Republic of China drama

Republic of China.

The Baihua Opera Troupe located in Tongcheng originated from the late Qing Dynasty and was established by Jiang Weimian, the first troupe leader.

Mr. Jiang is a master of martial arts, and he has the skills to practice since he was a child. He was elected to the "Shengping Department" (1) as a student for several years.

At the most beautiful time, he was arranged to celebrate the birthday of Lafayette Cixi.I still remember that day at Huayan, after a scene, Jiang Weimian's posture was stable and graceful, his movements were clean and neat, especially with his loud and clear voice, his clear enunciation directly fell into people's hearts, and he was amazed all over the place in an instant.

Lafayette nodded his head when he heard it, and he was very appreciative. He gave him 30 taels of silver, which is enough for ordinary people to earn a year's income and buy a big house in Beiping.

The tree attracts the wind, and many people in the capital have tripped Jiang Weimian openly and secretly, and he is determined to promote art, so he took his life savings and the 30 taels of silver and ran to a corner of Tongcheng on the edge of the capital to buy land and build buildings, "opening up wasteland" went.

In the second half of Jiang Weimian's life, he stayed away from the richness of Peking. Guarding his troupe was like guarding his own child. For Duan's short-lived life, he never married a wife and had children, and died alone.

After the old man passed away, the bosses who took over were not as good as the previous ones, and their skills were not very long, but they began to see money.

It is no match for those who come to sing opera with their hearts in their hands, and it is no more eye-catching than the decadent gold cave. The Baihua Opera Troupe looks like an old man who is dying of illness and half dead.

If it was still holding its breath before, now it is a joy to fall into the hands of the old Dan Dou Xingui, and it has completely fallen from the altar, and no one cares about it.

Going back to the source, it’s the troupe singing similar songs every year. They don’t know how to adapt. Seven seven eight eight.

Even the old man who sits at the door smoking a pipe all day is too tired to listen to the drama inside.

It has been a long time since a decent guest came to the Baihua Theater.

At this moment, at the backstage of makeup at sunset, Jiang Wanwan was holding a thermos bottle and pouring warm water into the basin to evenly soak the shavings.

She wore a crumpled blue cloth coat, so old that the blue dye was dark in one place and light in the other.The sleeves are rolled up above the wrists, exposing delicate and small ankles.

Carved hollow wooden boards are used as partitions for the dressing table, and almost all the ancient objects have turned into rotten wood, with a residual decaying smell of the old dynasty.

Jiang Wanwan's ears were sharp, and she heard Jin Zhi and the servant girl gossip.

The servant girl said flatteringly: "It's no wonder that class leader Dou suddenly asked us to put on our makeup. I heard that Ms. Gu San asked a servant to give three oceans to the class leader, saying that she wanted to book the show and come to the theater with her fiancé at night. I just admire your name!"

Three oceans is the money for a good seat in Peking Theatre, but it is more than enough to reserve a seat in Baihua Theater.

"Gu San? Is it the Gu family who opened a foreign company?"

The one who said this was Jin Zhi, Gong Qingyi, with a sharper voice.

She is a person with a lot of makeup and powder, vulgar, but there is still arrogance in her bones, she will never admit that she is famous, such flattering words, if she really listens to her ears, her tone will also rise accordingly.

Jiang Wanwan remained silent.

This kind of conversation is often not her turn to intervene, and she hasn't stepped out of the theater building for almost ten years, and she doesn't even know anything about the new tram that the maids and boys are discussing, let alone other things.

She lowered her head, her side face was fair and immature, she rubbed the shavings with her pale long fingers, and mucus gradually formed in the basin, and the foam stuck between her fingers.

The maid hurriedly replied: "Exactly, you don't know, Gu Sangu Qingying is a well-known figure in Beiping. He went to that so-called England to study abroad and came back. He was full of foreign ink and had a lot of romantic affairs. .”

Hearing her phrase "you don't know", Jin Zhi became annoyed in his heart.She thought, how much can you little girl know about things that I, Jin Zhi, don't know?

Gossip is what matters, Jin Zhi suppressed his anger and said, "What's the matter?"

"Gu San has a baby relative, and the other party is Xiang Xing, the second young master of the Xiang family. The Xiang family wants power, power and power, and is more beautiful than her Gu family. The master of the Xiang family, Xiang Dong, is a handsome man. I heard that there are hundreds of people under his command. Wan's soldiers, even Gu Qingying's eldest brother who is an officer is also his subordinate..."

The little maid has been studying for a few years, and she studied in a serious private school. She was sold to a theater after her family fell into poverty.

Knowledge is the capital of the highest level. She claims to have this capital, but everyone is an idiot who can't read.

I wanted to tell Jin Zhi from the beginning to the end, but the eldest lady became impatient: "It's a rambling, just say what you have to say."

The little maid choked for a moment, and cursed Jin Zhi in her heart to relieve her anger.

