Xiao Gan

osbert Stevell, an English poet who lived in Beijing in the 192s, wrote "The Sound and Color of Beijing", which described all kinds of sounds made by vendors in the streets to attract customers at that time as street orchestras, and also listed which were wind music, strings and percussion instruments respectively. He especially likes listening to the clip-on Tie Xuan in the hands of barbers. When the iron plate is drawn from the middle, it will "prick" and make a metal sound with a little trembling, which is considered to be very similar to the fixed tuning fork used by western musicians. In addition, the rattle in the hand of the cloth dealer and the small drum played by the jewelry and jade purchaser also gave him pleasure. Of course, there are also trombones that sharpen scissors and knives. To his surprise, each musical instrument represents a kind of business, and the housewife sitting at home must know what vendors are on the street when she listens. Recently, Beijing People's Broadcasting Station also broadcast aaron avshalomov's symphonic poem with the theme of Beijing Hutong acoustics, which is very tasty.

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

Anyone who has heard the cross talk "Selling Cloth Head" or "Changing Trades" can't help but admire the skills of those peddlers. He has a strong voice, a crisp voice, a clever tongue, a clear articulation, and a quick mind and can improvise.

When I was a child, there was a constant peddling in the alley from morning till night, no matter whether it was windy or rainy all year round.

breakfast sellers in the early morning: rice porridge, fried fruit. Then there are those who sell vegetables and flowers. They pay attention to singing all the goods on the pickaxe and attract customers with a good voice. During the day, it is even more lively, just like taking apart the department store and the repair industry, and exhibiting in front of your door. At night, the hawking sound is also very wonderful.

"Hey, wonton-open the pot!" This is a special supper for those who burn the midnight oil or gamblers, just like the dumplings in the south. In Beijing, it is said that "a load carrying a load with a shaved head is hot." In fact, wonton carrying a load is the same. At one end is a string of small drawers with various semi-finished raw materials: skins, stuffing and condiments, and at the other end is a soup pot. As soon as the fire door hits, the water in the pot boils. Wonton is not only cooked face to face, but also pays attention to eating and packaging. Pay attention to thin skin and big stuffing.

as far as shouting is concerned, I prefer those who sell hard-faced cakes: they have a thick voice and simple words. They just say "Hard-faced cakes" and announce what they are selling without boasting anything at all.

But those who spend the night are not all food sellers, but also chatterboxes. In the cold weather, I carried a heavy phonograph and half a box of records. Most of the songs are Peking Opera or drums. I've also heard a film called "foreigners ha ha laugh", which laughs from beginning to end. I thought to myself, how tiring! I hate the logo of Victory Company the most: a dog crouched in front of a loudspeaker, listening to records with his ears sticking out. That's just swearing.

At that time, blind people who often knocked on cymbals at night, probably it was percussion music. "calculate the spirit!" I thought to myself, "Why don't you do the math for yourself first!" " There were beggars. I still remember how piercing and touching a beggar was. He almost always uses vibrato. First, I raised my voice and shouted, "Yes, sir, it's too (alas) too". After a while, it seems that I am too hungry to catch my breath. ) Then he shouted in a low voice, "Give me some leftovers!"

the goods sold in the four seasons are naturally different. As soon as spring comes, it's time to sell big and small golden fish. I am most fond of selling toad bones (tadpoles). First, if I can afford it, I will fish a dozen in the bowl for one coin. Second, you can still swallow it after playing enough. I always wondered why they didn't turn into frogs in my stomach! In summer, snow cream made of watermelon and crushed ice comes on the market. It's time to sell "Begonia with ripe trees" in autumn. There are two kinds of persimmon sellers: simple and complicated. Jane only said "big persimmon with honey". Actually, it's enough. But at that time, vendors wanted to show off their voices, so some persimmon sellers not only made up lively words, but also showed off their singing. At the very least, it has to be half-spoken and half-sung as in the opera. In winter, "Gourd-Just Dipped" appeared. At that time, Beijing was much colder than now. My nose and tears always freeze into ice when I go to school. As long as there is money in your pocket, you must buy a piece when you hear "baked sweet potatoes are really hot". You can put the hot sweet potato in the sleeve to keep warm along the way, and you can take it out and chew it at school.

hawking is actually a kind of oral advertisement, so we have to change ways to attract customers. For example, if you sell a toy made of straw, you will shout, "Little things are alive." Some shouted to tell you the process of making, such as a kind of food that is similar to selling in the city, and introduced it very comprehensively: "Steamed and fried, oil is useless. The bag of noodles comes, and the stuffing of zucchini is steamed and fried. " There are also simpler ones, such as "stew and feed, fry tofu". Some borrow things from A to describe things from B, such as "sweet potato with chestnut flavor" or "radish is better than pear". "Gourd-Ice Tower" is both concise and vivid, and the gourd (whether it is hawthorn, water chestnut or yam bean) can be described in two words. People who sell hawthorn rely on drama to attract people. "There are only two things left." In fact, he was covered with the purple fruit strung with rope.

some vendors shout loudly, while others shout deeply. I'm afraid to listen to that kind of ups and downs. Perhaps because I was told when I was a child that people selling lotus leaf cakes were "flower-patting" (abducting and selling children), I was particularly afraid. He first screamed "a bag of sugar" and then lowered it by at least eight degrees to "lotus leaf cake". There is also a seller of buckwheat husks. Once he gave me a "yo" behind me, which scared me. When I stood up, he sang "Buckwheat Pierre" in a deep bass.

what is particularly outstanding is the kind of shouting that rhymes with the words. The fried food seller I wrote in the novel Deng Shandong does exist. As for his beating for students, I made it up. A radish seller shouted, "It's neither chaff nor spicy. Two bundles of radishes are as big as one." "Big" is a copper coin. Even some beggars made up Allegro glibly: "The old lady (that one) is really good, and she can't be eaten by a cake. Looking in the east room (then) looking in the west room, there is no bowl of rice. "

Now there is only one kind of shouting left in Beijing, that is, "Popsicle-three points". The tone seems to be reduced from five points to three points. Actually, it's just one third. It can be seen that this dramatic hawking art has not been lost.

recording: Xu jingqian, music: Zoe.