Chapter 13 second quarter
Mrs. Liu Kai said it right. In the whole world, how can there be a city like Tokyo, and how can there be a festival like Tokyo's Lantern Festival?Absolutely not!Exhausting the relevant adjectives carefully created by human beings, such as "prosperous", "exquisite", "lively", "noisy", "resplendent", and "dazzling", are not enough to describe Tokyo's Lantern Festival. one.
Every morning, the city gates open to all directions—Nanxun Gate, Chenzhou Gate, Dailou Gate, Xinsong Gate, Xinzheng Gate, Fengqiu Gate, Chenqiao Gate, Wansheng Gate, Guzi Gate... They all smiled and opened their arms to welcome all the new and returning guests.They leave no doubt that more abundance and greater prosperity will be added to it.With such good intentions, they stood at the first checkpoint when people came to Tokyo, and introduced enthusiastically: "Come to the city quickly! Come to the city to have fun and enjoy yourself. There is nothing here You are not stingy about anything, on behalf of Tokyo City Station, I am here to welcome you, old man, and wish you a happy life, but please don’t bring me sorrow and disaster.”
Intoxicated with all the pleasant, fresh and lively things, willing to provide residents and guests with endless enjoyment, this is the special development of Tokyo City, which has lived a peaceful life of "bustling and bustling" for more than a hundred years as the imperial capital and the capital. character.
As a city, Tokyo City has this special "city pattern", and its residents have also developed a philosophy of life corresponding to this.
People in Tokyo always like to paint all kinds of brightly colored paints on it continuously. They paint a new layer on the old foundation that has not been shoveled off, and then paint a new layer on the new foundation to make it look fresher. paint.Under the bright and clean surface, you can still see the old traces, so it looks more colorful.
The city of Tokyo is getting better and better every day.
The Spring Festival itself is a kind of majestic orange paint.
In the middle of the twelfth lunar month of last year, the imperial court played a new trick, expressly stipulating that the date of previewing the Lantern Festival was advanced by half a month, which is also a kind of crimson paint that appeals to people's hearts.
However, it was just revealed during the Spring Festival, and it has spread far and wide in a few days, and the news of Zhengliao, which is well known to women and children, is a kind of shocking red paint.
Although the lifestyle of Tokyoites is rich and colorful, with endless changes, their goals in life are very simple.They only pursue sensory pleasure and stimulation and the necessary material conditions to achieve this goal. These lively programs are their food, drinks, snacks and snacks. If there is no such food to fill their hungry spiritual appetite, they will live in The world is going to feel dull.
What amazed Zhao Long and others was that the war that was so fiercely debated in the Northwest Military Conference, and the war mobilization order that someone witnessed in the small post station by the Mekong River sent out so urgently, was reflected in the enthusiasm of the people in Tokyo. In life, it's not like that.Now people in Tokyo know that this war is about to break out, but they are not busy at all, let alone nervous or excited, but feel very novel and relaxed.Liu Kai, who was in charge of Anfu, even felt that today's Tokyo is more prosperous than a few years ago, than when he left it two months ago, and it is closer to the peak of the Shengping period, not to mention Zhao Long, who has rarely been to Tokyo. , not to mention my mother who has never been here.
The pride of the Tokyoites in their well-informedness was especially evident in their ignorance of war—those who pretended to be the most knowledgeable in the abstract were often the most ignorant in practical life.People in Tokyo boast of all kinds of processed and decorated weapons, armored horses and horses they have seen in the market. They have seen officers with swords and swords coming in and out of the city gates. The so-called "armored cavalry" in which both men and horses wear armor is said to have no such elite cavalry unit in the whole world. ’ about the war stories.That was all they knew about war.Tokyo's upper classes and most of its middle class residents don't really get it.Or they don't want to seriously understand what war is.Did they not understand it positively, prepare mentally and physically for it, nor think negatively about what it might bring them or force them to change?Their first quick reaction to the rumored news of the war is to regard it as a novelty, as a newly added entertainment program, as a kind of sweetness mixed in their daily life. Delicious fine wine.In short, it is impossible for the flirtatious Tokyoites to have the fortitude and composure appropriate to war.If there are a few of them who think further, thinking that war is not necessarily so easy and happy, that one day they may pick up a sad gift like an uninvited guest and come to visit them at their door, then it is still a distant thing .From now until the outbreak of the war, there are still a few months to spare. From Tokyo to the front line, there is still a distance of more than a thousand miles in space. Why worry about it prematurely and excessively?Tokyoites have always adopted a realistic attitude towards the concept of time and space, which is limited to this time and this place.
