Original title "The Former Door"
Speaking of the central axis, the History of Chinese Architecture refers to the axis that dominates the overall situation in the large ancient Chinese architectural complex as the "central axis". For example, the total length is about 7.8 kilometers, from Yongdingmen in the south to the Bell Tower in the north, connecting the outer city, inner city, imperial city and palace city of the old city of Beijing, running through the central axis of the north and south of Beijing city. This line is also known as the Dragon Vein of the Forbidden City, the backbone of Beijing.
I often go to my grandfather's house in Chongwen District as a child, and I have a deep affection for the South Central Axis, and some things have always been cherished in my heart, especially the big bowl of tea, the front door building and the grand view building.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > large bowl of tea with evocative memories</h1>
Among the many songs that sing about old Beijing, my favorite song "Qianmen Love Big Bowl of Tea" is not only due to the fact that my grandfather and his 8 brothers were born and lived near the front door, but also because the song sang the unique charm of old Beijing, which made people listen very kindly.
My fourth grandfather once told me that since the Beginning of the Qing Dynasty, on the streets of Beijing's Four-Nine Cities, near the faces of various city gates, there are large and small tea houses, tea gardens, and tea houses everywhere, and they receive tea guests from all over the world all day long. In addition, there are many tea sellers in Beijing, and in addition to picking and choosing to do business, some of them set up tea stalls. There are many tea houses around Qianmen and Tianqiao, especially tea stalls, and those who set up tea stalls, in addition to outsiders, are mostly local residents who do small business.
The tea sets of the street tea stalls are very simple, and they are all placed on the side of the road with a low table, several small benches or long stools, which is convenient for pedestrians, tourists, foot pullers, pedaling three wheels, and drinking tea for small businesses.
From the late 1970s to the 1990s, there were many individual tea stalls in Beijing. These tea stalls are hung under the white guise uniformly made by the management department, and the four characters and numbers of "individual stall vendors" are printed on them.
Yin Shengxi's Tea Stall (June 1979)
When it comes to selling large bowls of tea, the most famous is Yin Shengxi. After 1979, in order to help solve the employment problem of unemployed youth around him, Yin Shengxi resolutely resigned from the "iron rice bowl" of the Dashilar Street Office and led more than 20 unemployed young people to establish the "Youth Tea Society" on the roadside southwest of Qianmen, selling a large bowl of tea for two cents a bowl. Later, it gradually developed into Beijing Big Bowl Tea Trading Company, and successively created two well-known brands of "Big Bowl Tea" and "Lao She Tea House".
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > Yihai "bought" the front door building</h1>
"You have the money to buy the front door building!" This is a phrase that old Beijingers used to satirize people who like to brag about money or show off their wealth.
There are really people in the front door building who have "bought", but it is not bragging, nor is it really bought, but leased. This person is Liang Shizeng of Dashidian Village in Xiji Township, Tong County.
Liang Shizeng was born in 1942. As early as 1964, with the support of the village, he set up the first village-run enterprise in the county. At the beginning of 1980, Liang Shizeng was transferred to the commune's industrial and sideline group as deputy leader. At that time, faced with the current situation that the Xijixiang Garment Factory was on the verge of closure, he proposed himself as the director of the factory. Under his leadership, the whole factory staff achieved a turnaround in one year. After the development of the enterprise, Liang Shizeng added the "Beijing Yihai Handicraft Factory", the main products are "Yihai" four treasures of the literary room, copper screens, bronze antique products and other eight series of products. Around 1988, Liang Shizeng boldly leased the Qianmen Building, exhibited and sold the handicrafts in the factory, causing quite a stir in and around the capital, and many media in the capital also carried out propaganda reports.
In May 1990, Beijing Yihai Industrial Company held the "Yihai Forbidden City Antique Products Concept Exhibition", and Liang Shizeng (third from the left) took a group photo with the VIPs.
Later, in order to meet the needs of domestic and foreign cultural relics markets and handicraft enthusiasts, Liang Shizeng led the staff to imitate bronzes and other cultural relics. At this time, the Palace Museum in Beijing was looking for collaborators to copy the more than 1 million cultural relics and treasures treasured by the Forbidden City for easy exhibition. These treasures include copper birds, copper beasts, copper Buddhas... They are vivid and lifelike, showing the extraordinary wisdom of the working people of ancient times. The person in charge of the Forbidden City approached Liang Shizeng for negotiation. In just over ten days, "Yihai" copied and imitated 46 treasures at an astonishing speed, such as the two ruyi used by Cixi when she was married, and Cixi's imperial pen "Shou" character was etched on a copper mirror. The person in charge of the Forbidden City was full of praise, and at the end of 1989, the two sides signed a contract, and since then, "Yihai" has embarked on the road of melting Qin and casting Han and carrying forward the ancient culture and art of the Chinese nation... Liang Shizeng was also awarded the honor of Beijing Model Worker and National Contemporary Outstanding Farmer Entrepreneur.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > unusual grand view building</h1>
In my memory, Qianmen Avenue is one of the most prosperous and culturally rich areas in Beijing. It is located on the south central axis of the capital and has been prosperous since ancient times.
