"Beijing Central Axis Cultural Travel Classic Opera - Camouflage Width", written by Zhang Yonghe Zhang Tian, Beijing Publishing House October 2021 edition.
On the west side of Qianmenwai Street, there is the oldest theater teahouse in Beijing City; Dashilan Commercial Street in Xicheng District, seven old theaters gather. The crowded theaters formed an economies of scale, attracting a large number of opera audiences. Xipi Erhuang sang here first, and this is the cradle of the early Peking Opera in .
Old theater ("Beijing Central Axis Cultural Tour Classic Opera - Camouflage Width" Inner Page Illustration)
Xipi Erhuang Xingqian
Qianmenwai Commercial Street in Xicheng District - Dashilan , less than seven meters wide and less than three hundred meters long, but it is well-known both in China and abroad and is well-known.
Dashilan, Beijingers say "Big and bad". How did this street name come from? Did this street really have a big fence? There is really. In the 27th year of Zhizheng in the Yuan Dynasty (1367), the Ming Dynasty general Xu Da drove away Emperor Shun of Yuan, occupied the capital, and renamed Dadu to Peking . In the first year of Yongle (1403), Zhu Yuanzhang's fourth son, Zhu Di, seized the throne from his nephew Zhu Yunwen, and he changed Peiping to Beijing. After the war, the number of residents in Beijing decreased and shops closed. In order to make Beijing prosper as soon as possible, Zhu Di built some shops on the outside of Zhengyangmen , allowing merchants to come here to do business.
Shen Bang wrote " Wanshu Miscellaneous Notes " and said:
( Yongle ) is still accused of being in the capital. The merchants have not gathered, and the market is still indifferent. According to the order: the four gates of the imperial city, the bells and drum towers, and the rooms are built in each place,... the products are bought and sold, and the general name is Langfangyun.
corridor room is a continuous store built on the outside of the city gate funded by the state. Outside Zhengyang Gate, there are four built in total, now called Langfang Toutiao, Langfang 2, Langfang 3 and Lingfang 4. Among them, the four streets of Langfang are relatively wide and the conditions are the best, so they also attract the most shops.
In the 32nd year of Jiajing in the Ming Dynasty (1553), in order to improve the defense capabilities of Beijing, a circle of city walls was added outside the inner city of Beijing. So he circled a large area in the south of the city, which Beijingers called the outer city. Zhengyangmen is called the inner city. After the Qing army entered the pass, the inner city stationed the Eight Banners army and their families, and all the Han people moved to the outer city. As mentioned earlier, the early Qing Dynasty stipulated that the inner city was not allowed to open a theater, and the inner city refers to Zhengyangmen.
So what's going on with this "Dashilan"? Setting up fences at the entrance of the alley is to maintain public security. In the first year of Hongzhi 3 of the Ming Dynasty (1488), Emperor Xiaozong of the Ming Dynasty ordered the establishment of fences in the capital and in the streets and alleys in the Guanxiang area, opening in the morning and closing in the evening. This method was also inherited by the Qing Dynasty later. In the ninth year of Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty (1670), Emperor Kangxi ordered the establishment of fences at the entrances of the city, just like the streets and alleys in the city, and stipulated that after the scheduled update (7 pm), the people were not allowed to enter and exit at will. If you still go out for a walk after the update, it would be a "blame of the night" and you will be convicted by the officers and soldiers who were patrolling the night. In the first year of Qianlong (1736), Emperor Qianlong again ordered to erect fences at the streets and alleys of the outer city, and also sent a special person to be responsible for patrols. After Qianlong, there were more fences in Beijing. According to " Eight Banners Tongzhi ", there were more than 1,000 fences in the inner city of Beijing alone.
Why are there fences everywhere, but the "big fence" outside the front door is ringing? The Dashilan outside the front door was originally called Langfang Siziao, and there were some big buyers and sellers gathered in this alley. In order to protect their property, merchants raised funds to install a tall and beautiful iron fence at the entrance of the alley. As people used the name "Dashilan" instead of the real name of Lingfang Sizou. In " Qianlong Capital Full Picture ", the locations of the four corridors have been marked as Dashilan. This shows that the name Dashilan was formed at least before the early years of Qianlong, but the names of Langfang Toutiao, Ertiao and Sanzhi have not changed and have been used to this day. This is the origin of the name of Dashilan.
