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?SuzhouPinghua; Suzhou Tanci?

Year?2006

Sort?Quyi

Area?Jiangsu

Serial No.??-1

SuzhouPingtanis a general term denoting Suzhou Pinghua and Tanci, namely, storytelling and ballad singing in the Suzhou dialect. Flourishing in Suzhou ofJiangsu Province, it also enjoys great popularity in neighboringZhejiang ProvinceandShanghai.

The art has a long history. Pinghua developed from the storytelling art of the Tang (618-907) and Song (960-1279) dynasties, and the performances are speaking only, there is no singing. . Pingtan evolved from Bianwen an art form that propagandized Buddhist teachings during theTang Dynasty.

In the late years of theMing Dynasty(1368-1644) and the early years of theQing Dynasty(1644-1911), actors and actresses began to perform in the Suzhou dialect, from this Suzhou Pingtan emerged. Suzhou Pingtan reached its peak during the reign of EmperorQianlong(1739-1796) during the Qing Dynasty. In the subsequent more than 200 years, the art form saw much improvement. It is still popular today.

Suzhou Pingtan is known for its story telling, joke cracking, music playing and aria singing. It is performed solo, in duet or as a trio, and involves singing and storytelling. The small three-stringed plucked instrument andPipa(lute) are used as accompaniments. The Ban, or wooden clappers, produces various styles of tone and melody.

Pingtan has absorbed popular folk tunes. Due to this development, Suzhou Pingtan has a great diversity of styles in singing and storytelling.

?. Pinghua

Declarer?Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province

Pinghua is mostly performed by a narrator that holds a fan and a piece of wood whiletelling s historical, judicial, heroic and epic stories. The most popular stories are The Tale of Yue Fei, Gallant Heroes, The Water Margin, and The Seven Gallant Men and Five Heroes from the Three Kingdoms, The Sui and Tang Dynasties.