\nI devel\u00adoped Xiaoy\u00adin\u2019s pas\u00adsion for lis\u00adten\u00ading to sto\u00adry\u00adtelling more or less unin\u00adten\u00adtion\u00adal\u00adly.
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\nI\u2019ve been a fan of ping\u00adshu since child\u00adhood, which isn\u2019t sur\u00adpris\u00ading for a child liv\u00ading in the pre-tele\u00advi\u00adsion era when radio reigned supreme. I remem\u00adber being most cap\u00adti\u00advat\u00aded by Liu Lan\u00adfang\u2019s \u201cThe Leg\u00adend of Yue Fei\u201d and \u201cGen\u00ader\u00adals of the Yang Fam\u00adi\u00adly,\u201d but as I grew old\u00ader, my tastes grad\u00adu\u00adal\u00adly evolved. My most endur\u00ading fas\u00adci\u00adna\u00adtions are two books: Yuan Kuocheng\u2019s \u201cRomance of the Three King\u00addoms\u201d and Zhang Yuekai\u2019s \u201cThe Fly\u00ading Dag\u00adger of Lit\u00adtle Li\u201d (a Can\u00adtonese ping\u00adshu). The for\u00admer is eas\u00adi\u00ader to find. In 2001, I bought a set of \u201cRomance of the Three King\u00addoms\u201d from Jia\u00adjia Audio\u00adbook Library. I lis\u00adtened to it over and over again, and the more I lis\u00adtened, the more addict\u00aded I became. I copied it to a portable hard dri\u00adve and any com\u00adput\u00ader I might use, so I could enjoy it at any time.
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\nI most often lis\u00adten to sto\u00adry\u00adtelling while cook\u00ading. Cook\u00ading has its own joys, but doing it every day can inevitably become a bit tedious. If I can com\u00adple\u00adment it with the joy of sto\u00adry\u00adtelling, it\u2019s nat\u00adu\u00adral\u00adly exhil\u00ada\u00adrat\u00ading. I always have a sto\u00adry\u00adtelling set\u00adup in the kitchen. Some\u00adtimes, by the time the meal is ready, the sto\u00adry\u00adtelling is at its peak, and I can\u2019t bear to put it down, so I move it to the din\u00ading table to con\u00adtin\u00adue lis\u00adten\u00ading. There\u00adfore, this sto\u00adry\u00adtelling set\u00adup needs to be portable. The ide\u00adal set\u00adup is a lap\u00adtop with a pair of small speak\u00aders, or a more sophis\u00adti\u00adcat\u00aded MP3 play\u00ader with a pair of pow\u00adered small speak\u00aders. The sound qual\u00adi\u00adty of the speak\u00aders isn\u2019t cru\u00adcial, but the vol\u00adume needs to be high enough. With all the appli\u00adances run\u00adning in the kitchen, it can be dif\u00adfi\u00adcult to hear the sto\u00adry\u00adtelling clear\u00adly.
