Chapter 17 16.festival

On January 1, 1912, the Republic of China was born.This year, Ye Shengtao was 18 years old and lived in Suzhou.In the afternoon of that day, he, Gu Jiegang and other two or three friends went for a stroll in Guanqian Street. In his diary, there was a description of "the wind is raging and the clouds are dark, the city is quiet and the people are sparse".The diary also specifically noted: "Today is the first day when our country switched to the Gregorian calendar." The friendship between Ye and Gu lasted until Gu Jiegang died of illness in the early 1980s.More than a month later, the Republic of China ushered in the first Spring Festival, and Ye Shengtao wrote in his diary: "New Year's Day every year, the day of watching husband and wife, the day of oil and fat, every time the perception of imagery is different, there is another situation. Here The situation is also felt today." Wu Mi, who was the same age as Ye Shengtao, was studying at Tsinghua School in Beijing at the time. He wrote in his diary on the first day of the Lunar New Year: "Chen, for "Shui Tiao Ge Tou", it is very different. It's comfortable. Nothing to do in the afternoon. In the evening, Li Junboyu and Zhonghou and Junyan catch birds for a show. Hee, this is also a routine in the New Year."

On the New Year's Eve of 1917, when Lu Xun lived in the Shaoxing Guild Hall in the south of Beijing, he wrote in his diary that day: "Sitting alone on the record stele at night, there is no feeling of changing the year." Chen Jitang was once a powerful figure in Guangdong.As the saying goes: "One person attains the Tao, chickens and dogs ascend to heaven." Among his relatives and friends, there are many people who hold real power.Guangdong businessman Huo Zhiting, relying on his concubine Mo Xiuying and others as his backstage, has arranged the largest cigarette and gambling donations in the province for many years, making no profit.On the first day of the first lunar month of a certain year, Huo visited Mo Xiuying's home to pay New Year's greetings, and gave each of Mo's children a "Rishee", each containing a check for 100,000 yuan, totaling more than one million yuan.After Huo resigned, Mo unpacked and took a look, and couldn't help being surprised.

In the winter of 1947, Chiang Kai-shek and his wife lived in Lushan for a period of time.On New Year's Eve, Jiang and his wife invited the staff around them to have a New Year's Eve dinner. Chairman Wang Lingji of Jiangxi Province and Chief Guard Yu Jishi were present.Chiang Kai-shek and his wife sat at both ends of a long table, Wang sat on Jiang's left hand, Yu sat on his right hand, and other personnel were in the middle.There are no expensive dishes and no wine on the table.The most conspicuous is a roast turkey.Song Meiling saw that the roasted turkey was relatively crispy, so she persuaded Chiang Kai-shek, who had bad teeth, to eat more.

Wei Xinchen, a big comprador in Tianjin's financial circle, and Ning Xingpu have a close friendship. During the Chinese New Year, they will visit Ning's house in person to congratulate them. During a certain Spring Festival in the early Republic of China, Liang Shiqiu’s father said: “I can celebrate the New Year on whatever day I want, why bother to follow everyone?” Shao Ganyi has business in major cities in Northeast China such as Harbin, Changchun, Dalian and other places.Once Shao returned from Harbin to his hometown of Jin County to celebrate the New Year, he ordered his servant to steam two large baskets of steamed buns for him to take home.The attendant said, "It's so ugly." Shao said, "Stop talking nonsense, I think it would be nice to have steamed buns at home during the Chinese New Year."

Zhang Qun had a close relationship with Zhou Zuomin, the boss of Minsheng Bank. During the Spring Festival of 1946, when Zhou was in Chengdu, Zhang specially rushed to Chengdu on New Year's Eve, and invited Zhou to take a car to see the city's annual scenery, and then got off the car to stroll on the streets for about an hour.During the Spring Festival, Zhang Qun also prepared a table of rich delicacies to entertain Zhou Zuomin in his apartment.Zhou said in his diary: "It is said that during the Anti-Japanese War, (Zhang Qun) was extremely frugal with guests. It is impressive to set up this grand banquet for Yu today."

