Shuochang
/ˈʃwɔʊ.tʃɑːŋ/noun
A Chinese performance tradition combining spoken narration with sung or melodic passages.
Did you know?Shuochang encompasses numerous Chinese narrative traditions, including forms accompanied by instruments such as the pipa, sanxian, or yangqin.
Etymological Timeline
Classical Chinese
Chinese
說唱
“A compound meaning “to speak and sing”; used for performance involving narration and song.”
Middle Chinese period
Middle Chinese
說唱
“The written characters continued to denote the combination of spoken or recited delivery with singing.”
19th–20th Century
Mandarin Chinese
shuōchàng
“The pinyin romanization of 说唱, used as a broad category for Chinese narrative-singing arts.”
20th Century
English
shuochang
“An English scholarly transliteration for Chinese performance genres combining speech, recitation, and song.”