Who can tell us the origin of storytelling?

Storytelling, also known as storytelling, is popular in North China, Northeast China and Northwest China. In Jiangnan, it is called Pinghua. It has a long history. As early as the Spring and Autumn Period, people told stories. It is an oral literature created by the working people in our country. During the Warring States Period, hundred schools of thought lobbied the princes, often quoting classics and taking stories as metaphors. Later, many popular idioms were formed, such as "rushing to the crown in a rage", "carving a boat for a sword" and "filling in the blanks". In fact, this is the early storytelling. The popular storytelling in Beijing is said to have been handed down by Liu Jingting (1587 ~ 1668), a storyteller from the south of the Yangtze River, when he came to Beijing in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties. It is also said that when Wang Hongxing, a drummer of Beijing dialect in Qing Dynasty, performed in Jiangnan, he worshipped Liu Jingting as his teacher. After returning to Beijing, he changed to storytelling, and in the thirteenth year of Yongzheng (1735), he filed a case with Zhang Yishi as a disciple, which has been passed down to this day.

As an independent variety of storytelling, the art of storytelling spread in northern China was formed in the early Qing Dynasty. According to various sources, although storytelling is a form of oral performance, its artist source is mostly "singing songs". According to legend, Wang Hongxing, the first generation of storytelling art formed in Beijing, was originally a "rap" artist named "Heizaiben"; At the beginning of the 20th century, many "rap" artists who performed "Xihe Drum" and "Northeast Drum" in northern rural areas switched to telling stories after entering the city. This is a very interesting phenomenon in the evolution of China Quyi.

There have been ten generations of storytellers. Among them, the most famous ones are Shuang Houping (the sixth generation), Wang Jiekui (the eighth generation), Lian Kuoru (the ninth generation) and Liu Lanfang (the tenth generation). They are all good at telling the historical romance of crowns, robes and horses. After liberation,,, Li, and others have made great achievements in editing and performing new books.