Essay "Catching up"

Essay "Catching up"

Text/room photo far away

My hometown is located on the edge of the Grand Canal in Beijing-Hangzhou. In the Jining section of southwest Luxi, because there are many canal locks, there is one in three or five miles, so the villages on the side of the canal are mostly named after the locks, and my hometown is ten miles away from the upstream locks, which is naturally called the Ten Mile Locks Village.

The village is ten miles away from the sluice, and the sluice is farther away from the town, and catching up has become a necessity in the village. 、

Hurry up? Catching up with a meeting is catching up with a big gathering. Thirty years ago, in addition to the New Year's Festival, the rush to the party was the most important festival.

It's been a long time since I was in my hometown. The village started in the 1986s. After the reform and opening up, in order to build rural entertainment, the countryside was revitalized. Established "Association"

At that time, it would be twice a year, and the sixteenth day of February and the twenty-sixth of September in the lunar calendar were the meetings of the ten-mile gate for four consecutive days. There were people who sang big dramas, played juggling, sold food and drink, bought and sold cattle and sheep, in short, all of them were in that era, and they could basically be seen on the day of the meeting.

Of course, the most lively place to catch up is to listen to the play, the croppers do not have any entertainment programs, but these days are the most happy.

Most of the drama team invited were Yu Opera Troupe and Jining Zizi and Zaozhuang Zizi. Old men and women and most of the croppers like to watch, all old plays.

When my grandmother was alive, she was an old fan of two shows a day, and not one of them fell. So I also like traditional cultural customs, probably because I watched drama with my grandmother. I am familiar with most of the old repertoire.

There are "Liu Yong Goes to Nanjing" which introduces zhongjun patriotism, "Scroll Barrel" that imprisons his sister-in-law, "Three Weeping Halls" that serves the country as a family, and "Mu Guiying Hangs Up as a Commander" of the loyal Martyr Yang Family General, as well as "The Record of the Wall" that disrespects kindness and filial piety, and so on. Now the types of opera I can be more like a number of family treasures, such as Shandong Zizi, Zaozhuang Zizi, Shandong Lv Opera, Liuqin Opera, Two Sandwich Strings, Three Clip Strings, Yu Opera. Yue opera and so on are all things I am familiar with and like to watch.

I remember when I was four or five years old, in order to watch the drama, I lost myself. It was hilarious to watch the play, and it had not yet started, and the people watching the play were holding the maza early, and the bench took up the position. Elderly people with relatives at home may stay several days in advance, just to catch up with the meeting and listen to the play.

Children are even happier, not only have good food, fun, but also new clothes to wear. The most important thing is that you can also go backstage to watch the actors singing, magically dress up and paint big faces. Everyone is happiest to see a harlequin. They also don't hate to be noisy and play with us, and they will also do a few funny moves, which will make everyone laugh.

After dinner early, my grandmother and I also came early, her old man found the place occupied yesterday, of course, people have successively surrounded, crowded, shouting to buy, pulling, adults, children, relatives and friends, fellow villagers. There was a mess of talk and laughter. Suddenly the gong and drum guys sounded, the drum beat, the sound of the strings covered up the lively sound, did not speak, waiting to see the play, there is still half an hour to start, this is the opening point, and the gong and drum point, but also for the lively atmosphere and attract the listening to the rush to come quickly, the big drama will start immediately.

Sing a song of "Qin Xuemei Hanging Filial Piety" today. It is said that it is a bitter love drama, singing and singing, the old lady, the old man, the big bride, the aunt who listened to the play offstage, were infected by the storyline inside, the actors on the stage sang the intestines, pitiful and miserable, and the audience below was listening to the sparse. A handful of snot and a handful of tears, I can't stand this atmosphere. A few of us kids went backstage to play. Grandma was watching the bustle with a few old ladies and didn't notice me.

A few of me were backstage, watching the adulteress paint makeup, and the clown practicing and hanging his voice... Before I knew it, it was getting late. The companions felt sleepy and bored after playing for a long time, so they all said that they wanted to go home and go to sleep. I'm not sleepy, I'm on my head. I didn't pay attention to them. Wait all gone. I was still playing in the background and watching, and before I knew it, the two-hour scene had also ended, but I fell asleep on the box containing the costume.

"Alas... bub. Wake up, the drama is over, you still don't go home." I narrowed my eyes in fascination. At this time, I panicked. I am only four or five years old, during the day I am good to say, not afraid, this big night the theater people are gone, Grandma also went home, I am a born person, why go home, the actors who sing the opera do not know my home, that whole.

Just when I wanted to cry, my grandmother came back to me.

She was also anxious, and she was relieved to see that I was still in the theater. Just with the actors who sang the opera, they thanked each other, saying that they were fascinated by listening to the play, thinking that I was not around, may not like to listen, and a few children went home first. When the scene was over, they were still discussing, poor Qin Xianglian, who had been talking until she went home, still reminiscing.

When I got home, I knew I hadn't gone back and panicked. That's when they came to me. Everyone listened to the laughter and said: This little guy has come several times in a row, and we are familiar with it. He's really a fan of opera. "Like me, the field doesn't fall." Grandma said. Hahahahaha...

More than thirty years have passed, and I still miss the old days, and I always think of the scene of listening to the drama in a hurry...

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Author's resume: Fang Zhaoyuan, post-80s, Nanwang people, Jining, Shandong, currently living in Jinan, is a member of the Jinan Writers Association and a member of the China Prose Literature Association. Founder of Jinan "Swallow Literature Society". His works have appeared in poetry newspapers, magazines and literary websites.

One point no. Jinan Swallow Literature Society