世上再无下回分解 评书大师单田芳病逝
One of China's top pingshu masters, Shan Tianfang, died at the age of 84 in Beijing on Tuesday.
本周二，我国评书大师单田芳在北京逝世，享年84岁。The traditional Chinese art form, pingshu, or storytelling, was born in the Song Dynasty (960-1279) and has been popular with audiences mostly in northern China.
评书这种中国传统艺术形式诞生于宋朝，主要受到我国北部地区观众的喜爱。With a backdrop -- usually a pair of screen doors, a table, a folding fan and a block of wood (known as xingmu) -- Shan won a large base of enthusiastic fans for his solid techniques and improvisation, describing the scenes in the book in vivid and captivating ways, like movie clips.
通常以一对屏风、一张桌子、一把折扇、一块醒木为背景，单田芳凭借扎实的技巧和即兴演绎，将书中的场面描绘得如电影片段般生动逼真，引人入胜，虏获了大批热情的粉丝。
Born as Shan Chuanzhong in Yingkou, Liaoning, Shan was influenced by his family, most of whom were local folk artists. Shan launched his career as a pingshu performer in 1953 at age 19.
单田芳本名单传忠，辽宁营口人，家人多是当地民间艺术家，单田芳深受家庭熏陶。1953年，19岁的单田芳走上了评书表演的道路。He made his stage debut when he was 24 and soon rose to fame by performing classic pingshu works, including "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" and "The Romance of the Sui and Tang Dynasties". In 2007, he announced his retirement.
他24岁首次登台演出，很快通过表演《三国演义》、《隋唐演义》等传统评书作品成名。2007年，单田芳宣布收山。In 2012, Shan won the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 7th Peony Awards for China Quyi -- a general term for traditional folk art forms, including ballad singing, storytelling and crosstalk.
2012年，单田芳在第七届中国曲艺牡丹奖上获得终身成就奖。曲艺是评弹、评书和相声等传统民间艺术形式的统称。Shan's story accompanied many Chinese to grow up and Shan will remain as a legend in Chinese people's heart.
单田芳的评书伴随了许多国人的成长，而他永远都会是中国人民心中的一个传奇。
