Yangzhou Storytelling

01 · Historical Records

The early book history of Yangzhou pinghua, which has no formal lineage of master-disciple transmission, is mostly recorded in the notes of Qing-dynasty writers and in oral transmission on the storytelling platform: during the Qianlong reign Pu Lin composed and performed Qingfeng Zha out of his own experience, Zou Bixian independently created the new book Feituo Zhuan, and Ye Shuanglin poured the frustration of his repeated failure in the imperial examinations into Yue Zhuan.

02 · Core Techniques & Process

Yangzhou pinghua is a form of quyi storytelling performed by a single speaker with bare voice and gesture in the Yangzhou dialect, popular throughout northern Jiangsu and in Zhenjiang, Nanjing, Shanghai and other places. It rose in the early Qing dynasty, and soon reached a flourishing state described as "wherever the story is told Sui and Tang are recounted, and heroes and worthies hold sway each in their own region"; ten repertoires were unrivaled in their day, among them Three Kingdoms and Water Margin, and more than twenty celebrated storytellers were masters of exceptional skill. By the Qianlong reign some performers had reworked and enriched traditional programmes in line with their own life experience, while others composed entirely new books. Ye Shuanglin, who became a Yangzhou pinghua performer after failing the imperial examinations again and again, invested his own encounters and his agitation in Yue Zhuan, and his rendition of the episode "The Commissioner Hands Over the Imperial Seal" brought forth "voice and tears together", moving the audience deeply; Pu Lin composed and performed Qingfeng Zha out of his own life experience, creating a group of social underclass figures typified by Pi the Chili Pepper (Pi Wulazi), whose influence was far-reaching; the performer Zou Bixian independently created the new book Feituo Zhuan, whose satirical and mocking thrust pointed straight at the eminent figures of the ruling class, reflecting to some extent the hearts of the oppressed and enriching the expressive content of Yangzhou pinghua. Artistically, Yangzhou pinghua is distinguished by meticulous description, rigorous structure, a beginning that answers the end, and a multiplicity of threads kept in orderly array; performance emphasizes rich detail, sharply drawn figures, and language that is lively and full of humour. In creation and performance the performers also pay close attention to evoking the local scenery of Yangzhou, giving the art a strong flavour of its own region. In performance, Yangzhou pinghua is good at drawing on and absorbing the strengths of sister arts, and places emphasis on the use of vocal mimicry. Deng Guangdou was a famous performer of Water Margin, celebrated for the vividness of his facial expression and movement, which earned him the reputation of "the Water Margin that bounds and fights". Later the performer Wang Shaotang, while inheriting the art of the Water Margin book from his predecessors, developed four of its "ten-chapter books", those of Song Jiang, Wu Song, Shi Xiu and Lu Junyi, into a school of his own, known as the "Wang-school Water Margin". The noted performers of this stage included Wang Xiaotang, Wang Litang, Yu Youchun, Li Xintang and Hui Zhaolong.

03 · Regional Records & Related Items

Three Kingdoms and Water Margin are two long programmes that are both deeply popular and have become schools in their own right. Those who performed Three Kingdoms during the Xianfeng and Tongzhi reigns of the Qing dynasty, most famous and most influential being Li Guohui and Lan Yuchun, were taken as models by later generations and were styled the "Li school" and the "Lan school". The eight disciples Li Guohui transmitted were known at the time as the "Eight Steeds"; among them Kang Guohua was renowned for his performance of the Kongming role and was called the "Living Kongming", and the style of performing Three Kingdoms that he founded is known as the "Kang school". The traditional programmes of Yangzhou pinghua fall into three classes: the historical and romance narratives Eastern Han, Western Han, Three Kingdoms, Sui and Tang, Water Margin and Yue Zhuan; the case-and-chivalry tales Green Peony, Baqiao Zhu, Jiu Lian Deng and Qingfeng Zha; and the myth-and-marvel tales Investiture of the Gods, Journey to the West and The Biography of Ji Gong.

Other submitting regions for the same item: Yangzhou Storytelling.

