Drawing stories from a deep well of real-life experience

The life of Liu Defang, a storyteller from Central China's Hubei Province, is as dramatic as his immense collection of folktales, legends and jokes.

Liu, 69, was born in Xiabaoping County near the scenic Xiling Gorge (one of the Three Gorges) along the Yangtze River. The place boasts of both rich historical and cultural legacies, and is particularly famous for its diverse folktales, which is an epitome of the folk literature of the Three Gorges area.

Liu was struck by illness at age 5. There was no cure, until one day, a self-taught doctor treated him by stir-frying traditional Chinese medicinal herbs. The doctor asked Liu to inhale the smoke, which miraculously cured him. But he was later attacked by dysentery, which, again, almost claimed his life. He didn't go to school until he recovered from the sickness at 9.

Yet life continued to throw up its challenges. His narrow escapes from death included several falls from high buildings and trees and he nearly drowned at work. He also experienced three failed marriages before he tied the knot with his current wife just a few years ago.

Still, Liu never indulges in self-pity and is always a happy, smart and virtuous man in the eyes of his relatives and friends.

The stories he tells convey a positive attitude and an air of benevolence. He often says that it is those folk tales that have helped him overcome life's difficulties.

And he believes his storytelling can also bring great comfort to others.

Liu remembers whenever he cried with pain from illnesses in childhood, a family helper often cheered him up with a folktale or two. It was then that he became interested in folk literature and storytelling.

For decades, Liu did odd jobs in neighboring villages, and collected a lot of ancient legends and real life stories from people from across the country.

Liu's listeners marvel at his good memory. They are also fascinated with his creativity to make folktales more adaptable to today's life.

Liu knows how to capture different listeners. "Elder people like interesting plots, while young people prefer ancient legends and life experiences," he says.

"Storytelling is not just to entertain, but more important, to educate and to help people. I will tell stories that advocate kindness, filial respect to parents and family harmony," he says.

Liu's stories are also effective to help solve minor family disputes. One example is that two sisters-in-law in Liu's village didn't get along well and never talked to each other.

Upon the request of their mother-in-law, Liu narrated a tale in which a family was broken because of the discord among three brothers. The two sisters-in-law were moved by the story and made up with each other.

Liu's treasure trove of more than 500 stories attracts a large group of listeners from home and abroad. He has greatly enriched the process of narrating stories by employing other forms, such as poems, couplets, folksongs, drum beating, local opera and shadow plays.

Liu's stories are reaching an extensive population by means of books and records. He is also devoted to cultivating new powers of storytelling.

Liu now has 20 students in Xiabaoping, among whom 56-year-old Zhou Shaojin has studied with him for more than 11 years.

He foresees the gifts in several young apprentices in their 30s, who, he believes, will carry forward his spirits to enlighten people through storytelling.

(China Daily 08/14/2007 page19)