The origin of the word "comedy

The origin of the word comic opera

The so-called comic opera was initially the imitation of various kinds of sounds, such as the imitation of human voices, birds, beasts, winds, water and other kinds of sounds in the universe. In the Warring States period, Meng Changjun's disciples learned to crow chickens in order to solve their danger, which can be regarded as the forerunner of the comic opera. After that, it has been passed on from generation to generation, and many capable people have emerged, gradually forming a kind of art. Than Mr. Pu Songling "Liaozhai Zhiyi" on the "ventriloquism" written in the article performers, already has the prototype of the comedy. After that, most of the performers imitated human voices and mixed stories into them, so the art of xiangsheng was successful. Now the stage of the comic art, there is a single mouth, double mouth; the latter is easier, the former is more difficult.

Chinese opera originated in Beijing and was popular throughout the country. It is generally believed to have been formed during the reigns of Xianfeng and Tongzhi in the Qing Dynasty. It is a form of performing art with a long history and wide circulation, and has a deep mass base. It is spoken in Beijing dialect, and now there are also "dialect comedies" spoken in local dialects in different parts of the country. In the formation process of the comedy widely absorbed ventriloquism, storytelling and other arts, Zhuang in harmony, satirical jokes to show the truth, goodness and beauty, in order to attract laughter as an artistic characteristic, "say, learn, tease, sing" as the main artistic means.

There are three types of performances: monologue, counterpoint, and group. A single mouth is performed by an actor, telling jokes; a counterpart is performed by two actors, one asking and one answering, and there are usually two types of jokes: "one head sinking" and "mother and child jokes"; and a group of mouths, also known as a "group of living", is performed by three or more actors. The traditional repertoire is based on satirizing various kinds of old societies. The traditional repertoire is based on satirizing various ugly phenomena in the old society and reflecting various life phenomena through witty narratives. After the liberation, in addition to continuing to carry forward the satirical tradition, there are also works that glorify the newcomers and new events. The traditional repertoire includes "Guan Gong and Qin Qiong", "Drama and Dialect", "Jia Xingjia", "Picking the Horse's Coat", etc., totaling more than 200 pieces. The works reflecting real life are more influential, such as Night Journey, Buying Monkey, Yesterday and Hat Factory.

When the art of comic opera flourished in Beijing earlier, it was initially set up in a tent, with one person sitting inside the tent, learning the calls of animals, birds and various individual sounds, and the audience listening outside the tent. Later, it was synthesized and mixed with a story to become a more systematic sound. This is called "dark comic voice". The most notable examples were the popular "The Drunken Ghost Returns Home" and "The Five Children's Trouble in School". The performance of "The Drunken Ghost Returns Home" is as follows: Suddenly, a person seems to be walking inside the tent, followed by the sound of hitting the door, the sound of opening the door, the sound of children crying, the sound of husband and wife quarrelling, the sound of slamming bowls, the sound of snoring and sleeping, in turn. The audience laughed. Then, remove the tent, worship a long table on the ground, a person standing behind the table, learn the dialects of various provinces and various trades and professions. This is called "Ming Xiangsheng".

Beijing in the Xianfeng years, there is a Mr. Zhu Shao Wen (alias "poor not afraid"), is the earliest person to say comedy. He originally studied Beijing opera and sang small flower face. Later, because according to the rules of the Qing Dynasty, not every day can sing opera, such as fasting day (sacrifice to heaven and earth), the eve (the emperor, the empress, the empress dowager's death anniversary), must stop moving the rattles, of course, more can not be sung. These days totaled up, as many as five or sixty days a year, the theater will have to stop all performances. If caught up with the so-called "national filial piety" (i.e., the emperor, the empress, the empress dowager died), it will be required to twenty-seven months without singing. To Guangxu, the Empress Dowager's National Filial Piety, although it is reduced, but also must be 100 days not allowed to move the ringer. After a hundred days, not allowed to sing in costume, horse whip is only allowed to use green, blue and white colors, not allowed to use red. In this way, the opera singer will be unemployed. Mr. Zhu came up with a way to attract the audience by taking white sand and scattering it on the ground for characters. When everyone gathered, he was beside the pavement, holding two bamboo boards (not prohibited) as rattles, singing a few small flower face counting boards, and then saying a few short stories, asking for money. He also researched a few small segments, such as: "the name of the vital organs", "the name of a hundred birds", "the name of a hundred animals", "the name of a hundred insects ", "Name of Green Vegetables", "Name of Beijing Opera" and so on. In addition, he also made up his own five v. Kung Fu - "Hu Bura v. Kung Fu", "Pile of Soldiers v. Kung Fu", "Stick Noodle v. Kung Fu ", "summer cloth coat v. Gong", "cook v. Gong"; two small books - "Thousand Character Classic", "Hundred Surnames" and so on. In this way, he spoke in a colorful voice, which was very popular with the masses. Later, he also put the Beijing opera in the "back baby into the house", "a cloth", "playing the casserole" and other plays, adapted into a short story, sung on the street, business is even better. So every time he meets the Chen, Lent and other days, he will fill the gap with comic opera, to the Xianfeng National Filial Piety, that is, officially to say comic opera for a living. After the National Filial Piety, the troupe invited him to sing again, are rejected. Later on, he took his disciples, and created this line of work.