What are the big buyers and sellers in Dashilan? There are old Tongrentang Pharmaceutical Stores that have been in the Kangxi period, and the Buyingzhai Shoe Store, Majuyuan Hat Store, and Nelian Sheng Shoe Store that have been opened one after another. During the Guangxu period, there were also silk shops in Dazhalan, known as the eight great auspicious ones, namely Ruifengxiang , Qianxiang Yi, Ruilinxiang, Ruishengxiang, Ruizengxiang, Yihexiang, etc., as well as Zhang Yiyuan Tea House, etc. The folk proverb at that time circulated like this: "Hong Kong on the top of the head, horses and on the foot, inline to , wear eight great auspicious clothes, and hang four great Hengs." It refers to the wear of a wealthy family at that time. The so-called four great Hengs refers to the four major ticket numbers in old Beijing at that time - Hengli, Henghe, Hengxing and Hengyuan, four money houses located near Dongsi Pailou.
What do you think of so many time-honored brands for merchants? Because the commercial street of Dashalan is prosperous and prosperous, this has attracted the entertainment industry to add icing on the cake. From the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty to the Republic of China, there were seven old theaters on the street of Dashilan, which is more than 270 meters long. Listen to me and count it with you -
From the east end of Dazhalan to the west end, the north end of the road is Qingleyuan. At the north end of the Grain Store Hutong adjacent to the south of the road, there is a Zhongheyuan old theater. The south of Qingle Park is Sanqing Park. Further west is Tonglexuan at the south end of . Further west is an old theater called Qingheyuan. To the west of it is the very old Guangdelou . Opposite Guangde Building is a tea garden called Daheng Xuan who opened later, which is both performing folk arts and opera. Total of them are seven old theaters.
Zhonghe Opera (Inside page illustration of "Beijing Central Axis Cultural Tour Classic Opera - Camouflage Widgets")
This is just an old theater on the street of Dashalan. If we want to expand the scope to the entire Dazhalan area, there will be more than a dozen old theaters. Look, Guanghelou in Rushi Hutong opposite Dashalan Road, Tianleyuan in Xianyukou Hutong directly opposite Dashalan Hutong, Yuxing Garden in Zhuoshou Hutong, Yanxi Hall in Xiaoshun Hutong, Fushou Hall in Dashachang Hutong, HSBC Hall in Yangmei Zhuxie Street, HSBC Hall on the fourth floor of Quanyechang , Sila Tian on the fourth floor of Wang Guangfu Xie Street, Minleyuan on the Lingfang Toutiao, etc. These old theaters were once a garden where the flowers of opera and folk art bloomed. What does so concentrated and so many old theaters mean? This shows the prosperity of the Beijing opera stage on the central axis.
Beijing Guanghelou Opera (Inside page illustration of "Beijing Central Axis Cultural Tour, Opera - Camouflage Widths")
The predecessor of the theater was tea garden
talks about the old theater, talking about the initial prosperity and development of opera, why did even tea gardens include it?
The old tea garden in Dashilan is the place to sing opera. Beijing’s tea gardens were once an important public space in the city. This is not only a place where tea lovers gather, but also the cradle of the national quintessence Peking Opera. Why is the place where the opera is called a tea garden? Is it mainly about drinking tea or acting? Let me tell you that at the beginning, those old tea gardens built during the Qianlong period were really the main focus of drinking tea, chatting, and talking about business. Why do you say so? As soon as you enter the tea garden, you look at rows of long benches placed with long tables in the middle, and people have to sit opposite each other, not for the stage. If you want to watch the show, you have to tilt your body and twist your neck to look. You understand now, right? Tea gardens are places to drink tea and talk about things; performing opera on stage is just the nature of "cup tea", and it may also be to set off the atmosphere and create an environment.
