A New Page for Folk Arts

by Liu Fang

Almost every weekend， touristsflock to check out amateur troupes singing traditional Chinese opera and teenagers learning kuaiban （storytelling to the rhythm of bamboo boards） on the banks of Daming Lake in Jinan， capital of eastern Chinas Shandong Province. Against the backdrop of the surrounding traditional buildings， the performances remind onlookers of the citys glorious past， especially in the realm of traditional Chinese folk art.

Back in the 1920s and 30s， Jinan， along with Beijing and Tianjin， was known as one of Chinas three folk art hubs. Throughout history， a variety of native folk art forms， such as Shandong dagu （storytelling and singing in Shandong dialect to a drumbeat）， Shandong qinshu （storytelling accompanied by a stringed instrument）， and Shandong kuaiban， radiated across the nation from Jinan， and countless folk artists， both famous and unknown， made the ancient city a legendary land of folk art.

Resurrected Crosstalk Club

After 1906， when Jinan opened to foreign trade， the Daguanyuan area around Daming Lake gradually developed into a commercial hub. Early in the 1930s， the area was bustling with nearly 400 grocery stores， barbershops， cinemas， and theaters. At the time， the Chenguang Teahouse， founded by famous xiangsheng （crosstalk） artist Sun Shaolin from Tianjin， was a crosstalk club known throughout the province. Its fame could even rival that of Qiming Teahouse， the best-known crosstalk venue in Beijing.

“In 1941， at age 18， my father came to Jinan to perform xiangsheng at Qingliange，” recalls Sun Xiaolin， the son of Sun Shaolin. “At first， he just wanted to make some money and return home. However， in Jinan， he became famous overnight and decided to stay.” Two years later， the Chenguang Teahouse began operation， with seating for 400. Thanks to Sun Shaolins fame， it soon became the most popular crosstalk club in Jinan.

The Chenguang Teahouse reached its zenith in the 1950s. “At the time， spectators could be found waiting outside for a seat even in bad weather，” illustrates Sun. “The teahouse employed more than a dozen artists， and each performed for three or four hours a night. Even so， spectators didnt want to leave， even late at night.”

In 1967， the teahouse shut its doors andremained closed for four decades. Now， Sun Xiaolin leads several young artists who perform there. Although locals have welcomed their performances with full hearts， only a few spectators stay later than 10 p.m.“Jinan crosstalk needs time to revive after being ‘frozen for decades，” Sun Xiaolin smiles. “But， Im confident that the ice will eventually melt if I am persistent enough.”

Former Glory of Beiyang Theater

In the past， Tonghui Street in Daguanyuan area was lined with several theaters： Beiyang， Zhonghua， and Qingshang. When night fell， lanterns lit up the street which became crowded with peddlers and pedestrians， and music from the theaters reverberated through the air. Most of the theaters disappeared with the passage of time， but Beiyang， a venue specifically for northern operas， has survived.

Beiyang Theater， built in 1905， welcomed many premier Peking Opera artists， including the Four Famous Dans （female roles）： Mei Lanfang， Shang Xiaoyun， Cheng Yanqiu， and Xun Huisheng， and the Four Famous Laoshengs （old male roles）： Ma Lianliang， Tan Fuying， Yang Baosen， and Xi Xiaobo. When Cheng Yanqiu was booked to perform at the theater， the tickets sold out in three days. Many spectators stood in the aisles to watch and Cheng added three additional days of performance to the original schedule. Even so， the theater remained at overcapacity every night.

Today， the time-honored grand theater still stands to remind people of the past prosperity of traditional opera in old Jinan.

Storytelling Theater by Daming Lake

Liu E， a novelist from the late Qing Dynasty （1644-1911）， described a character enjoying performances at Minghuju storytelling club on the bank of Daming Lake in his novel The Travels of Lao Can. Although Lao Can is fictional， Minghuju was real. Tradition holds that the storytelling theater was founded by Guo Dani， the founder of Shandong Lihua dagu.

Unfortunately， the club was eventually destroyed. The rebuilt Minghuju is a two-story building in traditional architectural style. Its main hall is furnished with old-fashioned square tables and armchairs， and hanging above its stage is a red plaque carrying an inscription by renowned xiangsheng artist Ma Ji， which translates to“Mountain of Songs and Sea of Arts.”

Not long ago， Residents in the Cityof Springs， a folk play in Jinan dialect produced by Jinan Folk Art Troupe， was staged there. A large proportion of the spectators were young. While watching performances of folk arts， they sat in oldfashioned wooden chairs and enjoyed tea， sunflower seeds， and pastries. Such a scene was ripped straight from history. “We would truly be living in the past if we wore traditional clothes，” some laughed.

Today， rejuvenated performance venues on the banks of Daming Lake such as Chenguang Teahouse， Minghuju， and Mingquge stand tall to remind people of Jinans glorious folk art history. However， their neighbors insist that many difficulties remain before local folk artists can truly reestablish their past glory in an era dominated by modern forms of entertainment.