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\nAt first, Xiaoyin just lis\u00adtened inter\u00admit\u00adtent\u00adly, but then she became hooked. She\u2019d even come into the kitchen to lis\u00adten while I cooked. I\u2019d assign her tasks like wash\u00ading rice and veg\u00adeta\u00adbles, peel\u00ading pota\u00adtoes, chop\u00adping toma\u00adtoes, and beat\u00ading eggs, and she hap\u00adpi\u00adly oblig\u00aded. For a while, I lis\u00adtened to \u201cRomance of the Three King\u00addoms\u201d on repeat, imme\u00addi\u00adate\u00adly start\u00ading over again after each lis\u00adten\u00ading ses\u00adsion. She\u2019d fol\u00adlow my lead and lis\u00adten to it almost com\u00adplete\u00adly. As any\u00adone who\u2019s lis\u00adtened to it knows, it\u2019s a very long book, and it\u2019s quite dif\u00adfi\u00adcult for a six or sev\u00aden-year-old to lis\u00adten to it from begin\u00adning to end. See\u00ading her addic\u00adtion, I col\u00adlect\u00aded audio\u00adbooks for her to try. Over the past few years, I\u2019ve lis\u00adtened to quite a few books while cook\u00ading and eat\u00ading. Some of them fas\u00adci\u00adnat\u00aded me, some I enjoyed, and some I sim\u00adply lost patience with. Here are a few books she par\u00adtic\u00adu\u00adlar\u00adly enjoyed, and which I also think are par\u00adtic\u00adu\u00adlar\u00adly good. These audio\u00adbooks are gen\u00ader\u00adal\u00adly avail\u00adable online for down\u00adload, and some are also avail\u00adable as e\u2011books. I\u2019m just shar\u00ading them here. :)
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\n
\n1. Yuan Kuocheng\u2019s \u201cRomance of the Three King\u00addoms\u201d
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\nExcel\u00adlent: \u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605
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\nIntro\u00adduc\u00adtion: There are many ver\u00adsions of sto\u00adry\u00adtelling about the Three King\u00addoms, but I par\u00adtic\u00adu\u00adlar\u00adly love Yuan\u2019s ver\u00adsion. On reflec\u00adtion, there are two rea\u00adsons for this: one is its ele\u00adgance, and the oth\u00ader is its mas\u00adter\u00adful inter\u00adpre\u00adta\u00adtion. This requires some expla\u00adna\u00adtion.
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\nPing\u00adshu (pinghua) orig\u00adi\u00adnates from pop\u00adu\u00adlar cul\u00adture, so it\u2019s not sur\u00adpris\u00ading that it\u2019s infused with folk slang. How\u00adev\u00ader, some sto\u00adry\u00adtelling pieces are pep\u00adpered with vul\u00adgar\u00adi\u00adty, a prac\u00adtice that inevitably rais\u00ades eye\u00adbrows among those who val\u00adue their sta\u00adtus. For exam\u00adple, Mr. Shan Tian\u00adfang, anoth\u00ader renowned Ping\u00adshu mas\u00adter, treads this tra\u00addi\u00adtion\u00adal path. His inter\u00adpre\u00adta\u00adtions of clas\u00adsics like \u201cWater Mar\u00adgin\u201d and \u201cRomance of the Sui and Tang Dynas\u00adties\u201d bring the var\u00adi\u00adous char\u00adac\u00adters and untamed folk to life. How\u00adev\u00ader, these char\u00adac\u00adters are almost uni\u00adver\u00adsal\u00adly filled with vul\u00adgar lan\u00adguage, and curse words like \u201cfuck\u201d are every\u00adwhere. While this may have been their orig\u00adi\u00adnal nature, it still feels rather awk\u00adward to lis\u00adten to with chil\u00addren.<\/p>\n
\nIn con\u00adtrast, Yuan Kuocheng\u2019s sto\u00adry\u00adtelling is remark\u00adably ele\u00adgant. Some\u00adtimes you might even feel his words are pedan\u00adtic, but if you lis\u00adten close\u00adly, you can still hear them flow\u00ading from the ver\u00adnac\u00adu\u00adlar, though this mas\u00adter sto\u00adry\u00adteller han\u00addles them with remark\u00adable clar\u00adi\u00adty. I once heard the sto\u00adry of Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei vis\u00adit\u00ading Zhuge Liang\u2019s thatched cot\u00adtage, return\u00ading with\u00adout meet\u00ading him, and Yuan Kuocheng\u2019s praise of the scenery of Wolong\u00adgang through Liu Bei\u2019s mouth. I could\u00adn\u2019t help but be mes\u00admer\u00adized. This pas\u00adsage is a prime exam\u00adple of the fusion of scene and emo\u00adtion. It sud\u00adden\u00adly made me real\u00adize that the art of oral lan\u00adguage could achieve such exquis\u00adite, vivid, and per\u00adfect lev\u00adels of sophis\u00adti\u00adca\u00adtion. Yuan Kuocheng con\u00adduct\u00aded exten\u00adsive research for his inter\u00adpre\u00adta\u00adtion of \u201cThe Romance of the Three King\u00addoms,\u201d even con\u00adsult\u00ading a lost ver\u00adsion in Japan. When\u00adev\u00ader a sig\u00adnif\u00adi\u00adcant fig\u00adure passed away, Yuan Kuocheng would offer a detailed com\u00admen\u00adtary on their life and mer\u00adits, his mas\u00adtery far sur\u00adpass\u00ading that of ordi\u00adnary researchers. \u201cPing\u00adshu\u201d (pinghua) is essen\u00adtial\u00adly a com\u00adbi\u00adna\u00adtion of sto\u00adry\u00adtelling and com\u00admen\u00adtary.<\/p>\n
