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Preface
A question for everyone, have you had any entertainment lately?
Thanks to the development of modern technology, we can have a very good time even at night.
Or charge into the game with friends, or go karaoke with friends, or go to the stalls in the night market to drink and chat.
If you like to be quiet, you can also find some TV series and short videos to brush up time.
So then again, how did they spend their evenings in the countryside in the 70s?
Harmonious neighborhood relations
I am a rural person, and I am most touched by the changes in the countryside over the years.
So, what has changed the most in the countryside over the years? The answer is that everyone's walls have been raised and their doors have been locked.
I remember when I was young, the houses in the countryside were very low, and most of the walls were really high, and you could climb over them by jumping higher.
As for the gates, they are rarely locked.
During the day, everyone goes out to work together, and at night, rural people especially like to take a meal and a small bench to chat and chat in the fixed gathering areas of the streets and alleys.
After eating, if there is nothing to do, everyone walks in groups under the tree-lined roads in the village to chat and enjoy the coolness.
It wasn't until I felt that the heat was gone and the people were tired, and then I said goodbye and went home to sleep one by one.
As for the children, their favorite is the summer night, carrying a small bucket with a flashlight, and flocking to find the golden cicada that has not yet shed its shell.
It's a good thing, not only can you eat it, but you can also sell it for pocket money.
It's a pity that the rural walls are getting higher and higher, and the gates are generally closed, and everyone is trapped in small courtyards one by one, and there is no longer the warmth it once was.
All of a sudden, chickens and dogs smell each other but don't get along with each other, and this kind of situation that only occurs in the city has become the norm in the countryside.
Is this progress or a step backwards?
Watch a movie on the grain floor
When it comes to watching movies, it should be a relatively common thing for modern people, and for those who have the conditions, they will choose to go to the cinema to buy popcorn and soda to watch movies.
And those who are too lazy to go out, or don't want to spend money, can open the mobile phone and computer to watch.
But this is what we can enjoy now, watching movies in the countryside in the 70s of the 20th century, it is an extremely luxurious existence.
It is only during the New Year's holidays that the cadres in the village will find a way to invite a professional film team to come to the brigade headquarters in the village and show a few movies to everyone, so that everyone can also open their eyes.
At that time, most of the films were domestic war films, such as "Tunnel War" and "Shining Red Star" and other works depicting the period of the Revolutionary War.
Although the picture quality is certainly not comparable to what it is now, it still impresses us to this day.
Now the conditions are good, and you can receive any movie you want to watch at any time by opening your phone, but I always feel that there is a lack of atmosphere.
Alas, maybe this is the nature of human beings, no matter how good things are, once there are too many things, there will be no feeling, I don't know if you have similar experiences?
Under a kerosene lamp
Now, even at night in the countryside, there is no need to worry about electricity, but when I was a child, there were not so many things that could shine at night in the countryside.
At that time, the national power grid was not as developed as it is now, especially in rural areas, where power was often cut off at night, so every household would have kerosene lamps and flashlights.
Flashlights are only used when going out, while at home, people use kerosene lamps for lighting.
Under the kerosene lamp, the children after school sit attentively at their desks and do their homework, while their mothers knit sweaters and mend their clothes under the lamps.
As for the father, he is usually not at home, or he goes to the fields with a flashlight to see the fields, or he goes out to chat with friends.
If the family is well-off, they will get some wine with peanuts to treat themselves, and then hurry to sleep, after all, rural work is also quite tiring.
As the breadwinner of the family, my father can only rest and relax a little at night.
Today, however, even in rural areas, kerosene lamps have largely been phased out.
My kerosene lamp has been in storage for a long time, and if nothing else, it may never be needed again.
I wonder if there is such a blackened kerosene lamp in your home?
Literary and artistic activities in the countryside
Speaking of which, most people may have the impression that there are no literary and artistic activities in the countryside, but in fact, this idea is wrong.
Since in the 70s of the 20th century, China's intellectual youth had not yet gone to the countryside, so the countryside at that time was also very lively.
After coming to the rural areas, those young intellectuals will generally form literary and artistic teams, and often combine their own life in the rural areas to create some programs of educational and revolutionary significance, so as to enrich the spiritual life of the rural people and carry out re-education.
In addition, at that time in the countryside, the storyteller industry had not completely disappeared, and when the farm was slack, the village cadres would also invite some storytellers to come to the village to tell everyone a few jokes, cross talk, etc., so that everyone was also happy.
In addition to these, the old people in the countryside often gather at the gate of the old temple in the village to play chess at night, and then unsurprisingly attract a large number of onlookers, all of whom watch the chariots and horses on the chessboard come and go with calm eyes, and shout from time to time.
