Although the art of storytelling has a long history, it did not have an independent status in the past. In the development of Chinese arts, storytelling belonged to the category of baixi (variety show) in the Song Dynasty, with performances being held in entertainment houses called washe and goulan, which served as arenas for folk arts.
In modern times a variety of shows came to be called shopngzshua (spelled right?), performed in venues such as Hanqiao inBeijing, theConfuciusTempleinNanjing, Xujiahui inShanghai, Sanbuguan inTianjin, and the Xiangguo Temple inKaifeng. After the founding of thePeople's Republic of China(PRC) in 1949, some of the more developed genres were given the general name of quyi and since then they have been performed in theaters.
Research has shown that there are 400 forms of quyi that are popular in different parts of China. Although each has its own background, they all have original folk features, a broad mass appeal, and similar artistic characteristics. There are five common features.
First, they take speech and singing as their main artistic modes of expression.
Spoken forms are xiangsheng or comic cross talk, pingshu, and pinghua. Sung forms include jingyun dagu, danxian paiziqu,Yangzhouqingbu, Northeast dagu, Wenzhou dagu, Jiaodong dagu, and Hubei dagu.
Some are half sung and half spoken to musical accompaniment (sometimes called yunsongti), including Shandong kuaishu, kuaibanshu，luoguhu, and Pingxiang chunluo. Others combine singing with speech but without musical accompaniment, such as for example, Shandong qinshu,Xuzhouqinshu, and qinshu of other places.
Another type is accompanied with the Enshi yangqin (instrument with metal strings, played with a bamboo plectrum), and Yunnan yangqin. Yet another is a type combining recitation, singing, dancing, and walking. Examples are errenzhuan , shibuxia ,lianhualuo,Ningbozoushu, Fengyang hop, chedeng, and Shangluo huagu.
Because quyi arts tell stories and express emotions mainly through speech and song, their language must be lively, precise, simple and colloquial, suitable for speaking and singing, and easy to memorize and recite fluently.
Second, unlike in plays or operas, where the artists' costumes express fixed roles, a quyi item usually needs only one or two people, who may take several roles each.
The quyi artists are able to play characters of every description, and to tell various kinds of stories through speech and singing. Quyi arts have the special feature of being simple and effortless to prepare for performances. There is a minimum of stage props - all that is needed is one or twomusical instrumentsor a special gavel, a fan ,or a pair of bamboo clappers for kuaibanshu. Sometimes there are no props at all.
Performers can give shows wherever they go, enjoying more direct interaction with the audience, compared with plays and operas. The convenient staging enables quyi artists to reflect social life more directly than other forms of art.
Third, the contents of their repertoire are generally short and elegant, and the artists usually compose, edit, and design the items themselves.
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