Telling Stories Across China

(Pingshu and Pinghua, the art of storytelling in local dialects, have enjoyed great popularity in both northern and southern China. But telling Pingshu and Pinghua is far from easy. )

Storytelling has a long history in China. As early as in the Tang Dynasty, over 1,000 years ago, this art form began to enjoy wide popularity among the people. And many people still love it, even today. Whenever you see a person standing behind a desk, talking and gesturing expressively and surrounded by a group of people, he or she could well be a storyteller.

In China, storytelling is divided into two kinds. One is Pingshu, popular mainly in the north, and the other is Pinghua, popular in the south. Compared with Pinghua, Pingshu has quite a short history, of only about three hundred years. It originated in the mid Qing Dynasty in the 17th century.

According to historic records, in ancient times storytellers told their stories in the street, or in a tea-house or other place of entertainment. The storyteller usually held a fan and stood behind a desk. On the desk was a piece of board. At the beginning of a performance and when the climax of the story was about to come, the teller would pick up the board and knock it loudly on the desk to catch the audience’s attention, piquing their curiosity to know what would happen next. Let’s hear a little bit of Pingshu.

Pingshu stories mainly come from history books and Chinese classical literature. But some modern ones are also being told nowadays. But personally speaking, I don’t like the modern ones; I feel that only the ancient stories have that special flavor.

Lian Liru is a famous Pingshu teller.

“The art of Pingshu can’t be replaced by any other art form. We are not only telling a story, but also telling a philosophy of life. Pingshu is the result of the accumulation of culture and art for a very long time. I want to introduce Pingshu to people in other countries. I think Pingshu is the most difficult art, and also the best.”

Lian began to learn Pingshu when she was 17, and now she is over 60. She has never lost her interest in the art. Now her works are broadcast in many countries in Asia with large populations of Chinese.

Pingshu is usually told in the Beijing dialect, or a dialect close to it, which all the people living in north China can understand.

Quite different from Pingshu, Pinghua has a much longer history , and has several kinds, each told in a different dialect of south China. The most famous and most popular kind is Suzhou Pinghua.

71-year-old Wu Junyu is a well known Pinghua teller. He just attended the Paris International Art Festival, where many people were very impressed with this art form.

“After seeing my performance, many foreigners said it’s incredible that one person can play all the roles in the story, acting and talking. The impressions and humor in the performance also amazed them greatly. Performing in foreign countries enhances the influence of Chinese culture in the world, but China should still be the base of this art.”

Telling Pingshu and Pinghua well is far from easy. The teller must be able to make all kinds of impressions, imitate different voices, and know how to stimulate the listeners’ curiosity by creating suspense. This makes the storytelling very addictive.