Why is the last play called the big scroll?

Originality:

In the past, plays were written in a long scroll with a reel at the bottom of the scroll, like a scroll for framing a Chinese painting, and because the last play of the long scroll was near the wooden shaft, it was called the big shaft. The play in front of the big axis, that is, the penultimate program is called the finale, the middle play is called the middle axis, and the play in front is called the early axis. In fact, it is the name of each position of the axle instead of the order of the performance of the play, as if a performance is to show the audience a colorful picture scroll.

Expanded Information

Old-time theater daytime plays, usually more than 12:00 noon to open the gong, to the evening more than 6:00 p.m. to stop, there are six or seven or even eight or nine plays, generally divided into three sections, the first three are usually for the new corner of the children or students to play the middle of two or three out of the better, the last three is the audience's most popular plays. The end of each of these three sections is called the "axle" - the front axle, the middle axle, and the big axle. This is the late Qing Dynasty and early Republic of Beijing several theater theater protocols, said "axis" is the last performance of each section of the play, and the penultimate play will become the "finale".

The tradition of the old Beijing opera troupe is that the playwright always puts the play with the best singing, that is, the play of the pillar actor in the troupe, in the penultimate play. And the last play, is a full martial arts play, by the troupe all martial arts actors involved in the performance, this type of play occupies a quarter of an hour, the so-called "a fight a loose" (the role of a simple explanation of the reasons for coming up, the two sides will start a few rounds of fighting, winners and losers decided to play after the end of the play), most of the connoisseurs of the theater at that time for the family of the dignitaries to see the big axle! The first one is on, often get up out of the garden.

Baidu Encyclopedia - The Grand Finale

China.com - Peking Opera