The monkey show I saw when I was a child

Monkey playing has existed in China since ancient times, but I don't know when it arose. In our Jiaodong area, most of them are called monkey tricks or monkey tricks. I used to listen to my grandmother and mother telling me vividly about my study with the monkey show, saying that after watching the monkey show, I was like a little monkey, holding out two little hands and fingers one after the other, constantly changing gestures, and shouting "Oh, booing" in my mouth, which often caused laughter. I didn't know what happened when I was a child, and I don't remember learning how to look like a monkey. Since my grandmother and mother often say so, it's probably true. However, I don't believe that a dull and clumsy person like me can imitate a monkey like this. It's really incredible. When my grandmother and mother told me that I was learning monkey acting, I liked to recall and explore what I saw when I was a child.

I haven't learned to be like a monkey since I can remember. At that time, I only knew that there were monkeys in the village. Common monkey jugglers wear special hats, hold gongs, short whips and props for monkey juggling, chain monkeys to the street, entertain monkeys, earn some pocket money to support their families and live a poor life by begging. Most monkey-jugglers stopped in a crowded and lively place in the village and began to knock gongs to attract the audience to join. In a short time, the audience gathered around the gongs and drums, and someone kept saying, "Come and play monkey, go and see the monkey." "Well, where is it?" "Under the big locust tree, let's go." This is coming together. Some adults were dragged by children, and some adults came to see the scene to join in the fun.

When the audience is full, monkey jugglers will walk around in the huge crowd and knock gongs. Then, he will stop at the front, bow to the onlookers from different angles, and tell the audience a set of prepared Jianghu rhetoric. I remember the monkey charmer saying, "Grandpa, aunt, uncle, aunt, eldest brother, sister-in-law, brothers and sisters, I finally came from XX to perform the monkey show. Thank you for joining us. Clap if you play well. Clap if you don't perform well. " Often the opening remarks like monkey tricks will cause laughter. The monkey charmer began to play monkey on a whim. I saw monkey charmers banging gongs around the venue. With the gong, it implies that the monkey is standing and walking, just like a monkey juggler bowing to the audience, which first attracted the audience's laughter. Then the monkey juggler will command the monkey to do somersaults and hold the top to please the audience. When the monkey somersaults, its red ass will be exposed, and adults and children at the scene will burst into laughter. This kind of laughter will continue, and monkeys will have more energy to direct monkeys to interact with the audience. This funny performance is really interesting.

At the end of the monkey juggling, the monkey jugglers all bow and scrape and beg for facilities, and then they will come up with a set of tricks: "Grandpa, aunt, uncle, aunt, eldest brother, sister, brothers and sisters, it is not easy for me and the monkey to come all the way from XX, and the monkey's performance is also very hard." I hope everyone will be kind, a dime and twenty cents, and less money. " Then a long bow. When the monkey juggler has finished speaking, he will be a monkey after bowing. At this time, the monkey got the message, and would respectfully turn the monkey's hat upside down and walk around in the crowd, blinking at the audience one by one. Some of them can't bear to see it, and some of them are cash-strapped. In that era of poverty and backwardness, they couldn't even take out a hair, which made them look embarrassed and shy. Their eyes looked underground for a while. Others saw this battle and dispersed in a hubbub, leaving a face of helpless monkey tricks.

I remember playing tricks on monkeys in my hometown, sometimes under the old pagoda tree for more than 500 years, sometimes on the east and west streets, sometimes in the yard of the production team, and sometimes on the school playground. Why is this? Because that 500-year-old locust tree is in the middle of the village, which is the geographical symbol of the village and also very important: shading, the crown of that old locust tree can cover the sky for dozens of meters. Therefore, most meetings in the village are held under the old locust tree, which is also a good place for people to talk, play chess, braid their hair and enjoy the cool. People gather here, and so do the big news and small news outside the village. The cleverness of playing the monkey is the first choice here. He also has his opinion on choosing Dongxi Street. The street in front of the village office is the only main street in the village. People come and go at ordinary times, and it is more lively when it is unusual, and it is also close to the village cadres. As long as the village cadres who are interested in playing tricks say hello, everyone will respond one after another, and the popularity will rise. So some monkey tricks choose to perform in the street. There are also monkeys in the yard of the production team and the square of the school, each with its own reasons.

Most children like this monkey-playing scene. In order to satisfy the curiosity of monkeys jumping around, some come on impulse, some follow the crowd, some greet friends screaming, and some drag adults' arms. Some children are too young to go in front of the monkey, for fear of being scratched by naughty monkeys, but they can't see when they are close. So most of them are held by adults, or squeezed into people's seams, looking in along people's seams, watching and watching, and "ah, ah!" From the legs of adults. Sometimes adults look down in surprise. At that time, after watching it, my friends all liked to imitate monkeys and perform in the open space. You learn from me, wagging your head at each other, reaching out and twisting your ass, and your interest is greatly increased. A monkey show passed like the wind in the eyes of adults, but it took a long time in my friends' hearts, talking and dancing in action, and watching the monkey show became a real childlike interest. I still have a few monkey tricks in my head.

Once, there was someone under the ancient locust tree in the village for more than 500 years, and I also squeezed into the crowd. Adult thighs are like blue jungles. I can only look at the monkey through the crack, look and look. There was a scene in front of us: a clever monkey rolled his eyes and jumped up to grab a snack from a child, only to hear the child crying. I also saw the monkey jumping on the shoulders of the audience, taking off the audience's hat and running away, wearing the audience's hat for fun, which attracted a burst of laughter.

Another time, the monkey was so angry that he didn't listen to the monkey show for some reason. He immediately jumped on the old locust tree, climbed along it like shoes on the ground, and jumped to the top of the tree in a slippery way. Everyone is upset and laughing. After a long-awaited monkey trick, a female audience near home brought food to lure the monkey down. The prank left a deep impression on me.

The monkey show is long gone, and its shadow often shakes in front of my eyes. The skipping monkey skipped an era and jumped out of people's sight. ...