Essay on Cultural Heritage of China: Crucial for Nation's Development & Survival

Culture is the crucial primary foundation of every given nation; thus, a country depends on its culture for not only development and survival but also for accumulation of long term historical experience (Shao, 2015). Hence, more than five hundred years of china history has impacted us with particular brilliant cultural heritage. Moreover, as a result of globalization as well as modernization of science and technology, several cultural heritages of the Chinese are on the verge of extinction (Shao, 2015). Numerous arts and technologies which solely rely on oral transmission have a reduced function in daily life hence fading away gradually (Shao, 2015). Thus, it's highly recommended to find out the countermeasures of these cultural heritage protections and possible inheritance problems (Shao, 2015).

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Hence, this paper will categorically introduce Suzhou Pingtan, and why it's famous amongst the Chinese, it will also add several Suzhou Pingtan tones for instance; Yu tone, Chen tone, Ma tone, as well as a number of the famous artist. Secondly, the paper will discuss the origin of Suzhou Pingtan amongst the Chinese nation through analyzing the current situation such as its performance forms, its status in the old society as well as the various problems Suzhou Pingtan faces. Also, the paper will explore and study the various new developments of Suzhou pingtans arts and skills in providing further guidance specifically for the protection of the cultural heritage. Lastly, the paper will look at the propaganda way of the Suzhou Pingtan (how do people know Suzhou Pingtan and where does it usually happen) as well as the innovation about the Suzhou Pingtan in the current society such as forms, styles, artists, and performers.

Suzhou PingtanSuzhou Pingtan is one of the varieties of types of Chinese musical storytelling referred to as shuochang (spoken singing). It's mostly famous in the northern Zhejiang, southern Jiangsu, and Shanghai (Bin, 2015). Moreover, the art originated from the city of Suzhou hence it's a combination of two forms of Chinese narratives musical tradition namely Tanci and Pinghua (Bin, 2015). It's majorly influenced by the Wu culture which comprises of literature, art, and music. None the less, Shuochang is occasionally performed by a solo female singer or a male singer; however, it may also be performed by two singers who are entitled to avail their accompaniment with handheld percussion, for instance, small drums or clappers (Bin, 2015). These stories performed usually relates to the court case, heroic epics, historical romance, as well as martial arts (Bin, 2015).

Suzhou Pingtan is usually regarded as a cover term for Tanci and Pinghua as discussed below:

TanciTanci is also known as the Xiaoshu and its commonly performed by a group of two people who relates the stories of love as well as of the daily life (Bin, 2015). These narrators are usually accompanied by the Pipa lute and a three-string zither. Moreover, the representatives of the Tanci includes; The Jade Dragonflies, The Gilded Hairpins, Three Smiles and Love of Weal, The Pear Pagoda and Woe (Bin, 2015). Notably, the instruments used to perform this art include the Sanxian as well as Lute. Also, this art initially appeared in the Qing Dynasty, thus being liked by the locals as well as the monarchs (Bin, 2015). Lastly, its identifiable performing skills comprise of music playing, storytelling, singing and loud laughter (Bin, 2015).

PinghuaPinghua is commonly performed by a single narrator with gravel and a fan usually telling stories of court cases, heroes, and epics as well as of history (Bin, 2015). Moreover, this art was developed specifically from a speaking art referred to as Bianwen from the Tang dynasty nearly 1, 400 years ago. Later on, Suzhou Pingtan emerged in the Qing and Ming dynasties during a time when the performers started using the Suzhou dialect as they perform the art. Notably, this art has a history which stretches back around 400 years (Bin, 2015).

Usually, Suzhou Pingtan is characterized by performing the long stories which are subdivided into several parts as follows:

• A single part of the story may be delivered over a day; hence, the whole storytelling may last for weeks.
• There are specific stories of medium length as well as shorter ones;
• The traditional tales usually follow a historical theme with epic as well as heroic stories (Bin, 2015).

Why Suzhou Pingtan is Famous

This kind of an art form enjoys vast popularity specifically in Jiangnan as a result of the long history which has significantly help in lying down a solid foundation necessary for its developments (Bordahl, 2016). Suzhou Pingtan content is rich even though the form is straightforward. Also, this art is majorly characterized by jokes cracking, aria singing, storytelling, and music playing as performing techniques among the people (Bordahl, 2016). However, tastes, reasoning, interests, unexpectedness, and minuteness are some of the decorative features which have made this art gain more popularity in china (Bordahl, 2016). Also, the following factors enabled the Suzhou Pingtan art to gain massive popularity among the Chinese:

Style of Performance and Tones

There are many performance styles which are associated with the Suzhou Pingtan. These styles are categorized into the Ma Diao, Chen Yuquan, Yu Xiushan schools known as Chen Diao, Yu Diao, and Ma Rufei. In about a century, several new styles have been formed, thus inheriting the legacy of the three schools, for instance, Yang Zhenxiong as well Liu Tianyun replaced the Chen school (Bordahl, 2016). Also, Zhu Huizhen and Liu Tianyun replaced the Yu School. Moreover, Zhou Yuquan resulted in a school-based explicitly on Ma Diao whereas Jiang Yuequan transformed into a school based on Zhou Diao (Bordahl, 2016). As a result of this development, Suzhou pingtan has maintained a vast diversity in terms of styles in-jokes cracking, storytelling, and singing (Bordahl, 2016).

