[Author Profile] Pang Kaigui, a historical and cultural enthusiast, freelance writer, Chongqing Old Street group member, serving Chengjiang Town Cultural Service Center
Chengjiang Jisheng
Chengjiang River water is as clean as a training, and the waves are not shocked by the golden sand.
star wells, and three thousand tributaries were laid.
Tiansheng Juzhen Yangyucheng, Three Gorges is the iron lock horizontal.
Huayang Hei Water surges upstream, and the scenery of Huixia is coming to the west.
-Guo Zhenghu (Qing Dynasty Bishan scholar)
Teahouse and wine shop
During the Republic of China, Chengjiang Wharf was bustling with bustling, and it was very lively. Miners, porters, boatmen, boatmen, small vendors, and idle people in the society were shuttled back and forth, so there were many teahouses, taverns, tobacco, gambling halls, and brothels.
As for teahouses, there were more than 20 big and small stores at their peak. Almost all places with roads, riverside, docks, and high traffic flow are occupied by teahouses. The most famous of them are Yuelai, Yunliu Hotel, Tongyifu, Wangjianglou , Wei Senyuan and Huang Zewu Teahouses. Some hotels and restaurants also have teahouses, and there are also many open-air teahouses. Under the shade of trees, several tables, benches, and even a few stones can be used as a place to brag about tea.
The so-called feathers of birds of a feather flock together. Usually, boatmen (beach-runners) gather together, blowing the customs and customs of all places; miners and porters gather together, talking about the ups and downs, lamenting the hardships of labor; businessmen and businessmen gather together, listening to market conditions, talking about the gains and losses of buying and selling; then brother Pao, idle people in society, and citizens usually gather together, omnipotent and polite. The most of them are ship workers and miners, and the majority of people chatting and passing the days are chatting.
Teahouse has a tea table, and several people sit around a table. There is a special tea waiter who mixes tea and pours water, or you can do it yourself. The tea waiter in the hall used a long-mouthed teapot to mix tea for the tea guests, just like a performance, either a monkey exploring the moon, a Su Qin carrying a sword, or a golden rooster independent, which was thrilling and exciting, and pleasing to the eye.
Some teahouses also have tobacco and bathhouses, which can wash your feet and regulate your body. In that era of single leisure activities, going to a teahouse was indeed a pleasure.
Syniyi Fu Teahouse is the main hall of Chengjiang Pao Ge. On the side of the teahouse is the "Yuewang Temple", which contains Yue Fei and Guan Gong images. This is a place where "telling tea" and "reason" is used as a private judicial institution. Both parties are sitting opposite each other, and the uncle of the chau sits in the middle, and there are also a large group of tea lovers watching the fun around, open and transparent. Generally speaking, whoever loses, whoever pays for tea is more fair and wins a good reputation among the people.
episode: Gong Haiquan, the head of the ship at Chengjiangkou, fought with the "Beach Runner" for the ship docking issue. Gong Haiquan is a local dock with a large number of people and heavy force. He beat the person. The other party was dissatisfied with it and wanted to find an explanation. They invited each other to "eat tea" at the Tongyifu Teahouse. Both sides called on Chengjiang Pao Ge Wang Xiangfu to come out to make a decision. Although Wang Xiangfu was old, he was clear-headed. After listening to the statements between the two parties, he finally broke the truth about Gong Haiquan's loss at this wharf, apologized to others and paid the "decoction fee". Wang Xiangfu's unbiased and unfavorable method of breaking is recognized by both parties, and the onlookers admire him.
Yunliu Hotel teahouses are mostly places far away from guests and dignitaries to drink tea. The accommodation and catering here are first-class in Chengjiang.
The most lively, largest, most complete, and most mixed personnel in Chengjiang is the Yuelai Teahouse at the main wharf of Xiaxikou. Yuelai Teahouse is located at Chengjiang main wharf. It is located in a good location and is full of guests almost every day from morning to night. As long as you pay the tea money, you can listen to storytelling for free, and there are three shows a day.
Storyteller is called "Ye Mazi", but few people know about his name.Ye Mazi's life experience is ominous. Some say that he was originally an official family, but because his mansion was framed, he left Maicheng; some say that he was born in a scholarly family, but his family declined due to eating opium and became an artist. Ye Mazi has a long figure, a fair face, elegant manners, and kind-hearted grey clothes. She wears a wrinkled gray cloth gown, but her every move is gentle and kind, which makes her look a bit like a family. However, his poor appearance is clearly a scholar who is in trouble.
