Back in spotlight

The centuries-old art form of pingshu, or storytelling, is making a welcome return to television after a long hiatus. Xu Fan reports.

One desk and one folded fan was all that consisted for the props used by pingshu (storytelling) master Tian Lianyuan to bring to life a battlefield story from Yang Jia Jiang (Generals of the Yang Family), an influential novel based on the titular legendary family in the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127) era.

Although Tian is 76 years old, he delivered his dialogue with power and performed with emotion.

When the plot rose to its climax - where a warrior on horseback wields his sword as he rides toward his enemy - he abruptly kicked his leg high to mimic the role's martial arts skills.

The stunt drew ovations from the audience, who watched the performance at the headquarters of one of the country's biggest broadcasters, Beijing TV, on Nov 22.

Alongside well-known pingshu artists Lian Liru and Liu Lanfang, Tian was shooting Beijing Pingshu Dahui (Assembly of Pingshu Artists in Beijing), a program showcasing the artists' storytelling performances.

The 25-minute program started to air on Nov 28 on Beijing Satellite TV, and is scheduled to be broadcast every morning from Tuesday to Friday.

Pingshu is a traditional art form that usually sees a performer wrapped in a Chinese-style gown recount a legend through dialogue and exaggerated gestures. Most of the stories are adapted from classic novels penned by ancient authors.

Once limited to audiences on street corners or teahouses, pingshu gained unprecedented popularity from the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s, thanks to a number of programs that ran on television and radio, the dominant entertainment platforms at the time.

As a pioneer to usher in the "golden decade", Tian was the first person to appear on television screens and perform pingshu on a show run by Liaoning TV, the provincial broadcaster, in 1985. He is also the first pingshu artist to wear a suit instead of a traditional gown.

On the Liaoning TV shows, he was telling the stories of Yang Jia Jiang, the classic novel penned by Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) author Xiong Damu. To make the traditional art form more intriguing to modern audiences, Tian explored ways to innovate.

"A traditional pingshu show lasts for two hours. The first 30 minutes act as a prologue and the plot twists appear in the following 90 minutes. But that would not work for a television show. It's too slow. Audiences would switch to another channel," explains Tian.

As Liaoning TV limited Tian to 20 minutes per episode, he rewrote the scripts, cut the introduction to three minutes, and added stunts to spark the audience's imagination.

"In the past, pingshu was an art form to be listened to. But since television has popularized it, it has become more of an art form to be watched," adds Tian.

Propelled by the success of Tian's shows, one of the highly-rated TV programs of the time, more than 20 television stations - including the country's most-watched broadcaster CCTV - produced similar shows, prompting pingshu to rise to the peak of its popularity.

But the glory faded after the mid-1990s, due to falling production standards and the rise of television dramas. Over the past decade, pingshu programs have almost disappeared from TV screens.

In 2008, pingshu was inscribed in China's national intangible cultural heritage list, putting it back in the spotlight. The rapid growth and popularity of the internet has helped pingshu to reach more audiences through online video clips.

Now with Beijing Pingshu Dahui, the centuries-old art form has made a return to television screens after a decadelong break, and may witness a revival, says Tian, with an excited gleam in his eye.

Born in Jilin province's capital Changchun in 1941, Tian began to learn pingshu at the age of 9 and made his stage debut at 17. He quickly showed his talent and began to head up an art troupe in Benxi, Liaoning province. After winning a number of awards and performing on TV and radio, Tian shot to nationwide fame.

Tian's forum on Baidu Tieba, a popular online community, currently has 4,160 followers who have written 38,000 posts.

But the humble artist says: "I am old. The future is in the hands of the youngsters."

Besides, Tian says he has yet to completely recover from a terrible car accident three years ago, which caused the death of his son and severely injured him.

When the Beijing program's producers called him, Tian was initially reluctant to join the show. He didn't give it the nod until the TV company persuaded him with a powerful reason: His reputation could help to revive the art form.

"China's television industry now has some shallow, mass-market entertainment productions. I hope the younger generations can learn more about traditional culture and benefit from its legacy," he says.

Tian also mentions Mo Yan, winner of the Nobel prize in literature who once revealed that his childhood hobby of listening to pingshu opened up his imagination and encouraged him to start writing.

"Pingshu dates back more than 2,000 years. From the emperors' courts to public areas, it has influenced generations. It's our duty to publicize this unique art form created by the Chinese," says Tian.

Speaking about the future, Tian recalls his visits to perform pingshu in Canada and Russia, which he describes as inspirational.

"I saw some foreigners sitting among the audiences. It convinced me that this Chinese art form could also appeal beyond borders," he says.

"I am too old to learn English. But if the young performers can speak English fluently, I believe pingshu will be enjoyed more in the West."

Contact the writer at xufan@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 11/30/2017 page19)