What is unique about Lao She's Teahouse?

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.

Teahouses are common in China, but they are a very special place. Teahouses almost condense various forms of the whole society, and with the changes of society, scenes of human drama are staged simultaneously.

Teahouse is a very famous drama. The playwright Lao She (1899-1966), formerly known as Shu Qingchun, gave up her name. Lao She is his pen name. Manchu, from Beijing. China is a famous modern writer. Lao She's teahouse was written on 1956. With his unique artistic technique, he put the social changes of China in three historical periods into Teahouse in less than 50,000 words, and vividly showed them in the form of drama.

In this three-act play, there are more than 70 characters, 50 of whom have names or nicknames. The identities of these characters vary greatly. Some of them have been members of parliament, some have been directors of the gendarmerie headquarters, some are remnants of the Qing Dynasty, some are leaders of local evil forces, some are storytellers, fortune tellers and peasant women. All kinds of characters constitute a complete "social" level.

The creative intention of Teahouse is very clear. Through the change of "Yutai" teahouse furnishings from simple to new and then to simple, it shows the characteristics and culture of the teahouse in each specific historical period. At the beginning, tea drinkers played with birds, tea and insects. Although they were antique, they were all quiet because of the appearance of "detectives" and the note "Don't talk about state affairs". In the second act, the survival of Yutai, the renovation of teahouse facilities and the contraction of the scene undoubtedly hint at the teahouse's struggle in this increasingly contradictory society. The bigger the "foreign flavor" in the teahouse and the note "Don't talk about state affairs" written by Zhang Yue, the greater the crisis. In the third act, not only did you write a note "Don't talk about state affairs" with a large number, but there was also a note next to it: "Pay for tea in advance". This shows that the teahouse has reached the point where it can't make ends meet, and "paying for tea in advance" and "not talking about state affairs" obviously reflect a causal relationship.

Lao She takes the teahouse as the carrier, sees the big from the small, and reflects social changes. It is "tea" that brings all kinds of people, social classes and social activities together. If there is no "tea", everything in the teahouse will cease to exist. Because of this, Lao She also devoted a lot of pen and ink to Beijing teahouse culture in his plays. For example, in early teahouses, besides drinking tea, there was also a snack "carrion noodles". While drinking tea, you can also do many things that have nothing to do with tea; Teahouses in Beijing, like those in Jiangnan, are places for "eating and drinking tea"; Old customers of teahouses can get credit, and people who drink tea can also bring their own tea. Teahouses are also good places to listen to books, where storytellers can make a living. ...

Such details add a real atmosphere to the theme of Teahouse. Besides the theme of service, it also shows a bright spot of China teahouse culture. The artistic value of teahouse lies not only in reflecting the social changes in a historical period through a teahouse, but also in reflecting the influence of social changes on teahouse economy and teahouse culture.