Kinship And Industry: A Study Of The Biography Of Pingtan In The View Of Modern Social Changes

Suzhou Pingtan, one of the favourite folk art forms in Jiangnan, has a history of more than 400 years. In the traditional society, Pingtan actors although regarded as "courtesan" and the like, but its unique artistic and cultural charm still attracted from different classes of apprentices to join them and became the storytellers that performed in the book market backing luggage. Since modern times, there was clear artistic inheritance in Pingtan and complexed bloodshed among the artists. And, the occupation family phenomenon in Pingtan field was common.The way of Pingtan aristocratic families to inherit Pingtan culture was through mouths and ears that the most traditional books about Pingtan were reserved from generation to generation. With the expansion of Pingtan, its inheritance was not just confined to aristocratic family members but spreads across outsiders. But in the process of teaching, there were reservations to the outsiders in order to consolidate the family statue. It was worth noting that at first the female in a Pingtan aristocratic family was not accepted into the inheritance system. Later, with the spring up of the New Culture Movement, the female independence atmosphere were spreading rapidly and the female Pingtan artists began a long journey to fight for their rights. Finally, in 1930 s, the female artists were treated as equal as the male artists.For the sake of their own benefits, the Pingtan aristocratic family not only restrained those outsiders behaviors by rules through the Pingtan guilds but also fought against the story-telling houses. In the meantime, they tend to strengthen their forces through intermarriage with other aristocratic families. After the founding of new China in 1949, both the traditional Pingtan books and the traditional inheritance way had constantly renovated, the development of Pingtan had been full of twists and turns, and the superiority of Pingtan aristocratic family had gradually lost. Children from Pingtan aristocratic families began to choose other jobs to make a living for the reasons of the weak Pingtan development and the diversity of employment choices. The familization of Pingtan was gradually stepping down from the stage of history.