You know that the opera workers in the old society were despised by others and had a hard time learning opera; But you don't know that many of them were trained not necessarily for the purpose of going to the stage, but just as playthings, regardless of gender.
In order to satisfy the excitement of the audience, they even have to play "porn", "powder", or use real weapons, "life" to sing.
On the stage, they are emperors, generals, talents and beauties; Under the stage, they worked hard, but could never get rid of the invisible shackles of "untouchable people", and were humiliated, oppressed, and played with.
In the old society, the little boys who practiced "Qiaogong" played the role of foot bound women
Only a little tiptoe is exposed, and the heel is completely suspended; The pace of acting is small, and the waist is fixed while the shoulder is twisted
The following episode of the past of the actors is the epitome of their sadness, blood and tears; It is also a corner of the turbulent history.
1、 What did Xue Pinggui do to me
Beijing in 1900
The sound of the guns of the Eight Power Allied Forces attacking Tianjin was as loud as the sound of the gongs and drums in the Beijing Opera Garden, as if they were trying to defeat the Eight Power Devils with this momentum; Or, simply stop your ears with the gongs and drums and stay in the comfortable world in the play.
The capital is in danger, but it is still a peaceful scene of singing and dancing in the Guanghe Theater located in the south of the city.
The old look of Guanghe Building
Those with seats, those who brew tea and water, those who sell pastries, fruits, pears and peaches, and those who sell opera newspapers shuttle among them.
The most unique thing is that those who throw towel boards, no matter how far away, no matter how far upstairs or downstairs, are all throwing from the air, without any fuss.
This night, at the age of 20, He Zhenshan was nervous and nervous, and he would welcome the most important debut in his life. As the first leader of the theatrical troupe, he participated in the Red Mane Horse and married Xue Pinggui, the daughter of the Prime Minister.
He sang the "Big Axis", the last "Corner", which was the most important.
On both sides of the pillars, some people held torches, reflecting the next excited and expectant faces of Zhang Youliang. All the audience are waiting for the arrival of this moment, but we should see how the "Xue Pinggui" of this "new subject" looks and feels.
He Zhenshan took a deep breath and opened his eyes. He was wearing a suit of armor, dressed in white and waving a whip through his sleeves. Xue Pinggui is alive with all kinds of figures and styles. He is very heroic and seems to be high spirited!
Mr. Cheng Yanqiu and Mr. Yu Zhenfei in Red Mane Horse
The stills of the episode "Farewell to the Kiln"
At the very first appearance, there was a greeting ceremony. Hundreds of audiences shouted "good", shaking the ground. He Zhenshan's handsome appearance is rare in ancient and modern times.
He Zhenshan knows that he will become famous tonight!
This is the top theater in the capital. It is the garden where Emperor Kangxi watched the play. If the actor can get the first prize in Guanghe Building, he will be a carp leaping over the Dragon Gate.
Looking at the enthusiastic audience, He Zhenshan's heart surges. He lost his father when he was young, and his family was as poor as water. His younger brother died of hunger. His mother had to sell herself to a section class and studied hard for seven years. After graduation, he also provided for his master for three years. Only then did he become a free man and enter a famous theatrical troupe.
As long as the performance doesn't go wrong tonight, it will be a great success in the future!
Unexpectedly, just as he was singing the song "Surrender to the Kiln", He Zhenshan suddenly felt a tightness in his stomach. He said, "Your father and Yuan Pinggui have formed an enmity. What's wrong with Xue Pinggui?" As soon as his lips came out, he felt like a knife in his stomach! He said in his heart: Bad, diarrhea!
Immediately, the gas of elixir field was hard to resist. He Zhenshan panicked, but he could not bring it out on his face. He was still struggling with each other; Cold sweat came out on his face, and his costume was soaked with sweat!
The actor who played Wang Baochuan with him immediately noticed something unusual, but according to the rules on the stage, he could not turn the stage over. If the actor on the same stage had a problem, he had to help cover up and sing, and then he continued to perform without making a move.
But He Zhenshan could not hold back. He should have said, "Ouch!" and then followed with four words of Xipi Shaker. But at the same time, my stomach seemed to burst!
Then, a loud and long fart came out, followed by a gush of yellow and white things. A pair of trousers ran down the trouser legs and filled a boot; And with the action, it rippled from the boots to the stage.