Xu Jie's hometown is in Tiantai, Zhejiang.The local custom is to collect debts in the twelfth lunar month until the New Year's Eve. It is unlucky to collect debts on the first day of the first lunar month.Anyone who asks for debts with a lantern is counted as coming out on the night of the New Year's Eve, and can go all the way to the morning of the first day of the new year.The saddest thing for poor families is the end of the new year.Xu Jie's family is poor and has always been in debt, while his uncle opened a shop as a creditor.Every New Year's Eve, my father would sneak away and go to my uncle's house, one to avoid debts, and the other to collect debts for my uncle, playing two diametrically opposed roles.

On New Year's Day in 1931, at the initiative of the children, Zhang's family in Jiuru Lane, Suzhou celebrated the New Year with a lively "fun party".In addition to family members, some guests were invited to attend.The party started at 6:00 p.m. In addition to dancing, playing music and singing Kunqu opera, a one-act drama "One Night in a Coffee Shop" created by Tian Han was also performed. 17-year-old Zhang Zonghe played the hero, and his sister, 22-year-old Zhang Yunhe played the heroine , the other roles were played by the Zhang family siblings, and their stepmother Wei Junyi was also arranged to play the role of a shopkeeper with only three lines.

On the New Year’s Eve of 1934, Hu Shi was busy with the dinner. He wrote in his diary: “There are two lunches at the European and American Student Association: one is Meng He and Meng Zhen’s farewell party for Yuan Shouhe; Fu, Yiduo, Wu Shichang, Chen Mengjia, Gongchao, Lin Bozun and others", "have dinner at the American embassy in the evening". "When I came home, the Chinese New Year guests were still playing cards. I played four rounds and then went to bed. They played cards to watch the New Year until dawn." On New Year's Eve in 1936, He Qifang went to Qingdao to look for Bian Zhilin with a few catties of Laiyang pears.Bian was busy translating novels in a summer hotel run by a German.The two young people spent a good year in the cold and chatting.

When Zheng Yimei lived in Suzhou, every new year, she would invite two or three friends to hang out at Xuanmiao Temple.When you are tired from walking, go to Sanwanchang tea shop, drink tea by the threshold, and enjoy the peaceful scene in front of you.He later moved to Shanghai, and he missed those idle days very much, "I still think about it now." When Yu Dafu lived in Hangzhou, he liked to climb Chenghuang Mountain during New Years and festivals. He said: “This corner of Chenghuang Mountain seems to be my lover in the wild. When the weather is bad, you only need to go up the mountain for half a day, drink a bowl of tea and two cups of wine, and sit for two or three hours, and you can recover and come back refreshed, as if you have taken a bath. However, on the first day of this year, I will go as usual; in addition, whenever there is a festival or a little free time, even if I don’t feel bored, I will walk up the mountain alone and sit on it for a long time.”

During the Spring Festival of 1929, on New Year’s Eve and the first day of the first lunar month, 26-year-old Pujiang Qingdu wrote “A New Discovery of the Oracle Bone in the Yin Ruins” in the single dormitory of Tsinghua University. After finishing the draft at noon on the first day of the new year, he went to the city to watch a play with some friends. . Fifteen years later, Pu is already a professor at Southwest Associated University. Although he lived alone in Kunming with his family in his hometown in Shanghai during the war, this year has been very enjoyable and lively, and it is not what it used to be. On New Year's Eve in 1944, he wrote in his diary: "In the morning, Pei Xian (Zhu Ziqing) please eat baked rice cakes. In the afternoon, I gather together to make dumplings. For dinner, I have steamed dumplings, two dishes, and wine. I heard (Yiduo) I brought a plate of chicken and a bowl of radish balls from my family. This is the New Year’s Eve dinner. I’m in good spirits. I’m lucky to have to celebrate the New Year in a free zone this year. If I still live in Shanghai, I’ll be depressed. After dinner, I’ll play cards at Wen’s. Join in, or play four rounds, or eight rounds, twelve rounds." This game continued until dawn on the first day of the new year.On the first day of the first day of junior high school, "was up early and late", and ate fried dumplings. At noon, everyone still had dinner together, such as roasted elbow, fried pork liver, rock sugar gingko, etc. After dinner, Pu "entered the sparrow game".After lunch on the second day of junior high school, Pu Jiangqing went out to pay New Year's greetings. He wrote in his diary: "Chen Meng's, You Zecheng, Qian Duansheng, and Jin Yuelin's homes in Zongpiying all had refreshments. In the third day of junior high school, it was cold, and in the morning Pu Jiangqing, Zhu Ziqing, You Guoen and others were talking about poems around a furnace, and in the afternoon they went to another place to sing Kunqu opera.That night, Wen family was still "talking around the fire", "from religion, science to old and new poetry, movies, and dramas, and they were debating each other." On the fourth day of the lunar new year, Pu, Wen Yiduo, his wife, and Zhu Ziqing went for a walk to Yu Guanying's house in Sancun, and Take a trip to Black Dragon Pool.It was recorded on the same day: "The setting sun shines on the pool, shaded by bamboo trees, and the environment is very quiet. Camellia is still in full bloom in the temple. A plum blossom is in good shape and is in full bloom."

