It was New Year's Eve, the last day of the year, and the fourth new year under the control of the Rebels/Taiping Army was about to be celebrated in Jiangling City where the Metropolitan Government was stationed. As for the slightly older people in the city, perhaps the changes and shocks of the first half of their lives could not keep up with this, but it is like having more experience in the past few years.
The winding streets and alleys, which were originally like spider webs and stacked in rows of houses, were replaced by the eight-horse parallel long streets that crossed the city in all directions, and the roadside trees and small rivers and canals that lined the roads.
As far as the location along the street is concerned, the high and low walls that have long been outdated have been demolished, leaving only three or four-story small buildings renovated and rebuilt in situ; and then by craftsmen from all over the world, Traders and tenants are fully filled.
They often set up shops and recruit businesses downstairs, live and store goods upstairs, and then there is a small inner courtyard where flowers and trees are planted and exercised, and they are completely connected to the street through a secluded lane through side doors and winding paths. stand up.
This kind of architectural form called "paiyuan" in the front building and backyard has become the mainstream style that can be seen everywhere in Jiangling City today. In the interior surrounded by many "pai courtyards" on the outer edge, only the traditional appearance and the original residents of the old Fangqu are slightly preserved.
Only through the neat alleys between the "pai courtyards" facing the street and the patrolling forbidden shops, can we get to the small and medium-sized residential areas in the interior; there is also a small market of varying sizes here. Surrounded by craftsmen and shops of various professions, it is like a condensed miniature city.
At this moment, whether it is the card courtyard along the street or the private area inside, they have become noisy and uproar with the strong atmosphere of the Spring Festival.
Every family has hung carved peach charms of different nature under the door beams, erected bamboo poles, carried silk or paper cut into small flags or "flags" in the shape of auspicious beasts. A carbon fire pottery pot was placed on the side of the road outside the door, thrown into a string of dried bamboo joints, and rushing to make a crisp or dull popping sound in the diffuse atmosphere of fireworks.
Most people of all ages have also changed into new outfits, buying things that they can't bear on weekdays, to worship their ancestors and use them for their own use. And even the poorest people in the city can use their registered household registration to receive a coarse cloth coat and old shoes and hats that are particularly resistant to dirt and wear. Quan Zuo is a blessing to welcome the spring and the new.
So at this moment, they can also wash away their usual gray-headed faces, touch the belly of a well-eaten meal, belch sour, lick the vegetable soup marks left on the corners of their mouths, and lead the same home. Happy old and young, joined the parade and observation on this New Year's Eve.
With the throbbing drums on the street and the sound of gongs and bowls mixed with gongs and bowls, the Nuo parade started in the city square. I saw a crowd of men, women and children wearing colorful clothes, starting from the south gate of the fortune-telling Waiguo, and patrolling along the horizontal and vertical main street in a violent vocal music.
The leading group of men and women wearing colorful feather garments, wearing black masks representing "nuo Weng" and "nuo mother", danced with long sleeves and wide-clothes; the curse of forbidden song with a slow tones indicates that they are gathering together Evil and bad luck wherever he went.
Behind him were a hundred and eighty "child protectors" with child masks and red and black crotches. They bounced and sang and danced, praising the ancient sages such as King Yu and Emperor Shun. Deeds and great deeds of slashing evil spirits and resolving chaos in the world.
There are also many men and women wearing various ghost masks following suit. Many people are still holding various musical instruments while walking and jumping while blowing and singing. Every time the current "Hu Tong Tong Zi" sings a tribute to the first sacred deeds. Songs, they will give out uneven howling in unison, representing the meaning of defeat and uniformity.
In the end, there are many ordinary people who just join in the excitement and clamor, they are happy and loudly clamoring and yelling; and the people along the street are alarmed and rushed out to wait.
They looked up and threw their heads toward the crowd who were acting as evil spirits and demons. They threw their heads up and threw their variegated beans, which represent exorcism and avoidance of evil, and shouted "Tai Sui Heng block" and "Evil evil exorcism" and so on. The "luo noodles" they bought happily joined their crowd.
In the homes of some wealthy and wealthy people who are getting deeper into the city, they got up early in the daytime as the "Ting Liao" (fire pile) in the yard. According to local customs in Gangneung, it has many functions such as lighting, burning firecrackers, heating, burning old things, and adding a festive atmosphere.
The fire of the rich and honorable family would last for a whole night or even days and nights, and the spice was thrown into the fire, making the whole house smelly. What's more, people choose a high ground in the courtyard, stack firewood on the hillside and erect a huge fire tower to add to the fun, and then gather wives, concubines and slaves to sing and dance all night to show off their wealth.
However, the most lively places other than that are among the eleven temples and Taoist temples of about size and size that have been reserved through various contributions and methods in Gangneung City. At this time, no matter what the monk's way will be, the door of convenience will be opened widely, and the people will come to the temple to listen to "vulgar lectures" and view places.
Popular speaking, it is a way for eminent monks to sit on the stage or live in the mandala to attract scholars and disseminate the profound meaning of Buddhist scriptures in popular forms of speaking and singing. Then, many believers and listeners felt the supreme beauty of the Nine Heavens Buddha Kingdom and marveled at the many miracles of doing good deeds and accumulating virtues in the chants of the great virtues.
