Pingtan in Suzhou 蘇州評(píng)彈，值得一聽

羅麗文

As a child growing up in Suzhou， East Chinas Jiangsu Province， Wu Jing loved to go to teahouses with her parents and grandparents to watch pingtan performances.

Pingtan originated in Suzhou during the Song Dynasty. It usually involves just two performers—one male and one female， who play traditional musical instruments， sanxian （a three?stringed plucked instrument） and pipa （a four?stringed lute）， while singing ballads and telling stories of ancient heroes， tragic lovers and other classic Chinese folk tales in the Suzhou dialect at teahouses or small theaters.

Unlike Peking Opera， another major art form with a history of more than 200 years that has high?pitched singing and martial arts， pingtan performers usually sing in softer and more narrative voices. The art form has a stable following in the southern areas of the Yangtze River， such as Shanghai， Suzhou， Hangzhou and Nanjing.

“Its a lifestyle for people in my hometown to watch pingtan performances. There are hundreds of venues in the city where pingtan shows are staged daily. People enjoy it while sipping tea and eating snacks，” says Wu， who naturally fell in love with pingtan and later studied at a pingtan school in Suzhou. “When you visit Suzhou as a tourist， you have to watch pingtan performances to make your trip complete.”

Classic pingtan songs， such as Yue Yun， which tells the story of Yue Yun， the eldest son of Yue Fei， a military commander of the Southern Song Dynasty， and two songs about Cui Yingying， the protagonist of Romance of the Western Chamber， a well?known Chinese drama written by playwright Wang Shifu during the Yuan Dynasty.

Besides old classics， new pingtan works include modern takes on old stories and adaptations based on social events or topics.