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Kuaishu and Kuaiban (Clapper Recitation)

Strike the clappers and the story begins

Introduction

Rhymed storytelling chanted at speed over the clatter of bamboo clappers

Kuaishu and kuaiban are storytelling forms chanted in rhymed verse over bamboo clappers or similar beaters, usually by one standing performer, at a brisk pace. The main members are Shandong kuaishu (V-39), Jinqianban (V-91), Taiyuan lianhualao (V-97), Shulaibao (V-115) and Shaanxi kuaiban (V-144), while Tianjin's kuaibanshu took shape from shulaibao in the mid-20th century. Shandong kuaishu and jinqianban both formed in the Daoguang reign of the Qing, and shulaibao is said to go back to the Ming; Gao Yuanjun fixed the name Shandong kuaishu when he recorded Lu Da Punishes the Bully in 1949, and the form's core repertoire is the Wu Song cycle.

Timeline

Daoguang reign of the Qing to present
1830 · OriginIn the Daoguang reign the Shandong drum-ballad singer Fu Hanzhang began Shandong kuaishu (the most credible of three origin accounts, judged by lineage), and Sichuan jinqianban also formed in the Daoguang years.1949 · EvolutionIn June 1949 Gao Yuanjun recorded Lu Da Punishes the Bully in Shanghai, formally fixing the name Shandong kuaishu.2006 · ImpactIn 2006 Shandong kuaishu entered the first national list (V-39), followed by jinqianban (2008) and Taiyuan lianhualao (2011).2014 · ImpactIn 2014 shulaibao, nominated by Dongcheng District, Beijing, entered the fourth national list (V-115), and in 2021 Shaanxi kuaiban entered the fifth (V-144).
  1. 1830OriginIn the Daoguang reign the Shandong drum-ballad singer Fu Hanzhang began Shandong kuaishu (the most credible of three origin accounts, judged by lineage), and Sichuan jinqianban also formed in the Daoguang years.
  2. 1949EvolutionIn June 1949 Gao Yuanjun recorded Lu Da Punishes the Bully in Shanghai, formally fixing the name Shandong kuaishu.Literature › Water Margin: Major Lu Pummels the Lord of the West
  3. 2006ImpactIn 2006 Shandong kuaishu entered the first national list (V-39), followed by jinqianban (2008) and Taiyuan lianhualao (2011).
  4. 2014ImpactIn 2014 shulaibao, nominated by Dongcheng District, Beijing, entered the fourth national list (V-115), and in 2021 Shaanxi kuaiban entered the fifth (V-144).

Heritage Listings

  1. 2006National List of Representative Items of Intangible Cultural Heritage1st batch · V-39 Shandong kuaishu · no. 275 · nominated by Shandong Province
  2. 2008National list2nd batch · V-91 Jinqianban · no. 784 · nominated by Chengdu · Sichuan · 2011 extension: Wanzhou · Chongqing
  3. 2011National list3rd batch · V-97 Lianhualao · no. 1121 · nominated by Taiyuan · Shanxi
  4. 2014National list4th batch · V-115 Shulaibao · no. 1289 · nominated by Dongcheng District · Beijing
  5. 2021National list5th batch · V-144 Shaanxi kuaiban · no. 1442 · nominated by Shaanxi Province