A top pingshu master

主題語境：中國傳統民間藝術 篇幅：347詞 建議用時：7分鐘

1Shan Tianfang was a leading performer of the traditional Chinese art form pingshu, whose vivid storytelling was a comfort to millions of people.

2Pingshu dates from the Song Dynasty when performers would entertain villagers by telling stories in a particularly emotive style. It remains particularly popular in northeastern China.Performers wear traditional dress and use very basic props (小道具)—often a folded fan and a gavel (小槌). Pingshu is sometimes performed in tea houses and small theatres.And in a country where sleeping problems are commonplace, pingshu is still popular as a way of helping people towind downat bedtime.

3Shan Tianfang was born in 1934 in Yingkou, Liaoning Province. His family introduced him to folk art from a young age and he began learning pingshu when he was 19. He became known in Liaoning for his work on stage and in local tea houses during the 1950s and 1960s, and performed in an art troupe (戲班子) around the region. During the 1980s,Shan made the transition to staterun radio,and his captivating storytelling became popular with people across the country. By the 1990s, Shan had become a wellknown face on state TV.

4Shan performed over 12,000 stories on TV and radio. His stories attracted people of all ages. One of his most famous performances is of Heroes in Sui and Tang Dynasties. He gave countless performances of the Four Great Classical Novels (Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Journey to the West, Dream of the Red Chamber and Water Margin) and also helped to bring lesserknown classical Chinese literature to new audiences.As a film director said,“He could describe a scene and a character extremely vividly. He once had a long talk with me about adapting the heroic stories into films or television shows to help promote Chinese classics and traditional culture.”

5But in his later years, the growth of online and digital media exposed the chal?lenges of keeping his art form alive. Shan turned his efforts towards writing books and opening performance schools to teach pingshu to young people.

Reading Check

Vocabulary 1.Which word can replace the underlined phrase“wind down”in paragraph 2?

A.Relax.

B.Rise.

C.Gather.

D.Clap.

Detail 2.What can we know about Shan Tianfang?

A.He had a sound voice.

B.He was famous for storytelling on the radio.

C.He was introduced to folk art from a young age.

雪螢又照著剛才的步驟做了一次。這一次，她開始在床上扭動，似乎正在與人搏斗的樣子，她用左手制住想象中的敵人，右手果斷出擊。又是“噗”的一聲。飽滿的枕頭漸漸癟了下去，枕面留下一個又一個窟窿。雪螢翻身爬起來，將碎枕頭卷在一起，扔進了垃圾筒。

D.He gave medicine to people who have trouble sleeping.

Inference 3.How is paragraph 3 organized?

A.In order of place.

B.In order of time.

C.By listing examples.

D.By making comparisons.

A.Legends about Shan.

B.Development of pingshu.

C.Shan's performances.

D.Classical Chinese literature.

Language Study

Difficult sentences

1.He once had a long talk with me about adapting the heroic stories into films or television shows to help promote Chinese classics and traditional culture.他曾經和我長談過，想把英雄故事改編成電影或電視節目，以幫助推廣中國的經典故事和傳統文化。

【點石成金】該句中，to help promote Chinese classics and traditional culture 為動詞不定式作目的狀語，promote意為“促進；提升”。

2.But in his later years,the growth of online and digital media exposed the challenges of keeping his art form alive.但在晚年時期，網絡和數字媒體的發展使他的藝術形式的保持面臨挑戰。

【點石成金】該句中，the growth of online and digital media 為主語，exposed 為謂語，the challenges of keeping his art form alive 為賓語。

Cultural Background

評 書

評書又稱說書、講書，是一種古老的中國傳統口頭講說表演藝術形式，在宋代開始流行。各地的說書人以自己的方言說著不同的故事，因此也是方言文化的一部分。清末民初時，評書的表演為一人坐于桌后表演，道具有折扇和醒木，服裝為長衫；至20 世紀中葉，多不再用桌椅及折扇、醒木等道具，而以站立說演，服裝也較不固定。