Storytelling in North Shaanxi

Storytelling is an important traditional artistic form in North Shaanxi and it is popular in the northern part of Shaanxi including Yan’an and Yulin etc. At the beginning some poor blind men sang songs about legends and stories in the form of folk songs and minors. Later melodies of Mihu, Qin Opera, Daoqing and Xin Tian You are absorbed to form storytelling in North Shaanxi.

The origin of storytelling in North Shaanxi has something to do with script for storytelling in the Song Dynasty and the Yuan Dynasty as well as folk Lian Hua Lao. It uses stories of scripts for storytelling in the Song Dynasty and the Yuan Dynasty and other novels, takes the form of talking and singing of Lian Hua Lao and adds an instrument (Sanxian or Pipa) and thus become a unique traditional folk art in North Shaanxi.

Most of the earlier storytellers in North Shaanxi are the blind or semi-blind, called gentlemen or teachers. For a long time storytelling become monopolized by the blind. They walked to villages or houses and made a living depending on storytelling. With social development, those with good sight also joined the blind to tell stories, inject fresh blood and vigor to the old storytelling industry in North Shaanxi.

Traditional performing form of storytelling in North Shaanxi is that the artist sang with North Shaanxi Dialect and played Sanxian or Pipa in his hand or added some stories during his performance. Later it changed into a Chinese folk art form in which the storyteller played large Sanxian (or Pipa), Bangzi, Shuaban, a beating wooden chip and small gong at the same time.

There are many melodies of scripts for storytelling in North Shaanxi. Besides unique prologues and special librettos of artists, they are not limited and can be used by artists at random. The clear history of storytelling in North Shaanxi began in early 20th century. It benefited from two storytelling masters. They are Han Qixiang who once performed storytelling for Mao Zedong and the storytelling giant Zhang Jungong.

Storytelling in North Shaanxi is called macropaedia of North Shaanxi culture. Now this macropaedia is in great trouble. Impacted by diversified art forms, storytelling among villages and streets in North Shaanxi has lost its special sense of mystery and novelty, as leads to the shrinking performance of storytelling in North Shaanxi. And living conditions of storytellers are worth worrying as well. More and more storytellers no longer performed among villages and streets and they lost what they depend on to make a living. How can storytelling in North Shaanxi keep its original flavor? This separation will make natives feel sense of alienation and therefore storytelling will lose its living base. Leaving its original birth place.