Features

Suzhou Pingtan is a kind of art characterized by singing and talking, which uses Wu dialect to narrate stories. Usually, Pingtan performance does separate a long story into many parts to form their style thus helping them to create and describes plots (Bordahl, 2016). Secondly, Suzhou Pingtan is an art form characterized by a lot of oral features thus; it uses words typically to create original images (Bordahl, 2016). Lastly, Suzhou Pingtan generally combines singing together with storytelling older people thus it can express feelings more strongly hence making it more famous amongst the Chinese people (Bordahl, 2016).

Suzhou Pingtan Artists

Suzhou Pingtan adds its aesthetic characteristics, for instance, taste, minuteness, interests, reasoning, and unexpectedness (Bordahl, 2016). Thus, the following are some of the renowned Suzhou pingtan artists in its history; Shen Jianan, Jiang Yuequan, Yao, Yinmei, Zhou Yuquan, Chen Yuqian, Ma Rufei, Xue Xiaoqin, and Yang Xiaoting (Bordahl, 2016).

Significance of Study (Importance of Suzhou Pingtan)

The significant roles of music among the Chinese have changed throughout its history, and it has well continued to transform as new ideas and genres emerge. Suzhou Pingtan, as one of the music arts among the Chinese, has continuously evolved and keeps on changing, thus becoming a useful day in day out (Breuer, 2015). Therefore, this section of the paper will specifically look at the significant importance as well as the charming way of the Suzhou Pingtan among the Chinese. It is found out that Suzhou Pingtan as an art among the Chinese has been very useful for several reasons as discussed below:

Source of Entertainment

As one of the performing arts, Suzhou Pingtan Chinese culture is a source of entertainment for its people and society as a whole (Breuer, 2015). The art is characterized by storytelling, dancing, singing, movies, theatre, as well as joke-cracking, which has been a great source of entertainment among the people (Breuer, 2015). Through the art of storytelling, singing, and dancing, Suzhou Pingtan has music has also helped in reducing the stress level of its people hence changes one's moods. Thus, it has one of the integral parts of the Chinese culture, Suzhou Pingtan is an essential source of entertainment for its people (Breuer, 2015).

Source of Education

As a cultural practice in China, Suzhou Pingtan has also influenced the education part of its people. It has been introduced in the education system and not only children, older people, but also the foreigners have begun to learn the necessary skills of this renowned art (Breuer, 2015). Additionally, there are several reasons why the introduction of Suzhou Pingtan as an art in the education system has been very vital to the community as a whole;

It has helped in the development of creative thinking- through the study of the Suzhou Pingtan arts; it has helped many kinds of people to think creatively enabling them to solve various problems by thinking outside the box hence realizing that they are more important than the answer (Breuer, 2015).

Better self-confidence- through the art of storytelling, dancing, and singing, the Chinese students who have been playing these musical instruments have been able to build confidence as well as pride amongst them. Also, through this art, Chinese people have been able to develop better communication (Fei, 2015).

Suzhou Pingtan musical art has helped in teaching discipline- it has been found out that amongst the Chinese students who learn to play this instrument is capable of learning a valuable lesson specifically in the subject. Notably, the students have to set enough time aside to practice as well as rise to the challenge of learning with control to aid in mastering how to play the instrument (Breuer, 2015).

Helps in developing language and reasoning- the Suzhou Pingtan art has significantly helped students to build some of the areas of the brain, thus aiding in language and logic (Fei, 2015). Also, it has been found out that due to the study of the Suzhou Pingtan art, the Chinese students have been able to develop their left side of the brain. Moreover, storytelling, as well as songs, have helped a lot in imprinting the information on the student's minds (Fei, 2015).

Emotional development- people who have learned this musical art have able to be more emotionally developed, for instance, with empathy towards certain cultures. However, they also tend to have higher self-esteem; hence, they are better at coping with anxiety (Breuer, 2015).

Success in the society- Suzhou Pingtan musical art is regarded as the fabric of the Chinese society thus the vocal part of it has much helped in shaping peoples abilities as well as their character (Fei, 2015). Therefore, kids/ students in a drama or orchestra are less likely to engage themselves in substance abuse over their lifetime. Moreover, Suzhou Pingtan art has significantly helped in contributing to the children's intellectual development (Breuer, 2015).

Source of Tourism Activities

The art of Suzhou Pingtan has significantly been able to attract tourist all over the world. A lot of people annually visit the land of China to witness the performance as well as how Suzhou Pingtan is carried out (Fei, 2015). The activity has enabled this art to spread in some parts of the world, for instance, in Thailand, where this culture has significantly gained fame amongst her people. As a result of the tourist attraction, the economy has massively made a step due to the wages before stepping in the cinema halls (Breuer, 2015).

Suzhou Pingtan is vital in conducting Ritual Ceremonies

Suzhou Pingtan as musical art has been useful in the Chinese culture for a more extended period. Since China is a country range over a vast land region, the rituals, as well as their wedding customs, d...