Shanbei storytelling gains popularity thanks to the perseverance of inheritor

Chinese artist Xiong Zhuying performs Shanbei storytelling. (Photo courtesy of Xiong Zhuying)

Following the popularity of the Chinese video game "Black Myth: Wukong" in August 2024, Xiong Zhuying, a Shanbei storytelling artist portraying the headless monk in the video game, has been in high demand for performances as the art form gains wider recognition.

Xiong was born in 1975 in Hengshan county (now Hengshan district), a renowned birthplace of Shanbei storytelling in Yulin city of northwest China's Shaanxi Province. At 17, he started learning the traditional art form from a local artist as a means to make a living. Shanbei means the northern part of Shaanxi Province in Chinese.

Xiong recalls that during his early years, he mostly observed his master perform, following him to various outdoor performances in the wind and sand. His role was mainly to assist by playing the gong, and later, he also learned to play the flute and the erhu. His first solo performance came when his master "forced" him to perform alone. Xiong could barely bring himself to look at the audience, nervously delivering a few minutes of the performance before quickly exiting the stage.

In 1994, after years of training, Xiong finally started performing alongside his senior fellow apprentice. During the winter of that year, his senior fellow apprentice fell ill and he was forced to take over. Much to his own surprise, he succeeded and finally gained the confidence to perform on his own.

In 2006, Shanbei storytelling was listed as a national intangible cultural heritage. In 2009, Xiong secured a stable job at the county's cultural center, which provided him with more performance opportunities. He actively engaged in cultural exchange activities and collaborated with games, animations, and other folk art forms.

People watch a gamer try "Black Myth: Wukong" at a shopping mall in Wuhan, Hubei Province, on Aug 22, 2024. (Photo/China Daily)

Following the success of "Black Myth: Wukong," the original soundtrack "The Yellow Wind Rises," performed by Xiong, became widely popular and sung. Xiong's audience grew to include not only elderly fans of traditional storytelling but also young people.

Over the past decade, Xiong has been selflessly teaching young people this art form. He partnered with local schools to arrange extracurricular activities and mentored young storytelling enthusiasts as apprentices.

Zhang Chengxin, a 21-year-old student majoring in Chinese language and literature at Nankai University, who is from Yulin, is one of Xiong's apprentices born after 2000.

When Zhang was 10 years old, he first listened to storytelling on a tape recorder at his grandfather's house. As he grew older, he started to grasp the essence of the stories and admire the artistic and cultural depth they held.

After the college entrance exam, Zhang contacted Xiong online to express his eagerness to become his apprentice. Unlike other young people Xiong had encountered who viewed apprenticeship as a way to make a living, Zhang stood out with his outstanding academic performance and a genuine passion for storytelling that touched and impressed Xiong. With determination and intelligence, Zhang quickly grasped the fundamentals of storytelling within a few months. Over the next few years, he made regular visits to Xiong during school breaks to seek mentorship and guidance.

Zhang pointed out that the current trend of popularity will eventually wane, and Shanbei storytelling, as a local traditional art form, has been facing longstanding challenges in terms of inheritance that will continue to exist. Nevertheless, he believes that the internet has the potential to break down geographical barriers and improve the effectiveness of promoting Shanbei storytelling.

Zhang is about to further his studies by pursuing a master's degree in linguistics. The essence of the Shanbei dialect is intricately woven into the art of Shanbei storytelling. He aims to delve deeper into research, stay abreast of current trends, and play a role in preserving the heritage of Shanbei storytelling.