Although Zhang Yuanji is a figure of the new school, his life philosophy and practice often lead the trend by destroying the old and creating the new, but there are some customs and even bad customs in his family that cannot be followed.His family's New Year's Eve dinner must have two dishes.One is "golden bars", that is, shredded radish fried tofu; the other is "Yuanbao", that is, egg dumplings.All take the meaning of getting rich.In addition, every New Year's Eve, the Zhang family will place offerings to worship ancestors and line up to kowtow. It is said that on New Year's Eve in 1941, Wang Jingwei posted a Spring Festival couplet in front of his apartment on Yihe Road in Nanjing: "The great wish of establishing the nation's civil rights and people's livelihood; opening up the great cause of the party, the country, and the people."That night, someone modified the couplet: "The grand ambition of establishing a family, power and survival; the great cause of establishing a false party, a false country, and a false people." In August 1947, Qiao Dazhuang went to Taiwan alone and served as a professor of the Chinese Department of National Taiwan University. The next year, he spent the New Year alone in a foreign land.Qiao is addicted to alcohol and feels lonely. He has not eaten vegetables since New Year's Eve and drank Jinmen sorghum wine. He spread family photos on the table in front of the lamp.For several days in a row, he was always in a state of drunkenness and blindness. In his later years, scholar Deng Yunxiang once recalled the scene of buying New Year’s goods in Beiping before the Anti-Japanese War: “At that time, my family lived in Xicheng. Shops, pork bars, chicken and duck shops, mutton beds, large and small oil and salt shops are full of people, and the curbs are also full of various stalls. There are big electric lights hanging at the door of the dried fruit shop, and the big basket The piles of assorted Nantang and Beijing Mixed Mix are like hills. There is a big chicken and duck shop at the entrance of Tangzi Hutong. The big fat ducks are fully inflated and oiled. If you spend ten or twenty yuan on 'Busy Year', you can buy a lot of things. To buy a big fat duck that weighs five or six catties, you need change for a dollar." Shaving one's head and taking a bath is a scene in Peking during Chinese New Year.On New Year's Eve, bathhouses of all sizes in the capital open at dawn and operate 24 hours a day. They are still brightly lit and full of bathers in the early hours of the first day of the new year.Most of the employees in the bathhouse are from Dingxing, Hebei, and they shouted one after another in a timid voice: "Look at the seat—please come inside", "Come over here", "Backboard—"... During the period of the Republic of China, every New Year's Eve, there were folk performances in the "Luozi Pavilion" in Nanshi, Tianjin.Those who sing pear blossom drums, Beijing rhyme drums, single strings, mountain tunes, lotus falls, etc., gather here.The actors all wear red satin embroidered skirts, short jackets, and pearl flowers on their heads.They sang until midnight, and then they went to Tianfei Palace to burn incense sticks accompanied by their "best friends" for auspiciousness for a year.The guests came to join in the fun at this time, and the tickets they took out were doubled compared with usual. Xu Zhucheng recalled: "The year before the Anti-Japanese War was the first New Year I spent in Shanghai. Late at night on New Year's Eve, two brothers Fei Yimin and Wang Yunsheng drove to invite them to visit the New Year's scene in Shanghai. First, we went to the Old Town God's Temple and the Tianyun of Yongan Company. After walking around the building, I arrived at the Red Temple on Nanjing Road. I saw groups of Yingying and Yanyan, all wearing red silk trousers or red cheongsams. Some youths in robes and jackets or big-bellied middle-aged men followed. I heard that these girls are all 'business' in the first- and second-class teams." In the autumn of 1927, Luo Yinong rented a house with wing rooms on the second floor and the second floor at the intersection of Xinzha Road and Matthurst Road in Shanghai. On New Year's Day, Luo Yinong hosted several