\nAs for the art of sto\u00adry\u00adtelling, I under\u00adstand it to be pri\u00admar\u00adi\u00adly about two aspects: using spo\u00adken lan\u00adguage to cre\u00adate an immer\u00adsive atmos\u00adphere, draw\u00ading the audi\u00adence into the sto\u00adry; and using spo\u00adken lan\u00adguage to depict and por\u00adtray the char\u00adac\u00adters\u2019 per\u00adson\u00adal\u00adi\u00adties. Yuan Kuocheng\u2019s \u201cRomance of the Three King\u00addoms\u201d achieves a high lev\u00adel in both of these aspects, espe\u00adcial\u00adly the lat\u00adter. I love the Gucheng meet\u00ading between the \u201cFly\u00ading Gen\u00ader\u00adal\u201d and Guan Yu the most. I nev\u00ader tire of it. In that scene, the lov\u00adable Zhang Fei comes alive, as if right before my eyes.<\/p>\n
\nCom\u00adpared to many renowned sto\u00adry\u00adtellers, Yuan Kuocheng\u2019s most strik\u00ading char\u00adac\u00adter\u00adis\u00adtic is his humor. It seems innate, innate, and dif\u00adfi\u00adcult to imi\u00adtate or acquire. Anoth\u00ader renowned sto\u00adry\u00adteller, Mr. Tian Zhanyi, is also quite good, and I\u2019m told he stud\u00adied under Yuan Kuocheng. Their sto\u00adry\u00adtelling style does bear some resem\u00adblance, but the biggest dif\u00adfer\u00adence lies in their humor. After accus\u00adtomed to Yuan Kuocheng, switch\u00ading to Tian Zhanyi can feel quite dull. Of course, Mr. Tian\u2019s sto\u00adry\u00adtelling (for exam\u00adple, \u201cLi Zicheng\u201d) has a dis\u00adtinct fla\u00advor.
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\n
\n2. The Investi\u00adture of the Gods by Yuan Kuocheng
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\nExcel\u00adlent: \u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605
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\nIntro\u00adduc\u00adtion: This book may have mul\u00adti\u00adple ver\u00adsions, but I\u2019ve only heard of this one, hav\u00ading stum\u00adbled upon it while look\u00ading for books for my child. I\u2019m not a huge fan myself, but my daugh\u00adter is, even more so than Romance of the Three King\u00addoms. Think\u00ading about it, I think it\u2019s prob\u00ada\u00adbly because the book has a lot of mythol\u00ado\u00adgy and folk tales, and to some extent, it bor\u00adders on fairy tales, which is why my child loves it so much.<\/p>\n
\nThe rea\u00adson I can\u2019t say I par\u00adtic\u00adu\u00adlar\u00adly like it is that the book\u2019s inter\u00adnal log\u00adic isn\u2019t very rig\u00ador\u00adous. While the imag\u00adi\u00adna\u00adtion is rich, it feels forced and even full of inter\u00adnal con\u00adtra\u00addic\u00adtions. It\u2019s far from as pol\u00adished as \u201cRomance of the Three King\u00addoms.\u201d Mr. Yuan begins by say\u00ading, \u201cThis book is about sci\u00adence fic\u00adtion.\u201d Haha, I find that quite amus\u00ading. I imag\u00adine he adapt\u00aded it from tra\u00addi\u00adtion\u00adal sto\u00adry\u00adtelling. While some effort has been made, it\u2019s not par\u00adtic\u00adu\u00adlar\u00adly rig\u00ador\u00adous, pre\u00adserv\u00ading the orig\u00adi\u00adnal style as much as pos\u00adsi\u00adble. Some of the jokes are even direct\u00adly bor\u00adrowed from \u201cRomance of the Three King\u00addoms,\u201d sim\u00adply repur\u00adposed.<\/p>\n
\nBut after all, it is a book writ\u00adten by Mr. Yuan, and the char\u00adac\u00adters in the book are very vivid. The most inter\u00adest\u00ading ones are the some\u00adwhat dull Jiang Ziya and the trou\u00adble-mak\u00ading Shen Gong\u00adbao. What sur\u00adprised me most is that the images of the two treach\u00ader\u00adous min\u00adis\u00adters Fei Zhong and You Hun he described are so vivid that they almost make peo\u00adple like them.<\/p>\n
There are many strange and bizarre char\u00adac\u00adters in this book, which most peo\u00adple may not pay much atten\u00adtion to when read\u00ading. How\u00adev\u00ader, when Yuan Kuocheng tells the sto\u00adry, they sud\u00adden\u00adly come alive and have a fairy-tale atmos\u00adphere.
