Chang and Qin run through the whole play, and Yutai Teahouse, an ancestral teahouse in Beijing, is the place where the story takes place. It describes various events in the late Qing Dynasty, the early Republic of China and after War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression's victory.
Through more than 70 characters going in and out of the teahouse, it reflects the changing situation, cold world and personnel situation of half a century, artistically shows the historical picture of three eras and 50 years, and makes readers and audiences see that "a teahouse is a small society."
The script has a particularly strong flavor of life and local color, vivid characters, refined, vigorous and personalized language, which embodies the author's humorous artistic style.
The whole drama consists of three acts, which intercept the cross-sections of three eras respectively, showing a huge historical picture.
The first scene is the most concise and concentrated one in the whole play. There is no central story, only some sporadic events, and then the teahouse owner Wang Lifa runs through it, reflecting the inevitable demise of the late Qing society.
The Reform Movement of 1898 failed in 1898, shortly after Tan Sitong was beheaded. Yutai Teahouse has a thriving business, with three religions and nine streams, and all kinds of people gather here: the bully who believes in foreign religions relies on foreigners and is full of pride, even the government is afraid of him; Rich and powerful people can hire official thugs and send people to fight for a pigeon; Banners who eat the money and food of the imperial court idle away all day; Eunuchs in charge of state affairs not only lead luxurious lives at home, but also marry at high prices; Farmers and urban poor sell their children and women; Grandpa four is often arrested for talking about state affairs; Qin is ambitious to set up a factory and save the country through industry. This silhouette-like description shows all the sentient beings in the late Qing Dynasty, profoundly reflects the peasant bankruptcy, citizen poverty and social darkness caused by imperialist infiltration, aggression and feudal rule, and indicates that the end of China's feudal society is coming soon.
The second act happened after Yuan Shikai's death in the early years of the Republic of China, during the reign of the northern warlords under the control of imperialism.
At this time, more than ten years have passed since the first act. Yutai Teahouse, which has been closed for rectification, is ready to open. Wang Lifa and his wife complained that business was difficult, the situation was chaotic, and the prospects of the teahouse were dim. At this time, the patrolman came to Wang Lifa to beg for public grain. Wang Lifa could not pay, so he had to bribe the patrolman to avoid paying. A group of soldiers came to the teahouse to make trouble, and Wang Lifa gave them money.
Grandpa Chang, who sells vegetables for a living, said that he was arrested and locked up for more than a year just because he said "the Qing Dynasty will die" more than a decade ago, and told his experience for more than a decade. Special agents Song Enzi and Wu Xiangzi wanted to check the students living in the apartment behind the teahouse, but Wang Lifa stopped them and agreed to send them money every month. Kang, who was sold by Pockmarked Liu to eunuch Pang for his wife more than ten years ago, took his adopted son Kang Dali to find a teahouse. When he met Pockmarked Liu, he wanted to settle accounts with him.
Cui Jiufeng, a former Kuomintang and an old democrat, was dissatisfied with reality and pessimistic. He told Wang Lifa that "China will die". Asako Liu sells women and acts as matchmaker for two deserters. In the name of catching deserters, Song Enzi and Wu Xiangzi took all the deserters' money and turned Pockmarked Liu into a deserter and gave it to the public.
The third act took place during the Kuomintang rule after War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression's victory.
As soon as the Japanese invaders surrendered, the Kuomintang entered Beijing. Kuomintang spies and American soldiers are rampant everywhere, the market is in chaos, and the people are in dire straits.
Yutai Teahouse has also been declining, making it difficult to maintain. Wang Lifa, the boss who wants to improve, wants to hire a waitress to support the old teahouse, but to no avail. Kang Dali, the adopted son of the teahouse waitress Kang, went to the Eighth Route Army guerrilla zone in Xishan, Beijing to participate in the revolution. The reactionary forces went to the teahouse to force Wang Lifa to hand over Kang Shunzi, Kangdali's mother, or they would smash the teahouse. Wang Lifa was cornered and sent his son, daughter-in-law and granddaughter to Kangdali. He and Qin, whose industry was confiscated by the Kuomintang, and Grandpa Chang, who made a living by selling peanuts and beans, gathered in the teahouse to burn paper money for their own sadness and for the cursed era. When director Shen occupied a large number of teahouses, Wang Lifa hanged himself in the back room, and the teahouse was buried with him in the old days.