Description of Laoshe Teahouse

The story tells that Wang Lifa, the owner of the teahouse, entertained his father everywhere in order to make his teahouse business prosperous, but the harsh reality made him often ridiculed. Finally, it was swallowed up by a ruthless society. Qin, a national capitalist who frequented teahouses, went from ambitious industrial salvation to bankruptcy; Chang Yesi, the son of the generous Eight Banners, embarked on the road of self-reliance after the demise of the Qing Dynasty. The story also reveals the living conditions of some small people, such as pockmarked Liu. Based on the rise and fall of a big teahouse in old Beijing, the whole play shows people the social features of Beijing and the different fates of people from all walks of life during the 50 years from the late Qing Dynasty to the victory of the Anti-Japanese War.

In the era when the Qing Dynasty was about to perish, Yutai Teahouse in Beijing was still a scene of "prosperity": caged birds, fortune-telling, selling antiques and jade articles, and playing cricket.

Wang Lifa, a smart young shopkeeper, is taken care of by all parties. However, behind this "prosperity" lies the suffocating decline of the whole society: foreign goods flooded the market, the countryside went bankrupt, eunuchs married, and patriots were arrested.

In the early years of the Republic of China, the people suffered from years of civil war. All the big teahouses in Beijing are closed. Only Wang Zhanggui has improved its management, turned the backyard of the teahouse into an apartment rented to college students, and put a phonograph in the main hall. Nevertheless, social unrest spread to the teahouse: refugees blocked the door, soldiers took the shopkeeper's money, and detectives came to extort money from time to time.

Thirty years later, Wang Zhanggui is still desperately supporting the teahouse. Japan surrendered, but the Kuomintang and American imperialism plunged the people into the disaster of civil war. Jeeps went on the rampage, patriots were suppressed, and rogue agents wanted to occupy the teahouse that Wang Zhanggui had painstakingly managed all his life. Wang Lifa is desperate. At this time, two friends who made friends 50 years ago happened to come. One is Mr. Chang, who was arrested by the Qing court, and the other is Mr. Qin, who completely collapsed in business for half his life. The three old people scattered the paper money they found all over the floor, crying and laughing sadly. In the end, Wang Lifa was left alone. He picked up his belt, went into the inner room, looked up at the roof, and looked for a place where he could safely end his life.