Beijing Pingshu Storytelling
01 · Historical Records
Beijing pingshu originated in the Tang and Song dynasties and flourished in the Ming and Qing; it is a form of quyi with far-reaching influence in the northern region, circulating mainly in Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Liaoning, Jilin, Heilongjiang and other places. After the Song dynasty the flourishing of the art of “shuoshu” (professional storytelling) did to a certain extent promote the formation of the long novel in the vernacular, laying a solid foundation for the final emergence of Beijing pingshu.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
In Beijing pingshu performance a single performer sits behind a table and uses a folding fan and a striking block (xingmu) as props, employing gestures, facial expression and other means to carry the plot along and to shape the characters; he also often uses vocal mimicry to imitate the sounds of wind, rain, cannon fire and horses, so as to strengthen the rhythm and heighten the atmosphere. In its long course of development pingshu formed a set of formal conventions of its own, showing artistic characteristics such as “grand”, “tight”, “lively” and “hot”. It is organised by such structural units as the “shuliangzi” (opening address), the “huimu” (chapter heading), the “guanzi” (linking passage) and the “bokou” (improvised interlude), and it delineates people and things by such devices as “fu” (rhetorical description) and “zan” (panegyric), apt and precise in every case and clearly ordered in its layers. Its narration is full of spoken idiom; its style is bold and unadorned, ardent and lively, and it is told in a manner that holds the ear and draws the listener in. Since modern times a large number of performing artists of high artistic standard have emerged in the Beijing pingshu world, among them Yuan Kuocheng, Tian Lianyuan and Lian Li Ru.
Kangxi in Disguise
One of Lian Liru's signature storytelling titles, showing her clear diction, powerful delivery and her hallmark habit of explaining the logic of the story.
The Confucian Merchant Tongrentang
A long pingshu co-created by Lian Liru on the rise of the Tongrentang pharmacy, a modern addition to the Beijing storytelling repertoire.
Pijiang commentary
The pingshu device of pausing the narrative to comment on characters and the moral logic of the story; Lian Liru is especially noted for it.
Storytelling in tea houses and shu-guan
The traditional venue of Beijing pingshu: one storyteller behind a table with a fan and a wooden block, continuing the story day by day.
Romance of the Eastern Han and Romance of the Three Kingdoms
Two historical romance epics among the classic Beijing pingshu titles, both counted among Lian Liru's representative works.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
In Beijing itself, Beijing pingshu formed a performance tradition centred on the storytelling teahouses of the Tianqiao and Xuannan areas, where performers carry on from one chapter heading to the next day by day, most commonly opening the book in the two slots known as the “morning telling” and the “evening telling”. In Tianjin, Hebei and the north-east, branches were divided off separately according to local dialect and the taste of the audience, while the storytellers of Anshan, Benxi, Yingkou and other places excelled in broadcasting long pingshu in serial form on the radio, so that pingshu moved from the teahouse to the airwaves. The Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Centre of Xicheng District, Beijing, is the protecting unit for this project (project number V-57). The Beijing line takes as its centre the giving of pingshu live in the storytelling hall and the transmission of book titles; Lian Li Ru has insisted on live storytelling in a storytelling hall for many years, and the inheritors she has trained include Jia Lin, Liang Yan, Wang Yuebo and Li Jing.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Beijing Pingshu Storytelling · Beijing Pingshu Storytelling · Beijing Pingshu Storytelling.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
The traditional book titles of Beijing pingshu are mainly The Romance of the Eastern Han, The Romance of the Western Han, The Romance of the Three Kingdoms, The Biography of Yue Fei and The Three Heroes and Five Gallants. In the course of their circulation these works performed an educational function by spreading historical knowledge and giving expression to traditional virtues, and their cultural value cannot be underestimated. At present the increase in forms of literature and art and the development of mass media have brought unprecedented prosperity to the cultural life of society; against this background the interest and enthusiasm of people in pingshu as an art form has been greatly weakened. This situation has affected the development of Beijing pingshu, so that the number of those who practise pingshu has fallen, the fine folk art that once shone for a time has no successors, and its transmission faces enormous difficulties; the departments concerned must take measures as soon as possible and begin its protection and support. Lian Li Ru (as recorded in the official archive of the associated inheritor): Female, Manchu ethnicity, born in March 1942, native of Beijing. A national first-class actress, and a specialist enjoying the special government allowance of the State Council. In 1985 she was transferred to the China Coal Mine Art Troupe. Her performance style is grand and capacious, her articulation clear, her voice weighty and full; her analysis of the reasoning and structure of a book is rigorous, and she draws on the artistic means of Beijing opera to portray characters, being especially skilled in “pi jiang”, the appraising commentary. She has devoted herself to excavating, collating, transmitting and developing the art, giving live storytelling in storytelling halls over many years and handing down a number of book titles. Her representative works include The Romance of the Eastern Han, The Romance of the Three Kingdoms and The Private Visit of Emperor Kangxi. In collaboration with others she created the long pingshu The Merchant Scholar of Tongrentang. Representative inheritor of Beijing pingshu, a project of the third batch of national-level intangible cultural heritage. In 2013 she received the second Inheritance Award for Inheritors of Chinese Intangible Cultural Heritage, presented by the Chinese Academy of Arts (China Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Centre). In 2014 she received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the eighth China Quyi Peony Awards, presented by the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles and the China Quyi Association. In 2018 the Ministry of Culture and Tourism awarded her the honorary title of National Advanced Worker in Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection. The inheritors she has trained include Jia Lin, Liang Yan, Wang Yuebo and Li Jing.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Lian Liru 03-1173
- Dantianfang 03-1174
- Liu Lanfang 03-1175
- Tian Lianyuan 03-1176
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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