Narrative Voices in Yangzhou Storytelling

Abstract

Yangzhou storytelling: a quyi genre Yangzhou pinghua ~~, Yangzhou storytelling, belongs to the large family of performed narrative arts, quyi fIB Ii, generally referred to as pingshu ~_ or pinghua ~~. Conducted exclusively in the spoken language, pingshu/pinghua differs from other varieties of spoken quyi primarily in length. Whereas shorter forms of quyi such as Beijing xiangsheng ffI'l, and Sichuan xiangshu ffilf keep the jocular entertainment to a single performance session, storytellers of the pinghua/pingshu tradition tell long and continuous tales lasting a few months in daily sessions. The genre is calledpinghua in the southeast, (e.g. Yangzhou pinghua, Suzhoupinghua, Hangzhou pinghua, Fuzhou pinghua and pingshu in the northern and central areas (e.g. Ningxia pingshu, Sichuanpingshu, Hubei pingshu). The performance situation is essentially the same for the different varieties of storytelling.1As a rule there is.only oneman and one mouth, yi ren yi kou A-tJ , i.e. one single artist, a male (rarely a female) storyteller, shuoshu xiansheng ~if?t~ or shuoshu yiren ~if_A (the term shuoshude apparently carries a derogatory tone in modem usage). He sits at a table and spins his yam, his only requisites being a wakeningblock, xingmu M*,2 a handkerchief and a' fan. With the xingmu the storyteller makes a s~arp rap on the table at the beginning of' the performance, drawing the audience's attention. During performance he uses it a few times to create tension.But it is never used as a clapper for rhythmic