Pingshu Storytelling

Pingshu spread from Beijing to the northeast and merged with northeastern dialect and local subject matter to form a bolder northeastern style; Changchun is the most active city for the art form in Jilin.

The performer sits alone on stage with a folding fan and wooden gavel, narrating serial long-form stories through vocal modulation and facial expressions across dozens of episodes.

Pingshu is an important vehicle for the northeastern oral-literature tradition and nurtured nationally acclaimed storytellers including Shan Tianfang.