What is Suzhou Pingtan?

Suzhou Pingtan is the general name of Suzhou Pinghua and Tanci. It came into being and became popular in Suzhou, Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai, and was sung in Suzhou dialect. Pingtan has a long history and was quite popular in Qianlong period of Qing Dynasty. At that time, the most famous artist was Wang. During Jiaqing and Daoguang years, there were four famous artists: Chen Yugan, Mao Changpei, Yu Xiushan and Lu Ruiting. During Xianfeng and Tongzhi years, there were Ma Rufei, Zhao Xiangzhou and Wang Shiquan, and then there were many famous schools, which made Suzhou Pingtan art last for more than 200 years.

Suzhou pingtan and singing can be divided into three ways: one person with one block, two people with two blocks and three people with three blocks. All the actors played and sang by themselves, accompanied by Xiao Sanxian and Pipa. Vocal music is a plate variation, and the main melody is "book tune", which can sing different styles of content and absorb many tunes and folk songs. "Book tune" is the basis of the development of various singing schools, which have been formed by different artists. It can be roughly divided into three schools: Chen (encounter dry) tune, Ma (fly) tune and Yu (Xiushan) tune. Among them, Ma Diao has the greatest influence on later generations, and many of them have inherited and formed their own school. Liu Tianyun's "Walking through the Snow", Yang Zhenxiong's "Song Wu Da Hu", Ma Rufei's "Pearl Tower", Xu Lixian's "Love Flowers to Answer Li Shuyi" and Yang Naizhen's "Nine Rings" are all representative aria of Suzhou Pingtan.