Shan Tianfang

Shan Tianfang (Chinese: 单田芳; born December 1935) is the stage name of the famous Chinese pingshu performer Shan Chuanzhong (Chinese: 单传忠), who comes from Laishui County, Hebei Province (according to some sources: Deping, Shandong Province), China. He was born in Tianjin on 6 December 1935 (the 11th day of the 11th month according to Chinese Lunar Calendar).^[1] He is a member of the third batch of national intangible cultural heritage inheritors, a member of Chinese Ballad Singers Association^[2] and a member of China Society for Literature Popular Research. His language in pingshu performances is relatively plain, and he is specialized in presenting the images, the colors, and the emotions with sounds. Since the mid-1990s, his storytelling video shows have been broadcast on TV stations like CCTV.

Pingshu career

Early years

In the 1950s, Shan's father was wrongly put into prison, thus his mother divorced his father. In 1953, he was accepted into Northeastern Engineering College. Due to physical conditions and family problems, however, he gave up his study and turned to perform pingshu, as a prentice of Li Qinghai (Chinese 李庆海). In 1955, Shan entered the Anshan Quyi Tuan, where he was instructed by Zhao Yufeng^[3] (Chinese：赵玉峰), a famous Xihe Dagu^[4] performer, and Yang Tianrong^[5] (Chinese: 杨田荣), a famous pingshu performer. At 24, Shan officially went on stage. He performed not only traditional pingshu, but new works as well.

Ten years during the Cultural Revolution

During the Cultural Revolution, Shan was persecuted for some comments he had made, and once he even got his teeth kicked by the rebel groups.^[6]

Return to the stage

After the Cultural Revolution ended, Shan was able of returning to the stage to perform pingshu. He started from the Anshan Radio Broadcast Station. Gradually, he was received by the pingshu fans across the country and became one of the best experts in storytelling.

Recent developments

After his retirement, Shan continued to develop his pingshu career and established Beijing Shan Tianfang Culture and Art Dissemination Co., Ltd., in which he is chairman of the board.^[7][8]

Brief introduction to his works

• Lin Zexu,an 80-episode flash pingshu, tells the story of Lin Zexu, who, in the reign of the Emperor Daoguang, Qing Dynasty launched an opium suppression campaign as an imperial commissioner in Guangzhou, and of what happened after his dismissal.
• The White-Eyebrow Hero, set in the Northern Song Dynasty, tells the story of a group of heroes who fight for righteousness under the leadership of Xu Liang (a.k.a. the White-Eyebrow Hero). They seek to remove oppressors and battle injustice. The story was later made into a TV series under the same title.^[9]

His other representative works include The Romance of Sui and Tang Dynasty, Xue Jia Jiang ( literally Generals of the Xue Family),^[10] Three Heroes and Three Swordsmen, Heroes in a Troubled Time^[11] (The Legend of Zhang Zuolin^[12][13] and Zhang Xueliang^[14][15] ), Xue Gang Rebels Against the Tang Dynasty, Sanxia Wuyi (literally The Seven Heroes and Five Gallants, Wuxia) and The Biography of Tong Lin.^[16]

Influences

"Where there is a radio, there is Shan's storytelling."^[17] Throughout the art career, he has a collection of over 100 works, which have been broadcast on 500 radio and TV stations and have influenced several generations in China. Since Shan Tianfang earns a high reputation and has a unique voice, which is often imitated.

Famous quotes

• Your reputation precedes you like a thunderclap to the ears and a bright moon in the sky. It's an honor of three lifetimes to finally meet you. (久闻大名, 如雷灌耳, 浩月当空, 今日相见, 三生有幸).

• You pirates! Dare you cross the river without dog paddles! (水贼过河, 甭使狗刨, similar to "Don't play dumb with me!")

• The corners of his eyes and brows show a thousand streams of killing aura; and he spreads a hundred-pace atmosphere of domination about him (眼角眉梢带着千层的杀气, 身前身后是百步的威风).

• Going on with the previous chapter... The story is to be continued in the next chapter。 (书接前回……要知后事如何，且听下回分解)

• Wine is the poison that breaks one's gut; lust is the knife that cuts one's flesh; money is the root that invites disasters; anger is the explosive that blows up in your hands. (酒是穿肠毒药, 色是刮骨钢刀, 钱是惹祸根苗, 气是雷烟火炮)

• Don't play dumb with me. (装什么大瓣蒜)

• It's easy to know men's faces, but not their hearts. (画龙画虎难画骨, 知人知面不知心)

• In just a moment, a man quietly dies. When the new spring comes, he'll be reborn a man in another life. (夕乎间轻声丧命, 打新春两世为人)

Family

Shan Tianfang originates from a family of quyi. His grandfather, Wang Fuyi (Chinese: 王福义), was one of the earliest old artists who, performing bamboo clapper tale,^[18] went to Shenyang during the period of Chuang Guandong(literally "crashing into Guandong"). His mother, Wang Xianggui (Chinese: 王香桂), whose stage name was Bai Yatou (literally "the pale girl"), was a famous performer of Xihe Dagu in the 1930s and 1940s. His father, Shan Yongkui (Chinese:单永魁), was an artist of string instrument. His oldest uncle Shan Yongsheng (Chinese:单永生) and third younger uncle Shan Yonghuai (Chinese:单永槐) were respectively the performer of Xihe Dagu and of storytelling. His wife, Wang Quangui (Chinese:王全桂), is eight years older than him.

References

External links

• "单田芳说单田芳".