Looting wildly, enjoying to the fullest, consuming without reservation, possessing completely and absolutely.As long as today's day is comfortable, how about the sweetness and hardship of tomorrow's day?The top figures in Tokyo used such shallowness and shortsightedness, such extravagance and extravagance, such absurdity and shamelessness to create and greet their own doomsday, and melted themselves and their followers in the flames of war like a snowball. And the misfortune spread to the middle and lower class citizens, causing them great disasters.
Such was the general insensitivity of the Tokyoites between now and the recapture of Yenching (the day when their joy culminated) for more than a year.
Starting from the twelfth lunar month of last year, some of the most lively and spacious streets radiating in all directions with Zhouqiao as the center, such as Tianhanqiao Street, Linbian Street, Mahang Street, Panlou Street, Jieshen, Taohuadong, Tanxiang Sheds and open houses have been set up on both sides of the street as temporary shopping malls to balance the overcrowding of the market.Even the Qianbu Corridor on both sides of the imperial street outside Xuandemen is full of such temporary shopping malls.Inside the temporary shopping mall, there are various grades of crowns, headdresses, clothes, skirts and jackets, collars, flowers, pearls, emeralds, heads, saddles, bridles, swords, tools, books and antiques, seasonal fruits, fresh cooked dishes, etc. Consumer goods, to the extent that everything is beautiful and beautiful.It attracts thousands of customers and is packed every day.During this period, customers even formed a trend, preferring to buy goods in the mobile paving.They would rather abandon the century-old store and make a deal at the pavement, thinking that the goods there are fresher and more fashionable, and even the old wine that gets better and better with age and the antiques that get more expensive with age are better bought from the pavement.In this way, Li Heer's fried chestnuts, Wang Daoren's fried honey, Sun Haoshou's steamed buns, Song Sisao's fish soup, Cao Po's meat pie, Xue's mutton rice, Zhao Wenxiu's pen, Pan Gumo, Zhang's cheese, Li lettuce, etc. The old store had to let go of its airs, and followed Daliu to rent pavements under the two verandahs of Daxiangguo Temple, Wuyue Temple and other temples, open branches, and sell in the market.As for the palm refusal of the Zhongpangu Ink Shop, they ingeniously moved Su Dongpo's gift poems and postscripts from the old shop, used a sandalwood frame, covered with green gauze, and hung them on the board wall to attract people.So many elegant people come to appreciate Dongpo's calligraphy, discuss its authenticity, and judge whether it uses Pan Gu's ink or someone else's ink from the color and luster of the dots, strokes, strokes, and hooks.Su Dongpo probably never dreamed that his inkblots had produced the effect of advertising.
In the climax of free competition, old brands are useless, and businessmen must adapt to the current situation and be ingenious.
Daxiangguo Temple is the first big temple in Tokyo. People in Beijing call it "Xianlan". If you don't know the abbreviation, you still call it "Daxiangguo Temple" rigidly. You can tell that you are a country bumpkin from outside. .Xianglan has the posture of Xianglan. Usually, the eighth, eighteenth, twenty-eighth and first and half of the first day of the lunar new year are only open to the public for one day, and they are only open for five days in a month.In the winter of the previous year, in order to cooperate with the imperial court's new thing - the preview of the Lantern Festival, it broke the rules and opened every day.Xianglan has always been a leader in the religious circles in Tokyo. Since she took the lead to make an exception and took the lead, the 168 temples and temples in the suburbs of Tokyo, large and small, are also willing to follow, and open the door of convenience every day. Forge a bond with immortals and Buddhas.When people come here, they not only want to pay homage to the gods and worship Buddha, burn incense and pray for lottery, but they are also busy talking about weights, doing business, buying and selling wholesale, everything should be there.More people come here to watch dramas, listen to conversations, gamble and play chess, and watch other people's dramas and games. People's extensive activities make these temples truly become the symbol of religious life, economic life and cultural life in Tokyo society. center.
