The spread of Pingtan: melodious melodies on both sides of the Yangtze River.

Suzhou Tanci, also known as "Xiaoshu", is a kind of Han rap art in Suzhou dialect, which combines prose style, mainly narrative and supplemented by endorsement. Originated and popular in Wu dialect areas such as southeastern Jiangsu, northern Zhejiang and Shanghai with Suzhou as the center, it was formed in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties. Come with me to see the popular places in Pingtan.

Pingtan originated in Suzhou, a beautiful water town in the south of the Yangtze River, and is popular in the beautiful Fulao Yangtze River Delta region. In the Ming Dynasty more than 400 years ago, there were already book-telling activities in Suzhou. According to "Wuxian County Records", "Tanci and Pinghua prevailed in Ming and Qing Dynasties, but they were completely different. They were called Pingshu and originated in Wuzhong." In the story of the book circle, when Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty went to Suzhou, he called a local storyteller named Wang and played a biography of Youlong. His name is Wang. In his later years, he founded the first guild organization in the history of Pingtan-Guangyu CCBA (hereinafter referred to as Guangyu Society).

After the establishment of Guangyu Society, the art of pingtan developed rapidly. During Jiaqing and Daoguang years in Qing Dynasty, four famous artists appeared, namely Chen Yugan, Yu Xiushan, Mao Changpei and Lu Shizhen. The superb skills of the first four famous artists have improved the overall level of the art of pingtan and expanded its influence.

By the time of Tongzhi and Guangxu in Qing Dynasty, the performance of Pingtan (then also called Suzhou storytelling) was no longer confined to Suzhou. From 65438 to 0846, after the prosperity of Shanghai, the economy and culture developed rapidly and the population expanded day by day. Although there are five mixed schools here, there are many people in Jiangsu, especially in Suzhou. At one time, there was a scene of "all the streets and alleys were in Wu dialect" in Shanghai. After Tantan entered Shanghai, it took root and sprouted, developed to the depth, breadth and height of art, and was deeply loved by Shanghai people.

In the early 1950s, professional performance groups such as Shanghai People's Pingtan Working Group and Suzhou People's Pingtan Group were established one after another. These groups concentrated many elites in the field of pingtan at that time. They created and performed a large number of sensational works, further opened up the pingtan market and pushed the level of pingtan art to a new peak. Since then, due to various reasons, Pingtan has experienced difficulties and twists and turns, showing signs of decline. But at the end of the 20th century, there were still hundreds of actors from dozens of professional groups performing in the Yangtze River Delta.

The performance area of Suzhou Tanci is not from Jiaxing, Zhejiang Province in the south, but from Changzhou in the west, Changshu in the north and Songjiang in Shanghai in the east. Small area, many artists and different audience needs force artists to explore innovative books, new tunes and new performance styles. During the Tongzhi and Guangxu periods, Suzhou was one of the "last four outstanding figures" in the development history of Pingtan.

Among these four artists, three are Tanci artists, who made Suzhou Tanci establish their own artistic system: the prose part of calligraphy is expressed by "saying". Describing and describing the behavior, thoughts and activity environment of the characters in the story is called "table". The character language is called "white". Calligraphy is based on seven-character metrical poems, played and sung by Sanxian and Pipa, accompanied by each other.

Conclusion Suzhou Pinghua is a long story, which is told every day. Say it once a day for about an hour and a half. We can talk for months, or we can talk for a year and a half. In recent years, the audience of Suzhou Pinghua has dropped sharply, the bookshop has shrunk, and artists have lost a lot. The survival and development are facing a crisis, and it is in urgent need of support and protection.