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\n3. The Marsh of Liang\u00adshan by Yuan Kuocheng
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\nExcel\u00adlent: \u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605
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\nIntro\u00adduc\u00adtion: It\u2019s impor\u00adtant to note that this book tells the sto\u00adries of char\u00adac\u00adters from Water Mar\u00adgin, but it\u2019s not Water Mar\u00adgin itself; the sto\u00adries only occa\u00adsion\u00adal\u00adly over\u00adlap. It\u2019s like\u00adly based on folk leg\u00adends, with the main plot cen\u00adter\u00ading on the bat\u00adtle between Shi Qian, the drum flea, and the evil monk Seng Tiefo. The two main sec\u00adtions are the Three Attacks on Zhu\u00adji\u00adazhuang and the Raid on Shen\u00adzhou Are\u00adna.<\/p>\n
\nI stum\u00adbled upon this book while search\u00ading for a sto\u00adry\u00adtelling ver\u00adsion of the Water Mar\u00adgin. I was\u00adn\u2019t entire\u00adly sat\u00adis\u00adfied with the var\u00adi\u00adous ver\u00adsions cur\u00adrent\u00adly avail\u00adable (most\u00adly, I felt they weren\u2019t par\u00adtic\u00adu\u00adlar\u00adly suit\u00adable for chil\u00addren), for rea\u00adsons I\u2019ve already men\u00adtioned. At first, I felt a bit skewed by \u201cWater Mar\u00adgin\u201d (\u6c34\u99ac\u6881\u5c71), pri\u00admar\u00adi\u00adly because it felt so far removed from the Water Mar\u00adgin sto\u00adry. But as I grad\u00adu\u00adal\u00adly absorbed it, I found it incred\u00adi\u00adbly engag\u00ading. Yuan Kuocheng\u2019s ver\u00adsion of the sto\u00adry had some log\u00adi\u00adcal flaws, per\u00adhaps due to its pure folk\u00adlore roots. How\u00adev\u00ader, his adap\u00adta\u00adtion has trans\u00adformed the most remark\u00adable aspect\u2014his mas\u00adter\u00adful char\u00adac\u00adter\u00adi\u00adza\u00adtions, espe\u00adcial\u00adly Shi Qian, are per\u00adhaps the most suc\u00adcess\u00adful. As you lis\u00adten, you can\u2019t help but fall in love with him, and as your joy grows, you can\u2019t help but fall in love with the book itself. My daugh\u00adter\u2019s love for this book is sec\u00adond only to \u201cInvesti\u00adture of the Gods.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nThis book has also made me par\u00adtic\u00adu\u00adlar\u00adly appre\u00adci\u00adate the unique charm of folk art. For exam\u00adple, when I read \u201cWater Mar\u00adgin\u201d before, I bare\u00adly paid atten\u00adtion to the char\u00adac\u00adter Shi Qian. But after the sto\u00adry\u00adteller\u2019s treat\u00adment, I felt like I\u2019d met him too late. Anoth\u00ader exam\u00adple is Li Kui in \u201cWater Mar\u00adgin.\u201d He\u2019s also a very dis\u00adtinct char\u00adac\u00adter, but while some\u00adwhat endear\u00ading, he\u2019s also quite bru\u00adtal. Espe\u00adcial\u00adly when he occa\u00adsion\u00adal\u00adly mur\u00adders entire fam\u00adi\u00adlies in his under\u00adpants with an axe (as in Hujia Vil\u00adlage), and then gloats about turn\u00ading him\u00adself into a bloody mess. It\u2019s real\u00adly ter\u00adri\u00adfy\u00ading when you think about it. But in Yuan Kuocheng\u2019s \u201cWater Mar\u00adgin,\u201d Li Kui becomes com\u00adplete\u00adly endear\u00ading, and the scene where he accom\u00adpa\u00adnies Wu Yong on his vis\u00adit to Daming Man\u00adsion is incred\u00adi\u00adbly fun\u00adny.<\/p>\n
\nI guess Mr. Yuan must be a sto\u00adry\u00adteller with a very child\u00adlike heart. It would be won\u00adder\u00adful if he had the oppor\u00adtu\u00adni\u00adty to tell pic\u00adture book sto\u00adries!
