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.

Ⅰ. 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.

Ⅱ. Suzhou Tanci

Declarer：Suzhou City of Jiangsu Province Tanci is mostly performed by two singer narrators, and occasionally by one or three narrators, accompanied by a three-string zither and a pipa lute, telling and singing stories from daily life and about love affairs. The most popular stories are The Pear Pagoda, TheJade Dragonflies, The Gilded Hairpins, and the Three Smiles.

After the founding of thePeople's Republic of China, the government set up Suzhou Pingtan School research offices and other institutes to protect and carry on this traditional art. After the 1980s, Suzhou Pingtan performers staged performances in Japan, Singapore, Italy, the US and Canada, where they introduced it to overseas communities with great success.