Shanbei storytelling is an important 1 of storytelling and folk art in the northwest of China. It is mainly popular in areas like Yanan and Yulin in northern Shanxi Province. It originated as a way for blind artists to 2 by singing traditional stories. Over time, it absorbed(吸收) the tunes of Qingqiang Opera and Xintianyou, and 3 became alform of storytelling that could be performed with long stories and singing. The performance is done by one person who sings and plays an instrument at the same time. The instrument can be sanxian (a three-stringed Chinese instrument) or pipa. Besides, there is also a clapper(快板) made of two wooden boards tied to the performer's legs 4 the rhythm(节奏).
One person who has made Shanbei Storytelling 5 is Xiong Zhuying. He has cleverly6 this traditional art with modern technology and games. In the video game"Black Myth: Wukong, " game developers invited Xiong to introduce elements (元素) of Shanbei Storytelling, making it interesting and enjoyable to younger audiences who might not experience this traditional art form before.
In the second chapter of the game, players will meet a headless monk(僧侣) who performs a heartfelt piece of Shanbei music. This brief but 7 performance, lasting less than two minutes, has gained over 10 million views on social media. Its lyrics(歌词), "Success and failure, life and death, all are beyond reason, "8 deep emotions and make listeners think a lot. Xiong and the game developers'9 brings Shanbei Storytelling back to life, making its future 10 than ever before.