Once upon a time, we mistakenly thought that Beijingers were not particular about drinking tea, so we thought that the city of Beijing did not have its own tea culture. In fact, this is not the case. The once prosperous tea garden culture is one of the essences of Beijing’s tea culture. If you want to understand the culture of Beijing’s tea garden, you must first start with the history of Chinese drama.
During the Tang and Song dynasties, my country's drama art had already emerged. At that time, there was neither a theater nor a tea garden. They often performed on the streets and sang and danced on a high ground. Such a high ground is what the history of drama calls the "dress". Is there any written record? have.Volume 4 of "Er Ya·Noteshu" records that the terraces in ancient times are "the one with the highest accumulation of soil is famous", which shows that the terraces in ancient times are only rammed into a platform. The terraces in the Han and Tang dynasties were already built with bricks, stones and wood. The terrace is a place used to sacrifice to the heaven, earth, ghosts, gods, and Buddhist teachings. Acting is also a sacrificial activity and an important part. Because the initial drama was performed for ghosts and gods in the world, and was "entering ghosts and gods".
After the Song and Yuan dynasties, there was a place for acting to show people - the goulu tiles. A washe refers to a commercial amusement place. A guazi refers to a place where a play is performed in a washe. Some people say that a guazi refers to the railings of the stage of a play. Bianjing of Northern Song and Lin'an of Southern Song , Southern Song , were very developed in the economy, and there were many tiles and tramps of varying sizes in the city. There are also tranches in Liao, Jin, Yuan, and Beijing. In the mid-Ming Dynasty, the tile houses gradually disappeared.
Most of the stages after the Yuan and Ming dynasties in Beijing were built in temples and ancestral halls, and the purpose of acting was to reward the gods of heaven and earth and sacrifice to ancestors. Now the Zhengyi Temple on Xiheyan outside the Qianmen District of Beijing was originally a temple dedicated to the Wucai God Zhao Gongming . Zhao Gongming was also called Zhengyi Marshal. Later, the people gradually pronounced "Zhengyi" as "Zhengyi", thus obtaining the name Zhengyi Temple. Because the God of Wealth was worshipped, he was bought by the piaohao during the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty and became an industry association for the piaohao industry. There is a theater in Zhengyi Temple. When the Piaohaoye gathers for a meeting, he sings operas. Beijing Zhengyi Temple is regarded as the remains of the "ancestral hall play".
The interior scene of Sanqing Garden after the reconstruction ("Beijing Central Axis Cultural Classic Opera - Camouflage Widgets" Inside the inner page illustration)
After the middle of the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty, Beijing opera gradually flourished. At this time, the most important place to watch opera was the theater, the palaces of Beijing, the royal gardens, the palaces of major officials, and the theaters in major conventions, totaling no less than dozens of places. Only royal families with status, officials and children from wealthy families have the conditions to watch opera in front of the theater. People want to watch dramas, but initially they have to go to restaurants to enjoy the drama. In the early Qing Dynasty, there were stages in big restaurants in Beijing, such as Fanghuzhai, Penglaixuan, Shengpingxuan and other large restaurants with stages in Xuannan. Diners just eat and watch operas. Such opera performances are of a companion banquet. During the performance, the audience inevitably practices the movement, and the noisy environment is not conducive to the appreciation of art. Over time, the performance venue of Beijing opera was moved from the restaurant to the tea garden. After all, the tea garden has a better cultural atmosphere and is also suitable for watching performances in peace. The transfer of opera from restaurants to tea gardens is also an improvement. From this perspective, Beijing’s tea gardens have special significance for the development of opera.
In the early years, there was a storytelling called "Kangxi's Private Visit to Yueming Tower". Where is the Yueming Tower in the storytelling book? If we follow the description in the storytelling, Emperor Kangxi rode a small donkey out of the palace and ran south to the front door. When he entered the west entrance of the meat market, there was a Yueming Tower. The location of Yueming Building was Guanghe Building in Beijing at that time. The historical Guanghe Building is located in the east of the Qianmen gate, which is consistent with the location described in Storytelling. This Guanghe Building was first built by Cha's great salt merchant in the late Ming Dynasty, so it is also called Chalou . During the reign of Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty, it was officially changed to tea gardens for business.
