Shi Yukun

This is a Chinese name; the family name is Shi.
Shi Yukun
Traditional Chinese
Simplified Chinese
Shi Zhenzhi
Chinese
Wenzhu Zhuren
(possible pen name?)
Traditional Chinese 主人
Simplified Chinese 主人
Literal meaning "Bamboo-Inquiring Master"

Shi Yukun (fl. 19th century), courtesy name Zhenzhi, was a highly popular Beijing-based storyteller during the Qing dynasty. He is credited for creating the 1879 masterwork wuxia novel The Tale of Loyal Heroes and Righteous Gallants (better known today as The Three Heroes and Five Gallants or The Seven Heroes and Five Gallants). While he was famous for performing stories on which the novel was based, whether he actually contributed to the print novel is unknown.[1]

Biography

While eponymous poems and zidishu solely to celebrate (or perhaps mock) Shi Yukun's fame and storytelling skills have survived, little is actually known about his life, besides that he performed his art in the national capital Beijing during the 19th century, probably as early as 1817.[2] While some scholars had believed he was originally from Tianjin, it was probably a mistake made by confusing Shi Yukun and Shi Duo (石鐸), the publisher of the 1891 novel The Five Younger Gallants which also claimed Shi Yukun as its original source.[3] The suggestion that Shi Yukun was ethnic Manchu, based on his surname (common in Manchus) and the Manchu genre of zidishu in his performances,[4] also lacks convincing evidence.[5] He was called "Third Master" (三爺) by at least another storyteller.[6] He was clearly literate.[7]

The cover of a 1890 reprint of The Seven Heroes and Five Gallants as published by Shanghai's Guangbaisong zhai, collection of Fudan University. Shi Yukun's name is prominently displayed on the right of the title. This novel marks the first time an oral storyteller's name is prominently associated with a Chinese novel.[8]

Style

His performances, accompanied by sanxian (3-stringed lute) playing, would attract audience of thousands.[9] He did not employ a wooden clapper like modern pingshu performers, rather, he uses his musical instrument to call the audience's attention.[10] He was best known for his poetic lyrics and tunes during his songs.[11]

In addition to the story that eventually became The Seven Heroes and Five Gallants, at least 2 other stories have been associated with him:

Rare for a public storyteller, he was literate and is believed to be the same person as the one behind the pen name Wenzhu Zhuren ("Bamboo-Inquiring Master"), who first edited the original transcript of his storytelling for publication, which eventually became The Three Heroes and Five Gallants.

The novel's sequels The Five Younger Gallants (小五義), and A Sequel to the Five Younger Gallants (續小五義) claimed him as the author, but as Lu Xun pointed out, "these works were written by many hands... resulting in numerous inconsistencies."[12]

In popular culture

Shi Yukun is a character in two fictitious television costume comedy-dramas, both referencing The Seven Heroes and Five Gallants:

References

  1. Keulemans, p. 28.
  2. Keulemans, pp. 65–66.
  3. Keulemans, pp. 83 & 88.
  4. Blader, p. xxiv.
  5. Blader, pp. xv–xvi.
  6. Blader, p. xxi.
  7. Blader, p. xvii.
  8. Keulemans, p. 82.
  9. Deng & Wang, p. 13.
  10. Keulemans, p. 165.
  11. Keulemans, p. 166.
  12. Lu Hsun; Yang Hsien-yi (trans.); Gladys Yang (trans.) (1964). A Brief History of Chinese Fiction (2nd ed.). Beijing: Foreign Languages Press. ISBN 1135430608.

External links

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