A master of pingshu—Shan Tianfang

河南鄭州第十一中學 谷戰峰

一桌一椅一把扇，一卷撫尺半生緣。

一代梟雄話眾生，一種聲音響人間。

天堂若再無疾病，夢里紅燭照無眠。

且行且聽再分解，中國經典永流傳！

2018年9月11日，評書大師單田芳因病逝世，享年83歲。國內媒體報道、紀念單田芳的同時，美國《紐約時報》也發布了長文訃告，并評價他：“將古老的評書傳統推向現代，讓幾代中國人得以欣賞。”

Shan Tianfang was born on Dec.17， 1934，in Tianjin， China.Growing up in 1950s’China in a family of folk art performers，he deeply realized that it was a life of constant financial troubles and low social status.Mr Shan tried for many years to avoid becoming a performer of pingshu，the Song Dynasty-era storytelling tradition.

So it was with great reluctance when，out of financial necessity，he became an apprentice（學徒）to a family friend who was a master of pingshu.He made his first performance in 1956.

Mr Shan grew to love the storytelling form，which is popular across northern China.It is a demanding profession that combines acting，oration， writing， historical research and literary criticism and requires countless hours of memorization.

For his first radio performance that an abridged（節略版的）version of the historical novel The Romance of Sui and Tang Dynasties，MrShaninvitedthestudio'sthree recordists as his audiences and adjusted hisperformance based on their reactions.

Over six decades，Mr Shan recorded more than 110 stories for radio and television totaling about 12，000 episodes （ 片 段 ） and spanning 6，000 hours.His best-known works include his versions of Chinese classics like White-Eyebrow Hero and Sanxia Wuyi,and his dramatizations（戲劇化）of historical figures like Zhuge Liang and Lin Zexu.

But in recent years many of the great pingshu performers have died，and the tradition is fading（逐漸消失）.By the time Mr Shan retired in 2007，interest in pingshu among Chinese had all butbeenreplacedbymobilephonesandgaming.

Nevertheless， even after retiring， Mr Shan worked tirelessly to promote pingshu among young Chinese，instructing apprentices and starting a schooldedicated tothe folk arts.

Ever willing toadapt tonew technologies，he posted a message to his Sina Weibo microblog account on Sept.6，five days before his death.It was an announcement about a new live-streaming（視頻直播的）lecture series about pingshu.

Reading Check Complete the following summary according to the text with only one word for each blank.

Shan Tianfang first tried to avoid becoming a 1._____of pingshu，but he grew to 2._____the storytelling form.Over six 3___.__，he recorded more than 110 stories.Even after retiring，he made use of new 4._____and worked tirelessly to 5.___________pingshu among young Chinese.

Language StudyDifficult sentences

1.Growing up in 1950s’China in a family of folk art performers，he deeply realized that it was a life of constant financial troubles and low social status.

翻譯：________________________________

【點石成金】本句中的現在分詞短語growing up in意為“成長于”，在句中做伴隨狀語。

2.So it was with great reluctance when，out of financial necessity，he became an apprentice to a family friend who was a master of pingshu.

翻譯：_______________________________

【點石成金】本句是一個結構比較復雜的復合句。其主句是it was with...；when引導時間狀語從句，意為“當……時”；介詞短語out of financial necessity意為“由于經濟上的需求”，在句中做原因狀語。

3.For his first radio performance that an abridged version of the historical novel The Romance of Sui and Tang Dynasties，Mr Shan invited the studio's three recordists as his audiences and adjusted his performance based on their reactions.

翻譯：_______________________________

【點石成金】本句中的that引導的是同位語從句；invite sb as...意為“邀請某人作為……”。base on意為“根據……”，本句中，based on是過去分詞做后置定語。

Using Language

Ⅰ.Important phrases in the text

1.with great reluctance非常不情愿

2.out of financial necessity出于經濟上的需求

3.a master of……的大師

4.be dedicated to致力于……

5.adapt to適應……

Ⅱ.Complete the following sentences in correct forms with the phrases given above.

1.John was so__________his career that he often stayed up late.

2.These poorvillagerswillsign the agreement__________.

3.He is __________of lying，so no one wants to talk with him.

4.For some rare animals，to__________a new environment is a painful process.

5.She went to the concert __________because she didn't like pop music at all.

Cultural Background

Pingshu Definition

什么是評書

In the pingshu tradition，the performer wears a traditional gown （長袍）and sits behind a desk equipped with a folding fan and a wooden block，which is used like a gavel （小槌）.The storyteller recounts a legend-typically a classical Chinese epic—from memory， using different voices and exaggerated（夸張的）gestures as well as adding occasional background detail and commentary.

在評書的傳統中，表演者身著傳統的長袍，坐在桌子后面。桌上有一把折扇和一個作醒木之用的木塊。說書人通常講述的是來自中國古典史詩的傳奇故事。他們根據記憶來表演，使用不同的聲音、夸張的手勢，偶爾還加入背景細節和評論。