Ma Rufei

Also known as Zi Jiqing

Ma Rufei, courtesy name Jiqing, was a Suzhou tanci storyteller who lived from about 1817 to 1881. His father, Ma Chunfan, was also a storyteller, but he learned the art from his cousin Gui Qiurong. His version of The Pearl Pagoda was based on the Qianlong-era text of Zhou Shushi with sung passages of his own. His singing became known as the Ma style, one of the three early tanci schools with the Chen and Yu styles and the most influential of them; the later Xue and Shen styles grew from it. He wrote the Nanci bilan, also called Baiguan bidu, printed in 1877, and in 1865 drew up the Daoxun rules for the re-founded Guangyu guild. An 1886 edition collects 86 of his prelude songs.