Shan Tianfang

Also known as Born Shan Chuanzhong

Shan Tianfang, born Shan Chuanzhong in Yingkou, Liaoning, in 1934, came from a family of performers: his maternal grandfather sang bamboo-clapper tales and his mother sang Xihe dagu. He studied pingshu storytelling under Li Qinghai, joined the Anshan Quyi Troupe in 1955 and began performing professionally at twenty-four. Broadcast first by Anshan radio and then by stations and television across the country, his long serials such as Three Heroes and Five Gallants, Heroes of the Ming and White-Browed Hero made him a household voice; people said that wherever there was a well, there were listeners of Shan Tianfang. In later years he founded a storytelling company in Beijing and was named a national representative bearer of intangible heritage. He died in Beijing on 11 September 2018.