Ye Mazi has a deep foundation in storytelling, and is excellent in hands, eyes, body, skills, steps, speaking, singing and doing. He is the best storyteller in Chengjiang. He has a wide range of knowledge and his best skills are the case books, such as Bao Gong Case, Peng Gong Case , Shi Gong Case ..., which can be vivid and popular. Especially the gavel before the book was shot so amazing, just like a performer's instrument, light, heavy, stern, and urgent, and able to capture the hearts of the audience. I like to read the seven-character poem before the beginning: There are green pine trees on it and flowers are not as good as hers. Under the frost and snow in the nine winters and October, I saw green pine trees but no flowers. This easy-to-understand and philosophical poem can be regarded as a portrayal of Ye Mazi's self-birth.
Listening to Ye Mazi's storytelling is a pleasure. Some people with great talents in the town, even Beibeichang and Batang will also come. He is not rigid in his storytelling, likes to combine reality, likes to add "notes", adds people and things around him, and makes one thing come alive, feeling that things in the book are things around him. When it comes to the strength of the show, the face is often numb, purple and swelling, and saliva is splashing, so listeners sitting in the front row often need to prepare a handkerchief.
Ye Mazi said that he didn't care about the rewards. The teahouse owner took care of the cigarettes and rice, and the boss gave the extra money. He plays three games every morning, afternoon and evening, with two boards each. During the break, the teahouse owner takes tea boat to collect tea money one by one. Of course, sometimes he doesn’t care about the amount, because the popularity of the teahouse is the most important, so most of the time, there are people standing outside the windows on the street.
Ye Mazi has a big smoke addiction. Sometimes, as he talks, he gets addicted to smoking, and then slapped 月机机机机机机机机机机机机机机机机机机机机机机机机机机机机机机机机机机机机机机机机机机机机机机机机机机机机机机机机机机机机机机机机机机机机机After saying that, he jumped off the desk and went to the cottage to burn two cigarette bubbles, then continued to talk. It’s not surprising that those who listen to books are used to it.
On the eve of liberation, Ye Mazi left Chengjiang, and then Yuelai Teahouse no longer found anyone who could speak like Ye Mazi.
In addition to listening to books, there are also people who play cards and bet money, and some brag about business. Of course, they are also inevitably conspiring to do bad things.
The business of Chengjiang teahouse is closely related to the overall economic and social development. When the society is stable and the economy is prosperous, the teahouse business will be better. If there is social change or natural disaster economic downturn, the business will be worse. Of course, with the changes in people's living habits and cultural customs, the teahouses in Chengjiang have also changed a lot.
In addition, there are many tobacco shops, gambling shops, and brothels in Chengjiang. Because they are some social bad habits, it is not convenient to repeat them here.
Folk customs and folk customs
Folk activities in Chengjiang during the Republic of China are rich and grand. Especially with the increase in population, the integration of foreign personnel and the mix of diverse cultural customs, various folk celebrations and activities will follow during festivals, weddings and funerals, promotions and wealth, good news, and opening and closing. After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, the boss, the gentry, the uncle, and the leader took the lead, and all kinds of folk activities were unprecedentedly popular. Every celebration was filled with gongs and drums, colorful flags, crowds of people, filling the streets and alleys. People were jubilant, shouting, and venting, one after another, sometimes lasting for several days and nights and still not satisfied.
The folk activities in Chengjiang mainly include dragon boat racing, lanterns , fire dragon, water dragon, bench dragon , lotus play, lions, car lights, stilts, etc. Regardless of men, women, young and old, officials and people, all residents are willing to participate, and every household, young and old will cooperate and will bring some activities "outfits".The funding for the event is mostly funded by fundraising, personal funding, and joint sponsorship by the boss. Big owners such as Baoyuan Coal Mine, Suichuan Coal Mine, and Yongtai Steel Plant are inevitably going to make a "big head". Brother Pao was an errandistress and asked Huaer to join in the fun.
The reason why Chengjiang folk activities are popular is that a group of professionals are active, usually called "playing with fun" ( notes : There is a family named Pan at the Shangpi of Chengjiangkou. The father Pan Lianhui opened a restaurant to make a living, and his sons all like to "playing with fun", especially Pan Minda is well-known in Chengjiang). These people spend most of the year on folk activities preparation and performance. They gradually move from amateur to professionalism, inheriting traditions while integrating and innovating.
