[Prose] Missing the Folk Custom of Hometown-Shadow Play

After coming to Germany, the only emotional bond between my parents and me was a phone call. Every once in a while, I didn't call them to say hello, and my heart seemed at a loss. Especially when my parents hear my voice, the kind of joy and joy that can't be concealed often moves me to tears.

I called my father the day before yesterday and asked him what he was doing. He said that someone in the village had built a new house for Liang, and invited the master who sang shadow play to enjoy it on stage. On hearing the word shadow play, many distant memories opened the door and emerged like a flood.

As for the origin of shadow play, it is said that it began in the Western Han Dynasty. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty missed Li Furen who died of illness, so he neglected the administration of state affairs.

Minister Li Shaoweng accidentally invented the image of Li Furen cut with cotton silk from the inspiration of a child playing with dolls, painted it in color, tied wooden poles on his hands and feet, and performed it in the curtain of lighting candles for Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty at night. When Emperor Wu saw the vivid image of Li Furen, he couldn't help being so happy that he couldn't put it down.

Later, after continuous evolution and popularization, it finally evolved into a folk art that is loved by thousands of families. Shadow play flourished in Tang Dynasty and Qing Dynasty. It has been circulated for more than 2,000 years and is known as the "ancestor of movies". Before film and television came out, it was the public's favorite spiritual food.

When I was a child, I liked watching shadow play very much, because for us who were born in the countryside in the 1970s, at that time, we were short of not only material things, but also culture and entertainment. There is no electricity, of course, no TV, no computer, no mobile phone and no library, so you can't read books, get in touch with the outside world and understand the history and culture of ancient and modern China and foreign countries.

However, the villagers have their own ways of cultural communication, such as shadow play, listening and speaking books, and playing floor lamps. Combine the ancient culture handed down for thousands of years with their favorite rural slang, so that everyone can unconsciously accept the influence of these folk customs and perceive the truth, goodness and beauty of human beings.

When I was a child, I especially loved watching shadow play. First, because of the colorful and lifelike shadow play, under the guidance of the skilled skills of shadow play artists, every gesture is vivid and let us see it with relish. Second, because they devoted themselves wholeheartedly, they vividly portrayed various characters.

As soon as the masters of shadow play put the shadow play on the curtain, I knew whether it represented a good person or a bad person, a loyal minister or a traitor.

The earliest ones are Pilgrimage to the West, Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Romance of the Gods, Mu Shuai, Mulan, Pi Sandingjia, Kilin Songzi, Jinshan Drumming and so on. I heard it all from the shadow play.

Although I found it was different from what they said after reading it, what does it matter? Anyway, those wonderful fragments have long been treasured in the depths of memory, and I spent a wonderful childhood with them.

At that time, as soon as I heard that there was a shadow play, I eagerly looked forward to my mother leaving work early, going home to cook early and taking us to see the shadow play early.

I think the shadow play must be sitting in the first three rows, because there was no loudspeaker at that time, and I couldn't hear it clearly from too far away, but I had to listen to every word, happy and worried about the characters in the shadow play. Hearing that a good man was in trouble, he was anxious, expecting someone to rescue him quickly. Hearing a bad man asking for help, he gnashed his teeth and wanted to be executed immediately.

It is said that the mystery book is false, but I was serious when I was young. I think good people should be rewarded and bad people should be killed.

In fact, my personality should belong to the impatient type. I remember that at that time, whenever the master who sang shadow play dragged the long tune for several times without stopping, I was very anxious, thinking about why I wanted to sing. It would be more convenient to watch it directly, so that I could know the ending of the story earlier.

At that time, I didn't appreciate it. In fact, they are very picky about every word. Should read, should sing, including beating gongs and drums, playing erhu. It's just that I am still young. I just want to know the fate of all the characters in the story quickly. I don't care whether they sing well or not.

However, the master of shadow play is not in a hurry. At every critical moment, they will suddenly stop, making my heart as uncomfortable as tickling, so I have to wait until the next day to see them.

Of course, shadow puppeteers will sing local operas for half an hour after the main play. Those are the most popular classic tunes in the local area, which are funny and relaxed, making the villagers forget the fatigue and troubles of the day in laughter and laughter, and easily go home and have a good dream.

At that time, I was still young and didn't understand the true meaning of those rural minor. I just remembered that those minor rhymes, and they sang in an orderly way in the cheerful sound of gongs and drums of shadow puppeteers, which made everyone laugh.

The most classic sentence is: "Wu, autumn is really good." I have a wife to control me. She asked me to take a bath during the day and wash my feet at night. Wash feet water, it's my turn to drink, I don't drink, she hit me and drilled my foot ... "

"Chinese cabbage, steamed bread, two daughter-in-law dozen mother-in-law, you don't drag partition, killed the old guy ..."

There are also Couples Watching Lights, Selling Peaches, Liu Haier Chopping Wood, Matching Flowers, etc. When the song reaches its climax, many villagers will sing along, and the whole village will almost boil and laugh loudly.

Although we couldn't understand what we were singing when we were young, we would laugh when we were funny.

The master who remembers shadow play best is Mr. Jin from Datang 'ao, our town. Jin Shifu is an elegant farmer by nature. He speaks softly, so singing the female voice in the shadow play belongs to him, so I only remember his name, and I don't know if he is still alive. If he is still alive, he should be said to be an old man in his twenties.

Later, when I grew up and could read, I stopped obsessing about watching shadow play.

And later, with the widespread promotion of movies, people are keen on watching movies, and shadow play is not so popular. Shadow play will be invited to perform only when people add more imports or make wishes for their birthdays.

However, after singing the song, there is no time to sing the whole play. They usually enjoy a table, invite immortals from all walks of life, and then send them away successfully. They will spend a day in their host's house in their spare time. If they are in a hurry, they will spend at most two hours going through the motions.

After 1990s, with the popularity of television, shadow play began to disappear. Even if someone holds a happy event at home, please invite the master who sings shadow play to join in the fun. Sometimes there are not as many people watching the play as singing.

The children are frantically crowded in front of the TV, and no one will listen to the shadow play as attentively as we did when we were young. The master who sings shadow play is not as conscientious as before, and many people muddle along. Anyway, no one listens carefully, and no one will know if they sing correctly.

Unconsciously, these excellent cultural heritages gradually disappeared in the process of modernization. ...

With the development of the times, many popular folk cultures are gradually disappearing, and some have even been lost. I don't know if this is the luck or misfortune of a society.

No one can tell me, the only thing I can do is to commemorate it with words and miss it with my heart.

The classic folk customs that have accompanied us through many unforgettable years are drifting away in the depths of time, and many ordinary things that we heard and witnessed as children have become strange or legendary to children today.

I miss the old days very much. Although I am poor, my happiness has not been greatly reduced. On the contrary, although I live a rich life now, I can never find the simple happiness and satisfaction I once had.

Those beautiful memories that have been scattered in the depths of memory for so long, I really hope to wander again. After returning to China, I think I must take my children to see the riding dragon ridge in Wuchenhe, Xinxian County, appreciate all the folk customs again, and salvage all the good memories left in my memory. What an expectation and yearning thing!