Tianqiao Zhu Shaowen statue
There are two theories of the founding ancestor of Xiangsheng, one is Zhang Sanlu and the other is Zhu Shaowen. Zhang Sanlu coined the term "cross-talk" to establish cross-talk as an art form; Zhu Shaowen began to perform cross-talk for the first time and set rules for the cross-talk industry. Zhang Shouchen, the fourth generation of cross-talk, once said that there was also cross-talk before Zhu Shaowen, but it was "dark cross-talk", which was a combination of ventriloquism and story, and the formation of "Ming Xiangsheng" was zhu Shaowen. "The Great Bodyguard" and "Yellow Crane Tower", which are still very familiar to the audience, are Zhu Shaowen's works.
Zhang Sanlu is an octagonal drum artist, he was first a clown, and he often scratched on the spot when performing. He has a strange temperament, and his peers are reluctant to join him in the team, so he left the octagonal drum team and performed the four skills of "speaking and singing" on the overpass. He called his performance "cross-talk", taking the "phase" of "phase" and the "sound" of "sound". That is to say, the word "cross-talk" was created by Zhang Sanlu, and it was also Zhang Sanlu who established "cross-talk" as an art form.
Old Beijing Flyover
Zhu Shaowen (1829-1903), originally from Shaoxing, Zhejiang, was born in Beijing, belonged to the Han Military Banner, read private schools, and later his family fell into the Peking Opera class "Song Zhucheng" to learn art, first working ugly, and then changing his face. Later, he changed his study to "Ten Not Idle" Lotus Flowers, and during the Xianfeng Period, the "Ten Not Idle" Lotus Flowers fell, and Zhu Shaowen went to Beijing Tianqiao, Di'anmen and other places to talk stand-up comedy and sing Taiping lyrics. He admired Zhang Sanlu's skills, who were nearly fifty years older than Zhu Shaowen, who honored Zhang Sanlu as a teacher.
Zhu Shaowen and his contemporaries Ah Yantao received apprenticeships, which was the first official apprenticeship in the cross-talk industry. Zhu Shaowen took in four apprentices, Fan Youyuan, Xu Youlu, Rich Roots, and Poor Youben. When he and a few apprentices were on the ground, they asked and answered, one was fine and one was stupid, forming a pattern of one bunch and one teasing.
Tianjin Qianxiangyi traditional cross-talk scene
Since Zhu Shaowen, there have been many rules in the cross-talk industry, for example, the worship of the master allows three situations - to learn the art of the teacher, to take the art of the teacher, and to pull the master and disciple. To worship the master, there must be a teacher, a protector, and a substitute teacher, and it is necessary to set up a banquet to invite the elders, the head of the family, the peers, the continuation of the family tree, the Ming tribe, the conclusion of the master-apprentice contract, and after the master's departure, they must honor the master for half a year or a year, and all the income should be returned to the master, and a thank-you meeting will be held.
Zhu Shao's literary and artistic name is "poor is not afraid", and later generations have spread that this stage name has two meanings, one is that he is proud of poverty, and the other is that he spends excessively. Where the three words "poor are not afraid" come from, there are also two theories, one is that he brings a pair of bamboo boards when he shakes the ground, and writes on the front "full of articles are not afraid of poverty, and the history of five cars of books is poor", so everyone calls him "poor and not afraid". Another theory is that he posted a couplet on the door of his home, the upper link is "always afraid of the poor jinghao head", the lower link is "libid to the spirit of Zhu Zi", and the horizontal criticism of "tongue cure heart cultivation".
Tianjin Qianxiangyi traditional cross-talk performance
The most common way for cross-talk artists to attract the audience is to poke the flower (white sand sprinkling). Holding a white sand cloth bag in his left hand, grabbing a handful of sand from the cloth bag with his right hand, the sand leaks from the palm of his hand, first draw a circle on the ground, the artist stands in the circle, and the audience stands outside the circle, which is the "painting pot". Then sprinkle the words in white sand.
The first cross-talk artist to use white sand to sprinkle characters was also Zhu Shaowen. Every day when he went out to sweep the ground, he would bring a broom, a bag of white sand, and a pair of bamboo boards, sweep the floor first, and then start sprinkling words on the white sand. He can throw out a large character, which is called a "double pen hook", and each big word is sprinkled with four lines of small poems, and then a couplet. Prince Gong Yi asked Zhu Shaowen to perform in the palace garden. Zhu Shaowen sprinkled a pair of hooks with the word "study", the structure and the wind god were excellent, Prince Gong Dayue, immediately allocated him a piece of money and grain, that is, a salary, three or two silver per month, and then gave three stones and three buckets of grain in the four seasons.
Tianjin Qianxiangyi old artists perform traditional cross-talk
One winter, LuoBuzang Dorji, the third generation flag king of Alxa Banner, invited Zhu Shaowen to perform in the palace. On that day, when the snow was falling heavily, the Qi King let Zhu Shaowen into the house and made a bet with him: "If you can take me outside the door, I will also reward you with a piece of money and grain like Prince Gong." Zhu Shao's literary costume was difficult: "This is not okay." But if you're outside the house, I can tell you in. The Flag King said, "This is okay, but it is too cold outside, and it is not possible to work hard." Zhu Shaowen said, "You can rest assured, you don't need a bag of cigarettes." The Qi King stepped out of the room dressed neatly, and as soon as he reached the outside, Zhu Shaowen saluted behind him and said, "Prince Xie's reward!" The Qi King suddenly understood and deeply admired Zhu Shaowen's cleverness and wit.
In 1894, on the sixtieth birthday of Empress Dowager Cixi, li Lianying was ordered to pass on the vendors and entertainers of the tianqiao to the gate of the North Palace of the Summer Palace and set up stalls. Empress Dowager Cixi went to visit, especially liked the performance of the artists of the eight "toys", and crowned the "Eight Monsters of the Tianqiao", and Zhu Shaowen was the first of the "Eight Monsters".
In 1860, Zhou Chuliang wrote "Jinmen Bamboo Branch Words", which recorded the cross-talk performance in Tianjin: "When the street talks about each other, it is half-fragmented, the unique single-street riverbank is strange, the three-character big book is not afraid of poverty, and the passers-by compete to save funds." "The single street is outside the northeast corner of tianjin's old city, along the South Canal, and it is Zhu Shaowen who is "not afraid of poverty". In the early years of Guangxu, after Zhu Shaowen, the Beijing cross-talk artist Yu Erfu came to Tianjin to say "eight sticks", and the cross-talk artists in Tianjin regarded him as the "founding man" of Tianjin cross-talk.
Guo Degang's early cross-talk "On the Current Situation of Cross-Talk in Fifty Years" mentions that Mr. Zhu Shaowen, who is not afraid of being poor, is the founding ancestor of cross-talk, and it cannot be ignored in the history of cross-talk in China. Guo Degang also said: "Mr. Zhu is not the first person to invent crosstalk, in front of him, like Zhang Sanlu, there are many old gentlemen, it is the common wisdom of everyone, created crosstalk. However, from the poor and not afraid of Mr. Here, carry it forward, so that cross-talk can be passed on from generation to generation. "So" in the cross-talk community, I think Mr. Zhu is our founding ancestor, the first generation of ancestors." As Mr. Zhu's disciples and grandsons, we have the obligation not to forget our ancestors, this is the first step, no matter how old you are, without your ancestors you would not have done this." (Text: He Yuxin)