What does it mean to seal the box (let's talk about the tradition of Liyuan Feng Xiangxi)

In the old days, after the Spring Festival holiday, merchants usually invited the five-way god of wealth on the evening of the fourth day and opened the market on the fifth day for good luck. On the fourth midnight, prepare sacrifices, cakes, incense sticks and other things, and ring gongs and drums to burn incense for worship. On the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, it was the birthday of the God of Wealth. In order to compete for the market, it took place before the fourth lunar month, and it was called "grabbing the road", also known as "taking the God of Wealth".

from the first day to the fourth day of the first month, shops are closed, and women can't use needle and thread. On the fourth day of the fourth year, the whole family ate "Zheluo" together. The so-called "Zheluo" is a hodgepodge that combines the leftovers of a few days. Dust indoors, sweep the floor indoors, and dump garbage in the yard to prepare for "throwing the poor". Some rural customs in the north "tie fire gods", which use corn stalks or wheat stalks to help on sticks, light them and send them from their homes to the river, representing that there is no fire at home for one year.

"change" and "unchanged" of the pear garden in the Spring Festival

Narrator: Fu Xiru (38-year-old Peking Opera actor)

The most important thing for the old troupe in the Spring Festival, besides the performance at the end of the year, is to seal the box. Sealing a box means that the troupe stops performing at the end of the year. Opera actors work hard all year round, and only at the end of the lunar calendar can they stop performing for a few days. Before the break, put the suitcase and other performance equipment into the box, and affix the seal of "seal the box". No unpacking is allowed until the next year's "opening ceremony".

In the stage version of Zhenguan Event, Yang Donghu (left) plays Wei Zhi, and Fu Xiru (middle) plays Li Shimin

In the sealing ceremony, peanuts, boiled eggs, broad beans (also known as flowering beans), salt and tofu (symbolizing the face of tofu blocks) represent different businesses such as raw, fresh, clean, minced and ugly. The fruit offering contains sugarcane that is not peeled and cut into sections, which means that it is promoted step by step, and the apple represents peace.

Before the box is sealed, the troupe will perform the last scene of the year, commonly known as Feng Xiangxi. The actors each performed a 1% discount on their specialty, and finally co-performed a cross-dressing play, making the play humorous and prosperous. Although it is a cross-dressing, it is by no means a casual play, but a high quality and skill. At that time, Mr. Mei Lanfang played against Huang Tianba, and Yang Xiaolou even praised "playing handsome and crisp!" Last year, the Shanghai Kunqu Opera Troupe celebrated its 4th anniversary, and the Cai Zhengren, an old artist, played Du Liniang, which was the star of the Chinese New Year performance.

The star cross-talk version of The Peony Pavilion is a compromise, in which Cai Zhengren, a "national treasure" veteran artist, plays Du Liniang and Zhang Jingxian plays Liu Mengmei.

Last Spring Festival, I played Sun Shangxiang in the star version of Dragon and Phoenix. This is not the first time. In the Spring Festival of 212, I performed in Sun Shangxiang, which was also a Spring Festival performance. Among many Peking Opera plays, Dragon and Phoenix are often picked out and performed in the Spring Festival. Because it is auspicious and festive, it is based on The Romance of the Three Kingdoms, "Wu Guotai Buddhist Temple sees the groom, Liu Huangshu's bridal chamber continues to have a good couple", which is adapted by Mei Lanfang, Ma Lianliang, Qiu Shengrong, Yuan Shihai, etc. The actors involved are numerous and lively. This year's CCTV drama channel "Feng Xiangxi-Family of Opera Fans", my colleague and famous veteran actor Li Jun played Wu Guotai in "Dragon and Phoenix Becoming Lucky", which has a unique charm.