Therefore, in the surroundings of these public places, colorful embroidered scriptures and statues of "flags" have long been erected to support the Bodhisattva and bring blessings and votives. Then there were many vendors, merchants, and entertainers who heard the wind, creating very lively "temple fairs" and "viewing fairs" near the temples.
And some temples will specially invite instrumental music, song and dance teams to perform all day long, or entertainers of puppet theater and shadow puppetry, to show some stories of economic changes and life as a means of setting off the atmosphere and gathering people.
However, these traditional playgrounds that started two days before New Year's Eve this year are inevitably taken over by another new thing. It was a grand military-civilian concert held in a new large campus between Yacheng and the inner city.
Among them are the five southern lands under the rule of the Metropolitan Government, and the relatively prosperous and wealthy Guangzhou (Guangzhou), Jiaozhou (Hanoi), Guizhou (Guilin), Tanzhou (Changsha), Hongzhou (Nanchang) ), Ezhou (Wuhan), Yuezhou (Yueyang), Xuanzhou (Xuancheng), Jiangzhou (Jiujiang), Runzhou (Nanjing), Xiangzhou (Xiangyang) and other places.
It can be said that with the exception of Yangzhou in Huainan, most of the Jiangnan land from the past has the essence of Yuanshu gathered here. Therefore, from the noon on New Year's Eve, the performances have been performed in turn, and specific programs will even have to be rehearsed until the time of the year.
For Zhou Huaian, who watched the gates of Nanlinmen in the inner city with a family of fun, this is simply the earliest version in history, the Hundred Ghosts Night Walk or the Halloween Parade with the characteristics of the Tang Dynasty.
Unfortunately, due to the consideration of identity and safety, there is really no way to personally participate in this folklore activity full of characteristics of the times; instead, you can only take the lead and sit on the seats that are highly anticipated on the tower to reflect a certain sense. The symbolic meaning of being close to the people and having fun.
This is part of the gap and difference brought about by power and status, but the small and large women in the family headed by Hong Yaoer seem to be full of interest and keep pointing. Obviously, none of them had watched the Spring Festival Gala of later generations, and they were full of a certain kind of freshness.
However, Zhou Huaian thought for a while, this kind of performance is really similar to the Spring Festival Gala of later generations:
Among them, there are military operas (two-person cross talk) and white operas (stage play-style sketches). The tricks (magic) of "fish and dragon", "manyan", and "cangxiong" handed down from the Han Dynasty; let alone the most common Individual or group singing, dancing, and musical instrumental music. . . . Among them, there were even intermittent readings of congratulations from soldiers from various places such as David's guard district and Wuguan, Yuzhou, Baxian and other places, as well as congratulations from representatives of all walks of life.
And all the corners and positions that can be viewed in the generals around the scene are filled with water for the soldiers, officials, family members, and civilians. They are also surprised to see them, or they are crying, or they can't admire them.
This also made Zhou Huaian, who planned the general framework of the front and back, unavoidably flew away from the sky; this gave birth to the illusion that he was standing on the tower of Tiananmen, watching the mass performances and float parades in the open air. Maybe it's just a matter of letting the students in the big seminar on the seat directly below raise their boards to put out a jigsaw puzzle.
On the side of the gate building with the best view, among the seats of officials and generals of the Metropolitan Government, and their families, some people whispered to each other:
"It seems that the general governor has declined the auspicious means of persuading and persuading him to advance, but he may not be careless and feeling in his heart..."
"How do you say this, please explain me the next thing..."
"These scenes that you don't realize are vaguely familiar..."
"Dare to ask this gentleman, but have you seen or heard about it elsewhere..."
"Well, I haven't seen it with my own eyes, but I have heard allusions when I traveled in Beijing that year..."
"Please don't show off, my dear friend, please..."
"This is the story of the Kaiyuan period. At that time, Emperor Ming (posthumous post of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty: Emperor Xiao Emperor of the Great Dao) was also Changxing Nannei (Xingqing Palace), and the officials met at Xuanying Gate. The calyx of the outer flower is shining, and he has repeatedly visited the Qin Government Building, and is worshipped by the scholars, people and people. Don’t you hear that the scene today is probably a rehearsal and preliminary test in the future..."
"So, isn't the chief governor related to the nobles of the old dynasty? How else would you know the scene and the inside story of this pattern..."
"Fuck your mother's shit, the chief governor is a savior who has returned from overseas, how can it be related to the corrupt generations of the old dynasty..."
A rough voice came in suddenly, but an army general near the seat spit out uncomfortably.
The middleman who was talking about vigor suddenly fell silent as if being poured with cold water, and then someone said
"Yes, yes, but Meng Lang has no symptoms after I drink too much. Please don't take it to your heart."
And in the corner of the huge stage on the upper stage of the schoolyard, some people in the waiting crowd were pointing at the head of the city:
"That's him, and it's also the root cause of the many sufferings in the world and the chaos of the world..." (End of this chapter)