Story Summary

Wang Jingshou performs the joke "Zhuang xiao zui" (Making a Small Mouth).

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In 1982, under the auspices of the Committee for Scholarly Communication with the Peoples Republic of China (CSCPRC) of the National Academy of Sciences, I (Susan Blader )went to China for the first time to find a living storytelling artist whose specialty was performing Sanxia wuyi 三俠五義 [Three Heroes and Five Gallants]. The CSCPRC always assigned grantees a local Chinese scholar in the field being investigated by the American scholar. It was my great good fortune to be assigned Professor Wang Jingshou of Peking University, who, however, was, at the time I arrived in mid-October, a Visiting Professor at Stanford University. It was not until late January of 1983 that Professor Wang returned to Beijing and began making possible everything I have accomplished these almost 40 years. Indeed, in the early 80’s, it was a somewhat delicate situations for Chinese citizens to associate with foreign scholars. Without Professor Wang’s indefatigable, unwavering, unflappable, fearless yet proper and enthusiastic help from beginning to end, I would have achieved nothing. It is to him that my work is dedicated.