At that time, famous zaju troupes from all over the country flocked to Tokyo to perform at the end of the twelfth lunar month.Tokyo is an open city that "does not charge tickets". Anyone who comes here to consume and provide consumers with pleasure and enjoyment is declared a welcome person.Some of these entertainers acted in zaju, some played acrobatics, some told history, some sang, some sumo wrestled, some played insects and ants and so on.They are all from the Three Rivers and Five Mountains, and they are all famous for their unique skills.They traveled all over the world, twenty-four roads, two hundred and thirty-eight states, and one thousand two hundred and twenty counties.Today, after finally getting to the emperor's feet, everyone wants to show off their skills and win both fame and fortune.Before and after the Spring Festival, they temporarily performed on-the-spot performances every day in the temple where they lived.Among them, the outstanding programs, after the ninth day of the first lunar month, will be selected to perform in the "thorn basin" in the city center of the lantern for ten consecutive days until the end of the lantern market.In order to select the program, Kaifeng Prefecture specially sent music officials Mencius Shu (some people say that Mencius Shu is his stage name, and he was famous for telling jokes in the book "Mencius", and later replaced the truth with the false, which became his real name), Zhang The two Tingsou were in charge of the matter, and Kaifeng Yin Shengzhang, the governor of Kaifeng at that time, was also an expert in this field, so he naturally had to participate in the selection.The so-called "thorn basin" is a large theater outside the Xuande Gate at the entrance of the Forbidden City, which is temporarily surrounded by colored silk, reed mats and bamboo frames.Whichever program is selected, the price will be ten times higher, and it will become a de facto national program.In the future, when performing on the outer roads, you have the right to embroider a couplet in gold on a silk banner measuring two feet square:
The performances in the temples before the Lantern Festival are actually just a rehearsal, which contains the nature of competition.The world is the most loyal, which team has accidents such as birth, old age, sickness and death, lack of food and clothing, and everyone raises money to raise money, perform voluntary plays, and work very hard.But when it comes to competitive performances, there is absolutely no ambiguity. Everyone has to fight for this tone, to win the title on the Longmen list, and no one will let anyone else.The more intense their competition and the harder their performances, the more they will satiate the audience's eyesight, so expert audiences prefer to watch the preview in the temple.
In the first few days after Mianniang arrived in Tokyo, Mrs. Liu Kai fulfilled her promise and went out every day to enjoy lanterns, temple fairs, and a hundred operas.Mrs. Liu Qi not only enthusiastically introduced everything she knew—she was almost omniscient in such matters, and she firmly believed that everything that interested her must also be everything that interested her—she almost knew everything about it. Interested in all new things.
In the initial rounds, she didn't consider at all whether Erniang wanted to know this, was she interested in it?It seems that the enthusiastic host puts out a sumptuous banquet to entertain the guests, without considering whether the food and wine match the appetite of the guests.
Needless to say, Xiang Lan, she seems to have reserved seats for a long time.However, temples in relatively remote places cannot be ignored. For example, the Liquan Temple far away from the gate of Shuixi is an example.Mrs. Liu Kai pointed to Erniang and said: Xianglan's performances are not good, but there are often unexpected and unpopular shows in Liquan Temple.Going to Xianglan to go to the theater is to "refresh the past", and going to Liquan Temple is to "taste the new".
When they went to Liquan Temple, they first went to the East Courtyard to enjoy the hanging silk puppets performed by Zhang Jinxian and his wife.Zhang Jinxian practiced a set of superb finger skills.He tied ten silk threads to each finger and pulled ten wooden puppets to appear on the stage at the same time.Relying on his flexible gestures, the puppets can not only do the same, but also make different movements, such as vertical dragonflies, somersaults, swats, wrestling, and so on. It becomes a musical, and the male characters become female characters.His wife, a golden voice nicknamed "One piece of gold", sang along with the puppet's dancing movements.Sometimes she sang loudly, and sometimes she sang softly like a wisp of secluded spring whimpering in an empty valley.The hearts of the audience seemed to be suspended by them with a silk thread, and they were anxious up and down. self-promotion engraved on a poster).
Then they went to the West Courtyard to watch Ding Yi and Shouji's "Joe Movie".Movies were originally a kind of puppet show performed with lighting equipment, which is an ancient drama.Ding Yi and Shouji, two artists, one fat and the other thin, are the first to innovate and let real people play roles instead of puppet performances.Thus, images of the slim Mrs. Li and the majestic Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty appeared on a piece of plain curtain. At the same time, the images of Li Yannian, the originator of the opera world played by Fat Ding himself, and Li Shaojun, the originator of the film and drama industry played by Shouji, appeared.It's a pity that they couldn't find a good voice like "Yi Yi Jin" to dub the film and drama, so they could only produce it in the form of pantomime, which is a silent film.But the screen is vivid and lifelike. Mrs. Li stared at her frowningly, with a silent expression, and Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty stared at her, full of questions "Is it evil or not? Why is it so late?" Wan Zhuang Currently, lifelike.No wonder the audience in Tokyo applauded it.Although this new breed is still in the trial stage, it won't take long for it to become popular all over the world.
A gigantic tent was erected in the outer courtyard connected to a square, all of which were used by the juggling class "All Eyes". "All Eyes" is the main actor, organizer and manager of this juggling class.Relying on his reputation in the Jianghu for twenty years, he recruited all the experts in the juggling circle at that time, making his team a leader in the acrobatics circle.
