Chen Lingyan, a reporter from Chutian Metropolis Daily
People's Paradise, a place that everyone in Wuhan knows. In the past hundred years, its name has changed and changed, and its appearance has changed and changed, but as long as it is mentioned, there is no end to the topic.
Because, very few buildings can be like it, condensing the historical storms of a hundred years and the vivid social picture, accompanied by the brilliance of China's modern and contemporary opera culture.
"Greater Wuhan has given birth to the People's Paradise, and the People's Paradise has also influenced Greater Wuhan." Peng Xianghua, a researcher of Wuhan folk culture, a director of the Yichang Yanhuang Culture Research Association, and the author of "The Story of Wuhan People's Paradise", said.
【Birth Legend: The Dream of a City Gangster】
"The founder of the People's Paradise was originally a jerk." Peng Xianghua said that this person's name was Liu Youcai, a small noble dog, who was born in Hankou to a poor family. At first, he led a group of "rogue ghosts" to do some extortion and theft, and later became a military policeman, because he was astute and shrewd, good at scheming, so that the official fortunes were prosperous. In 1907, when he was 42 years old, he became the chief inspector of the Yangtze River Water Division's patrol in Hubei.
"At that time, just as Hankou entered a period of rapid economic development and urban transformation, evening parties, horse racing, movies, clubs, etc. began to become a trend. Liu Youcai has been rooted in business owners, dock shops, tea garden restaurants for many years, and is well aware of the hobbies and needs of different classes. He believes that Hankou needs a comprehensive entertainment place that can see novelties and have fun. Therefore, he wanted to build a "new world" in Hankou modeled on the "new world" in Shanghai. Liu Youcai is close to the political, military, and police circles, and is also closely related to the industrial and commercial circles and the industrial and commercial circles, and these people have real power and financial resources, and through them he has realized the fundraising and IPO and raised funds. Originally proposed to be named "Hankow New World", it did not want to be too similar to the name of Shanghai New World, and according to the opinions of most shareholders, it was renamed "Hankou New Market".
Peng Xianghua said that this place used to be called "Tudang", which could pass through the Huangxiao River, but later the water receded and the German merchants built a cowhide processing plant, which was stinking all day and sewage flowed. But I have to say that Liu Youcai is really 'poisonous' in his eyes, and he chose this piece of land. In hindsight, it is located at the junction of the concession and the Chinese border, which is convenient for the exchange of different cultures, and the location is located next to the gradually perfect houcheng road, which is convenient for transportation and convenient for development and operation. The commercial center status of Liudu Bridge and Jianghan Road is taking shape, and the new market is equivalent to sitting on a cornucopia. ”
Construction of the new market began in 1918, designed by the famous designer Zhu Kangcheng, and the construction speed increased by leaps and bounds. It was Liu Youcai, who was full of ambition, who died suddenly at this time, at the age of 53. There are different theories about the cause of his death, but the Wuhan Chronicle records that in November 1918, Liu Youcai accidentally fell and died while inspecting the construction site of the new market. Xu Mingting said in "Liu Youcai and the "Gong Dog Gongren", Liu Youcai died of lung disease. There are also folk sayings that Liu Youcai's falling in the air on the construction site was a conspiracy.
In short, Liu Youcai could not wait for the day when the new market would enter the gold for him.
[Business legend: it will "catch people's eyes"]
On May 29, 1919, the new market opened. "It can be described as a shining debut." Peng Xianghua introduced that it is both magnificent and trendy, integrating Chinese and foreign cultures, the main building is a circular tower with a trapezoidal rise, two wings have symmetrical three-story buildings, the three floors of the gate building have a hall, and the fourth floor has a passage to the platform of the two wings. It has domes with air windows, open towers for people to overlook, and elevators that "earn people's eyeballs." ”
Operators of new markets know how to gather popularity. "Admission tickets are only 24 copper plates, according to a 1929 social income survey report, when as a low-level rickshaw driver, the income was enough to go to the new market 100 times a month. Therefore, for the average family, using 24 copper plates to open a foreign meat is completely bearable. Peng Xianghua said that the new market provides a one-stop full-service of eating, drinking and Tesco, from department stores to canteens, from barbershops to baths, from stages to movie theaters, from haha mirrors to zoos, marble rooms, libraries, people take what they need and have fun. Not only are the most popular new gadgets available in China, but there are often exotic performances from abroad, such as the hot air balloon performance of American Airlines.
In July 1919, NewMarket also launched its own newspaper, Hankou New Market Daily, which was the first professional "drama newspaper" in Wuhan's entertainment industry.
According to the book "History of Wuhan Alley", the new market is always crowded. "More importantly, the new market affected the social climate at that time, and people's acceptance of entertainment increased significantly." In addition, women have gained more freedom from being locked up at home, and they can also visit new markets and learn about the latest fashions. At that time, the propaganda positions of various women's liberation and women's movements were in the New Market. Peng Xianghua said, "The new market has a great impact on Wuhan's social customs, ideology and culture. ”
【Stage Legend: Chu Opera Is Just Named The Place where Han Opera Flourishes】
The survival of the new market is inevitably affected by the social situation, and with the changes of the times, it has changed its name many times. It was formerly known as "Hankou New Market, Blood Flower World, Central People's Club, Wuhan People's Club, Hankou People's Paradise, People's Club, Xingji New Market, Mingji New Market, Hutchison People's Paradise, People's Paradise, People's Cultural Park, New People's Paradise", etc., and is now called "CapitaLand People's Park".
But for the people of Wuhan, people's paradise is the best and most appropriate name for it. And when the old Wuhan people talk about the people's paradise, they will definitely mention "listening to the drama".