04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding

After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Wang Shaotang's long Water Margin, that is the four "ten-chapter books" of Song Jiang, Wu Song, Shi Xiu and Lu Junyi, was collated and published, together with Selected Yangzhou Pingshu and Selected Yangzhou Storytelling. At the same time there appeared a number of long and medium-short repertoires, some adapted from novels such as Lihuo Jingang (Refined Steel in the Fire), Linhai Xueyuan (Snowy Forest) and Hongyan (Red Crag), some newly composed such as Tingjin Subei (Advancing into Northern Jiangsu) by Xia Yun and Guangling Jinyan Ji (The Guangling Tobacco Ban) by Li Zhen. Yangzhou pinghua now faces unprecedented difficulties: the performing troupes are shrinking, the audience is ageing, the storytelling houses are rundown, and there is a dearth of successors, so that its survival and development face severe challenges and it urgently needs effective protection. Hui Zhaolong (as recorded in the official file of the associated inheritor): A national first-class performer. He was first trained by Wang Shaotang, then became a disciple of Ma Fengzhang to study Houshui Hu (Water Margin Sequel) and Lu Junyi, and afterwards learned Water Margin: Lu Junyi and Water Margin: Shi Xiu from Zhang Zhengqing. On the basis of the tradition he developed the content of the "historical narrative", bringing subjects from the history of the Chinese Revolution, especially the Chen Yi series, onto the storytelling platform, and renewing and enriching the repertoire of Yangzhou pinghua. His performance both absorbs the fine detail of the Wang school's narration and the Ma school's emphasis on performative specialities, and also borrows the techniques of film and television, with attention to what suits pinghua: no make-up, no costume, one performer playing many roles. From "outward resemblance" to "inner likeness", reaching the point where form and spirit are both complete. The style of the pinghua is grand in momentum, its language ringing like metal and stone, sonorous on the ear, so that a three-foot-wide storytelling platform presents a brilliant and magnificent panorama of history. Male, Han ethnicity, born in March 1945, died in January 2011, native of Jiangdu County, Jiangsu Province. Representative inheritor of Yangzhou pinghua under the third batch of national-level intangible cultural heritage projects. In 2004 he received the performance award of the third China Quyi Peony Award, presented by the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles and the China Quyi Association. Yang Mingkun (as recorded in the official file of the associated inheritor): Male, Han ethnicity, born in April 1950, native of Hanjiang County, Jiangsu Province. A national first-class performer. In 1974 he stood out at the storytelling performance organized by the Yangzhou regional association of storytellers with the short pinghua The Girl Who Raises Pigs, which he had created. In 1980 he became a disciple of the famous pinghua master Yu Youchun to study Qingfeng Zha. Over more than forty years of performing, his repertoires have included the traditional pinghua Qingfeng Zha, The Biography of Ji Gong and Green Peony, the newly composed long pinghua Guangling Jinyan Ji, and close to one hundred newly created short pinghua. In 2015 he published the book and the audio-visual products of the hundred-episode Yangzhou pinghua Pi Wulazi that he created himself. His style is a sweet, sticky delivery and fine narration; he is skilled at depicting all kinds of figures, using regional dialects and the vocal mimicry techniques of Yangzhou pinghua, with fluent language, a strong flavour of everyday life, and performance that is humorous and witty, warmly received by audiences everywhere. Representative inheritor of Yangzhou pinghua under the fifth batch of national-level intangible cultural heritage projects. He has taken part in national performances many times and won awards.

05 · Associated Representative Bearers

Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:

• Wang Litang 02-0709
• Li Xintang 02-0710
• Xing Yanchun 03-1152
• Huizhaolong 03-1158
• Yang Mingkun 05-2476
• Jiang Qingling

06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography

1. Yangzhou Storytelling (Yangzhou, Jiangsu) · China ICH Official Project Archive
2. Huizhaolong · National Representative Bearer Archive
3. Yang Mingkun · National Representative Bearer Archive

Sources

China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)

Read the official ihchina.cn record ↗