He Zhenshan suddenly became dark and confused. This was not the end of it, but the nausea made his stomach surge up and vomit all over the floor.
Suddenly, the whole theater was filled with a pungent stench.
The audience immediately became confused, only to hear someone yelling, "Hey, look! Xue Pinggui's two heads are showing off, go down, oh!"
Then, tea bowls, smelly shoes, and fans were all thrown up from under the stage, cursing and vomiting.
He Zhenshan knows it's over! Fall! Anyone who wants to die on the stage has his heart set on the stage. He is stunned and bewildered in the middle of the stage.
In a panic, a theater clerk jumped onto the stage, lifted his clothes and put them on He Zhenshan's face, hugged him and withdrew in a panic.
The owner of the theater and the class leader of the theater immediately ran out, bowing to the guests to appease and beg for forgiveness. However, it was a big loss this night.
Before tonight, this matter will become a big joke in the whole pear garden world: young Wusheng will throw up when he is on the stage! He Zhenshan fell into a big trouble, and has no face to be a man ever since.
He Zhenshan is unwilling! One step away, you can turn into a dragon. Why did such a big accident happen?
His life is over. Ten years of hard work has gone to naught. He Zhenshan only feels heartbroken.
If he didn't dare to eat anything cold before he came to the stage, how could he vomit and diarrhea?
He Zhenshan didn't find out the reason until the farce went from uproar to calm down. It turns out that someone killed himself!
Earlier, a theatrical troupe invited him to join many times, but he repeatedly refused. The boss bought a small steward of the class and put laxatives in his tea! He suddenly understood why the tea was so strong that night.
After learning the truth, He Zhenshan's first thought was to revenge the person who destroyed him. But I feel helpless under the balance of left and right. He has no right, no power and no money. What can a pariah who plays opera rely on to revenge?
Just when everyone sneered at him and didn't avoid him in time, He Zhenshan's master didn't abandon him and sent word to see him.
On that day, He Zhenshan came to his master's house. A group of young boys who were practicing martial arts made him very sad. These children, known as Tong Ling, reminded him of the time when he learned martial arts and was beaten.
I haven't seen you for several years. Shifu is much older.
He Zhenshan knelt in front of Shifu. Even the atmosphere did not dare to come out. After waiting for a long time, Master sighed: "Zhenshan, you are the most promising disciple of Shifu's teaching for decades. This time, I've heard all about it. It's not about you. However, if you still want to eat this bowl of food, you must leave the capital to perform in other places; if you want to stay in the capital, you must leave the stage."
He Zhenshan, with tears in his eyes, knew that the master had made plans for him, knelt down and thanked him, "I would like to listen to the master's arrangement!"
"Zhenshan, this is your life and your cultivation!"
He Zhenshan quit the stage and became a teaching chair.
What he did not know was that Peking Opera would be his destiny that he could not part with in his life; He was even more surprised that he met unexpected people in his younger martial brother's "porn" class.
2、 Han Xin was trapped in the past
After He Zhenshan left the stage, he became a teacher in the teacher's Xiaoxiangshun class.
In the past 12 years, I have concentrated on bringing up my nephew and younger generation, which has won the trust of Shifu. It is very meaningful to pass on this discipline to him.
By this time, the government of the Republic of China had taken the throne, and Sun Yuan had a dispute. But what happened outside has nothing to do with He Zhenshan. He only knows that the Qing Dynasty is gone, but Peking Opera is still listened to.
He Zhenshan is strict in his requirements and believes that he can't become a talent without fighting. Because he knew that God did not reward everyone with food. Those who entered the pear garden but could not eat this bowl of food would have a miserable life.
He waved his cane to a row of little boys lying on the bench. These children all shaved their heads and wore bamboo shirts, revealing their buttocks full of red prints.
He Zhenshan, a middle-aged man with a serious face, called one by one again. His voice was like a bell, and he said: "Four skills and five techniques! Sing, read, do, and play four skills! Five techniques of hands, eyes, body, hair, and steps! You must study hard to become a good actor! Do you understand?"
Now, the little boy actors have been trained for more than half a year in their basic skills, and they will soon become branch actors to begin professional drama learning and training. Therefore, He Zhenshan pays special attention to whether their basic skills are solid and whether they have a certain understanding of Beijing Opera.
A group of pigeons whistled and flew by. A handsome little boy secretly raised his eyes and watched. He Zhenshan understands that this child is suitable for playing Dan roles. Instead of mending a cane in the past, he thought of himself when he was a student.