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\n4. The King of West\u00adern Chu by Yuan Kuocheng
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\nExcel\u00adlent: \u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605
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\nIntro\u00adduc\u00adtion: This book is con\u00adsid\u00adered short in the realm of sto\u00adry\u00adtelling, with only 50 chap\u00adters. It tells the sto\u00adry from the fall of the Qin Dynasty, the rise of Liu Bang and Xiang Yu, to the ear\u00adly stages of the Chu-Han Con\u00adtention. I per\u00adson\u00adal\u00adly enjoy it very much, its only draw\u00adback being that it\u2019s too short and not very engag\u00ading. My daugh\u00adter has lis\u00adtened to it twice with me and only mod\u00ader\u00adate\u00adly enjoyed it.<\/p>\n
\nYuan Kuocheng demon\u00adstrates his mas\u00adter\u00adful his\u00adtor\u00adi\u00adcal sto\u00adry\u00adtelling skills in this book. As with his inter\u00adpre\u00adta\u00adtion of the Romance of the Three King\u00addoms, he must have con\u00adduct\u00aded exten\u00adsive research and com\u00adpi\u00adla\u00adtion before adapt\u00ading it. While the sto\u00adry may sound leg\u00adendary, it also has a strong foun\u00adda\u00adtion when it comes to key events and fig\u00adures. While lis\u00adten\u00ading to this type of sto\u00adry\u00adtelling can\u00adnot replace study\u00ading his\u00adto\u00adry, it can be a fas\u00adci\u00adnat\u00ading way to engage with it, pri\u00admar\u00adi\u00adly because the sto\u00adry\u00adteller offers insight\u00adful per\u00adspec\u00adtives on his\u00adtor\u00adi\u00adcal events and fig\u00adures, and his famil\u00adiar\u00adi\u00adty with tra\u00addi\u00adtion\u00adal cul\u00adture is tru\u00adly admirable.
