The main content of the drama Teahouse consists of three acts.

In the era when the Qing Dynasty was about to perish, Yutai Teahouse in Beijing was still a scene of "prosperity": people carried birdcages, told fortune, sold antique jade articles and played cricket. Wang Lifa, a clever young shopkeeper, takes care of everything. However, behind this "prosperity" lies the suffocating decline of the whole society: foreign goods flood the market. After years of civil war, the people have suffered greatly. All the big teahouses in Beijing are closed. Only Wang Zhanggui improved its management, turned the backyard of the teahouse into an apartment for college students, and put a phonograph in the hall. Nevertheless, social unrest still affects teahouses: refugees block doors, soldiers rob shopkeepers of money, and detectives come to extort money from time to time. Another 30 years later, Wang Zhanggui is still struggling to support the teahouse.

The Japanese surrendered, but the Kuomintang and American imperialism plunged the people into the disaster of civil war. Jeeps were rampant, patriots were suppressed, and rogue agents tried 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 fifty years ago happened to come. One is Grandpa Chang, a gentleman caught by the Qing court, and the other is Mr. Qin, who has 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, is a pen name. Lao She is a famous modern writer in China. Lao She's teahouse was written on 1956. He used a unique artistic technique.

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 gendarmerie headquarters, some have been veterans of the Qing Dynasty, some have been leaders of local evil forces, some have been storytellers, fortune tellers and peasant women, and so on. 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 primitive to new and then to simple, it shows the characteristics of the times and culture of teahouses in each specific historical period. At the beginning, tea drinkers played with birds, tea and insects, which was a bit antique, but because of the appearance of "detectives" and the note "Don't talk about state affairs", it was quiet. The renovation of teahouse facilities and the contraction of the scene undoubtedly 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.

Lao She takes the teahouse as the carrier, sees the big from the small, and reflects social changes. It is "drinking tea" that brings all kinds of people, social classes and social activities together. Without "drinking tea", everything in the teahouse would 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". 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.