Among them, dragon boat racing is particularly famous. Every year around the fifth day of the fifth month of the old calendar, Chengjiang Pao Ge is generally organized and prepared. The surrounding Zhuanlong, Caojie, Maliu, Yanjing , Batang, Huangbai, and Beibei will participate. Sometimes Hechuan and Tongliang will come from afar. At that time, Chengjiang had many boatmen, boatmen and sponsors. The performance of dragon boat is not only of many types but also exciting, so it is the first place in the competition every year. After the game, the faucet will be oiled and painted for use in Tongyifu Teahouse and will be played again next year.
Dragon Boat Competition was originally held in Jialing River . After the completion of the canal dam in 1933, it was changed to the canal. It was a Shunhe race, which was about 800 meters long and not dangerous. Because the terrain was not open and the viewing ability was not strong, everyone felt it was not exciting, so they returned to the Zheng Wharf of Chengjiang, Jialing River. The river race is implemented, with a length of about 300 meters. The water here is wide, the water flows fast and fickle, making it easy for viewers on both sides of the strait to watch. You can hang slogans and banners with cheering and cheering on the stilt building, and the ribbons are floating, which is very spectacular.
Let’s talk about Chengjiang Fire Dragon. Chengjiang Fire Dragon has dozens of sizes, the largest ones have more than ten or twenty-chain Religious dragons, the smaller ones have seven or eight-chain dragons, and the smallest ones have broom dragons played with by someone. Every year, a very grand fire dragon is tied in the town. The dragon head is pasted with silk and painted by craftsmen. It is vivid in the image and can move eyes and tongue. Those who are "playing" are all strong men who have been strictly selected by Chengjiangkou. The leader of the restaurant was Boss Tang, who was a burly man. He was thriving and could easily swing dozens of kilograms of dragon heads and could not be replaced by others.
Those who play with dragons usually wear fire sweat shirts to withstand the burning of sparks, but Tang Dahan dares to play with fire dragons with naked body and expose his arhat belly, so he is particularly attractive to the audience. When playing with fire dragons, every household has their own gunpowder petals, and "shush" the sparks at the dragon man. The sparks splashed, which was very spectacular. The dragon man was so burning that he danced with his feet, forcing him to dance more happily, and giving people happiness while dodging and running away in a mess.
Chengjiang's water dragon is also very famous. The water dragon is also called Huangjinglong. It is made of fresh yellowjing strips and bamboo silk. It is durable and waterproof. Whenever I pray to the sky for rain in a severe drought, I play with water dragons. Before playing with the water dragon, the monk set up an altar in front of Yuewang Temple to pray. After the sacrifice, a strong person climbed the water dragon and ran the circular long street clockwise, allowing citizens to splash water on the dragon to the dragon to show that nectar fell from the sky. Because the street is too long and being splashed with water in the middle of the journey consumes physical strength, no one can run the entire journey.
The Chengjiang Water Dragon is no less lively than the Water Song Festival in Yunnan and Guangxi, but the area is smaller.
Bench dragon is another folk activity loved by the people of Chengjiang. From New Year's Eve to the fifteenth day of the first lunar month every year, the farmers from each other play the bench dragons one after another, and then concentrate on Chengjiang Da Caoba to perform their skills.
Chengjiang bench dragon has long been famous, with many dials and large scale, generally consisting of three or four stools, and one more dial can also be composed of seven or eight benches. The way to play is that each two people are in a group, each holding two bench feet, dancing with one bench together, requiring coordination and the movements are stretched and vigorous. The moves include two dragons playing with pearls, group dragons playing with water, stacked arhat , rolling hydrangea, etc.
During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, a large number of foreign personnel poured into Chengjiang, and playing with bench dragons reached a climax. They played with dragons for foreign institutions, groups, and wealthy families, and could interact and red envelopes to get. It was during that period that bench dragons were all the rage. Today, the Beiquan bench dragon has made innovations on the basis of inheriting tradition, adding dance to men and women, and integrating modern dance movements, with more complete content and form.
50s Beiquan women play bench dragon
(Chengjiang Past 2 - The old street is glimpseeded, looking forward to episode 3)
above photos and aerial photos are from the Internet, and the others are Pang Kaigui record
(Special reminder: [Chongqing Story] Chengjiang Past 2 - The old street is glimpseeded in 3 times)
(Chengjiang Past 1: Photos, pictures, aerial photography and other works)
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