Monday
They light long bunches of firecrackers from a window. Some can be fifteen varas[1] long, mixed in parts with large ones which explode almost like a bomb. At the end of this string of firecrackers is a little box containing a large number of other firecrackers that scatter in an instant. The richer the Chinese the more firecrackers he ignites. Little Chinese boys dance and are snatched away. It is tiresome to see them dance in the fire.
I ate at the house of Mr. [Jose Ma.] Basa[2] at seven; we had pancit [noodles]. Afterwards, we went to visit the American steamer “Oceanic,” that pleased me very much. I resolved to go on it. Then, we ate at the house of Yong Jeng.
Afterwards, we went later to the Chinese theater, where I saw a curious play that I understood thanks to [the commentary by] my companion Martinez. A poor student, very studious, but very poor, seeks work. His father dies blessing him. Wanting to sell his body to pay for the burial of his father, he encounters a merchant who gives him money. The student becomes the future son-in-law of the rich merchant, who left his wife and daughter with a maid and went on a journey. [Now,] there is a bad student who falls in love with the fiancée of the poor student, and
[6]Jose Ma. Basa (1839-1907) Filipino patriot and businessman was one of the prominent Filipinos exiled following the Cavite Mutiny and execution of Gomburza in 1872, he settled in Hong Kong and according to Rizal’s British biographer was the “potato king of Hong Kong.” He funded the propaganda movement and smuggled the banned books of Rizal into the Philippines. His remains lie in a Victorian grave in the Manila North Cemetery. One newspaper account of his funeral states that the music playing along the funeral cortege was the Hawaiian song “Aloha Oe” a Hawaiian folk song written c. 1878 by then Princess Lili’uokalani whose Hawaiian kingdom was annexed by the U.S. in 1898, the same year the Philippines, following Spanish-American War was acquired by the U.S. from Spain for twenty million dollars.
proposed that the stepmother marry him to her stepdaughter, saying that he is rich, etc. The greedy stepmother accepts, and tries and wants to compel the poor fiancé to withdraw, alleging poverty, etc. The fiancé does not want to do so, he said he had already paid a 300 peso [dowry] in advance. They get angry over their dispute and the stepmother demands that the poor fiancee sign a contract stating his withdrawal, but he does not want to. Stepmother calls her stepdaughter to persuade her fiancé, but she refuses. She beats her. She calls the rich suitor and the two men engage in angry dispute and beat each other and after kicking each other, he writes the contract and signs it, despite of the protests of the girl who throws herself on the floor and cries.
He hands over the contract to his rival. But the young woman snatches it away and tears it. The rival wants him to sign another contract but he does not want do make another anymore. They beat each other several times. The stepmother picks up two brooms and wants to strike him. He snatches and shakes on the belly and the body until they run away. His fiancée then gives him money so that he may flee and reflect. Part. Plot of the stepmother and the rival to compel the young woman to marry him. She spanks him, but exasperated, she accosts them and undertakes to hit them with blows till they run away.
They conspire, but the maid overhears them and the young woman escapes dressed as a student on the way to an examination, with her umbrella, money, and gown. Armed with a sword, he pursues his rival, the poor student, meets him and rouses him, but a saint protects him and hides him from the other who finds, nothing else but the money which he takes to the stepmother. Led by the saint he is conducted to the garden of a rich man who has left his wife, son, and servant. The daughter falls in love with him, and through the maid, she gives him money, advises him to continue his studies and then marry her. He accepts and leaves.
The girl’s father finds the other disguised and takes him to his home and marries him to his daughter to the regret of the latter. She accepts in order not to reveal her disguise. They marry but the bride intoxicates him and he falls asleep. When his cap falls they discover that he is a woman; they explain and they relate their love affairs and they become very friendly.
The naughty student and the stepmother fall in love with each other and the husband returning from his journey surprises them. They quarreled and the student kills him and she flees.
The other student, who is a Mandarin, is going to fulfill his promise and asks for the hand of his second sweetheart and it is granted. On the wedding night, a friend appears and the old lovers recognize each other. The woman tells him about her adventures. He marries the two and punishes the guilty.
In the Chinese theater when what is said is an aside the actor turns his back. When one goes on horseback, he carries only a whip and this means that he is going horseback. When he enters a house he raises a foot. To represent the raising of a curtain, closing of a door, etc. they make the appropriate gesture. A vomit represents a person who dies on the stage. A bed represents a wedding. The maid leads both to the room with a lantern. Red is the color of the wedding gown. The bride covers her face with a fan even in front of her husband.
The wedding is performed by kneeling and invoking the divinity.