There is a small public welfare theater next to the Bell and Drum Tower, and a beijing song has entered the city

The door of the old Drum Tower Community Service Station faces east, facing the old Drum Tower Street, looking up to the northeast, it is the bell tower tip; to the southeast, it is the drum tower tip. People come and go at the door, the sky is south and the sea, and there are accents everywhere.

On the gray brick wall to the left of the door of the service station there are two signs in black on a white background, one placed horizontally, with the handwriting "Theater Entrance" and an arrow drawn. In the lower left, under the substation box is a vertical sign with several artistic words written "Old Drum Tower Community Public Welfare Small Theater", and there is a drum tower silhouette above the two rows. Looking down the sign to the left, on the small steps is a large dark red iron door.

Saturday, May 22, 19:30. Restaurants are bustling throughout the street, and the lights shine through the shadows of the trees, flashing with joy and ease. The dark red iron door was also bustling! Far and near, old and young, came together, and soon the whole room was filled, and the table in the front row was about to be on the small stage.

At the Old Drum Tower Community Public Welfare Theater, Chen Wei performed Beijing Xiaoqu'er. Photographed by Deng Wei, a reporter of this newspaper

It is said to be a small stage, that is, a table with a piece of flannel on it and embroidered with the three words "Yanchun Society". Behind the table will be enough to stand down, behind which is the curtain. There is also a large fan sandwiched between the clips.

"The one in the third month is coming, it's a clear and clear city, hey..." The three strings sounded, the melody was relaxed, a beijing song, singing in the ears, following the small song, as if walking into the city of old Beijing.

The singer of the little song is called Chen Wei, 53 years old this year, and his family lives on the shicha seashore. When he was young, Chen Wei liked to sing, and he listened to and listened to a tape of "40 Folk Songs", which he regarded as a treasure. But at that time, he did not know that there were also folk songs in Beijing.

In 1995, there was a program on TV called "Shichahai", and Li Danshu, an expert in folk songs, was invited to give a lecture on "Beijing Folk Songs". Chen Wei happened to watch this program, and he knew that Beijing also had its own folk songs, especially Beijing songs, which recorded the old Beijing city wells, Beijing rhymes, and was playful and lively, "This is our Beijing 'pop song' ah! Chen Wei said with a smile.

Beijing little song is good! Chen Wei was fascinated. In 1999, he studied under Zhao Junliang, a famous actor of the Beijing Opera Troupe, and began to learn and inherit Beijing Xiaoqu.

Chen Wei not only learned to sing, but also tried his best to collect Beijing songs, even if he heard a sentence and a half on the side of the road, he would chase it down. In the past 20 years, he has learned to sing more than 50 traditional songs, and there have been many adventures in between.

"The peach leaves are pointed and the willow leaves are full of green." The Ming Ya gong who was in his place listened to me carefully, and this matter occurred in the West Beijing Blue Indigo Factory, where a pine old man lived in the firearms camp of the Blue Indigo Factory..." One day in 2001, Chen Wei went to the Fourth Ring Market to buy something, and suddenly heard a song outside the wall. Chen Wei rushed forward and asked, "Who did you learn from?" Next to the peddler's finger was an old man in his 80s with a wrinkled face: "My master." Chen Weibi was respectful and wanted to learn to sing a little song with the old man, and the old man asked him to go home the next day. The next day, Chen Wei came to visit. The grandfather and the two children did not greet each other much, and the old man sang all the songs that the apprentice did not sing, and the 11 lyrics were written in one go.

This song is the classic song of Beijing Xiaoqu'er, "Exploring the Qingshui River", and this old man is actually Mr. Sheng Jishun, the head of the famous Lotus FallEn Elderly Association. This almost lost traditional song was "picked up" by Chen Wei in this way.

According to the data, Beijing Xiaoqu'er was the most prosperous in the Ming and Qing dynasties, with more than 4,000 recorded songs. Nowadays, entertainment methods are becoming more and more abundant, fewer and fewer people can sing Beijing songs, and there are only about 10 people in Beijing.

In 2016, Chen Wei joined the "Yanchun Society", a society organized by folk art lovers. Every Saturday, public welfare performances are performed at the Old Drum Tower Theater. The small theater that can seat thirty or forty people has old faces and new faces every time.

Every time he performs, Chen Wei is looking forward to it, looking forward to more audiences, he wants to sing this little song to more people, "The more people listen, it is possible to pass on this unique Beijing rhyme." ”

The three strings rise again, and the little songs are sung. Chen Wei looked forward to it, and on the edge of this bell and drum tower, the sound of music continued...

(Original title: Beijing Xiaoqu'er Inheritor)

Source: Beijing Daily | Reporter Yu Lishuang

Process Edit: U016

Copyright Notice: The text copyright belongs to The Beijing News Group and may not be reproduced or adapted without permission.