The Wu Yin minor tune unique to the water town is witty and interesting, and it takes me back to my childhood.
A few days ago, I went to the ancient city of Pingjiang in Suzhou, and found that it still maintains its own beauty. It has been dignified and beautiful since the Song Dynasty, with parallel water and land and adjacent river streets. There are carved doorways that exude a historical flavor during the rainy season, and there are winding paths with vines and grasses at the corners of the alleys, and there are beams in the depths of the streets. ‘s playlist begins. I leaned against the windowsill and quietly listened to the soft and gentle Wu Yin mixed with the unique minor tunes of the water town. It was full of fun and brought me back to my childhood.
On Wanhangdu Road not far from home, there is a Fuyuan Bookstore, an old two-story brick-wood structure, which is considered a small one around Caojiadu. famous. As soon as I entered the bookstore, a unique smell of old houses hit my nostrils. There are 220 seats in the bookstore, all of which are long hardwood-backed chairs that make a “squeaky” sound when they sit down. I remember that the ticket at that time was 1.5 cents, and it was 8 cents to make a cup of tea leaves. Spectators are allowed to bring their own cups and tea leaves, and boiled water is provided for free, because it happens that there is a tiger stove next door.
When I was a child, after I went to the Caojiadu Jianmin bathroom with my father to take a bath, my father had to drag me to the Fuyuan Market to listen to a Pingtan. Pingtan’s elegant sounds and rhymes often make him linger. On the rudimentary stage, the Pingtan actor slapped the gavel on the stage, and in an instant, the chattering audience became silent. The Pingtan actors wore long gowns for men and cheongsams for women. With a flick of the fingertips, Wu Nong spoke softly in cadence, and the three-stringed pipa melodiously. Father listened to the historical story with bated breath. Sometimes when the actors on stage sang brilliantly, he would actually hum along as if no one else was there. There will be more than ten minutes of time for a nap in the middle of the performance. The actors will put down their instruments, relax and sit upright, straighten their waists, and drink tea. At this time, my father would squeeze into the front of the stage, greet the actors, and do family affairs, and the actors would have no pretensions, holding teacups, and chatting and laughing with the audience. There is no cafeteria in Fuyuan Bookstore. Actors eat and live in the bookstore, and they have to take care of their own lives. Old audiences often cook “good side dishes” at home and send them to the bookstore in lunch boxes.
The sound insulation of the Fuyuan Bookstore is very poor. Outside is the busy Wanhangdu Road. When it comes to the most exciting things, the car’s loudspeaker is often heard. From time to time, you can hear the hawkers on the road. There is a long and narrow alley next to the bookstore, where famous writers speak books, and there will be three sessions in the morning, afternoon and evening. In the morning storytelling, the soft tones and life-like stories made the audience listen with relish; while in the alley separated by a wall, children were full of curiosity about the big wall, and struggled to lie on the crack of the door and look in, taking turns one by one. It looks like a “diorama”. The people who wash and cook in the alley sometimes prick up their ears and want to hear something. Apart from the clear and mellow sounds of the pipa and the sanxian, the content of the words and words they play and sing are hazy. What is even more interesting is that the housewives in the alley can hear the sound of the housewives flushing the toilet, and the audience in the bookstore can hear it. The taste will also get in, but the audience in the bookstore seems to be accustomed to all this, and no one cares. Perhaps, this is the artistic taste of fireworks that really takes root in the world!
There are dozens of white-haired old people in the bookstore. They are old audiences, some are old neighbors, and they are sitting in old seats. The field is like a lost soul. In winter, the old people wear thick cotton-padded clothes, hold soup pots, hot water bottles and even salt water bottles, and some even hold an enamel cup printed with the “advanced worker” of a certain factory, and stare at the actors on stage intently. ‘s frown and smile. Listening to books for many years has made them old friends, and some even become in-laws with children. Unfortunately, as time passed, some old seats became vacant seats, and young people whose ears were filled with popular rhythms rarely filled these vacant seats. The Fuyuan Bookstore began to slump. From the addition of seats to the emptying of many seats, to the cancellation of the night show and the release of martial arts videos to attract young people, especially migrant workers who came to Shanghai from other places… With the expansion of the renovation of the old district, in 2003 In 2008, Fuyuan Bookstore officially closed its doors to thank guests.
(Chen Jianxing)