Telling tales with music attracting the crowds
Print Edition
Chaxi Teahouse in Nanxiang Town has an average audience of around 100 every day listening to actors or actresses telling classic stories in Suzhou dialect with a Chinese lute, using a folding fan and a brass cymbal as accompaniments.
This storytelling art, or pingtan, is immensely popular at Chaxi Teahouse as it is always packed at noon. When famous pingtan artists Hua Yifang and Yin Yiwen make their appearance, the audience applaud loudly. A man surnamed Liu in his 80s even comes to the teahouse from neighboring Baoshan District.
Nanxiang resident Wu Jinglai, who is in his 70s, is also a loyal fan, and he’s been coming to the teahouse daily for more than two years.
Zhang Yongfu, who works at the teahouse, said: “Sometimes the program is so popular that we have to fill the corridors with seats, and prepare a dozen kettles of water for the audience.”
One of the most popular events is when an actor or actress born in Jiading speaks about the district’s history.
The teahouse is in the middle of Nanxiang Old Town and audiences can have xiaolongbao, or steamed dumplings, before the program and have a walk in the Tanyuan garden afterwards. From the second floor of the teahouse, the audience can see a hexagonal pavilion and a little pond. The house has been renovated but keeps the style of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) with classic elements of wooden windows and wood carving decorations.
Teahouses offering pingtan shows in Shanghai have been reported as closing one after another these years.
“Without government subsidy, the teahouses might have been closed long time ago as each show charges only 5 yuan (8 US cents) or 120 yuan a month,” Zhang said.
And the biggest challenge is lack of interest in the traditional shows among the young. Zhang hopes to introduce more types of shows, including Kunqu, Yueju and Huju operas, to the house, and open morning and evening sessions in the future.
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