banquets here, and twenty people including Qu Qiubai, Wang Ruofei, Chen Qiaonian, Su Zhaozheng, Deng Xiaoping, Zheng Chaolin, and Xia Zhixu came here to celebrate the New Year.Zheng Chaolin later recalled: "Everyone ate and played happily, which left a deep impression on me, so that I still remember many people who participated." Many people were probably nervous because they were usually in danger. , Take advantage of the Chinese New Year to relax completely, so there is what Zheng Chaolin calls "happy".During the banquet, many people were drunk. Zheng Chaolin was in a relationship with Liu Jingzhen at that time, so he became the object of everyone's noise.After Zheng Xunji escaped from the back door, Wang Ruofei chased him drunk to the street and dragged him back. Shen Yinmo recalled: "Before and after the 'May 4th', there was a long period of time. Every first day, there must be a letter from Zhou Zhai in Badaowan, inviting me to a banquet. Most of the seats are Peking University colleagues, and they must come every year. Those who attended were: Brothers Ma Er, Ma San, and Ma Jiu, as well as Xuan Tong, Bai Nian, Mei Xian (Zhu Xizu), Ban Nong and others. As usual, there were Japanese New Year’s must-have foods at the banquet—squid cakes and grilled fish, etc. From early morning to evening, we ate and chatted, having fun during the day. The scope of the conversation was extremely wide, and sometimes it was unavoidable to criticize contemporary figures. Lu Xun always hit the target's heart in a cold and concise manner, and everyone roared Endless." Painter Situ Qiao recalled that on New Year’s Eve in 1925, “A classmate from Yanda University invited me to have a New Year’s Eve meal. I walked to the Tongzi River and passed by a porridge factory. Suddenly, there were four armed policemen holding sticks , pushed and kicked a pregnant woman dragging two children out. When asked why, the woman begged for a bowl of porridge for the children, and finally wanted to beg for a bowl for herself, just for this, the four The big man beat her up and insulted her. This inhumane incident made me unable to participate in the New Year’s Eve banquet of my classmates. I ran back to the dormitory and quickly wrote down the scene at that time. Because of my poor foundation in sketching and tracing back from memory, the drawing was very rough , I am afraid that only I can recognize what the line expresses.”This painting was later bought by Lu Xun from an exhibition. During the Spring Festival of 1934, Mao Dun wrote an article "Shanghai University", which he claimed was a record of his field trip.Mao Dun later recalled: "The newspapers have long said that the market is in decline. In fact, there are at least 40 or 50 shops on Nanjing Road that can't pass the New Year's Eve. The rent alone is more than half a year in arrears. The landlord asked to be arrested and closed. Solve it, because if the Bureau of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce issues a seal, it will hurt the face of the big Shanghai under its rule. The newspapers are also closed due to the Lunar New Year's Eve, but there are special issues. On these special issues, there are only advertisements for movie theaters, which are extremely exaggerated and exciting. , The ability to seduce. On the road, there are only trams, buses, and private or rented cars. Rickshaws are hardly patronized, because their regular customers—small citizens—have empty pockets. The movie theater (high-end) was full every show. We went to buy tickets at 9:30, but we couldn’t get any. In the middle of the night, the roads in Shanghai were deserted. On the way home, we met a A villager told me: there are only two and a half stores on Nanjing Road that make money; these two are Sanyang Nanhuo Store and Wufangzhai Pastry and Snack Store, and the other half is Guanshengyuan.” On the New Year's Eve of 1935, Lu Xun wrote to Huang Yuan: "This year there seems to be more firecrackers than last year, which shows the prosperity of retro. More than ten years ago, I saw people celebrating the old calendar year, and I opposed it, but now I feel calm and feel that it is still lively. I bought a batch of firecrackers, and they will be