Suzhou Pingtan (Phan)

Wang Zhoushi was the leading performer of Suzhou tancj and even performed before the emperor himself. During the reigns of jiaqing and Daoguang, four people emerged as star performers - Chen Yuqian, Mao Changpei, YU Xiushan and Lu Ruiting. Others, including Ma Rufei, Zhao Xiangrhou and W3ng Shiquan were the leading performers in tbe Xianfeng and TongZhi periods, also during the Qing Dynasty Still more artists came to the fore in the over-2oo-year history of Suzhou pinghua, and this art enjoys undying popularity to this day.

Suzhou phan is performed solo, in duet or as a trio, involving singing and story telling. The small three-stringed Plucked instrument and piP8 are used as accompaniment. The b8n, or wooden clappers, produce various styles of tone and melody. tingtan has absorbed popular folk tunes. For instance, shu tone, came from other quyforms and is the basis of other styles. Due to different performance styles, Shu tone is divided into the Chen Yuquan, Ma Rufei and YU Xiushan Schools. in the course of a century or so of development, new styles were formed which inherited the legacy of the three schools. Liu Tianyun and Yang Zhenxiong inherited the Chen School: and Xia Hesheng and Zhu Huizhen inherited the Yu School. Ma School exerted the greatest impact on posterity, with Successors who formed schools of their own, such as Xue Xiaoqing dtao, ShenJianan diao and Qin diao (developed by Zhu Xueqin on the basis of Xue diso). Zhou Yuquan developed into a school on the basis of Ma diao, while Jiang Yuequan developed into a school on the basis of Zhou diao Due to this development, Suzhou pingtan has a great diversity of styles in singing and story telling.