The most worth mentioning is that in the Dashilar commercial block, there is a Daguan Building that was built in the late Qing Dynasty, which was originally a "Tycoon Xuan Opera Tea House". Renamed "Daguanlou Film Theater Park" in the 31st year of the Qing Dynasty (1905), it was one of the earliest screening places in the southern part of Beijing run by Ren Qingtai (Zi Jingfeng), the founder of Chinese cinema. In 1913, it was renamed "Daguanlou Cinema", which is today's Daguanlou Cinema.
I remember that in the spring of 1981, my uncle Tan Shiying came to Beijing from Yinchuan and lived in our house. One day, my uncle took me to the Grand View Building and watched a movie together. I still remember what he said to me: "On the 60th birthday of my grandfather Tan Xinpei, he filmed the movie "Dingjun Mountain" in the company of my father Tan Jiarui, which was performed in Daguanlou. ”
My uncle's family once lived in No. 1, Tieshu Xie Street, No. 1, Dawai langying (now Tan Xinpei's former residence) in the area of Bada Hutong outside the front gate, more than 600 meters away from Daguanlou. According to the "YingXiuTang Tan", "In the autumn of 1905, Tan Xinpei filmed China's first silent black-and-white film "Dingjun Mountain" at the Fengtai Photo Studio (the land shrine of Liulichang). Tan Xinpei plays the main character Huang Zhong, the cinematographer Liu Zhonglun, and the photo studio manager Ren Jingfeng. It took a total of 3 days to shoot and complete three films, "Please Miao", "Dancing Knife" and "Confrontation". It was then screened at the 'Grand View Tower Cinema' at the Dashilar outside the front door. As a result, Tan Xinpei became the first film actor in Chinese history. ”
In that year, Ren Jingfeng decided to shoot the Peking Opera movie "Dingjun Mountain", and had the dual thoughts of congratulating tan Xinpei, the "king of the Lingjie World", on his sixtieth birthday (Chinese always calculating the birthday period based on imaginary years) and taking pictures of Peking Opera. After consulting with Tan Xinpei, he chose the shooting location in Fengtai Photo Studio, with Ren Jingfeng as the director, his apprentice Liu Zhonglun photography, and Tan Xinpei performed his best clips in front of the camera.
In the filming of the film, the pianist Tan Jiarui and his partner accompanied Tan Xinpei. Although this is a silent film, Tan Xinpei does not have to sing, but he also needs band accompaniment to appear and perform.
The film "Dingjun Mountain" ends the history of No domestic films in China. After the movie "Dingjun Mountain" was screened in the Grand View Building, it caused a strong response in Beijing, and the audience was endless.
To make the film, Ren Jingfeng bought vintage hand-cranked cameras and film from a german-owned foreign firm in Dongjiaomin Lane. Tan Xinpei did not ask for any remuneration, and even pushed away the opportunity for commercial performances.
To commemorate the 100th anniversary of the birth of Chinese cinema, the famous director An Zhanjun directed the film "Dingjun Mountain" in 2005 and held a premiere and press conference at the Daguanlou Theater in Beijing in February 2006. Tan Xinpei, a famous Peking Opera performance artist, who plays the Peking Opera master Tan Xinpei in the film, said excitedly: "100 years ago, my great-grandfather's first Chinese film was screened in the Daguanlou Theater, and the new version of "Dingjun Mountain" was premiered here, which is not only a coincidence, but also a continuation of the fate between opera, Peking Opera and film art. ”
The central axis of the old Beijing, which has gone through many vicissitudes, is the longest existing urban axis in the world, bringing together the essence of Beijing's ancient architectural art, with unique regional characteristics and humanistic features. Since the day it was born, after several generations of unremitting efforts, it has inherited and carried forward the traditional Chinese culture and Chinese civilization, retained the historical context, and supported the yesterday, today and tomorrow of this ancient city.
Text/Liu Weijia
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