Boys in Practice
The two boys on the right are practicing "Dan" Qiaogong
He was only six years old when he entered the section class. If his family were not too poor, his mother would not sell his son into the section class. In the eyes of ordinary people, learning drama is like being in the lower class. It is like being a pariah, even ranking behind prostitutes. You can't turn over for a lifetime, and you can't even enter the genealogy.
What's more, you have to sign a "coupon book" to sell yourself. Since then, life and death have all gone to the leader, just like selling yourself as a slave.
What He Zhenshan's mother didn't know was that what she sold her children into was not an ordinary drama class, but a "Xianggongtangzi" in the name of learning drama and cultivating "playthings" for the rich.
Just thinking of this, I saw a man enter the yard.
This person is not tall. Although he is a man, he walks in a pinched manner. The skin on his face is white, tender, and smooth, with seven or eight female faces, especially a pair of red phoenix eyes, which is very attractive. Before people arrive, fragrance comes first.
He Zhenshan looked carefully and found that it was his younger martial brother, Jiang Juying.
The two were very happy to meet. Although they were in Beijing, they didn't have much chance to meet. He Zhenshan asked other teachers to teach for him. He and Ju Ying went to a pub.
The relationship between He Zhenshan and Jiang Juying was slightly tortuous. At the beginning, the two were sold together to Yuan Lingxian, who opened the public hall in disguise. However, Li Ruhai, Yuan Lingxian's elder martial brother and a student in the opening class, felt that He Zhenshan was a good young man, so he gave him away from Yuan Lingxian and accepted him as his apprentice.
Since then, the two children have embarked on different life paths. He Zhenshan has almost become a character, while Jiang Juying has distorted her gender and become a "husband" who sells sex, drinks and talks with him, and can sing.
He Zhenshan's way of learning drama is to fight; Jiang Juying's way of learning drama must be raised.
Since Shifu Yuan Lingxian took him to the "Jiyun Hall" in Hanjiatan Hutong, a path of "transformation" has begun.
Different from ordinary small classes, Yuan Lingxian's Tangzi is his own private residence, and his apprenticeship is also his own biography.
Jiang Juying and a group of new junior students, once in the hall, did not learn anything, and were first confined to a large room that could not be exposed to the sun and starved.
When I am almost hungry every day, I will give some hard to swallow coarse grain staple food, coupled with food lacking oil and salt, but I will not be satisfied.
Within half a month, the boys' skin began to improve, from rough to thin, from black to yellow.
Next, I began to scrub my skin frequently with soap added with goose oil. Another month, the boys' skin turned from yellow to white, and it was very moist.
Since then, I have to smoke my body with spices every day and learn how to make up, which is more exquisite than real women. At the same time, Yuan Lingxian also gave them the aria and aria of Dan roles, and taught women how to talk, behave and look.
Within a few years, these children will be cultivated to have fair skin and attractive fragrance. When they act, they will look at each other as if they were a girl.
Princes in the late Qing Dynasty
At that time, it was much more delicate and charming than ordinary men
Jiang Juying is the most outstanding one among these actors. She not only studies hard in the play, but also excels in social interaction, strain, character and style, especially his eyes, which are very exciting.
People who understand drama know that "a face is on the face, and a face is on the eyes". Jiang Juying's eyes are born with an earthly charm.
By the time he was about thirteen years old, he had already met guests in the hall. Officials, rich businessmen, scholars and so on in the capital all came to admire their names. They put wine and tea in the Jiyun Hall, listened to Jiang Juying's several songs, and then talked with him, even started to move, to enjoy the soft money tenderness and strange stimulation brought by this male and female husband.
In a few years, Jiang Juying also became the number one in the flower list in the capital city, ranking her husband specially.
At this time, He Zhenshan was just a boy who was temporarily borrowed by the troupe to play.
Jiang Juying is not a prostitute. She boasts that she has not fallen into the world, but lives more richly than ordinary people. She is loved and held every day. Until one day, all the illusions were shattered.
That day, Shifu brought him a rich merchant guest, who ordered several songs and then began to pour wine to Jiang Juying.
It is Jiang Juying's daily job to accompany guests to drink. But that time, he felt dizzy without drinking a few cups. In a trance, he only felt that Shifu and the rich merchant helped him to the backyard, and then he lost consciousness.