set off tomorrow night." The next day, on the first day of the Lunar New Year, Lu Xun wrote to Yang Jiyun again: "This year, the sound of firecrackers in Shanghai is particularly strong, which shows the retro. Ask about the old and the new, but this year they also use the excuse of the New Year to cook wine and meat. They also buy fireworks and let them go at night, so that they are forced to be trapped all year round. The suffering is enough, so why don't people eat for a while. Besides, the new life has its own Under the auspices of a powerful government, the common people of my generation don’t have to make fun of it, and find a way to wither on our own.” In 1927, Yu Dafu celebrated the New Year in Shanghai alone.On New Year's Eve, he booked a room at the Cangzhou Hotel. That night, some of his friends came to the hotel to take a bath one after another. Yu Dafu wrote in his diary: "Chinese people live in poor facilities, so there are seven or eight people in one room. When I came to take a shower, the manager of the hotel was quite annoying, so I had to laugh it off.” The next day’s diary said: “The stove is burning, the indoor air is warm, sitting alone behind the curtain (curtain), listening to the sound of firecrackers outside the window, It's a bit out of this world... I really want to stay here for a long time, but the cost is too high. I have to leave this place before noon today. However, if the economy is abundant in the future, I will always come back to live here for a month or two, because the place is quiet and clean. Do more meditation." After leaving Cangzhou Hotel, Yu Dafu went to the Publishing Department of Creation Society to have lunch. "Played dominoes with colleagues from the publishing department in the afternoon, and lost more than two yuan. Around 5 o'clock in the evening, I went out to Zhou's house and played cards with the ladies until dawn." On February 7, 1940, New Year’s Eve, when Song Yunbin was in Guilin, he recorded in his diary: “At five o’clock in the evening, go to Kaiming, eat Shaoxing sauced duck and dried fish, both are good, and white chicken is also good. At six o’clock, go to Xinsheng Restaurant, At the invitation of the National News Agency. After dinner, I participated in the National News Agency Gala. Yu was a little drunk, singing Kunqu opera, laughing, and the wine poured up, showing his drunkenness. Yang Yanying, Ding Wuyang, and Lin Shan took Yu back to the apartment and fell down. Just sleep, I don’t know the whiteness of the east.” The next day (the first day of the Lunar New Year), he wrote: “Last night, I was very drunk, and it was said to be a laughing stock. When I got up in the morning, I still felt dizzy, so I ate two oranges.” January 26, 1941 was the Lunar New Year's Eve. Soong Meiling did not return to Hong Kong. Chiang Kai-shek wrote in his diary: "This eve is the Lunar New Year's Eve. I spend the New Year alone. I am afraid that there is only one person who is so lonely in the world." On New Year's Eve in 1940, Zhou Fohai lived in Shanghai. He wrote in his diary: "Reminiscing about my mother's birthday, I couldn't serve her, so I couldn't help crying. I miss my relatives a lot during the festive season, and I don't know when I will be able to have fun with my knees." For several days, he "went to No. 76 to watch the drama" every night, or "returned late at night", or "returned at three o'clock in the morning". Wang Zengqi was born in an old-fashioned big family, divided into several "houses".He later recalled: "Every New Year's Eve, we have a reunion dinner on this square table. Our family's eating system is: rice is served in one pot, and the first house and the third house eat the same pot of rice to show that there is no separation. , the dishes are fried in each room, and it seems to be separated. But on the evening of the New Year's Eve, the grandfather and the two men will have a meal at the same table. The dishes are all handmade by the wife. As usual, there is a big bowl of duck soup, duck diced , diced yam, and diced mushrooms. This duck soup is delicious. It is not usually made. It is said to be made in Huizhou." The big dumplings are especially 'oily'. The dumplings are mixed