The art of painting pictures with words

Every week, the seasoned 58-year-old artist performs Shaanbei (northern Shaanxi) Shuoshu, a traditional form of oral performance art from Shaanxi province. The term shuoshu means storytelling, and this art form has deep roots in folk culture, particularly in rural northwestern China.

This ancient tradition requires neither stage nor props — just the raw energy of the storyteller's voice and the imagination of the audience.

He is a famous storyteller in Shaanxi who now lives in Yan'an, an important former revolutionary base in the province. One of his disciples, Xiong Zhuying, went viral on social media for performing Shaanbei storytelling during the opening of the second chapter of the Chinese video game Black Myth: Wukong, which became a global hit.

Since then, He's schedule has become busier. He performs all over the country to introduce the art form to a wider audience.

"I have more than 100 disciples, and Xiong has had the opportunity to take the art form to another level. I read many comments left by people on social media about how they are impressed by Shaanbei storytelling. Those who never heard of it express the wish to learn more about it. I am very excited, particularly because much of this new audience is young people," He says at the Yan'an Quyi Performance Theater. Quyi is a broad category of traditional performing arts that includes storytelling, xiangsheng (cross-talk), and kuaiban, a rapid rhythmic storytelling form accompanied by wooden clappers.