Tea House (Reading Guide Catalog for Primary and Secondary School Students)

"Teahouse" is a play written by the modern writer Lao She in 1956. It was published in the first issue of "Harvest" magazine, edited by Ba Jin in early July 1957. A single volume was published by China Drama Publishing House in June 1958. The play shows the social changes of nearly half a century in three eras: the Reform Movement of 1898, the warlord war, and the eve of the founding of New China. A teahouse called Yutai reveals the darkness, corruption, bizarreness, and all the living beings in Chinese society in the past half century. There are nearly 50 characters in the script. In addition to teahouse owners, there are bannermen who eat royal food, industrial capitalists, eunuchs in the Qing palace, priests who believe in foreign religions, impoverished farmers, as well as spies, thugs, policemen, gangsters, fortune tellers, etc. There are many characters but distinct personalities. You can "know the person by hearing their voice" and "outline the outline of a character in a few words." The work depicts the dismal management of the ancestral "Yutai Teahouse" by teahouse owner Wang Lifa. Although he is shrewd, tactful, and devoted, he is ultimately unable to stop the decline. It reflects the trend of Chinese society from the side. The play has been performed many times at home and abroad and has won high praise. It is a classic work of contemporary Chinese drama creation.