with lard for washing sand ten days before filling, and steamed once a day on the head of the rice pot. .I can eat up to four of these dumplings." Liang Shiqiu grew up in an extremely conservative family in the capital.Gambling is absolutely prohibited at home, and there are no mahjong tiles at all, so he has never known what mahjong is since he was a child.It's just that gambling is banned every year from New Year's Eve to Shangyuan, but it's only limited to the number one red dice roll, betting thirty copper coins, and playing for no more than one or two hours each time.Once during Chinese New Year, Liang Shiqiu dared to ask about how to play mahjong. His father said seriously, "Do you want to play mahjong? Go to Bada Hutong!" Liang Shuming never passed the New Year's Eve. In 1930, when he was running a village governance college in Huixian County, Henan Province, he wrote to his relatives that he had no intention of going back to Beijing for the New Year after seeing the suffering of ordinary people.At that time, there was no distinction between soldiers and bandits. This year, he slept with his clothes on and spent the time alone amidst the sound of firecrackers or gunshots. During the Spring Festival of 1935, he visited military strategist Jiang Baili in Shanghai. The Spring Festival in 1936 was on the way from Wuzhou to Nanning. At the beginning of 1938, Liang Shuming went to Yan'an, and when he arrived in Kaifeng by train on the way back, it happened to be the evening of the New Year's Eve. He stayed in the Henan Hotel alone, and the New Year passed like this. In the Spring Festival of 1939, he was on his way to inspect the enemy's rear. His diary on February 18 recorded: "On New Year's Eve in the old calendar, I drove through Sanyuan and met Zhao Daiwen in a garden; when I arrived in Luochuan late, it snowed on the way." In the Spring Festival of 1940, Liang Shuming Feeling that they spend too little time with their children, they used the winter vacation to take the two brothers to Beibei, Chongqing, and spent New Year's Eve in the nearby Jinyun Temple. During the Spring Festival of 1948, Feng Zikai lived in Geling, Hangzhou, and became very popular with books for a while. He happily wrote Spring Festival couplets for the nearby villagers.But the villagers didn't know how to cherish it, so they wrote it as soon as they wrote it. After many years, there is no scrap of paper left. Chiang Kai-shek's last Spring Festival on the mainland was spent at Xikou. From New Year's Eve to the fifteenth day of the first lunar month in 1949, Chiang Kai-shek specially invited famous fans and Peking opera actors from Shanghai to Xikou to perform his plays.First performed at Wuling School for six days, then performed at Shangxiabaiyan Temple for two days each, and performed at Wushan Temple, the old and new Jiang family ancestral halls for one or two days each.All the performances are votive plays.Among the performance repertoire, the first play is often performed in the Huangchao uprising and beheaded monk Liu Kong, followed by the Three Kingdoms plays such as Borrowing the East Wind, Ganlu Temple, and Returning to Jingzhou. Li Xinbai is an old man of Xinhai. During the Anti-Japanese War, he took refuge in other villages and lived in extreme hardship. In 1938, he wrote a poem "Ode to New Year's Eve": "Begging for rice for New Year's Eve, the first year of this year. Returning home is only a dream, and there is no money to buy wine. Two The temples are as white as snow, and the loneliness is as cold as a spring. When will the Xiongnu be destroyed, thousands of miles will be peaceful." In the early days of the Anti-Japanese War, Zhang Zhizhong served as the chairman of Hunan Province. In February 1938, he made a private visit in micro-service, walked seven counties, and made a secret trip.Zhang Yu set off on the first day of the Lunar New Year. While resting in a village in Xiangtan, he chatted with farmers. He asked, "Why don't you post pairs for Chinese New Year?" The farmers replied, "I have no spare money!" Questions like whether children can read or not, why people's teeth are yellow, and so on, are answered very simply and consistently: "There is no money!"