Pingshu


Pingshu, or shuoshu, is an art of entertainment in China. It is also called pinghua in South China. Travelers in Beijing will often find taxi drivers listening to it on the radio.
Pingshu was extremely popular in the 1980s, when the Chinese people were able to afford radios, through which many of such radio drama programs were transmitted to every household. People, young and old, would stick to the radio when they had the time, listening to these storytellings, many of which originated from ancient Chinese history. In the countryside, farmers would take radios to their fields and listen to the stories while they were working. In cities, old men would sit in a comfortable bamboo chair enjoying the stories while sipping tea. Many stories such as General Yue Fei, the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Cavalier with White Eyebrows, and Sui Tang Yanyi gained popularity among young and old and became major topics of conversation. Famous storytellers or Pingshu performers such as Shan Tianfang, Yuan Kuocheng, Tian Lianyuan, and Liu Lanfang consequently became well-known.
Pingshu performers often wear gowns and stand behind a table, with a folded fan and a gavel. They often add their own commentaries on the subjects and the characters in their storytelling. In this way, the audience, while watching their performances, is not only entertained, but also educated and enlightened.
Pingshu is popular in North and most of Northeast China. The art of storytelling, with its broad mass appeal, has resulted in the growth of other art forms, nurturing talented artists. Many great writers, in consequence, continued from there to tread the path of literature.
In order to attract the new generation of listeners, some non-traditional content was also adopted as Pingshu, like Harry Potter.