Brother Zhang Qi swallows a sword, Ma Monkey slides a pole, Dong Shiqi and Zhao Qi dance with a machete, and they walk a red tightrope.It is said that during the Spring Festival of the year before last, she played a new trick, made up to become a fairy, tied steel wires on the roofs of two tall and large houses, walked back and forth, and even walked out of various figures and postures gracefully, which aroused people's real curiosity. He thought that there was such a fairy Ling Xu who descended to earth.All these well-known programs must be shown every time, and every time they are played, they will cause a sensation and make people never get tired of watching them.
Among all these actors, perhaps none is more popular and popular with the audience than "Jiao Da Li Bao".Li Bao was originally a soldier of the Infantry Division of the Imperial Guard Army. He was well-known throughout the army for his corner attack skills. There was no opponent for him in the three yamen. Everyone called him "Xiao Guan Suo". This nickname was a great respect for him.The commander-in-chief Gao Qiu also likes this thing, and several times he asked people to show him that as long as he gets three points in a corner, he can be promoted to be a coach, but he didn't answer.One day, Gao Qiu got drunk and decided to wrestle him in front of many dignitaries.He was merciless, and fell over Gao Qi when he fell.From then on, Gao Qiu hated him deeply, and he couldn't stand himself in the imperial army, so he simply went to the art field to perform.Gao Qiu tried to make trouble for him again and again, as if the audience should not welcome him and protect him.When the wind became tighter, he went for a walk around the outer wharf, and soon he returned to Tokyo. He was still hired to perform on the stage, and Gao Qi was so angry that he stared and blew his beard, but there was nothing he could do for a while.
Liu Kai, who has studied Diagonal and Dayi, is Gao Qiu's subordinate, but he is Li Bao's most powerful protector.He once expressed his opinion: Li Bao has real talents and practical learning, and he is not a deceitful trick in the world.Mrs. Liu Kai added her own opinion and commented: "Li Bao's thing is strength plus ingenuity." This comment may be pertinent.Every time Li Bao goes on stage, the officers and soldiers of the imperial guards risk offending Taiwei Gao and go to support him. This can also be explained that the soldiers like to watch martial arts such as wrestling and sumo. The strange thing is that Many college students also appreciate his performance very much, why is that?According to Mrs. Liu Qi's analysis: Officers and soldiers came to see his strength, and literati came to see his ingenuity. It would be unreasonable to completely separate the mixture of strength and ingenuity.People can't help asking why she admires Li Bao's role so much?She is neither a soldier, nor a scribe, nor is she interested in and researching on Jiao Dao like her husband. She is just a real housewife!
In fact, not only Mrs. Liu Qi, but also thousands of women, children, old and young in the venue. They are not literati and warriors, but they also like to watch his performances, cheer for him and cheer him on.He won the opponent, and everyone cheered crazily. Occasionally, he missed and fell, and everyone sighed and regretted, as if they had lost a treasure in their hearts.The obsession with Li Bao's horns has become a kind of mania in Tokyo.There's an underlying reason, people don't actually like the show, they respect him as a person.Respect him for his steadfastness that refuses to bow his head in front of Captain Gao, and respect that even though he is surrounded by dangers in Gao Qiu's weaving every day, he still behaves as if nothing has happened, and often deliberately provokes and angers Gao Qiu in his gags. He respected Liu Kai and several other high-ranking officers for his heroism, and respected his husband's attitude that he didn't treat them particularly differently even though he knew Liu Kai and several other senior officers were his protectors.
The masses hate the powerful, and those who dare to offend the powerful are heroes in the hearts of the masses.Because people respect him as a person, they also like his show, but they don't fully realize it themselves.
All of the above performances have won the appreciation and admiration of the audience, but the most attractive thing is Tai Zhuzi's "all-in-one-eyes" performance of flying knives.With his specially designed outfit, dozens of pairs of sparkling golden eyes are embroidered on the black satin jacket and trousers with gold trim, which have become his perfect symbol.
