#精品长文创作季#民国时期清末遗风遗俗史话
At the end of the Qing Dynasty, the Eight Banners system was decadent, and those Eight Banners who relied on the blessings of their ancestors received monthly money (俸禄), idle, leisurely, and would only enjoy. Some even sold out their ancestral properties and antiques, and became destitute. In the Republic of China, the old and young knights are gone, but the Eight Banners are still there. In the city of Beijing at the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Republic of China, you can often see the boy brother who carries cage birds, makes teahouses, and falcons.
Fight the nine autumn insect chickens
Pu Songling's "Strange Tales from Liaozhai" has an article "Promoting Weaving", which is dedicated to fighting crickets in the modern era. Crickets belong to the category of playing insects, and their ancestors can be traced back to Jia Nidao in the Song Dynasty. Every autumn, the uncles who play crickets send their servants around to play the battle table, which is called "Joy and Autumn". Those who receive the post will also solemnly bring their "love general" to the meeting. When the female writer Su Xuelin was young, she also played cricket fighting.
Su Xuelin fights crickets
During the Mid-Autumn Festival in 1925, Su Xuelin returned from studying in France and held a traditional wedding with Zhang Baoling, who was born in a family of hardware merchants in Jiangxi, in Lingxia Village, his hometown in Taiping, Anhui. Su Xuelin taught part-time at Soochow University, and Zhang Baoling was also employed as a professor of engineering at Soochow University, and in 1926, Zhang Baoling and Su Xuelin moved their families to Suzhou. Soochow University arranged to share a small two-story western-style building with an American couple in Tiancizhuang. There is a garden in front of the building, overgrown with tall trees and weeds. In his spare time, Su Xuelin cultivated wasteland, planted vegetables at four o'clock, and raised a variety of goldfish for fun.
The couple also played cricket fighting and caught a dozen in the garden. At that time, it was the Northern Expedition, and Feng Yuxiang in the south was at war with Wu Peifu and Zhang Zuolin. The couple named the crickets after the generals of the northern and southern armies. Su Xuelin leaned towards the revolutionary army, and the first basin was named Commander-in-Chief Jiang, followed by Tang Shengzhi and He Yingqin. Zhang Baoling stood on Zhang Zuolin's side, and the first number was called Zhang Dashuai. "Zhang Dashuai" is very capable of fighting, not only defeated "Feng Huanzhang" (Feng Yuxiang), but even "Commander-in-Chief Jiang" could not parry. Zhang Baoling was proud, Su Xuelin was angry, and when Zhang Baoling went out, he quietly replaced "Zhang Dashuai" and took "Commander-in-Chief Jiang" to the nest. Her "Commander-in-Chief Chiang" turned into Zhang Baoling's "Zhang Dashuai". The original "Zhang Dashuai" turned into the "Commander-in-Chief Chiang" of the Northern Expedition, and the "battle situation" was reversed, and the "Northern Expeditionary Army" was like a bamboo, winning one after another. Zhang Baoling was very puzzled by the reversal of the situation, and when he observed, he found the clue and laughed for a while, in front of his wife, he could only do so.
▲ Su Xuelin, a professor at Soochow University
Jin Yuelin cockfights
Cockfighting is a worldwide pastime that originated in Asia, and China is one of the countries that domesticate cockfighting. Han Yu, a writer in the Tang Dynasty, once used "Cockfighting Couplets" to describe the scene of cockfighting: "The sound of cracking blood and losing the sound of screaming, pecking Yin is very hungry, and he is so anxious that he will be frightened, and he will give it with sincerity." ”
The philosopher Jin Yuelin is also a player, playing cricket and cockfighting. Jin Yuelin graduated from Tsinghua School in 1914, and later studied in the United States, the United Kingdom, and European countries, and after returning to China, he mainly taught at Tsinghua University and Peking University. When he was young, he was bathed in European wind and rain, and his life was quite westernized, with suits and leather shoes, dignified appearance, and great gentlemanliness. But what he didn't expect was that he liked the Chinese way of playing, he raised crickets, and he also had cockfighting. There are many cricket pots in the house, and crickets are often fought with children. When playing cricket and cockfighting, he is not like a gentleman, he is very engaged and completely a player. If the cricket loses, he will take apples and pears from his pocket and give them to the children, willing to lose the bet. In the eyes of the children, Jin Yuelin is also a big child.
Jin Yuelin also raised a fighting, but this fighting is just his pet and is not used to fight. Cockfighting has privileges in Jin Yuelin's house and enjoys the treatment of eating at the same table with the master. During the meal, the fighting climbed onto the table without any scruples, stretched out his neck to peck at the dishes on the table, and Jin Yuelin was so peaceful that he ate with the chicken on an equal footing.
Wang Shixiang, a player in the capital
Speaking of being able to play, learn and be famous, you can't help but talk about Wang Shixiang, a player in Beijing. He is a furniture collector and a famous player, playing insects, teasing birds, raising fish, walking dogs, falconry, and almost all the things that the gentlemen like to play in the past, Wang Shixiang can almost do it, and can speak the doorway.