During the Qing Jiadao period, there were seven tea gardens outside Qianmen alone: Qingle Tea Garden, Tonglexuan Tea Garden, Qinghe Tea Garden, Guangdelou, Sanqing Tea Garden, Dahengxuan Tea Garden, and Zhonghe Tea Garden. Later, Tonglexuan Tea Garden was changed to a cinema, and Qinghe Tea Garden was changed to a Donghongji Tea Garden. In the middle and late stages, it became a place for the four major Hui classes and several major Bangzi classes and other first-class teams to perform dramas. Some Spanish classes (referring to Qin Opera classes) and the small Hui classes with weaker lineups (Pi Huang classes) are not qualified to perform in the famous gardens such as Dashalan. Therefore, Dashalan, which made Beijing opera art prosperous, is said to be the cradle of the birth of opera, especially the later Peking Opera, and it also became a gathering place for Beijing tea culture.
Xu Biyun "Green Pearl Falls from the Building" ("Beijing Central Axis Cultural Tour Opera - Camouflage Width" Inside page illustration)
Except for the Dashilan area, there are many tea gardens in Beijing.For example, the Jingtai Tea Garden in Longfu Temple in Dongcheng was originally located at the current location of the Longfu Temple Workers' Club. , Di'anmen area, there are Dequan Tea Garden and Tianhe Tea Garden. Dong'an Market also has Dangui Tea Garden and Jixiang Tea Garden. There are also many tea gardens in Xicheng, Beijing. Such as the Chunxian Tea Garden in Xuanwumen, the Tongyi Tea Garden on Fuchengmen Street, the Fucheng Garden on Qiaotou, the Qingsheng Tea Garden in Xisikoudou Hutong, the Renhe Tea Garden in Xi'an Market, etc. There is a long-standing Tianle Tea Garden outside the Qianmen Shoukou, which was converted into a mass theater after 1949. There is also a Guangxing tea garden in the Yuxing Garden in Xianyukou Chaoshou Hutong, a Tea Food Hutong outside Chongwenmen. In short, there are more than 40 tea gardens in Beijing. Most of the tea gardens are concentrated on the central axis of Beijing, either west or east, south or north. So we say that Beijing's central axis and its surroundings are the carriers of opera culture.
Just listen to opera in the tea garden for only tea money
At that time, the tea garden in Beijing could watch opera while drinking tea, so the layout of the tea garden also had its own characteristics.
first has a stage. The stage of the tea garden is supported by four pillars, and the performance can be watched on the first three sides. Behind the stage is a big wall; two holes are dug in the big wall as the front door and the end door, writing "showing the general" while writing "into the prime minister".
, then the audience seats under the stage, the long table in the middle, and the stage are placed vertically. The tea lovers here are drinking tea and chatting while watching opera. A cup of tea can quickly bring people closer. At that time, Beijing tea gardens had quite strong social attributes. This part of the seats, which mainly drink tea, is called "pool seat". The location of the tables on both sides is called "two corridors". The tables in the two corridors are not placed vertically, making it more convenient to watch the show. Interestingly, the ticket price for seats in the two corridors is cheaper. If it is the first floor, there will be no table at the end opposite the stage, only a row of high stools against the wall.
At that time, the design of the tea garden was not scientific enough, and the whole garden was on a flat ground. A high stool was designed in the last row so that the vision was not blocked by the front row audience. This location is called "the one with a big wall back" and the cheapest price. You can give me some tip first and you can sit. Don’t think that high stools are cheap, but there are people who can grab them. Why? It’s convenient to sit here and applaud the stage. After the Republic of China, the high stool was completely cancelled and turned into a squat. If the tea garden is a two-story building, there is also an official seat on the upper floor, also called a private room. It is no problem to sit on four to six people, and it is a relatively advanced enjoyment. Behind the box is a long bench.