There is only one performance a day, and before going out, four apprentices stand at the four corners of the arena, stroking eight bright and chilly willow-leaf flying knives with thick backs and thin blades tied with red silk.They set up their postures and waited for the master to come out. As soon as they stood at the center point, eight throwing knives flew towards the master from different angles at the same time.He opened his eyes all over his body, and with the accuracy and speed that ordinary people can't have, he first stretched out his hands to catch the two knives that flew from the front first, then turned his body sideways, turned over the back of the knives, and put the third, The four knives fell to the ground with a crisp clang sound, and then threw the knives in their hands, and at the same time clamped the fifth and sixth knives flying from behind with their armpits, tilted their heads slightly, and avoided Wiping the seventh knife that flew towards his ear, he turned around, opened his mouth wide, and bit the last knife that flew in front of him.The flying knife is made of pure steel, and the teeth all over his body seem to be made of higher-grade, high-quality front steel that has been tempered and tempered. Once the flying knife is bitten by his teeth, it is like a bird caught in the net. Trembling and struggling.
Immediately afterwards, with an unexpectedly fast movement, he crossed the two knives under his armpit and switched them to his own hand, only to hear the rings of the knives jingle, and where the red light flew, the two throwing knives flew towards him like lightning. The disciple's head flew away.The two apprentices hurriedly tilted their heads and shrunk their necks to dodge. The throwing knife seemed to have a spirituality, and it flew towards the side they were dodging.Only two "crack" and "crack" sounds were heard, and the two knives happened to be nailed to the wooden post where they were standing with their backs, and the distance from the top of their heads was only a hair's breadth away.
"It's dangerous, it's dangerous! This knife is slightly lower, and it blinds the apprentice's eyes!"
"It's dangerous, it's dangerous! The knife was slightly off, and it flew into the crowd, accidentally injuring the audience!"
But these actions are all completed in the moment when the audience has no time to speak, catch their breath, or even blink their eyelashes.These worrisome comments are afterthoughts.Although Mrs. Liu Kai is bold, she can't help but close her eyes during the performance, and at the same time pushes her to keep her eyes closed, as if doing so can prevent accidents and prevent flying knives from flying. Danger from your own head.Then before they even opened their eyes, they heard a burst of shouts, applause, and applause. People swayed their bodies wildly and shouted strangely, almost wanting to tie the building very firmly. Tents collapsed and drums collapsed.When they opened their eyes, they saw that the throwing knife was still in their eyes and mouths, smiling all over their faces, singing Fei Nuo and thanking the audience on three sides.
At this time, more than a dozen deacons suddenly appeared in the middle of the venue, carrying large baskets, and collecting money for the show from the audience one by one.The troupe at that time had not yet evolved to the system of selling tickets according to the number of seats: the audience at that time was not smart enough to slap their ass after watching a white play and then run away.They established a tacit understanding among each other that "you want to eat, so do I", and "you have to spend money to watch the show".The spectators give generously and help according to their financial means, their generosity, and their vanity, which especially likes to show generosity in public.Some took out a penny, some took out more than ten pennies, some took out a lot of money, and threw them into the basket with a clang, and the deacons all sang promises to thank them.
Mrs. Liu Kai is a regular customer and the main object of the troupe's fees.The popular actor Twist Hong personally ran to her with a plate.Mrs. Liu Kai was neither stingy nor ostentatious. According to her status as a regular customer, not according to her husband's status or status, she took out one or two small silver ingots from her silk bag, and gently stuffed them into a handful of red hands. inside.Yi Tian Hong smiled knowingly, curtseyed and walked away.
This is how the citizens of Tokyo spend their days in neighborhoods, temple fairs, pavements, and theaters.They have a lot of free time throughout the year, and when it comes to festivals, it boils like a pot of boiling water.
Of course, most of them are ordinary city residents.Those who go to Xianglan's stall to buy old books and paintings are of course the prime minister's son Zhao Mingcheng and his wife and other elegant people, but they are mainly ordinary people.Those thrilling zaju shows are basically designed, directed and performed to suit the residents' tastes, likes and dislikes.Residents enjoy these shows with joy, excitement, and the fear that they will end in a flash.They also admired the lanterns and visited temple fairs with the same mood.Tokyo society provided them with this flamboyant, frivolous lifestyle.Society is the creator of all ways of life, and in every case it can create ways of life to suit all kinds of people.
The tragedy of ordinary residents in Tokyo is that although they morally condemn, intellectually oppose, and emotionally hate the dignitaries and dignitaries at that time, in fact they follow in the footsteps of the dignitaries and dignitaries, and unconsciously, day by day, fall into inscrutable conditions. Go to the mud pit of self-extraction.It was not until the end of Tokyo that they really realized what serious consequences that evil class had brought them. Unfortunately, it was too late, and they had to become its victims, funeral objects, and fall into hell with it.
The tragedy of the residents of Tokyo is an unavoidable tragedy for middle-class urban residents under such historical conditions. However, when the tragedy was staged, it was presented in the form of comedy. The characters on the stage thought they were performing a comedy. This is the greater tragedy!
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