Description: The Narrative Arts of Tianjin explores one of the richest forms of Chinese cultural expression: performed narratives. Francesca Sborgi Lawson examines the relationships between language and music in the performance of four narrative genres in the city of Tianjin, China, based upon original field research conducted in the People's Republic of China in the mid 1980s and in 1991. Extensive examples of the complex interaction of music and language in each genre are employed, all the while relating those analyses to broader cultural issues and to patterns of social relationships.
Review Quotes: 'Paying close attention to social relationships, [Lawson's] exposition goes beyond static analysis of the structure of shuochang into the lively presentation of many significant elements such as social hierarchies, relationships of equality, and gender.' Journal of Folklore Research 'The accompanying CD that collects four sound clips of shuochang performances adds value to this book, supplementing the text to help readers understand the complex interplay between music and language in traditional narrative arts. In sum, this book presents a valuable introduction to the performance of Tianjin's shuochang arts, which embody the linguistically and musically rich narrative traditions of China.' The China Journal