Literature Atlas

How Stories Are Told
Sign In
Text size
100%
Theme
Genre

Pingshu

Epic and Heroic Narrative

Pingshu, also called pinghua or colloquially shuoshu, is the traditional Han Chinese performing-art genre of storytelling with no musical accompaniment. It is better known as pingshu in northern China and pinghua in southern China.

Facts
Place of Origin
China, traceable to the Tang and Song dynasties 1
Notable Example
Shan Tianfang (1934-2018) was among the best-known pingshu performers, alongside Yuan Kuocheng, Tian Lianyuan and Liu Lanfang 1
Defining Trait
Traditional Han Chinese storytelling performed with no musical accompaniment 1
Sources
1. Pingshu (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia Foundation (Wikipedia)
  • History section
    The history of pingshu can be roughly traced back to the Tang and Song dynasties
  • Performing art section, list of notable performers
    Famous storytellers or Pingshu performers such as Shan Tianfang (单田芳, 1934-2018), Yuan Kuocheng (袁阔成, 1929-2015), Tian Lianyuan (田连元, born 1941), and Liu Lanfang (刘兰芳, born 1944) consequently became well known.
  • Opening definition, final clause
    refers to the traditional Han Chinese performing art of storytelling with no musical accompaniment
View the Source
Comments (0)
No comments yet. Be the first to share a thought.
Reader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.