When I was a child, I often went to the Qingle Tea Garden or Sanqing Tea Garden in Dashalan to watch operas. Because my family runs several businesses at the entrance of Dongzhu City. The staff in the tea garden are tea houses, and often leave the private rooms upstairs to our family. This is called "red tickets". The money is always spent a little more. People who do business do not care about this little money, so I watched a lot of good shows when I was a child.
Celebration Paradise (Inner Page Illustration of "Beijing Central Axis Cultural Tour Opera - Camouflage")
The famous "Thirteen Sages of Tongguang" in the history of Peking Opera were performed in Beijing tea gardens at that time. At that time, the operas in Beijing tea gardens were full of famous actors and wonderful. At that time, I went to Beijing tea garden to listen to operas but didn’t have to buy tickets for operas. I only gave the tea money when I went in and tipped the client. The price is very cheap, the tea costs are top ten, and the tips are two. It can be said that Beijing’s tea gardens are a leisure place that everyone can enjoy, from high-ranking officials to peddlers and pawns.
When I was young, it was in the mid-1940s. I watched the series "Biography of Jigong" performed by Li Wanchun at the Qingle Theater. It is very lively and there are also movies in the play. I went to Guangde Building to watch the series "The Eight Immortals attain the Tao" starring the famous high school old student Bai Jialin . Not to mention the set of the agency, Zhang Guo, played by Bai Jialin, rode a real donkey on the stage, singing and walking around, which was very lively. I was a child at that time and I enjoyed watching it. However, at that time, it was no longer called a tea garden, but it was called a theater. But I still sold tea. We brought our own tea leaves and enjoyed drinking good tea.
Li Qingchun "Biography of Jigong" ("Beijing Central Axis Cultural Travel Classic Opera - Camouflage Wanli" Inside page illustration)
The person who holds the door at the tea garden is called "Kanzi".Don’t underestimate this job, it’s not easy to do it well. We must not only observe the six directions and listen to all directions, but also be familiar with people on the ground in this area. After entering the tea garden gate, the person who carried the teapot to the guests was called "tea room". Although they do not sell tickets, they have a good seat and tea room for familiar guests. So, if you go in for the first time to listen to a drama, you have to get along with the tea house first, so you have to give more tips.
There has never been a comparative position in the tea gardens in Beijing. It was not until the opening of the first stage of Xiliu Shujing outside the front door that Beijing City gradually developed the concept of getting a seat.
When watching opera in the tea garden in old Beijing, there are not many varieties of tea drinking. At that time, it was mainly popular in Beijing. The varieties of fragrances were roughly jasmine double scent, jasmine small leaves, jasmine big flannel, and jasmine big flannel, and jasmine orchid fragrant flannel. In addition to drinking tea sold in the garden, customers can also bring the tea leaves themselves and hand them over to the tea room for brewing. At that time, the teahouse brings the teapot and inserts the wrapping paper of the tea into the mouth of the pot, which means it is the tea you brought. Of course, although I brought my own tea, I still paid as much as possible. In fact, people who bring their own tea are not to save money, but to pursue a kind of enjoyment and leisure.
In today's Beijing, there are many theaters and theaters of international standards. The exquisite and elegant tea drinking space is also flourishing like mushrooms after a rain. On the contrary, traditional tea gardens like old Beijing, which can drink tea and make friends, and enjoy and listen to operas, have long disappeared. Of course, in Beijing, there are Chang'an Theater, Huguang Guild Hall , Laoshe Teahouse and other places. In appropriate seats, the audience can also drink a cup of fragrant tea to quench their thirst, especially in midsummer, watching the show and drinking tea, which is even more loved by the audience.
This article is selected from "Beijing Central Axis Cultural Travel Classic Opera - Camouflage Widgets", with slightly abridged and modified from the original text. All illustrations used in the article are from the book. It has been authorized by the publisher to publish.
Original author/Zhang Yonghe Zhang Tian
Excerpt/He Ye
Edit/Qingqingzi
Introduction proofreading/Wang Xin
