What makes Pen Baldzi's performance unique is that, During his performance, he held a large earthenware basin and tapped different parts of the earthenware basin with a pair of chopsticks, making different high and low noises. The various tones he produced, coupled with the lyrics and music he made up casually, made people laugh. Sun Baocai said this about Pen Bald Man: "Pen Bald Man is a weirdo. He has a bald head and only some hair on his two temples. He walks with a limp, like an iron crutch. He holds a tile The basin is two feet in diameter and one foot deep. He can hit it with a pair of chopsticks, but he can still produce twelve notes of five notes while singing, and he improvises lyrics to make people laugh. ”
The bald man struck the tile basin and Kankan made a sound. Although it was not harmonious with the eight notes, it was clearer and more consistent with the rhythm, and it integrated with the ups and downs of the ditty he sang. Tracing back to its origin, there are some ancient sounds. Legacy. Therefore, Yang Manqing, a poet of the Qing Dynasty, praised the bald man in his "Miscellaneous Odes of Tianqiao":
I once saw the bald man in those days, and the pot was struck with clang and clank;
Now that there are new tunes in the market, how can it be Do you know the Qin people who are good at this?
The person who plays the fou and sings looks like a beggar, and this person is no longer worthy of comment.
Laughing at his lack of knowledge, imitating Zhuang Zhoulang and knocking the pot. Tian Zizi was an old folk artist who specialized in Pan Kongzi at the Tianqiao acrobatic field during the Guangxu period of the Qing Dynasty. His real name is unknown because he has never revealed his life experience to others for decades as a performer on Tianqiao. It seems that he has a secret. , it’s hard for others to ask again.
This man was very skilled in martial arts when he was young. He kicked his legs too hard and became disabled. However, some people say that he was injured by someone in a fight. No one can say whether it is right or wrong. clear. But it is quite strange that a person with half legs can perform various technical moves on the bar. Every day he brought an apprentice to the Tianqiao performing arts venue. He first set up the bar, and then asked his apprentice to perform one or two tricks as a lead-in, and then he limped to the venue. . He is just like the old man Tao Hong in "Da Guayuan", full of energy and not at all senile. He jumped up and down on the bar, making various movements with his hands and feet. Such as one-handed big top, choked neck, left and right flags with the wind, swallow turning over, Nezha exploring the sea, the changes are endless and indescribable. The audience all applauded and praised after watching it. For each performance, he could earn anywhere from three to five thousand yuan. In one day, he could make between thirty and forty thousand yuan, which was a lot of money.
The "Two-finger Zen Kung Fu" of martial arts masters has long been familiar to people. However, as early as more than a hundred years ago, Tian Laizi's best kung fu was to use two fingers to support and lift big moves on the bar. Doing headstands and handstands was also a unique feat in the Tianqiao entertainment industry at that time.
Although Tian Laizi is physically disabled, he has extraordinary strength, tiger-like swiftness and ape-like dexterity. Whenever he performs, he always attracts the audience with a few simple movements first, and then after the audience gathers around him, he will show off his special skills one by one. Many of his difficult and wonderful action performances are related to historical figures or mythological stories. Such as the white ape stealing peaches, Liu Ling lying drunk, Huang Xiang lying on the mat, etc. In addition, there are imitative action forms, such as "duck swooping in the water", "kite turning over", "hanging golden bell upside down", etc.
"The White Ape Stealing the Peach" involves bending one knee to hold the bar, holding the knees with both hands, as if the white ape in mythology holds the peach to serve his mother, and then spins seven or eight times around the bar, as fast as the wind and lightning. People are dazzled.
There is little information about nasal buzz in history. According to legend, Bi Bongzi was an unknown artist with strange personalities and extremely poor appearance. No one knew his name, and everyone called him "The Tin Kettle Maker." Some people say that he was originally a clerk somewhere in Shanxi. He was dismissed from his job and came to Beijing because of his good singing, so he established his own style in Tianqiao. It is not known whether this information is accurate. He stuffed the foreign iron tube into his nostrils, hung the broken foreign iron pot around his waist, held a bangzi with both hands, and sang while walking. Sometimes he also beats the broken foreign iron pot on his waist to make the drum sound, and the iron tube stuck in his nose makes the ending sound of the song. Every time he sang a line, the evil sound at the end was replaced by a nose tube, which was so ridiculous that he was also listed as one of the "Eight Great Eccentrics".
When he officially performed for the audience, he dressed up specially, with flowers on his hair and powder on his face. When he inserted two bamboo tubes into his nostrils to make a buzzing sound, he would hit the tin kettle hanging on his waist with a small stick to make a rhythmic sound. At the same time, he sang a ditty in his mouth to the tune of the bamboo pipe and the beat of the iron kettle. Everyone would laugh endlessly when they saw his ridiculous antics of busy hands and feet, which left a deep impression on everyone. In the Qing Dynasty's "Miscellaneous Odes of Tianqiao", a seven-character poem was used to praise "Bi Bing Zi" and said:
The hemp iron pot can be struck with rhyme and the rhythm is high, and it can also be used to negotiate with palace merchants;
At that time He looked like a ghost and a snake, and now he feels stronger after seeing it.
It’s strange to come on stage with a nasal sound and apply powder and hairpin flowers;
But it can attract the attention of tourists, and it will live up to the soot. Chang Fool is also one of the eight monsters in the early days of Lao Tianqiao. His performance of "Smashing Stones" has the color of a martial artist. Most of the artists at Lao Tianqiao have heard of his performances. Some people say that his "smashing rocks" is real Kung Fu, but others say that his "Smashing rocks" is to sell his patent medicine service for treating bruises, which is of a commercial nature and that of a quack doctor. As for Kung Fu, it is not about excellence, it is very Authentic and trustworthy. But no matter how you say it, it is admitted that he is one of the early eccentrics of Lao Tianqiao. No one can tell what his real name is.
It is said that the stones often thrown by fools are pebbles. Before the performance, his younger brother Chang Lao'er would first touch two stones against each other several times so that the audience could hear the sound, and then hand them to the audience so they could touch them with their hands. Take a look and tell whether it is true or false. At this time, Chang Fool was looking for luck and luck into his hands. Then, he took the stone and placed it next to a bench. After finding the right position, he only heard "Hi!" and "Hi!" twice, and the stone was smashed where his palm fell.
Idiot Chang has a unique skill, which is to break a stone with his fingers. His performance will remind people of the kung fu performances of today's armed police soldiers, and it has a strong sense of continuity. However, "the green is better than the blue, and the ice is colder than the water." The Kung Fu performances of the armed police soldiers are much more sophisticated than those of Chang Fool back then, and the Qigong used is also more widely developed than before.
After Chang Fool performed a "rock smashing" performance, he would sell his "Baibu Zengli Pill" to the audience. He said that his "Baidu Zengli Pill" has magical effects. It can strengthen the body and bones, treat bruises and bruises, and treat internal and external injuries caused by Qi in the waist. He also used his own experience to explain that he had such great strength and could practice real kung fu only after taking this kind of medicine. It is said that the pills he sells have no magical effect, but they will not harm people. The reason why he beautifies the pills is mainly to survive and maintain the minimum living needs. At the same time, he "gives money" to the audience in the form of selling medicine. From this point of view, it is not unreasonable for some people to say that his performing arts have a commercial nature.