Folk stories of xiabaoping

The name of China's national intangible cultural heritage: xiabaoping Folktales

Applicant: Yiling District, Yichang City, Hubei Province

Item No.: 16

Project No.: I-16

Time of publication: 2006 (the first batch)

Category: Folk Literature

Region: Hubei Province

Type: new item

Applicant: Yiling District, Yichang City, Hubei Province

Protection unit: Yiling District Cultural Center, Yichang City

Introduction to xiabaoping Folktales:

Applicant: Yiling District, Yichang City, Hubei Province

Xiabaoping Township, Yiling District, Yichang City, Hubei Province, is located in the mountains on the North Bank of the Xiling Gorge of the Yangtze River. Since ancient times, it has been rich and stable, education and cultural undertakings are relatively prosperous, but the transportation is very inconvenient. The special geographical, economic, cultural and historical conditions constitute the special environment for the growth and inheritance of local folk culture.

According to the survey, there are more than 2000 folktales circulating in xiabaoping Township and its surrounding areas. There are more than 100 people here who can tell more than 50 stories, including more than 20 people who can tell more than 100 stories and 4 people who can tell more than 200 stories. Liu Defang, a 67 year old farmer in Tanjiaping village, can tell more than 400 stories and sing more than one million words of folk songs, songs of weeding gongs and drums, songs of mourning drums, flower drum plays and shadow plays. On June 8, 2005, the Chinese Association of Folk Writers and artists named him "Chinese folk story teller".

There are many original works of folk stories in xiabaoping Township, most of which have distinctive local characteristics and high cultural taste. For example, in the stories told by Liu Defang, there are more than 100 literary forms, such as poetry couplets, which are elegant and exquisite. Dong Guotian's story series and Chen Bricklayer's story series are divided into hundreds of small stories. Together, they are two masterpieces, which are rare in folk stories.

In recent years, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, China Federation of literary and art circles, China Association for democracy and people's livelihood, Hubei Provincial Federation of literary and art circles and Yichang municipal federation of literary and art circles have conducted eight surveys and academic discussions. They believe that the folk stories of xiabaoping Township, represented by Liu Defang's collection of folk stories "wild mountain laughingstock", are the epitome of the folk literature of the Three Gorges dam area Yiling District of Yichang City and the whole Three Gorges area, which have high academic value and appreciation value.

However, at present, the outstanding inheritors of xiabaoping folktales have been doing a lot for many years, and the younger generation is less and less interested in stories. Therefore, the inheritance of xiabaoping folktales is on the verge of extinction.

Chinese PinYin : Xia Bao Ping Min Jian Gu Shi