"Gu San actually eats both men and women! From the concubine of the officer commander to the singer of Paramount, I heard that she has had her hands on them all, isn't she flirtatious!"

Jin Zhi was surprised: "Women and women? This, this is not romantic, this is immoral!"

Jiang Wan lowered her eyes, her pupils shrinking slightly.

While listening to the corner of the wall, I used shavings and the slime on it to stroke the hair piece, and stroked it back and forth several times to scrape the hair piece.

Slender hands picked up the wooden comb on the side again, and combed the hair smoothly.

The hair piece is real hair, which is easy to shape after being soaked in water shavings, and is ready for the next step of sticking the piece.

The little maid went on to say: "Her fiancé, Xiang Er Young Master, is even worse than her. The dancers in the ballroom have played all over, and they are brought home openly. When they are crazy, they have to have fun. If you want something, you have to get it." If you don’t get it, you won’t even recognize his own father.”

Jin Zhi was aroused: "What about Gu San? Did you follow him like this?"

"Of course, the third lady often disguises herself as a man. She is also a frequent visitor to the ballroom. Both men and women are fascinated. I heard that this time she died of her aunt and came to Tongcheng to mourn. Playing for entertainment, maybe I will take someone back to Peiping."

After death, my aunt still has the heart to listen to the opera, but she has a heart of stone.

Jin Zhi thought of going elsewhere.

She once followed a few men, got in a shiny black car, went to the man's house, when the curtain was drawn, she was so happy that she forgot all her feelings and worries.

By the way, he ridiculed those angry aunts and wives. No amount of cream can cover their sallow faces, and they can't keep their looks and men's hearts.

But after all, as the old saying goes, earthen jars and adobes are the same kiln.

It didn't take long for the men to look for new loves, and they didn't want to praise her anymore.Spend a lot of money, just sing operas, not socialize, it is better to add good clothes to the dancing girls and bring them with you to save face.

Jin Zhi was touched by the past, and said the truth: "Our opera singers are thrown in the box like tatters sooner or later. If you want to be attracted by the third lady... It's better to go to Peiping while you are young, than to follow those greasy people." A man is strong, so he will not worry about eating and drinking for the rest of his life, and he will not be burdened by a man and a woman. Heh, just think I am crazy and just kidding."

to Peking...

Peking...

Jiang Wan shook his head, the wooden comb fell to the ground, the sound was clear and thorough, and it was split into two from the middle.

It was split, and her anxiety also diffused from it.

Only then did Jin Zhi remember about Jiang Wanwan, sent the maid away with a few words, raised his eyebrows and said, "Come here."

She had put on her makeup, and had already hung her eyebrows and the corners of her eyes with water gauze. The pink-faced and peach-cheeked white snake had already taken shape, just waiting for Jiang Wan to smooth out her hair.

Originally, her appearance was extremely aggressive, but with the addition of her angry tone, it was as cold as a sharp knife.

Jiang Wanwan's face was calm and breezy, she stood up straight, and only put her styled hair over.

When she approached, Jin Zhi grabbed her wrist: "Junior Sister, what compensation do you have for breaking the wooden comb?"

This "junior sister" is completely sarcastic.

Jiang Wanwan was the last apprentice taken by the old class leader, Dou Xingui's father. Like Jin Zhi, she had a good voice and good figure, and worked in Tsing Yi.

Unexpectedly, less than two years after entering the teacher's school, the old troupe master fell ill and died, and the soup and medicine money and Dayang, who was cheated by quack doctors, almost emptied all the troupe's wealth.

The hair comber didn't look down on this little theater troupe at first, and seeing Dou Xingui starting to default on wages, he knew that if he didn't get his money back, he might be bitten back, so he simply stole the deed of prostitution and left overnight.

The opera troupe cannot do without a hair comber. Dou Xingui played both hard and soft ways, insisting on his kindness in the past, and took Jiang Wanwan as a maid for seven years.

"Nothing to do with you."

Jiang Wan turned her wrist tactfully, but the strength of Jin Zhi was too strong, the tight band made her painful, and she couldn't break free.

Jiang Wanwan felt a trace of pity for no reason, even if it was fleeting.

What Jin Zhi wants to hold is Jiang Wanwan, or her self-esteem that has long been destroyed.

"Don't delay because of a comb, let me wait here, 'pretend to be three lights in the morning, and three tricks in the evening', this is the jargon of dressing up." Jin Zhi wanted to poke Jiang Wanwan's heart with a knife, so what about dressing up? Still can't sing Tsing Yi.

Seeing that Jiang Wan didn't return, Jin Zhi was furious, let go of her, and pinched her hand with brute force, the nails pierced the flesh, and pinched and twisted her fingertips to one side.

The back of the hand, which seemed to be made of mutton fat jade, wrinkled abruptly, and it was covered with a frightening red.

--------------------

The author has something to say:

(1)

Shengping Department: An institution in charge of court opera performances in the Qing Dynasty.