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\n5. Yao Xijuan\u2019s Dream of the Red Cham\u00adber
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\nExcel\u00adlent: \u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605
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\nIntro\u00adduc\u00adtion: This ver\u00adsion is not a sto\u00adry\u00adtelling, but rather a read\u00ading of select\u00aded excerpts. This is a ren\u00addi\u00adtion by a high\u00adly skilled lan\u00adguage artist. \u201cDream of the Red Cham\u00adber\u201d fea\u00adtures numer\u00adous char\u00adac\u00adters, the vast major\u00adi\u00adty of whom are beau\u00adti\u00adful women. While each has dis\u00adtinct per\u00adson\u00adal\u00adi\u00adties, their nuances are exquis\u00adite\u00adly nuanced, mak\u00ading it exceed\u00ading\u00adly dif\u00adfi\u00adcult to cap\u00adture the dis\u00adtinct fla\u00advors of each. Yao Xijuan\u2019s read\u00ading is gen\u00ader\u00adal\u00adly gen\u00adtle and restrained, but her mas\u00adtery lies in her han\u00addling of the dia\u00adlogue. She clear\u00adly dis\u00adtin\u00adguish\u00ades the dis\u00adtinc\u00adtive voic\u00ades of over a dozen key char\u00adac\u00adters, so clear\u00adly that you can tell which is Jia Baoyu, Lin Daiyu, or Xue Baochai, and which is Jia Mu, Feng Jieer, or Liu Lao\u00adlao, with\u00adout even need\u00ading to be named.<\/p>\n
\nFor fans of \u201cDream of the Red Cham\u00adber,\u201d this book is a real treat, but I did\u00adn\u2019t expect my daugh\u00adter to enjoy it so much. I had a whim to give it to her after she\u2019d already fall\u00aden in love with the com\u00adic book set, and she\u2019s actu\u00adal\u00adly hooked. Maybe boys have a hard\u00ader time with it; I tried it with a lit\u00adtle boy, and he ran away after just a few sen\u00adtences, haha.<\/p>\n
\nThere is indeed a sto\u00adry\u00adtelling ver\u00adsion of \u201cDream of the Red Cham\u00adber\u201d. I down\u00adloaded Liu Lan\u00adfang\u2019s sto\u00adry\u00adtelling ver\u00adsion of \u201cDream of the Red Cham\u00adber\u201d, but I found it a bit dif\u00adfi\u00adcult to lis\u00adten to. It is bet\u00adter to read this kind of book direct\u00adly.
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\n6. Liu Baorui\u2019s stand-up com\u00ade\u00addy
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\nExcel\u00adlent: \u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605
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\nIntro\u00adduc\u00adtion: Mr. Liu Baorui has many clas\u00adsic stand-up com\u00ade\u00addy rou\u00adtines, all essen\u00adtial\u00adly sto\u00adry\u00adtelling. I used to be con\u00adfused about the dif\u00adfer\u00adence between them and sto\u00adry\u00adtelling. I remem\u00adber his favorite as a child: \u201cPearl Jade White Jade Soup.\u201d A few years ago, I hap\u00adpened to remem\u00adber it and down\u00adloaded it online. It brought back fond mem\u00ado\u00adries and new insights.<\/p>\n
\nI dragged my daugh\u00adter along to lis\u00adten, and she was thor\u00adough\u00adly enter\u00adtained, laugh\u00ading from begin\u00adning to end. I dis\u00adcov\u00adered oth\u00ader ver\u00adsions online, so I lis\u00adtened to Guo Degang\u2019s ver\u00adsion. This time, my daugh\u00adter did\u00adn\u2019t laugh much, and I felt less than impressed. So I lis\u00adtened to Liu Baorui\u2019s ver\u00adsion over and over again, dis\u00adcov\u00ader\u00ading new things with each retelling, and each time, my daugh\u00adter burst out laugh\u00ading. Two renowned crosstalk artists were telling the same sto\u00adry, so why was the for\u00admer so enter\u00adtain\u00ading, while the lat\u00adter\u2019s was so mediocre? After much reflec\u00adtion, I real\u00adized the lat\u00adter\u2019s sto\u00adry\u00adtelling skills were more like storytelling\u2014excellent elo\u00adquence, but he failed to cap\u00adture the sto\u00adry\u2019s essence of humor. Liu Baorui\u2019s ver\u00adsion, on the oth\u00ader hand, reached the pin\u00adna\u00adcle of per\u00adfec\u00adtion, cap\u00adti\u00advat\u00ading every moment, even the paus\u00ades.<\/p>\n
