shame!

Under all-seeing heaven (She mounts the train with the help of her children and

husband, pauses, turns around to raise her arm to sweep across the crowd)

Under the seven sisters

Eternal justice demands

this phoenix will not rise again

(She points to the sky in increasing agitation and breathlessness)

Until the mother

Until the mother

Until the moon

Until my story is told!

Chinatown bursts into flames behind her on the screen. Native Americans in full tribal attire

march onto the stage during Mrs. May’s farewell and look on from the flanks of the stage. Their

faces and bodies are covered in war paint. The sound of the moving train becomes deafening

as the train passes by at high speed across the screen, leaving the mob behind on the platform.

(Curtain)

Contact information:

Zhang Er

zhanger@evergreen.edu

917 513 4636