Here’s to Shan and the art of storytelling

SHAN TIANFANG, a renowned storyteller on the radio, died on Tuesday at the age of 84. Beijing News comments:

For those born before 1980, Shan is an artist. In the pre-1980s, even in the decade that followed, radio was the dominant mass medium, and Shan was a favorite with listeners for his storytelling. His voice had this mesmerizing quality that drew one and all to the radio. After his death was announced, many recalled those days when they used to wait for Shan to fire their imagination with his storytelling skills every day.

Unlike the broadcast of audio books online that is popular nowadays, a storyteller uses nuanced diction to narrate stories instead of simply reading a short story or a novel. A good storyteller can make you feel he is narrating a story specially for you.

Shan improved the art of storytelling by using words suitable for conversation. He modulated his voice to perfection. Sometimes, when the protagonist of a story faced danger, he brought nervousness to his voice which made listeners feel like they were on the site.

And when TV sets entered people’s homes, Shan further sharpened his skills, by using gestures and expressions to signify a situation. When he narrated the stories from a novel about generals who helped found the Tang Dynasty (618-907), a popular comment from audience was: He is playing the roles of dozens of heroes in the book.

But storytelling had become a fading art form, along with the decline in the popularity of the radio, long before Shan’s death thanks to TVs, computers and tabs.

With the smartphone becoming a comprehensive communication tool, audio books seem to be gaining popularity again. Yet audio books lack the sweetness, modulation and the timbre that storytelling brings to a narrator’s voice.

Here’s to Shan and his age.