\nFor exam\u00adple, the part where Zhu Yuanzhang enter\u00adtains his offi\u00adcials, with the offi\u00adcials enter\u00ading the hall and tak\u00ading their seats, await\u00ading the start of the ban\u00adquet. This isn\u2019t the most cru\u00adcial part of the sto\u00adry, but Mr. Liu Baorui has already begun to metic\u00adu\u00adlous\u00adly cre\u00adate the atmos\u00adphere, using a fake con\u00adver\u00adsa\u00adtion between two offi\u00adcials, with their hyp\u00ado\u00adcrit\u00adi\u00adcal demeanors. When the eunuchs enter with their heads tilt\u00aded, car\u00adry\u00ading the sour, smelly tofu soup, there are mul\u00adti\u00adple paus\u00ades in between, each of which reminds the audi\u00adence of the fawn\u00ading, hyp\u00ado\u00adcrit\u00adi\u00adcal, sus\u00adpi\u00adcious, and awk\u00adward expres\u00adsions of the offi\u00adcials and eunuchs in the hall. The more you think about it, the more amused you become\u2014this is an excel\u00adlent exam\u00adple of using ver\u00adbal lan\u00adguage to cre\u00adate an atmos\u00adphere.<\/p>\n
\nThis mas\u00adter of folk art excels at using the notion of real\u00adi\u00adty and illu\u00adsion to evoke the audi\u00adence\u2019s asso\u00adci\u00ada\u00adtions, engag\u00ading them and form\u00ading part of the sto\u00adry. Crosstalk sketch\u00ades like these also require char\u00adac\u00adter\u00adi\u00adza\u00adtion, but unlike sto\u00adry\u00adtelling, which can occu\u00adpy lengthy seg\u00adments, they employ more of a car\u00adi\u00adca\u00adture approach, employ\u00ading extreme exag\u00adger\u00ada\u00adtion yet also vivid\u00adly por\u00adtray\u00ading them. In this sto\u00adry, the impov\u00ader\u00adished Zhu Yuanzhang, the dom\u00adi\u00adneer\u00ading Hong\u00adwu Emper\u00ador, two unruly beg\u00adgars, the unfor\u00adtu\u00adnate coun\u00adty mag\u00adis\u00adtrate, and the two fic\u00adti\u00adtious offi\u00adcials all acquire dis\u00adtinct char\u00adac\u00adter traits in a remark\u00adably short time. Zhang Haogu, from anoth\u00ader clas\u00adsic sketch, \u201cThree Con\u00adsec\u00adu\u00adtive Pro\u00admo\u00adtions,\u201d occu\u00adpies a larg\u00ader space, mak\u00ading his char\u00adac\u00adter\u00adi\u00adza\u00adtions even more dis\u00adtinct.<\/p>\n
\nThese per\u00adfor\u00admance tech\u00adniques are quite sim\u00adi\u00adlar to those used in sto\u00adry\u00adtelling. So what is the dif\u00adfer\u00adence between stand-up com\u00ade\u00addy and sto\u00adry\u00adtelling?
\n
\nI remem\u00adber Mr. Liu Baorui once answered this ques\u00adtion in a stand-up com\u00ade\u00addy piece. He said some\u00adthing like this: The fun\u00adda\u00admen\u00adtal dif\u00adfer\u00adence between stand-up com\u00ade\u00addy and ping\u00adshu is that crosstalk is meant to amuse, while ping\u00adshu does\u00adn\u2019t. There\u00adfore, a ping\u00adshu that does\u00adn\u2019t amuse can still be con\u00adsid\u00adered a good sto\u00adry, but a stand-up com\u00ade\u00addy that does\u00adn\u2019t amuse is def\u00adi\u00adnite\u00adly not a good sto\u00adry. Beyond that, I can\u2019t think of any fur\u00adther dif\u00adfer\u00adences. Speak\u00ading of which, Mr. Yuan Kuocheng\u2019s ping\u00adshu also has many amus\u00ading bits.<\/p>\n
\nHow\u00adev\u00ader, anoth\u00ader remark\u00adable qual\u00adi\u00adty of stand-up com\u00ade\u00addy, as Mr. Liu Baorui describes it, is the refined lan\u00adguage. Lis\u00adten\u00ading to these clas\u00adsic pieces over and over again, they tru\u00adly reach that near-per\u00adfect state of \u201cone more word is too com\u00adplex, one less is too sim\u00adple.\u201d If tran\u00adscribed, they could serve as mod\u00adels of clas\u00adsic lit\u00ader\u00ada\u00adture. For exam\u00adple, the text of \u201cThree Con\u00adsec\u00adu\u00adtive Pro\u00admo\u00adtions\u201d was actu\u00adal\u00adly includ\u00aded in mid\u00addle school Chi\u00adnese lan\u00adguage text\u00adbooks. There\u00adfore, lis\u00adten\u00ading to this kind of crosstalk is not only a form of enter\u00adtain\u00adment and spir\u00adi\u00adtu\u00adal enjoy\u00adment, but also an excel\u00adlent way to learn the lan\u00adguage!