Wang Shixiang said in "Memories of Beijing": When he was young, his family was superior, from primary school to university, he always played with things, his career was barren, he fought crickets in autumn, pregnant with autumn insects in winter, and caught dogs and cats. Raising pigeons and releasing birds is a perennial habit that is not restricted by the season.
Suburban Spider
The crickets are very good, but catching crickets is a technical job, not only to endure hardships, but also to know how to choose a place and know how to catch it. It is also necessary to have a complete set of equipment - copper wire covers, baskets covered with cloth, canvas bags, jars, large straw hats, banana fans, water bottles, torn trouser gowns, rain boots, and so on.
▲ Wang Shixiang and his parents (from Chenzhou's "Wang Shixiang", Cultural Relics Publishing House Edition)
In order to catch crickets, just after the beginning of autumn, the young Wang Shixiang went out of Chaoyang Gate early in the morning, along the root of the city wall to the north, towards the direction of the Dongzhimen water tower. He touched the small ditch behind the Li family's vegetable garden in Hujialou, where he had caught a frog cricket last year. But this time it was empty, and the crickets moved. He marched to the small temple of the Xiba River, and on both sides of the road were the slopes that were high for one person. It is difficult to catch crickets, one foot is on the slope to support the body, one foot is on the slope, the grass is trampled, the legs should be bent to sixty degrees, bent over, one hand with a fan against the grass, disturbing the crickets, one hand holding the cover, waiting for the crickets to appear. It took a lot of effort to catch a few crickets, which was not ideal. The heat was not light, the gown was wet, the top half of the pants was sweat, and the bottom half was dew. After noon, it took a lot of effort to catch a cricket with a jute head and a green winged shell, and then six or seven more were caught one after another, but there was still no big one. I was so tired that I went back to the teahouse in front of the Xiba River Temple to drink water, and drank seven or eight bowls in one go.
The sun was three poles, the sun was slanting in the west, Wang Shixiang packed up the altars and jars, and then went home. There was a seller of baked cakes on the road, and after eating two pieces, I didn't want to eat them, I was tired, and the crickets I caught were not ideal, so I lost my appetite. Catching crickets only knows thirst, but not hunger. When you get home, you don't know you're hungry until you've rested, and that's when you're satisfied.
The next day, he rode his bicycle farther to Sujiatuo. Riding a bicycle early in the morning, I rode fast all the way, but it was already noon when I arrived at Sujiatuo. First borrowed the old Wangtou's house at the west end of the village for a few days, and then went out of the village, inspected the terrain, and chose the West Mountain, which was one or twenty miles away from the village.
Early the next morning, he rode his bicycle to Xishan, turned around, and found a slope with good soil and abundant grass, and according to experience, there were goods here. Upon closer inspection, a nest of crickets was found. Insert them one by one with a skewer, and if you don't see a cricket coming out after twenty or thirty times. Changed direction and pierced again, and finally caught a purple cricket. At this time, he was already sweating profusely, his mouth was dry, his stomach was growling, he gnawed two mouthfuls of buns, looked back again, and caught one. That's a day, but it's only four crickets.
At the old Wangtou's house, he ate sticky cakes, drank two bowls of porridge, and waited until the evening, when the moon hung in the sky, Wang Shixiang took an electric rod and a skewer in his hand, and went out of the village again. There was a crescent moon in the sky, and the sky was full of stars, and the ground and grass were full of the sound of crickets and insects. Wang Shixiang is not familiar with the environment in the village and the field here, and he can't tell the direction at night, so he doesn't dare to take a fork in the road, so he has to follow the big lane and walk to a few big trees. But because it was dark, I didn't dare to catch it, for fear that I wouldn't be able to catch it and run. So the cat waited, and waited until dawn, and then pierced down with a skewer and caught this little thing, and sure enough, it was a sharp-winged insect.
He spent three days and two nights in Sujiatuo, and he caught five decent crickets, although they didn't catch much, they were very hard, and the fun made Wang Shixiang very satisfied. This is Wang Shixiang's experience of catching crickets twice in high school.
I caught the crickets and brought them back to raise, and the jars for raising crickets are also very particular and beautifully made. Wang Shixiang has a detailed description of catching crickets, buying crickets, raising crickets, and fighting crickets in his book "Jinghua Reminiscences: Autumn Insects".
Walk the dog and release the eagle
Wang Shixiang also likes to walk dogs and falconry. When he was seventeen or eighteen years old, he was taught by the fifth master of Bukurui and Wu Ergon, the first class of the camp, and learned to walk badger dogs and set up big eagles.
In 1932, Wang Shixiang began to raise dogs, and the first dog was a black flower, with a black head, white legs, and three pieces of black on his body. In 1934, when he was studying at Yenching University, his family had three dogs, Heihua, Qinghua, and Xue'er, and the dogs were usually kept in a garden in the east of Gangbing Temple in Chengfu.
