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For many native Guangzhou residents, listening to a "story" over a cup of tea or after a meal is an absolutely necessary daily recreation. However many may not realize that the "storyteller" who brings cheers and laughter to them is not something unique to Guangzhou – there are hundreds of storytellers on the British Isles and in other countries around the world. On Sunday, March 25, the British storyteller Bob Wilkins visited Guangzhou and performed his storytelling magic together with the famous local storyteller Yan Zhitu.
Mr. Wilkins wore a long coat with drawings of a cartoon giraffe, lion, boar and elephant on it. Mr. Yan Zhitu wore the typical Chinese storyteller's water blue long gown with a folding fan in his hand. The two storytellers captured the audience's eyes at once.
Mr. Wilkins told two stories using a loud voice and rich facial expressions. Although he told the stories in English, he drew enthusiastic applause from the audience. Afterwards he invited some viewers to stage a fairy tale drama following the story content. Mr. Yan Zhitu told a story about Emperor Qianlong, an emperor in Qing Dynasty of ancient China.
Speaking of the differences between British and Chinese storytelling techniques, Mr. Yan Zhitu said that British storytellers do not have set props, instead they prepare different things according to the individual story lines. What's more, the British artists have excellent stage performance and are full of demagogy. On the other hand Guangzhou storytellers must have such props as a folding fan and a piece of wood when narrating a story.
It is said that Mr. Wilkins will tour Guangzhou's schools, colleges and universities telling his stories.
Editor: Donald
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