\n
\n
\nI\u2019ll just men\u00adtion a few of these. Actu\u00adal\u00adly, my daugh\u00adter and I have lis\u00adtened to far more ping\u00adshu and crosstalk togeth\u00ader, and the ones above are just a few that I think are par\u00adtic\u00adu\u00adlar\u00adly clas\u00adsic and almost must-hear.
\n
\nFor exam\u00adple, my daugh\u00adter and I rewatched sto\u00adries I loved as a child, like \u201cThe Leg\u00adend of Yue Fei\u201d and \u201cGen\u00ader\u00adals of the Yang Clan.\u201d But for some rea\u00adson, when I lis\u00adten to them again now, I don\u2019t enjoy them as much any\u00admore, and I even feel a slight dis\u00adlike for them. The for\u00admu\u00adlas in these old sto\u00adries are incred\u00adi\u00adbly strong. For exam\u00adple, in \u201cGen\u00ader\u00adals of the Yang Clan,\u201d when\u00adev\u00ader a young hero appears, we know he\u2019s anoth\u00ader descen\u00addant of the Yang fam\u00adi\u00adly. When\u00adev\u00ader the young hero meets a girl who res\u00adcues him, we can eas\u00adi\u00adly pre\u00addict that she\u2019ll soon become the hero\u2019s wife, often betrothed to him since child\u00adhood. And when the great hero faces a dis\u00adas\u00adter, it\u2019s a no-brain\u00ader that a less\u00ader hero or his wife will even\u00adtu\u00adal\u00adly come to the res\u00adcue. And an ene\u00admy that even a hun\u00addred thou\u00adsand troops could\u00adn\u2019t han\u00addle can be eas\u00adi\u00adly defeat\u00aded by a sin\u00adgle hero or his wife. Not only is the sto\u00adry\u2019s log\u00adic ques\u00adtion\u00adable, but the under\u00adly\u00ading mes\u00adsage is also some\u00adwhat tedious.<\/p>\n
\nIn real\u00adi\u00adty, ping\u00adshu and crosstalk were born from pop\u00adu\u00adlar cul\u00adture. Their vul\u00adgar sto\u00adry struc\u00adtures and the vul\u00adgar\u00adi\u00adty of their spo\u00adken lan\u00adguage are under\u00adstand\u00adable. Even works that aren\u2019t nec\u00ades\u00adsar\u00adi\u00adly high-qual\u00adi\u00adty can be quite enjoy\u00adable to lis\u00adten to for enter\u00adtain\u00adment. How\u00adev\u00ader, times have changed, liv\u00ading envi\u00adron\u00adments have changed, and social dynam\u00adics have changed. I always feel that some things need to change.<\/p>\n
\nWhen shar\u00ading these folk art works with my chil\u00addren, I tend to pre\u00adfer those that are ele\u00adgant and refined, rich in humor, car\u00adry a rich cul\u00adtur\u00adal her\u00aditage, are not too old-fash\u00adioned in con\u00adcept, and prefer\u00adably have a lit\u00ader\u00adary appeal. After all, such works do exist, and the ones men\u00adtioned above can serve as exam\u00adples.<\/p>\n
\nHow\u00adev\u00ader, I still need to make a spe\u00adcial state\u00adment that my ran\u00addom com\u00adments here are main\u00adly from the per\u00adspec\u00adtive of shar\u00ading with chil\u00addren (rough\u00adly under 12 years old). As the recip\u00adi\u00adents, there is not much dif\u00adfer\u00adence between old\u00ader chil\u00addren and adults, and their per\u00adspec\u00adtives and inter\u00adests of appre\u00adci\u00ada\u00adtion are nat\u00adu\u00adral\u00adly dif\u00adfer\u00adent.
\n <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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