Raising a dog and releasing an eagle has become the most enjoyable thing for him to do in his spare time. When I was in high school, because my home was in the city, I didn't have time to fly eagles, and I had to stay up until Sunday to have a chance. For the fun Wang Shixiang, flying eagles is not happy. When I went to Yenching University, because my family had a big garden outside the east gate, the dog and the eagle were usually kept in the garden, far away from the city of Beijing, and the eagle could be released when I got out of the garden, saving the toss on the road. You can also go to the garden when you are not in class in the afternoon, and if you skip school, you can fly eagles at least two or three times a week.
In 1936, Wang Shixiang returned from catching rabbits with an eagle (excerpted from Chenzhou's "Wang Shixiang", Cultural Relics Publishing House Edition)
Walking dogs, raising pigeons, and releasing eagles not only requires wisdom, but also patience, through scientific feeding and training, to establish feelings with animals, understand their temperament, and conduct training. Moreover, walking dogs, raising pigeons, and releasing eagles are also physical activities, and when dogs run, people also walk; when eagles fly, people follow them. Wang Shixiang himself said that when he was 79 years old, he could still catch a bus, carry a liquefied gas tank on a bicycle, and go to the gas station to ventilate by himself, completely benefiting from the badger dog and the eagle when he was young.
Mei Lanfang raises pigeons and trains her eyes
Pigeon keeping was also one of the hobbies of the children of Eight Flags in the past. The pigeon with the pigeon whistle soars in the sky, and the whistle sounds, resounding through the sky, as if the sky is sounding. Watching the pigeon flying, listening to the whistle, at that time it was also called "looking at the sky", stunned, empty, is also a kind of leisure and elegance.
Mei Lanfang learned drama at the age of 8, and at the age of 14, she took the class "Xi Liancheng" to participate in the performance. The appearance of the young Mei Lanfang is not outstanding, but he is diligent and hardworking, and loves to use his brains. Mei Lanfang's eyes are a little short-sighted, she can't see the distance clearly, the biggest problem is that her eyes are blank, and her eyebrows and eyes in singing can't be expressed, so Mei Lanfang is very distressed.
I heard that raising pigeons can practice eyesight, Mei Lanfang raised a few, released pigeons every morning, and when the pigeons flew into the sky, he couldn't take his eyes off it, and where the pigeons flew, his eyes stared at where. At first, the pigeon flew a little farther, the vision was blurred, he did not give up, his eyes were wider, concentrated, gradually, the blurred vision became clear, the number of pigeons in the distance, the flight attitude can also be distinguished.
Watching the pigeons fly, you can really practice your eyesight, and Mei Lanfang's pigeons have also been raised. Released every morning, Mei Lanfang did not drive all the pigeons out in one go, but released them in batches, more than a dozen at a time, dancing bamboo poles, driving new pigeons to chase old pigeons, and then her eyes fluctuated with the spread of the pigeon's wings to capture the flight trajectory of the pigeon. This batch of pigeons was released, and then a second batch was released. You can practice more than a dozen times in a morning.
▲ 28-year-old Mei Lanfang (excerpted from Wang Hui's "Mei Lanfang's Biography", Writers Publishing House Edition)
With this day-to-day practice, Mei Lan's eyes became bright. In this way, through raising pigeons and releasing them, Mei Lanfang has developed a pair of good eyesight, and between looking forward to it on the stage, she uses her eyes to convey the inner emotions of the character.
Owe me a kite five zhang wind
"The grass grows and the warbler flies in the February sky, and the willows are drunk with spring smoke. The children returned early from school and were busy releasing paper kites in the east wind. Gao Ding's poem describes children flying kites in the spring. This kind of scene is what many children have experienced in their childhood. During the Republic of China, kite flying was a national activity, not only for the children of the aristocracy, but also for the children of poor families.
Wang Zengqi when he was young
Wang Zengqi's father was a painter who liked all kinds of musical instruments, and especially liked to play with his children. Wang Zengqi followed his father to raise crickets and golden bells when he was a child. The thing that influenced him the most was kite flying. Before Qingming arrived, his father led Wang Zengqi and a group of other children to fly kites in the wheat field.
The kite is made by their own hands, in the shape of a long centipede, because centipedes have many feet, and centipede kites are also known as hundred feet. The centipede kite belongs to a large kite, and the whole kite is in the shape of a long snake, draped and hanging, and can be more than ten meters long. Ordinary paper face can not resist the impact of the high-altitude wind, therefore, the surface of the kite is often made of silk, the color is dyed, dyed into different colors according to the need, flying colorful, very beautiful. The string of the kite was unbearable with ordinary silk thread, and it was necessary to switch to twine, and Wang Zengqi's father used the strings of the huqin. When a large kite flies in the air, it bears a lot of force, and it also requires a special winch to collect and fly the kite.
In 1936, Nanjing led the kite
"The children's pants are red with them, and they are scolding the gods with clues. Everyone praises you for coming early in spring, and you owe me the kite five zhang wind. The centipede kite flew into the sky, wagging its tail, opening its teeth and dancing its claws, Wang Zengqi and the children shouted happily, the grass grew and the warbler flew, the scenery was touching, the mood was cheerful, the mood was happy, what an unforgettable and pleasant childhood. (Reference: "Those People and Things in Those Years, Old Times and Elegance"; with pictures/editors: Hu Licheng, a new media person)