Durham E-Theses Performing Local Identity in a Contemporary Urban Society: A Study of Ping-tan Narrative Vocal Tradition in Suzhou, China SHI, YINYUN How to cite: SHI, YINYUN (2016) Performing Local Identity in a Contemporary Urban Society: A Study of Ping-tan Narrative Vocal Tradition in Suzhou, China, Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/11695/ Use policy The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in Durham E-Theses • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full Durham E-Theses policy for further details. Academic Support Oce, Durham University, University Oce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk 2 Abstract China has many rich traditions of storytelling and story singing, which are deeply rooted oral traditions in their particular geographical areas, carrying the linguistic and cultural flavours of their localities. In Suzhou, the central city of the Yangtze Delta’s Wu area, the storytelling genre pinghua and the story singing genre tanci have become emblematic of regional identity. Since the 1950s, the two genres have been referred to under the hybrid generic name ‘Suzhou ping-tan’ after the city, or simply ping-tan in abbreviation. Nowadays typically comprising extended narratives performed over the course of half a month, ping-tan has maintained popularity up to the present day. Each afternoon, people go to the unique performance venue of the shuchang (‘story house’), which combines teahouse, performance venue and social centre, to enjoy solo or duet performances given by shuoshu xiansheng (‘storytellers’). The sung episodes are set to an accompaniment of sanxian banjo and – in duet performance – also pipa lute. In the context of face-to-face communication, establishing an empathetic bridge between storyteller and audience is of paramount importance, necessitating storytellers to polish and tailor their artistry efficiently in response to audience feedback. Following the development of radio broadcasting since the 1920s and television since the 1980s, ping-tan has also been widely delivered directly into people’s homes. Listening to and watching ping-tan has become a part of many local people’s daily habits. This thesis seeks to explain how Suzhou ping-tan has maintained its vitality in contemporary society. Various oral performance traditions have declined with the range of alternative types of entertainment that have bloomed in recent times, yet a great many Suzhou citizens still take for granted that ping-tan represents their local cultural identity. Drawing upon fieldwork conducted since 2011, this thesis explores the interconnectedness between the storyteller and audiences during and outside of performance. It analyses performer/audience ‘feed-back loop’ communication within a variety of fields of ping-tan activity, focusing in particular on the following areas: the role-playing and identity presentation of storytellers and audience members, the different types of ping-tan follower and their respective forms of involvement, the use of gesture in performance to communicate further layers of meaning, the nature of the mutually complementary relationship between words and music in ballad singing, and the effects of television and radio dissemination on ping-tan culture. This thesis identifies ‘feed-back loop’ interplay as being a key factor in ping-tan’s success, facilitating the multi-faceted involvement of all participants within a flexible and unpredictable shared experience. Performing Local Identity in a Contemporary Urban Society: A Study of Ping-tan Narrative Vocal Tradition in Suzhou, China Yinyun Shi March 2016 Table of Contents Abstract ......................................................................................................... I List of Figures ......................................................................................................... v List of Tables ....................................................................................................... vii List of Transcriptions ............................................................................................ viii List of CD Contents ................................................................................................. ix Romanisation ......................................................................................................... x Declaration ........................................................................................................ xi Acknowledgements............................................................................................... xii Dedication ...................................................................................................... xiv Chapter 1. Introduction .................................................................................... 1 1.1 Literature Review on Traditional Oral Performance Studies ............................................. 5 1.1.1 Important Themes in Ping-tan Literature: Analysis of Written and Musical Texts ....... 8 1.1.2 Important Themes in Ping-tan Literature: Live Performance ..................................... 10 1.2 Background of the Ping-tan Context ................................................................................ 13 1.2.1 Suzhou Ping-tan: Live Performance and Components ................................................ 18 1.2.2 Linguistic Characteristics in Ping-tan Performance: An Introduction to the Suzhou Dialect .......................................................................................................................... 27 1.2.3 Polishing Speaking Skills .............................................................................................. 28 1.2.4 Various Types of Narration .......................................................................................... 31 1.2.5 Music Characteristics in Tanci: Diao and Liupai Performing Schools, and Qupai ....... 34 1.3 Thesis outline ................................................................................................................ 40 Chapter 2. Words and Music of Tanci Story Singing .......................................... 43 2.1 Types of Tanci Music and Structures ............................................................................ 47 2.2 How Ballad Melodies Are Informed by Word Tones ..................................................... 51 i 2.2.1 Accommodating the Same Lyrics to Different Diao Music: the Example of ‘Yingying Plays Qin’ ..................................................................................................................... 56 2.2.2 Accommodating Different Lyrics within a Diao Music Style: the Example of Jiang Diao .................................................................................................................................... 63 2.2.3 Lyric Accommodation in Qupai Ti Tunes ..................................................................... 70 2.3 Summary: the Correspondence between Words and Music in Tanci Music ................ 77 Chapter 3. Gesture and Interconnectedness between the Storyteller and Audience in Live Performance .................................................................... 81 3.1 Gesture Category and Requirements in Ping-tan ......................................................... 85 3.2 The Use of Gesture in Storytelling ................................................................................ 88 3.2.1 The Association between Verbal Text and Gesture .................................................... 89 3.2.2 Attracting Attention through Gestures and Postures ................................................. 97 3.3 Gestural Employment in Story Singing ........................................................................ 102 3.3.1 Associating Ballad Singing with Gestures .................................................................. 103 3.3.2 Tuning Motions Before and During Ballad Singing .................................................... 106 3.4 Audiences’ Gestural Reactions .................................................................................... 107 3.5 The Unique Experience of Enjoying Ping-tan in the Story House: Exploring the ‘Feedback Loop’ ......................................................................................................... 109 3.6 Summary: The ‘Feedback Loop’ Effect in Live Ping-tan performance ........................ 113 Chapter 4. Participants’ Roles Both in and out of Performance ....................... 115 4.1 Storyteller’s Role as Character and Narrator during Performance ............................. 119 4.1.1 The Storyteller’s Role of Character Portrayal ............................................................ 119 4.1.2 Storyteller's Role as Narrator ……………………………………………………………………………… 125 4.1.3 Storyteller’s Role as Commentator ........................................................................... 127 4.2 The Storyteller’s Role as Teacher in Traditional Apprenticeship and Modern Schooling .. ..................................................................................................................................