Burying The Old Eras

The stage drama “Teahouse” set with three-acts which represented three chaotic eras respectively, reflected nearly 50 years vicissitudes of China from the failure of “100 days reform movement” to the eve of Kuomintang regime collapse and revealed the darkness and decadent of the old China. It, I think, truly recorded the miserable lives of people in that age and highlighted the main topic “burying the old eras”.

If living in a fair age, people are more likely to have relatively dignified lives, but if a brutal era, bad ones will always drive out good ones, just as an age of “eating people”. High classes dominated society and were able to “eat” lower ones easily. The character poke-face Liu, a local ruffian and human trafficker, was a typical “eater”. To specific, in the first act, the poor peasant sixth-born Liu, being forced by life, had to do a cruel “negotiation” with poke-face Liu about selling his own daughter. The broke peasant was actually sort of persecuted and threatened by poke-face Liu during the “conversation”. “Well, what do you say? How about ten taels of silver? Yes or no. I am too busy to waste a lot of time with you.” (Page 22) And then, six-born Liu replied, “Elder Liu! Is a fifteen-year-old girl only worth ten taels?” (Page 22) Here, he seemed to only expect some more money but others. Conceivably, this kind of calm was under the hopeless about his life and future. There, I believe, must be a fierce inner pain to a father. “She’s my own flesh and blood. How can I…” “It’s because it’s impossible for us peasants to get y these days. If we could manage even a bowl of gruel a day for each of us, and I still wanted to sell my daughter----then, could I call myself a man?” (Both, Page 22) This not only excused and defended himself, but also brought charges against the darkness of the age he was living in. What kind of society cannot even allow a father to provide a meal per day to his daughter? At meanwhile, the other interesting thing at this point was that poke-face Liu did not even realize that what was doing was wicked and still believed that what he was doing was helping for this poor family. “That’s you peasants’ problem, not mine. You asked me for help, and I got you a good deal. I also found your daughter a place where she can fill her belly. Isn’t that enough?” (Page 22) I felt really sick for him and the every single word came from his mouth was dirty. Lao She did not put any critical words on both sides of the party. However, poor and honest peasants versus the treacherous evils, through reading the dialogues, we seemed to be able to tough inner parts of those characters and see the real faces in life about that time. The conflicts were impressive.

To those, scrums, how to make profits in troubled society were always been considered as primary and put on the very top line of their schedules. Dark times covered the sense of guilt, which connived every evil practices. To others, ordinary, they “don't talk about nation issues”. Wang Lifa the owner of the teahouse, timid, selfish, smart, good at social intercourse and had his own business philosophy. He always had good attitudes to everyone, even if for some he detested. He improved his teahouse to follow the steps of changes. But all those, could not save his business and his old teahouse. According to his words: “reform! I’ve never forgotten about reform, change keeping up with the times… what the hell if I lost a little, a man has to live, hasn’t he?” “I bribed people when I had to, but I never did anything unjust or immoral. Don’t I deserve a normal life? Who have I wronged? Who?” (Page 180) He hided the true part of him for a life time just for protecting his family business and never even had time to think about sitting down in his own teahouse and comfortably drinking a cup of tea.

Dreams failed, which was the most cruel thing happened in this stage drama, to that old age. Fourth Elder Chang, he loved Qing, brave and just, and always wanted to do something to save his nation, but could not even got a chance. Qin Zhongyi, a rich guy, he represented the new industrialists and capitalists in that age. He thought the only way to make this nations’ people get a better lives was building industry in China. But finally, his land, factory, and the machines all destroyed by the government. When those three characters finally started singing the funeral song and spreading the paper money of death for themselves in the teahouse, they finally, I thought, were all desperate to the times and their lives. This period could be called “dead age”. It was heavy and sorrowful.

The ironic arrangement in this stage drama was new generations taking over their fathers’ paths. Especially, the bad ones became more and more cruel and unbelievable. Little Soothsayer Tang promoted to be a master. And the little poke-face Liu started running a company. The times were calling for salvation.

After finishing the reading, I was really depressed. Hopeless, chaos, and tragedy stories were full of the old times.  Fortunately, it finally ended by People’s Republic.   

Cited works

Lao She, Teahouse, translated by J. Howard-Gibbon, traditional Chinese-English Edition: The Chinese University of Hong Kong 2004, ISBN 962-996-125-3 Published by the Chinese University press