What does the pledge order of Laoshe Teahouse mean?

The play shows the social changes in the past half century in three periods: the Reform Movement of 1898, the warlord scuffle and the eve of the founding of New China. Through a teahouse called Yutai, it reveals the dark, corrupt and bizarre society in China for nearly half a century and all the people in this society.

There are nearly 50 characters in the script, besides the teahouse owner, there are also banners who eat imperial grain, capitalists who run industries, eunuchs in the Qing Dynasty, priests who believe in foreign religions, poor farmers, spies, thugs, policemen, hooligans, fortune tellers and so on.

Extended data

In the three-act drama Teahouse, 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 gendarmerie headquarters, some are old people 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.

Teahouse shows the characteristics and culture of the teahouse in each specific historical period through the change of the furnishings of Yutai Teahouse from simple to new and then to simple. 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".

The survival of the "Yutai" in the second act, the renovation of teahouse facilities and the contraction of the scene imply 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. "Pay for tea first ... don't talk about state affairs" obviously embodies a causal relationship. Lao She takes the teahouse as the carrier, sees the big from the small, and reflects social changes.