Mr. Qi Rushan, a drama theorist, once commented on Feng Xiangxi's drama: After a year's performance, all classes have to sing hard and correct plays. For example, Sanqing class always plays Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Sixi class always plays eight copies of Yanmenguan, and Yang Yuelou always plays two plays: Zhao Yun in Changbanpo and Yang Bo in Erjin Palace. Both plays are good, the martial arts students are as good as the martial arts students, and the old students are as good as the old ones, so they will always be full. After the box is sealed, the class will no longer perform, and all corners of the class can help his class to stage. Some troupes don't have their own special plays, so they need other roles to help the audience's interest, so the play on this day is always very neat. Being invited to the famous role will also be agreed, so as to show the feelings of peers, and the "eight classes will play together" on the famous day, and it will always be full. Because of the usual acting, two or three good roles can't get to one place, and the audience often thinks it is a pity. When they arrive in Feng Xiangxi, they always want to get famous characters together, so everyone loves to watch it.

In the old days, all actors performed for free in Feng Xiangxi. Half of the box office income was given to Liyuan Trade Union, and the other half was used to make pasta such as Wowotou, which was distributed to lonely and sick artists who were unable to celebrate the New Year, so that everyone could celebrate the New Year. Therefore, Feng Xiangxi was also called "voluntary drama" and "Wowotou drama".

After the Spring Festival, the troupe should "open the box", which is also called opening the stage. Before the first performance, a grand ceremony should be held. First, the troupe should solemnly open the box and paste auspicious words such as "Opening the Gong" and "Happy New Year". Before the official performance, we should first "jump the official" and then "jump the official". After the jump, the main play begins. Once you play civil and military officials all your life, you will gnash your teeth, hold the words "heavenly god blesses the people" and "Pointing to the Rising Sun" in your hand, and show them to the audience after jumping around, wishing the audience a step-by-step promotion. The finale of "Lucky Fortune" is performed by Wu Sheng, who plays the role of God of Wealth and holds a big ingot. After jumping all kinds of figures, he scatters candy and change in the ingot to the audience. The audience can eat candy when they grab it, but don't spend the change, which represents good luck and fortune for the whole year.

The dramas opening in the Spring Festival are all auspicious, and you can't sing plays with the dead in the first six days. For example, singing "Dingjun Mountain" means "success in World War I", but the original plot of beheading people passed by in the Spring Festival performance. On February 5th, the CCTV Opera Channel "219 Spring Festival Opera Evening" was premiered, and Shang Changrong, an old artist from our institute, brought the Great Blessing at the Xi 'an Branch. The story can be seen from the name. For the third time, I cooperated with Zhou Youjun, a pianist, and sang "Sang Yuanhui" by myself, telling the story of the reunion of husband and wife after years of separation, which also means a happy reunion.

In the old days, when the stage was opened, the troupe would take out the costumes, sets and props in the box and line them up on the stage, which was called "setting the stage". Large-scale theatrical troupes, with many costumes and props, put up a bigger scene; The smaller troupe has fewer things, so it is easier to put them up, which also means a little competition. Many old opera fans, like actors, look forward to unpacking, and they have to go to the theater to attend the unpacking ceremony every year, so that they can feel "over the New Year" and return to their jobs with peace of mind and satisfaction to welcome the new year.

Nowadays, traditional opera art is valued and welcomed. Actors are particularly busy around the Spring Festival, and "sealing the box" and "opening the stage" become more of a part of memory. Take myself as an example. In 219, I started non-stop, including the 219 Fourth Beijing New Year Concert held in the Great Hall of the People, the 219 Shanghai New Year Gala for High-level Talents and Foreign Experts in Shanghai held in the Shanghai Grand Theatre, and I also sent condolences to the grassroots with many colleagues from the Shanghai Peking Opera Theatre. Our hospital held a special condolence meeting in the characteristic medical center of Naval Medical University. On February 6th, I was busy with the Spring Festival concert in the courtyard, Wang Baochuan on February 8th, a poetry recital concert of Several Romantic Figures on February 16th, and then I flew to Yunnan to perform. On February 23rd, I will also perform Zhulian Village in Zhou Xinfang Theatre Space. I am very busy and satisfied.