Guangxu 20 years, the Empress Dowager 60 birthday. 10 October 10th, the day, the Beijing City, vendors from all walks of life and part of the businessman, are concentrated in the Summer Palace outside the palace gate, the opening of a temporary stall for the Empress Dowager to see. Mr. Zhu also went, was named by the Empress Dowager West as one of the eight monsters. The so-called eight monsters, namely: poor not afraid of Zhu Shao Wen (comic opera), at the wonderful high (to learn a variety of singing), string Li (a class), Zhao Crippled (plate kangzi's), silly king (Hercules), ten thousand people (that is, Li Dejiao's father, learn to sing two reed bang bang), Hu Hu Zhou (learn to sing bang bang), Leng Li San (play eight sledgehammer). So the reputation became more and more remarkable.

Mr. Zhu lived in Guiguo Temple and set up stalls in the place, King Gong Yi to tour, see and wonder. Examining the ground sand characters, real grass, scribe and seal script. King Gong asked: "You can spread how big the word?" Answer: "small and large by." King Gong said: "you can go to the King's House, for me to spread a hundred feet square big words a view." Mr. Zhu back a pocket of sand to the King Gong Palace. King Gong ordered in the garden courtyard to sprinkle a double hook "learning" word, instantly become. King Gong in the rockery on the remote view, the structure of the wind and God are good. King Gong was pleased, immediately allocated to a money and food (i.e., three taels of silver per month, the four seasons to three stones and three buckets of food), as a reward. Later on, he also got a copy of the money and grain in the King Luo's residence, which was considered one of the most fortunate among the artists at that time.

Tianjin was the cradle of famous comedians. The earliest comedy performances in the late Qing Dynasty, during which the Tianjin comedy entered a stage of prosperous development, the Tianjin and Beijing comedians frequent exchanges, many comedians in Tianjin after the red, and then went to perform all over the country. Then, why this line of comedy will flourish again in Tianjin? In the early years of Guangxu, Beijing artist Yu Erfu because of bad business in Beijing, came to Tianjin alone, said the monologue, quite negative reputation. Later, some people said, Tianjin comedy Yu Erfu is the founder.

Additionally, there is another reason that should be mentioned. In the thirty-second year of the Guangxu reign, Beijing banned the use of comedy. The reason is: one day Prince Su wore plain clothes to the Temple of the Protector of the country to listen to comedy, that day Mr. Zhu did not appear. There was a person who said "dark comedy" who borrowed the place to move the performance. An acquaintance to see the king, asked why interested in listening to this? Mr. Wang went away with a red face. Cover "dark comedy" some low-level fun, then pretended to have the status of those who do not listen. After a few days Prince Su took over the Beijing cloth military commander, Yamen in the back door outside the hat hutong. One day, out in a sedan chair, before an honor guard, after a ride, the momentum is very strong. The back door is a busy place, business venues are placed on both sides of the canal. Prince over, bookstore, juggling to stop. At that time, there was a Wei Kunzhi, said in the street stand-up comedy, the words elegant and clean, the audience is very much. The king asked in the sedan chair: "What is this for?" The attendant replied, "It's a comedian." The king suddenly remembered a few days ago in the Temple of the Protectorate was embarrassed, immediately ordered to blast away. Street watchers and Wei have a gap, so the big colorful Huai shouted: "The king has an order, the comedian to get out of the way!" Wei stood on the table yelling: "Injustice!" The king stopped the sedan chair to ask. Wei said: "The comedian is also a person, why not allow people to speak?" The king was furious, ordered the Wei pressed down, beat forty lashes, with a yoke parade three days. The next day, the commander of the Yamen ordered the whole city to ban all comedians. So the comic artists had to change the commentary to make a living, Beijing comic by the decline. Until the thirty-fourth year of Guangxu, Prince Su out of office, began to open the ban.

In the late Qing Dynasty and early Republic of China, the famous comedians in Beijing were the "Eight Virtues": Yu Delong, Ma Delu, Li Dexi, Jiao Dehai, Liu Dezhi, Zhang Dequan, Zhou Deshan and Li Dexiang. They all came to Tianjin to perform. Before the founding of the People's Republic of China, Tianjin's famous comedians included Li Dexi (stage name Wanmu, known as the "King of Funny"), Zhang Shuchen (known as the "Master of Humor"), Ma Sanli, Hou Baolin, and Chang Baokun (stage name Little Mushroom). After the founding of the People's Republic of China, other comedians active on the stage in Tianjin include Guo Rongqi, Chang Baoting, Su Wenmao, Liu Wenxiang, Gao Yingpei, Ma Zhiming, Li Boxiang, Wei Wenliang and others. The traditional repertoire of comedy has more than 300 pieces. Although Tianjin is not the hometown of comedy, it is indeed a piece of fertile ground for cultivating the growth and development of comedy. The people of Tianjin like comedy, and comedy also brings more joy and laughter to the people of Tianjin.