| Pingtan | |
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Pingtan in Suzhou, 2008
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| Etymology | Combination of pinghua and tanci |
| Origin | Song dynasty |
| Major region | Jiangnan |
| Typical instruments | Pipa and sanxian |
| Topolect | Mainly Suzhou dialect, occasionally non-standard Mandarin Chinese (e.g. Yunbai) |
| Pingtan | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Traditional Chinese | 評彈 | ||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 评弹 | ||||||
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Pingtan (Chinese: 评弹), also known as Suzhou Pingtan, is a regional variant of quyi and a popular musical/oral performance art form in the Jiangnan region of China, encompassing southern Jiangsu, northern Zhejiang, and Shanghai. Originating from Suzhou, it is a blend of the Chinese narrative musical traditions of pinghua and tanci, with roots tracing back to the Song dynasty and influences from Wuyue culture.[1]
This art form, shaped by Pingtan artists, has garnered immense popularity in Jiangnan. Its long history has provided a solid foundation for development. Despite its simplicity in form, Pingtan's content is rich, incorporating techniques like storytelling, joke cracking, music playing and aria singing.[2] Its artistic features include "reasoning, tastes, unexpectedness, interest and minuteness".[3] Although it began in Suzhou, Pingtan experienced significant growth in Shanghai during the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, spurred by the development of commerce and culture. Since then, Pingtan has evolved into a new form of performance, continuously innovating while preserving its traditional essence.[4]
It originated in Suzhou about four hundred years ago.[5] From the middle of the 19th century to the beginning of the 20th century, it was performed in Shanghai. At that time, Shanghai was one of the five treaty ports. Shanghai's economy was booming and various cultures arrived there. Pingtan absorbed some elements from various cultures and was well developed under the circumstances.[6] The rise of records and radio stations also played an important role in popularizing Pingtan art. Another positive factor was the expansion of performing halls, which were decorated well and spacious. As a result, people like writers, painters, professors gradually became loyal fans.[7] After the founding of People's Republic of China, 18 performers organized Shanghai People's Pingtan Troupe, which was the first official troupe.[8] Based on traditional long story-telling, shorter and medium-sized stories were created, reflecting modern life. The form of performance is not limited in Shuchang, which was the traditional performing stage, however, in 1961 Pingtan concert was held which attracted nearly one thousand people to watch in each performance.[9] While its traditional repertoire was banned during the Cultural Revolution, Pingtan still enjoyed a special status as a preferred medium for singing poems by Mao Zedong, making Pingtan known and appreciated throughout China, despite the dialectal barrier. Since the late 1970s, the traditional repertoire has been revived. The old artists undertook the task of passing the tradition on to the new generation. Pingtan is popularized by radio, television and Internet. Meanwhile, it faces challenges as a result of the popular entertainment industry.
The actors sing, accompanied by musical instruments such as a small sanxian or pipa.[10] Pingtan artists also use fans, gavels and handkerchieves as performance props. Players can display different roles' characteristics and identities by using fans. Fans can also be used as symbolic props to represent knives, guns, swords or whips. Gavels are usually made of jade, Dysoxylum spp[11] or crystal and about 3 cm in length and 1 cm in width. When struck, they make a clear sound. They are used to make all kinds of sounds and atmosphere. Actors usually use white handkerchieves, while actresses choose different colors and materials according to the plot.[12]
Pingtan contains talking, joking, instrument-playing, singing and acting. Suzhou Pingtan which involves singing and storytelling, is performed solo, in duet or as a trio. The small three-stringed plucked instrument and Pipa (lute) are used as accompaniment. The Ban, or wooden clappers, produce various styles of tone and melody. Pingtan has absorbed popular folk tunes. The special art Pintan performance is concentrated on the five words, joking, instrument-playing, singing and acting. Talking uses authentic and skilled Suzhou dialect to narrate stories and deduce characters. Narration and speaking are two forms of talking. Joking is the funny part of Pingtan, which arises audience's attention and interests. Instrument-playing is used to assist singing in order to make it more musical and filled with strong sense of rhythm.[13]
There are many different performance styles concerning Pingtan. It is divided into the Chen Yuquan, Ma Rufei and Yu Xiushan Schools called Chen Diao, Ma Diao, Yu Diao. Over about a century, new styles were formed which inherited the legacy of the three schools. Liu Tianyun and Yang Zhenxiong inherited the Chen School, and Xia Hesheng and Zhu Huizhen inherited the Yu School. The Ma School exerted the greatest impact on posterity, with successors who formed schools of their own, such as Xue Xiaoqing Diao(tone), Shen Jianan Diao and Qin Diao(developed by Zhu Xueqin on the basis of Xue Diao). Zhou Yuquan developed into a school on the basis of Ma Diao, while Jiang Yuequan developed into a school on the basis of Zhou Diao. Due to this development, Suzhou Pingtan has a great diversity of styles in singing and storytelling.[14]
Simply, Pingtan is a kind of talking and singing art which uses Wu dialect to tell stories.
Pingtan forms its own artistic characteristics of reasoning, taste, unexpectedness, interest and minuteness. Reasoning is not the boring preachment given by the performers. On the contrary, it tends to disclose objective laws and essence of real life by means of shaping vivid characters. And the development of the personalities of characters correspond to their circumstances.[16] People usually judge the authenticity of what they heard according to their own experiences. If audience find the contents go against objective laws or have no references, it will be hard to arouse people's interests and bring their imagination. In addition, there is no doubt that Pingtan may lose the impact of arts.[13] Taste means the feelings of artistic beauty. It results from the expression of artistic characteristics. At the same time, taste is a kind of emotional infection. Thus storytellers ought to skillfully master a variety of skills to ensure the storytelling filled with taste. Fully studying the chance of the development of things can receive unexpectedness. On account of the strong narrative description of characters and plots, Pingtan needs the effect of the twists of the plot structure. Interest reveals the performers attach much importance to the recreational effect of Pingtan. Performers' ultimate goal is to cater to the interests of the public. When it comes to minuteness, it also arises from the real life. The lively and true descriptions of details depend on the performers' observation and experiences.[17]
There are also many other kinds of Quyi. Different areas have different history of 'storytelling'—this kind of art. However, they are all combined with local features and mostly performed in dialects. Compared with other talking and singing artforms, Pingtan is a kind art which performers will sit and perform. Pinghua just talk and Tanci will talk and sing just like Pingshu in northern areas. Quyi can be divided into several parts according to the contents: story-telling, just joking for fun, singing songs to express feelings. And Pingtan belongs to the first one.[21]
Qiliang He. Gilded Voices: Economics, Politics, and Storytelling in the Yangzi Delta Since 1949. Leiden: Brill, 2012
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Chinese opera and Chinese narrative traditions
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Jiangsu topics
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