A fortune teller is walking in the street.
Photo: Folk juggling
In our village, fortune tellers often visit fortune tellers. You don't have to ask As long as you go to that station, the fortune teller can accurately tell how many people are there in your family, who is sick at home and what great events have happened at home. It's really amazing and can't be explained by science. However, there are many fortune tellers now, but most of them are more complicated.
What impressed me most was reading The Knife on Credit, which may be heard by some older people. The "credit knife" went to a village to sell his kitchen knife, scissors and so on. But they didn't ask you for money on the spot, but left intriguing predictions, such as "I will collect money when the price of rice rises to 5 yuan a catty", "I will collect money if a steamed bread can marry a daughter-in-law" and "I will collect money if everyone eats chaff" and so on. It was amazing at that time, and I never understood it.
Photo: Credit Knife Man
Jianghu entertainers, jugglers, fortune tellers, and "knives on credit" were common at that time, and it is also an interesting experience to think about it now. Then, why are there so few Jianghu artists who used to walk the streets? Where have they all gone? I think there are four reasons why Jianghu artists disappear.
There are fewer country people.
The first reason I can think of is that there are fewer people in the countryside, and the countryside is no longer as lively as before. Young people have gone out to work, leaving only the old and children. Hollow villages have become a common phenomenon. Obviously, the declining countryside can no longer support all kinds of Jianghu artists, so no one will go there again.
Figure: Rural areas
In the 1990s and earlier, although there were migrant workers at that time, it was not as common as it is now, and the countryside was still bustling. Where there are people, there is wealth. The more people there are, the more diverse religions will converge, the more good and evil people will be mixed up, and the more unemployed people will be, so there will be a soil for all kinds of talented people and Jianghu artists to activities.
The rise of the internet
At the beginning of this century, the Internet began to rise in China. Now China is a big Internet country in the world, and people can't live without the Internet. Today, almost all businesses involve the Internet, and the previous business methods are gradually being eliminated.
If you watch carefully, you will find that from the day when the Internet rose and became popular, all kinds of Jianghu artists began to fade out of people's sight. In fact, they didn't quit, just changed the venue and moved from offline to online. Take the fortune teller for example. I can't see anything online. Since everyone can expand their business on the internet, no one wants to walk around in the sun and rain.
Photo: Degang Guo.
For another example, we all know Degang Guo's cross talk. In the past, crosstalk was performed in the street or in a teahouse. Almost disappeared for a while, and no one listened anymore. However, with the help of the Internet, Degang Guo brought cross talk back to young people through the Internet, and made them reborn.
With the development of media network, many talented people have a bigger stage and better income, and more and more people are unwilling to do the work of walking around the streets.
Handicraft lost
Another important reason is that all kinds of talents have gradually lost their housekeeping skills. When there was no part-time job before, craftsmen were very popular, and many young people would go to school because they could support their families. But if you want to learn a skill well, it takes a long time to accumulate, not overnight. The apprentice learned a trade from the master for several years and more than ten years, so they were all from high flyers.
Photo: Fortune teller
But now, few young people are willing to spend years or more learning a trade. They all want to make quick money, but they can't settle down. Therefore, many people who really have housekeeping skills have no successors, and they can only make their skills lost and cannot be passed on. Jianghu people who used to walk the streets and lanes all made a living by real skills. Because the audience has no money, they are more cautious in rewarding. Now they can fool if they can. Anyway, people are stupid and have more money. As a result, fewer and fewer people want to keep the real thing.
Broaden your horizons.
Although people in the past had real skills, some of them just made up the numbers, because people were generally less educated and had a narrow vision, so many things could not be seen through. With the popularization of education, people's horizons have widened, and many tricks can't fool people. Without a market, people without real skills will naturally be eliminated.
Figure: Rural areas
Have you seen or heard of any magical Jianghu artists and their legendary stories before?