Pingshu 评书

Pingshu (Popular Tales) is a quyi art form of oral storytelling and it includes its namesake which is popular in northern China and pinghua in eastern China’s Yangzhou.It developed into an independent art form in the early years of the Qing Dynasty (late 17^th century). Though pingshu is performed orally, artists in the early period mainly hopped form the trade of changqu (melody singing), which shows the two forms’ close link.

The pingshu performer wore a gown and sat behind a table, with a folded fan and a gavel (serving as a prop to strike the table as a warning to the audience to be quiet or as a means of attracting attention in order to strengthen the effect of the performance, especially at the beginning or during intervals). By the mid 1920s, these props had all disappeared, with the performer appearing only in a standing position in a gown or any other kind of clothes.

The art of storytelling, with its broad mass appeal, resulted in the growth of other art porms, nurturing talented artists. Famous novels such as The Romance of the Three Kingdoms and serialized novels all emerged under the influence of the storytelling artists. Many great writers, in consequence, continued from there to tread the path of literature. It can be thus considered that the art of storytelling represented by pingshu or pinghua is one of the genres imbued with special Chinese characteristics and the richest colors of Chinese aesthetics.

评书，又称说书、讲书，是中国一种传统口头讲说的表演形式，在宋代开始流行,直到清朝初期才发展成为一种独立的艺术形式。

早期的评书表演，讲究一定的形式。说书者通畅身穿长衫，坐在桌子后面，以折扇和醒木（一种方寸大小，可敲击桌面的木块。常在表演开始或中间停歇的时候使用，以提醒听众安静或吸引听众注意力，用来加强表演效果）为道具。不过，到了20世纪中叶，桌椅、折扇、醒木等道具已不多用，而只是站立说演，服装也不像以前那样固定了。

由于说书艺术群众基础雄厚，促进了很多其他艺术形式的产生与发展，滋养了一大批智慧的艺术家。例如，著名小说《三国演义》的浪漫色彩和章回体表现形式就深受评书艺术的影响。后世的许多伟大作家也延续了这样的写作方式，创作了许多不朽的文学作品。因此，评书可以说是富有中国特色和中国美学色彩的艺术流派之一。