Original text with annotations and interpretation

Original text of "Shout"

Written by Osbert Stillwell, a British poet who lived in Beijing in the 1920s. An article titled "Sounds and Colors of Beijing" described the various sounds made by street vendors to attract customers as street orchestras, and also listed wind instruments, string instruments and percussion instruments respectively. . He especially liked the pliers in the hands of barbers ("head shavers") who walked around the streets. Use an iron plate to pull it out from the middle, and it will make a trembling metallic sound, which is very similar to the tuning fork used by Western musicians. In addition, the rattle drum played by the cloth dealer and the small drum played by the jewelry and jade buyer also gave him pleasure. Of course there is also the trombone played by the scissors and knives sharpener. What surprised him was that each musical instrument represented a profession. When the housewife sitting at home hears this, she will definitely know what kind of vendors are passing by on the street. Recently, the Beijing People's Broadcasting Station also broadcast a symphonic poem by Aaron Avshalomov with the theme of Beijing Hutong sound, which is very interesting.

Due to language barriers, foreigners can only appreciate instrumental music. In fact, what is more worth mentioning is the vocal part - the hawking of various vendors on the streets of Beijing.

Anyone who has heard the cross talk "Selling Cloth Head" or "Changing Career" will inevitably admire the skills of those hawkers back then. You have to have strong strength, a crisp voice, eloquent speech, and clear articulation. You must also be able to make up lyrics on the fly, have a quick mind, and be able to adapt to changes.

When I was a child, no matter it was windy or rainy all year round, the sound of hawking in the alley was non-stop from morning to night.

Early in the morning they sell breakfast: rice porridge, fried fruits. Then there are the vegetable sellers and flower sellers, who pay attention to singing out all the goods on the basket and use a good voice to attract customers. It's even more lively during the day, as if the department store and the repair industry were separated and all were displayed in front of your door. The hawking sounds at night are also very exciting.

"Here are the wontons - open the pot!" This is a late-night snack specially prepared for latecomers or gamblers, just like glutinous rice balls in the south. In Beijing, it is said that "a shaved head will make your head hot." In fact, the same goes for wonton dumplings. At one end is a series of small drawers, which contain various semi-finished raw materials: skins, stuffings and condiments, and at the other end is a soup pot. When the fire door is opened, the water in the pot boils. The wontons are not only cooked in person, but also eaten and wrapped immediately. Pay attention to the thin skin and large filling.

In terms of shouting, I prefer those selling hard noodle dumplings: the voice is thick and the words are simple, just "hard noodles - dumplings", just announcing what they are selling, without saying anything at all. What to brag about.

But the people who spent the night were not all food sellers, but also chatterbox singers. It was a cold day and I was carrying a heavy gramophone and half a box of records. What is sung is mostly Peking Opera or Dagu. I've also heard a film called "Foreigners Laugh" that doesn't speak or sing. It makes you laugh from beginning to end. I thought to myself, how tiring it is! I hate the Victory Company logo the most: a dog squatting in front of a loudspeaker, listening to a record with its ears cocked. That's just insulting.

At that time, blind men playing small cymbals often passed by at night, which was probably also percussion music. "Calculate the divination!" I thought to myself: "Why don't you do the calculation for yourself first?" There were also beggars. To this day, I still remember how shrill and moving a beggar's cry was. He uses vibrato almost entirely. First, he raised his voice and shouted, "Okay, sir, too, too." After a while, (as if he was so hungry that he couldn't breathe), he then shouted in a low voice, "There's some leftover rice." - Leftovers - Give me some to eat!"

Naturally, the items sold are different in each season. As soon as spring comes, the sellers of goldfish, big and small, should come out. I like the ones selling toad bones (unformed young frogs) the most. First, I can afford them. I spend one cent and fish them into the bowl. There are about ten of them; secondly, they can still be swallowed after playing with them enough. I've always wondered why they didn't turn into frogs in my belly! As soon as summer comes, sherbet made with watermelon and crushed ice is on the market. It’s time to sell “ripe begonias” in autumn. There are two types of shouts for selling persimmons, the simple and the traditional. Jane's only word was "a big persimmon that drank honey." In fact, it is enough.

But at that time, vendors all wanted to show off their voices, so some persimmon sellers not only made up lively lyrics, but also showed off their singing. At the very least, it has to be like the half-spoken, half-sung dialogue in an opera. As soon as winter comes, "Gourd--just dipped" appears. At that time, Beijing was much colder than it is now. When I was in school, my nose and tears would freeze into ice. As long as you have a coin in your pocket, and you hear "roasted sweet potatoes are so hot," you have to buy one. You can put the hot sweet potato in your sleeve to keep warm along the way, and you can take it out and chew it when you get to school.

Selling is actually a kind of oral advertising, so you have to find ways to attract customers. For example, if you are selling a toy made of straw, you will shout: "The little toy is a live show." Some shouts will tell you the making process, such as a kind of food similar to siomai that is often sold in the city, just introduce it. Very comprehensive: "Steam and fry, oil is useless. Noodle buns, zucchini stuffing, steam and fry." There are also simpler ones, such as "braised and fried tofu." Some use A to describe B, such as "chestnut-flavored sweet potato" or "radish is better than pear". "Gourd - Bingtaer" is both concise and vivid. The two words describe the gourd (whether it is hawthorn, water chestnut or yam bean) as crystal clear and pleasant. Those who sell Shanlihong (hawthorn) rely on drama to attract people. "There are only two hangings left." In fact, he was covered with purple fruits strung on strings.

