In the heart of this ancient city of Beijing, there is a legendary figure known as the “King of Shouting” – Mr. Zang Hong, who is over seventy years old but can vividly interpret hundreds of traditional Beijing cries. Whenever a time-honored brand in Beijing reopens, one can always hear its familiar and charming shouts, adding a touch of vitality to the ancient business. In 1993, the Nanlaishun Snack Street was revitalized, gathering over a hundred Beijing style snacks. Mr. Zang, who worked tirelessly, personally visited the scene and shouted with a high pitched persimmon, “Xiao – Gao Zu’er’s Xiao – Persimmon Xiao – Non astringent Xiao – If it’s astringent, we’ll change it!” This instantly caught everyone’s attention.
Shouting, this ancient way of calling, originally meant to shout loudly, was first seen in “The Scholars” where Kuang Chaoren was studying hard under the lamp when dozens of people suddenly shouted in unison outside the door. And the history of integrating it into everyday life as a means of selling goods has a long and rich history. From Jiang Taigong’s drumming of knives in the market, to the vendors drinking estimated clothes on the streets of Kaifeng during the Song Dynasty, and to the bustling shouting in Beijing during the Ming and Qing dynasties, all demonstrate the profound cultural heritage of this phenomenon.
The shouting in old Beijing is particularly rich and colorful, with each sound containing unique charm and stories. For example, the person who sells sweet radishes: “Radish race pear – if it’s spicy, we’ll switch; The sweet temptation of Bingtanghulu: “Honey, hey, hey, Bingtanghulu!”; The playful remark in front of the goldfish stall: “One big one, two big one, I’m not selling cucumbers, I specialize in selling goldfish of all sizes; And there is also the humor on the peach stand: ‘It’s not a big girl tying it up, nor is it a second girl embroidering it. This is a flat topped peach that the third girl stumbled upon while visiting the garden!’ These shouts are not only a promotion of the product, but also a vivid display of folk culture.
Shouting is not a unique scenery in Beijing, it is like a flowing melody that travels through every corner of the Chinese land. From the long ‘Kang Chicken Hehe – Kang Chicken Sigh!’ on the streets of Xuzhou; The people in Changzhou delicately sell ‘Scrap grates – Scrap grates!’; Then in the morning market, “rice, millet, mung bean noodles, porridge, sweet sugar, warm!”… Every yell is a passionate statement of local customs.
However, with the changing times, traditional shouting sounds seem to be gradually fading away. Mr. Wang, an overseas Chinese who came back from a long distance, came across an electric horn “smelly dried tofu!” deep in the old lane, which made him sigh: “The old cry, like the sound of nature, is hard to find now. If you want to review it, you can only find the memory in crosstalk.”
Indeed, the shouting that once roamed the streets and alleys has now quietly entered the realm of art, becoming an indispensable element in cross-talk, opera, and even film and television works. In the traditional cross-talk of “Selling Estimated Clothes”, shouting is its soul; The knife sharpener in ‘The Red Light’ is unforgettable with the phrase ‘sharpen the scissors – grab the kitchen knife!’; And Mr. Zang Hong’s voice has added a strong historical color to many film and television works that reflect the style of old Beijing.
In the past, street vendors used folk singing or oral techniques to transform shouting into an art form. On the other hand, some artists’ “shouting” on the screen seems to lack the innocence and simplicity, and add a touch of commercial noise. When I turn on the TV, my ears are filled with slogans like “I love XXX”, “Comfortable enjoyment”, “Quality choices”… Although these slogans are catchy, they are difficult to touch people’s hearts, and cannot be compared to those old Beijing slogans full of life and emotions.
