Pingshu, also known as story telling, is commonly known as telling ancient stories in the Cantonese-speaking area of ??Guangdong, and speaking in ancient times. It is an oral performance form in China that became popular in the Song Dynasty. Storytellers from various places tell different stories to people in their own mother tongue, so they are also part of the dialect culture. After the reform and opening up of the People's Republic of China, under the impact of electronic media and the promotion of Mandarin, the storytelling culture of some dialects has gradually declined and is on the verge of disappearing. At the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Republic of China, storytelling was performed by one person sitting behind a table, with props such as a folding fan and a wake-up wood, and the costume was a long gown. By the middle of the 20th century, most people no longer used tables, chairs, folding fans, wake-up wood and other props, and instead performed standing speeches. , the clothing is also less fixed.
Storytelling is a kind of folk art. A one-person speech performs historical and modern stories through artistic means such as narrating plots, describing scenes, simulating characters, and commenting on affairs. In northern languages, it is generally called Pingshu, while in the South it is often called "Pinghua", and some also call it "Pingci". (1) Commentary calligraphy. Yuan Wang Yun's "Preface to "Yan Lu Gong's Book Book": "Dongpo said: Commenting on books and commenting on his life, I am not his person, although the work is not expensive." Yuan Huang Huang's "Postscript of Jing Gong": "Look at this now Tie, the wind spirit is leisurely, the rhythm is pure and beautiful, and it is suitable for those who are interested in learning. The commentator cannot reject this one. "(2) It is a kind of folk art. Tell more long stories. The Qing Dynasty's Fucha Dunzhong's "Yanjing Years' Notes·Fengtai" said: "In addition to drama, there are puppets (pronounced as roar), shadow plays, octagonal drums, Shi Bu Xian, Zi Di Shu, juggling tricks, onomatopoeia, and big drums. , storytelling and the like... Storytelling is done in the palm of your hand, without any help. "Chapter 18 of "The Heroes of Sons and Daughters": "If you know the reason for this, it is worth a story of storytelling." Character representation in Lao She's "Teahouse". : "Zou Fuyuan - Male. Over forty years old. A famous storyteller."
The art of storytelling, popular in northern China, as an independent variety of storytelling, was formed around the early Qing Dynasty. Data from many sources prove that although storytelling is an oral performance form, most of its artists come from "singing music". It is said that the storytelling art was formed in Beijing. Its first generation artist Wang Hongxing was originally a "rap" artist called "Xianzi Shu". By the early 20th century, many northern villages were performing "Xihe Dagu" and "Northeast Dagu". After the "rap" artists entered the city, they switched to storytelling one after another. This is a very interesting phenomenon that has emerged in the evolution of Chinese folk art. Storytelling, also called commentary, is popular in North China, Northeast China, and Northwest China. In Jiangnan, it is called Pinghua. It has a long history, and there were storytellers as early as the Spring and Autumn Period. It is a kind of oral literature created by the working people of our country. During the Warring States Period, hundreds of schools of thought lobbied the princes, often quoted from other sources, and used stories as metaphors. Later, many popular idioms were formed, such as "getting angry and rushing to the crown", "carving a boat to seek a sword", "using Yu Yu to make up for the number", etc. In fact, this is the early form of storytelling. Legend has it that storytelling, which is popular in Beijing, was handed down by Liu Jingting (1587-1668), a storyteller from Jiangnan in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, when he came to Beijing. Some people also say that Wang Hongxing, a drummer from Beijing in the Qing Dynasty, worshiped Liu Jingting as his teacher when he went to the south of the Yangtze River to perform. After returning to Beijing, he switched to storytelling, and in the 13th year of Yongzheng (1735), he was registered as a disciple at the Chief of Ceremonies, and it has been passed down to this day.