Some vendors shout in a thin and high voice, while others shout in a low and deep voice. I'm afraid of hearing the kind of ups and downs. Maybe because when I was young, I was told that lotus leaf cake sellers were "flower-girls" and child traffickers, so I was particularly afraid. He first screamed "Here comes a bag of sugar" in a high-pitched voice, then lowered his voice by at least an octave and shouted "Lotus leaf cake". There is also a buckwheat husk seller with this name. One time he said "yo" behind me, which scared me to the point of falling over. When I stood up, he sang "Buckwheat Pie" in a deep bass voice.

What is particularly outstanding is the shouting that rhymes with the same tune. The fried food seller I wrote about in the novel "Deng Shandong" did exist. As for him being beaten on behalf of the students, that was purely made up by me. A radish seller shouted: "It doesn't have bran and it's not spicy. Two bundles of radishes make one big." "Big" means a copper plate. Even some beggars made up a glib allegro: "The old lady (that one) is really good, she can't give you a piece of cake to eat. Look in the east room (so) look in the west room, there is no cake to enjoy the bowl of rice."

There is still one cry left in Beijing, which is "popsicle - three points." The tone seemed to be reduced from five points to three points. In fact, it’s one third of a piece. It can be seen that this dramatic art of hawking has not been lost.

About the author

Xiao Qian, formerly known as Xiao Bingqian (1910-1999), his pen names are Tata Mulin and Tong Li. Born in Beijing. Mr. Xiao Qian is a famous Chinese writer, journalist and translator with great international influence. He has published more than 4 million words of Chinese works and a variety of English works, and has translated a variety of English works. He wrote a large number of memoirs, novels, essays and other literary works and translations throughout his life. He also wrote the monographs "Collection under the Gate", "Miscellaneous Memories of Beijing City", "Research on Book Reviews", "A Long Talk with Red Hair", "Lizi", "Sunset", "Life Interview", "A Faded Photo Album", "Xiao Qian's Creative Memoirs", "Traveler Without a Map", "Selected Works of Xiao Qian" (10 volumes), and translated the novel "The Good Soldier" Gram" and so on. His translation of the poetic drama "Peer Gynt" won the National Medal of the Royal Government of Norway in 1986. His collection of essays "Miscellaneous Memories of Beijing City" won the first Chinese Prose Award. "If I Were Japanese" won the first prize in the 1996 Sejin Cup Essay Competition. First prize, "Anti-Aging Philosophy" won the first prize for essays in 1998. When he was over 80 years old, he also collaborated with his wife Wen Jieruo to translate "Ulysses" by Irish novelist Joyce, "the most difficult to understand masterpiece", and won the first prize in the second national outstanding foreign literature book award. .It attracted the attention and amazement of the literary world and the world. In his later years, Xiao Qian worked diligently and wrote a large number of prose, notes, essays, memoirs and other works. At the same time, as an influential cultural warrior, he also went abroad several times to participate in international writers' gatherings. Critics agree that Xiao Qian's works are sincere and magnanimous, profound and alert, and are thought-provoking and thought-provoking. Xiao Qian is a person who writes with "heart" all his life.

And he himself believes that one of the principles of his life is to tell the truth.

Study this article, feel the fluent and playful Jingbai in the article, and the color, fragrance and taste of old Beijing 70 years ago, which brings us sensory pleasure, taste the rich taste in life, and experience The author's memories and thoughts about life.

1. Study this article and master the following words.

1. Master the pronunciation of the following words in red.

Cymbal (bō) Water chestnut (bí qi) Tiě xuàn (shú jiē gǎn) Zhaolai (zhāo lái) Confined to (yòu yū) 饽饽(bōbō)

2. Explain the meaning of the following words.

Estrangement: not understanding each other.

Water chestnut: perennial herb.

囿: 1. The garden where ancient emperors raised animals (noun). 2. Be rigid (verb).

Cymbals: percussion instruments.

Solicit: solicit.

Tie Xuan: General of the Ming Dynasty of China.

饽饽: The main food of the Manchu people on weekdays and festivals.

Sorghum stalks: sorghum stalks with ears picked.

Adapt to circumstances: opportunity: opportunity, situation. Be flexible and flexible as situations change.

Hezhe rhyme: the meaning of rhyme.

Slick-tongued: describing someone who is smooth-tongued and talkative.

2. Text analysis.

1. From what point of view does the author write "cry"?

Tips: The author wrote "Call" from two aspects, one is "from morning to night" and the other is "all year round".

2. What are the author’s favorite shouts and why?

Tips: Those who sell hard-noodle pastries "have a thick voice and simple words" and "only announce what they are selling without bragging at all."

3. What does the author introduce about the clamor around Beijing? How does he feel about Beijing’s cries?

Tips: It introduces the variety of shouts made by various vendors on the streets of Beijing. It also introduces the main content, intonation changes and characteristics of the shouts (rhymes with rhymes). The author's slow recalling tone reveals joy and nostalgia, making people appreciate the rich interest contained in life.

4. Why does the author introduce what to sell in "From Morning to Night, Four Seasons of the Year" and rarely introduces how to "call"?

There are many kinds of cries, and it is impossible and unnecessary for the author to introduce them one by one. He only needs to explain who the cries are, and readers will naturally be able to appreciate the cries one after another. The author's method of selecting materials is also worth learning from.

5. There is often a key paragraph in an article, which functions as a summary of the entire text. Which is the key paragraph in this article?

The fourth paragraph of this article is the key paragraph. It determines the writing order of this article and clarifies the structural idea of ??the article.

6. The thoughts and feelings expressed in the article: In the eloquent introduction to the cries on the streets of old Beijing, there is a feeling of nostalgia, a fond memory of the past, and a feeling of the loss of those oral cultural heritages. regret.

7. Writing order: Introduce various shouts in the order of time from morning to night and throughout the year.