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Pinghu 'bozishu'

chinadaily.com.cn| Updated : Nov 1, 2019

Pinghu bozishu, also dubbed "farmer's storytelling" is a special localized folk art of storytelling with a cymbal as accompaniment.

Traditional bozishu integrates speaking, singing and performing, with speaking as the main manifestation. Performers, who either sit or stand, wear casual clothes with their main instruments being cymbals and chopsticks, supplemented by a folding fan and an attention-catching small block. The cymbals have holes in the middle and can be held with silk strips or a piece of cloth.

The original bozishu was done without music by male performers. After the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, artists carried out a great reform of bozishu, adding folk music accompaniment such as the erhu, a two-stringed bowed instrument, and the Chinese flute, and female performers began to appear on stage.

Pinghu bozishu features lighthearted tunes and colorful oral characteristics. Performance spots are mainly at rural tea houses, and audience members are mainly farmers.

Pinghu bozishu was selected in the second batch of national intangible cultural heritage in 2008.


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