光绪二十六年是中国阴历的庚子年,因这年爆发了震惊中外的义和团运动,因此,庚子年所发生的事件就成了义和团运动的代名词。庚子年初始,来自山东、直隶的拳民大量涌进北京,七月二十日,八国联军攻陷入京,义和团运动也由高潮迅速转入低潮。这一时期,北京内外的演剧业状况就成了事态人情的一面镜子,士绅所记笔记以及说唱文学中可获得的资料,略可体现出当年京城的演剧业景况。 The twenty-sixth year of Guangxu is the Gengzian year of the Chinese lunar calendar. Because of the boxer movement that shocked both China and foreign countries this year, the events that took place in the Gengzian years have become synonymous with the Boxer movement. At the beginning of the year of Gengzi, a large number of boxers from Shandong and Zhili flooded into Beijing. On July 20, the Eight-Power Allied Forces plunged into Beijing and the Boxer movement quickly moved from high tide to low tide. During this period, the performance of the state of the art industry both inside and outside Beijing became a mirror of human affairs. The information recorded by the gentry and the materials available in rap literature slightly reflected the current situation in Beijing’s drama industry.