Large-scale Registration of Chinese Storytelling
Project Director:Vibeke Børdahl; Institution: Nordic Institute of Asian Studies, Denmark
From the Song dynasty (960-1279) on, historical sources testify to the popularity of professional storytelling in China. The art of storytelling has continued into the present, in forms based primarily on oral transmission, with many local varieties all over China. The aim of this project was to preserve the living art of four distinguished masters of Yangzhou 揚州 storytelling. The project was initiated during the fall of 2001, with 360 hours of storytelling filmed in daily sessions from 2002-2003. These films were converted into 4 sets of VCDs, which have been donated to research institutions in Asia and the West.