"The People's Paradise is a monument to national opera!" Peng Xianghua said, "It is the place where Chu opera is justified and takes off, the place where Han opera is revitalized, the place where Peking opera flourishes, the place where Wuhan drama rises, the place where Yu, Yue, Ping, Huangmei, flower drum, tea picking and other dramas gather, the birthplace of modern acrobatic magic in Wuhan, the place where local music is regenerated, and the place where puppets, shadow puppets, movies and other arts bloom." ”
The Peking Opera performances in the People's Paradise are of a very high standard, and the "four famous Dans" such as Cheng Yanqiu and Mei Lanfang have all appeared here. Zhou Xinfang, Ma Lianliang and other big names, many famous characters of the Dajing class and the Xiaojing class have all come here to perform. "It is worth mentioning that Ouyang Yuqian, a dramatist who is known as 'North Mei And South Europe' with Mei Lanfang, has never sung Peking Opera on stage since performing in the People's Paradise in 1927." In 1962, Ouyang Yuqian died, and Tian Han's poems to mourn him included the sentence "Only pity and sing to shock Jiang Han, and from then on it is not easy for the world to hear".
In the past, Chu opera was once not officially recognized, and it was considered that it could not be put on the stage. In February 1927, Li Zhilong invited Chu opera into the Blood Flower World to perform, and solemnly justified the name of Chu opera.
The connection between the People's Paradise and Chinese opera is even closer. The three Han opera frenzies set off by the three Han opera masters Yu Hongyuan, Wu Tianbao and Chen Bohua in the twentieth century are all related to the people's paradise. "Yu Hongyuan broke the stage for the big stage and performed here for nearly 2 years. Wu Tianbao carried out Han opera reform on the new stage. The performance of The Little Peony Flower Chen Bohua and the Big Peony Flower Dong Yaojie on the same stage in the new market is regarded as a classic in the history of Chinese opera performances. ”
"All kinds of opera cultures meet in Wuhan, and operas from different places can be displayed here, which is rare in the country." Peng Xianghua said with emotion, "The People's Paradise has gathered the kinds of operas from the north and the south, which is equivalent to a living Chinese opera art museum. "In addition to drama, other forms of performance also depend on its soil," the Wuhan Acrobatic Troupe and the Wuhan Rap Troupe have performed in the People's Paradise for a long time. ”
Zhang Mingming, a famous performance artist, once recalled that when he was a child, in addition to going to school, he soaked in the people's paradise, saving two cents prematurely every day to buy tickets to watch performances, and his favorite was the Hubei big drum. Over time, the actors all got to know this little ghost who sat in the first row every time, and by the age of 11, he officially began to learn art from Chen Qianwen as a teacher, and joined the quyi team at the age of 16, and has since embarked on the road of acting.
【Future Legends: Looking Forward to Its Next Transformation】
Walk into today's people's paradise, escalators, floor-to-ceiling windows, all kinds of literary or unrestrained signboards... Surrounded by new businesses such as Wangfujing and Wanda, the people's paradise is slightly cold. At that time, people listened to the drama, tasted tea, and watched the novel and lively scenes, and there was no trace of it.
These days, the reporter of Chutian Metropolis Daily has visited citizens of different ages, and the people's paradise in their memory is completely different. In the eyes of the elderly, it is the best fan world; in the hearts of middle-aged people, it is a big world of novelty; in the eyes of young people, it is a big market for fashionable products...
The post-80s "Heart Music" (screen name) said: "When I was in college, I would visit Jianghan Road Pedestrian Street and the People's Paradise every weekend, and there were very fashionable small commodities in the People's Paradise, such as hair cards, glasses, nail polish..."
Jiang Qian, a student in the 70s, grew up in the Minquan Road area, "When I was a child, I thought that the People's Paradise was a big world, and there was everything in it. There are acrobatics, magic, motorcycle cornices to walk the wall, there are chest crushing stones, red guns topped throats, monkey tricks and other jianghu artists, every time I go I feel that a pair of eyes can't see. ”
Ms. Sun said after the 60s, "In the past, the dance halls and movie theaters in the People's Paradise were quite high-grade, and they were the most foreign places in Hankou. ”
Peng Xianghua spent his childhood in the People's Paradise, "In the early 60s of the last century, there would be a lot of drama staged. But when there are foreign guests at home, one must take them to the Yangtze River Bridge, and the other must take them to the people's paradise to listen to the play. The People's Paradise is a big dish for Wuhan people to treat guests, and it is very Wuhan characteristics and irreplaceable. Now to the 20-year-old young people to talk about the past of the people's paradise, they often look surprised, "In the country, there are not many places like the people's paradise, I hope that one day I can restore some traces of the past, at least let the next generation know how legendary this century-old building is!" ”
link:
The name of the People's Paradise has been changed successively
Opened on May 29, 1919, "Hankw New World"
In 1926, it was renamed the "Central People's Club".
In 1927, it was renamed "Blood Flower World".
In 1928, it was renamed "Hankou People's Paradise"
On November 15, 1928, it was renamed the "People's Club".
In May 1929, it was renamed "Hankou Special City People's Club" with the change of the municipal government.
In 1931, "Xingji New Market".
In March 1939, it was renamed "Ming Kee New Market".
After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War in 1945, it was renamed "Hutchison People's Paradise".
On July 17, 1949, the name was officially established as "People's Paradise".
In August 1966, it was changed to "People's Cultural Park".
On April 26, 1979, the name "People's Paradise" was restored.
In 1993, it was invested and operated by a Singapore company and renamed as "New People's Paradise"