Younger men preferred to play mahjong, and it should be noted that mahjong in the countryside at that time was generally not made of plastic as it is now, but carved out of bamboo or wood.
As for the children?
Their amusement was much richer, and in addition to the aforementioned catches, in the bright moonlight, the older boys would take small sticks or bamboo poles, and use them as swords to fight each other.
Girls, on the other hand, prefer to play hide-and-seek.
I really miss that childhood when there were friends everywhere, and look at the children in the city now, I'm afraid they will never experience that kind of happiness, right?
Xi learning
The Communist Party of China represented by Chairman Mao, they are really a great group of people, why do you say that?
Because they're really trying to help us have the ability to discern right from wrong.
After the founding of New China, Chairman Mao carried out a nationwide literacy campaign many times, and later young people went to the countryside, not only to let young people understand the countryside, but also to help rural people really take off the hat of illiteracy through these knowledgeable youth!
Take my grandfather as an example, in the 70s of the 20th century, in order to enable middle-aged people who were already old to be literate, the countryside at that time made up literacy Xi classes in the evening.
Regardless of gender, old and young, as long as they do not know how to read, they will be arranged by the village cadres in the classroom after the evening, and the young people in the city will be responsible for lecturing and eradicating illiteracy.
At that time, the rural people's congress cherished this opportunity very much, after all, everyone knew the benefits of learning Xi, and no one really wanted to be blind.
In addition, the literacy class at that time developed later, and in fact, it also became a meeting place for young men and women from all over the country.
Many people who were difficult to meet before have also taken the opportunity of literacy to have contact in a classroom, and many couples have also been achieved.
What makes people feel helpless is that now from middle school, children have to stay up late to study and Xi, and when they reach high school, it is simply fatal.
I remember that when I was in high school, my evening Xi ended at half past ten, and by the time I went back to the dormitory to wash and sleep, it was basically past 11 o'clock.
Every time I go back to my dorm bed, I always feel that this is the most comfortable time for me, and I want to lie in bed for the rest of my life.
Alas, it's also staying up late to study Xi, which feels very different!
Ever listened to the radio?
If there is anything in the modern village that needs to be notified by the village cadres, it is through the WeChat group. But before the appearance of WeChat, how did the village cadres notify the villagers?
The answer is the radio loudspeaker.
In the seventies and eighties of the last century, in order to let rural people know the relevant policies of the state, the state spent money to build loudspeakers in each village.
This has also created a large number of announcers.
Originally, these loudspeakers were only used to announce national policies or to announce important issues. For example, Chairman Mao and Premier Zhou were broadcast to us through these loudspeakers when they died.
Later, in order to enrich the night life of the villagers, every night at 7 o'clock, these loudspeakers would broadcast news for us, or some interesting cross talk sketches and songs.
It's a pity that with the widespread spread of television, the village speakers gradually took a back seat, and after the popularization of mobile phone WeChat, the former broadcasters were also laid off.
Today, in the building of the village brigade, the rusty loudspeaker can still be seen.
Occasionally, we can still hear some of these loudspeakers, but not many people want to listen to them anymore.
After all, in the era of WeChat QQ popularization, who is still in the mood to listen to that thing?
Huang-ki-hsien
Nowadays, people get married in the daytime, but in fact, before the 90s of the 20th century, most people got married at dusk.
Even the wedding word for wedding itself refers to dusk.
Similarly, in the countryside of the 70s of the 20th century, marriage was generally done at dusk.
Before the sun sets, the newlyweds hold a wedding, and after completing the ceremony with the common blessing of the villagers, the villagers sit at the table to drink and chat, enjoying this rare celebration.
When everyone has eaten and drunk enough, it is almost dark, and then it is time to make a hole in the house.
It's hard to say when the Xi of the cave house can be traced, but at least it was very popular in the Eastern Han Dynasty.
For example, Cao Cao and Yuan Shao used to make trouble in Luoyang and rob the bride.
Of course, it is impossible for the rural people's cave house to be so wild, and whoever dares to rob the bride must be beaten to death by everyone!
Under normal circumstances, it is nothing more than coaxing a few riddles to slip away, pouring a few glasses of wine into the bride and groom, or asking them to talk about how they came together, so as to open everyone's eyes.
Alas, I really miss the countryside of that era.
The post-70s generation who read this article, have they ever had these entertainment activities?
Resources:
1. Cultural Tourism Luzhou - "Kerosene Lamp"
2. China Confucius Network - "The Book of Rites: Suburban Special Sacrifice"
3. National Rejuvenation Network - "New China Literacy Campaign - A Miracle of Human History!"