The development of oral literature forms
ORAL LITERATURE
The stories narrated in oral literature are usually exciting tles of heroes and their various exploits meant to keeep the audience enthralled during a storytelling. The storyteller's role is that of an actor, bring the tale to life through his words, expressions, and gestures. The storyteller is often the author of the story as well. Even if the tale is an old one, the the oral story is more fluid than written literature because every storyteller tells it differently, adding their own words and scenes to the story, never telling the exact same story twice. When telling a tale, the storyteller usually stands behind a table. He uses a fan to gesture with and to use to represent other objects in the tale. He also uses a gavel to hit on the table to add excitement in crucial places in the story.
(“Storytellers”)
ORIGIN
The earliest record of oral literature scripts is from the Tang Dynasty (618～907). Performance storytelling (pingshu) can be traced to the Western Zhou Dynasty (BC770~256BC). Despite the early development of oral literature scripts, oral literature was not given the title of an independent art form until the Qing Dynasty.
STATUS
The status of oral literature scripts was even lower than that of the vernacular style genres. Most scholars looked down on oral literature as crude and uncultured because it was the literature of the commoner who was unable to read for himself. Some educated scholars did see its value and oral literature however, and oral storytelling(shuohua) helped to influence vernacular genres and vice versa.
(Børdahl)
HUABEN
A type in oral literature called huaben was produced by folk storytellers. Huaben are script for storytelling in folk literature in the Song and Yuan Dynasties.
Genres within huaben include:
Novels
Historical stories
Stories from Confucian classics
Leather-Silhouette shows
Puppet shows
("Huaben in Song and Yuan Dynasties“)
DETAILED AND BRIEF
There are two basic varieties of huaben; detailed and brief.
Detailed huaben use simple language and they are primarily recorded utterances.
Brief huaben are in outline form and summarize stories such as from fictions or sketchbooks.
("Huaben in Song and Yuan Dynasties“)
INFLUENCE
Vernacular novels developed from Huaben. Novels such as Outlaws of the Marsh, The Romance of the Three Kingdoms, and Pilgrimage to the West have their origins in huaben traditions.
("Huaben in Song and Yuan Dynasties“)
WORKS CITED
Børdahl, Vibeke. "The Status of Oral Literature in Traditional China." Shuoshu.org. Web. 15 Apr. 2012. <http://www.shuoshu.org/Chinese_Storytelling/OWL/status%20of%20oral%20literature%20in%20traditional%20China.shtml>
"Huaben in Song and Yuan Dynasties." Chinaculture.org. Chinadaily.com.cn. Web. 15 Apr. 2012. <http://www.chinaculture.org/gb/en_artqa/2003-09/24/content_41739.htm>.
"Storytelling." Chinancient.com. Web. 15 Apr. 2012. <http://www.chinancient.com/storytelling/>.