Pinghubozishu
01 · Historical Records
It originated during the Wanli reign of the Ming dynasty, took shape in the late Ming and early Qing, and has a history of more than three hundred years to the present day.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Pinghu bozi-shu was formerly called “shuoyinguo” (telling of cause and effect); around the founding of the People’s Republic of China it was for a time called “the peasants’ book”. It is current chiefly in Pinghu, Zhejiang, and in Chuansha and Nanhui in Pudong, Shanghai, and in Jinshan, Songjiang and Qingpu in Puxi. The earliest performance form of Pinghu bozi-shu was “li bai di” (standing in the open ground); after it had developed further and medium-length and long titles had appeared, it began to move into halls and houses. Around the founding of the People’s Republic of China it was performed mainly in the tea houses of the towns and the countryside, whose audience was chiefly peasants, hence the name “the peasants’ book”. Its manner of singing is comparatively simple, using as accompaniment commonly a single cymbal, one bamboo chopstick and one wooden block (xingmu), striking them as it sings. Later the erhu, xianzi, pipa and yangqin were added as accompanying instruments, and the ensemble gradually took shape. Pinghu bozi-shu is sung by a single performer; its tunes include the long tune, the slow tune, the urgent tune and the weeping tune, with a lively rhythm, a strong local character, a thick country flavour and considerable artistic value. The sung text is chiefly in seven-character lines and carries a chanting style; the lines often end with a drawn-out note, whose lingering resonance gives it a peculiar charm. Over the long years Pinghu folk artists have created more than a hundred traditional long works, among them The Yang Family Generals, The Eight Righteous Heroes, The Heavenly Treasure Chart, Wu Long Tu (The Five Dragons), Cai Zhuang Lou (The Painted Tower), Jin Gao Zhuan, Bai He Tu (The White Crane), Hu Bi Song, Du Bi Ni Gu (The One-Armed Nun), Du Shou Feng Gai (The Madman of the Poisoned Hand), Jiu Geng Tian (The Ninth Watch) and Shi Mei Tu (Ten Beauties), many of which can be sung for as long as several months at a stretch.
Long, slow, urgent and weeping tunes
The main tunes of Pinghu bozi-shu, sung solo with lively rhythm and a chant-like seven-character line ending in a drawn-out note.
Cymbal, bamboo chopstick and wooden block
The minimal accompaniment of Pinghu bozi-shu: one cymbal, one bamboo chopstick and one wooden block.
The Yang Family Generals; The Eight Righteous Heroes; The Heavenly Treasure Chart
Titles among the hundred-odd long works created by Pinghu folk artists.
The Ninth Watch; Ten Beauties and short openers
Traditional long works and short opening pieces, among them Xu Wenzhu's Red-Maned Steed and A Grain of Rice.
From open ground to tea-house stage
The shift of Pinghu bozi-shu from open-air “standing” performance to halls and, later, tea houses, hence the name “peasants' book”.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Pinghu bozi-shu is performed in the Pinghu dialect and combines telling, singing and acting, but is especially strong in its telling. Pinghu bozi-shu is centred on the towns and countryside of Pinghu and also reaches Chuansha and Nanhui in Pudong, Shanghai, and Jinshan, Songjiang and Qingpu in Puxi. Its places of performance have passed through a transformation from “li bai di” (standing in the open ground) in the fields, to halls and houses, and then to the tea houses of the towns and countryside, and its audience is chiefly peasants; a single long standard work can be told for several months running. The performers are mostly single individuals who carry their pitch from village to village, striking a cymbal, a bamboo chopstick and a wooden block as they sing, performing in the Pinghu dialect and combining telling, singing and acting, with the telling especially their strong suit; later the erhu, xianzi, pipa and yangqin were added as accompanying instruments and the ensemble gradually took shape. The Pinghu Municipal Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Management Centre is responsible for the survey, documentation and transmission of this project; the inheritor Xu Wenzhu holds that the telling should be “fast without becoming disordered, slow without breaking off”, and she is skilled in the use of folk sayings, lays weight on unaccompanied singing and excels at improvising as she goes.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
At present, performers of Pinghu bozi-shu are becoming fewer and fewer, its prospects give cause for concern, and rescue and protection can no longer wait. Xu Wenzhu (recorded in the official file of the associated inheritor): Female, Han ethnicity, born in June 1957, native of Pinghu City, Zhejiang Province. Her command of the telling is solid, “fast without becoming disordered, slow without breaking off”; she is skilled in the use of folk sayings, lays weight on unaccompanied singing and excels at improvising as she goes, her language popular and vivid, concise and humorous. Her representative works include the traditional titles Hong Zong Lie Ma (the Red-Maned Steed), Bai Yu Yan (the White Jade Swallow) and Jiu Geng Tian (The Ninth Watch), as well as the short openers Chong Zi Bu Fa (the Wayward Son Breaks the Law), Chang Shou Xian (the Longevity Immortal) and Yi Li Mi (A Grain of Rice). She takes an active part in all kinds of public performances, conducts training activities for local intangible cultural heritage volunteers, and has helped to spread Pinghu bozi-shu. Representative inheritor of Pinghu bozi-shu of the third national-level batch of the intangible cultural heritage projects.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Xu Wenzhu 03-1182
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
This static English edition is rendered at the edge for search engines, AI crawlers and readers without JavaScript; it mirrors the bilingual dossier. 阅读中文版，或返回 英文名录。