With the domestic game "Black Myth: Wukong" recently launched and rapidly gaining popularity, a Northern Shaanxi storytelling segment driving the plot has gone viral.
Recorded in 2022, this segment was performed by Xiong Zhuying, an inheritor of the intangible cultural heritage of Northern Shaanxi storytelling. Xiong recalled that the game team approached him, expressing a desire to blend traditional culture with gaming, highlighting the desert ambiance while advancing the storyline.
Northern Shaanxi storytelling features colloquial and fluent lyrics with rich local characteristics, diverse melodies, and a vigorous and rugged style. It is popular in Yan'an, Yulin, and other areas, deeply loved by the local people.
Performers typically use a three-stringed instrument as accompaniment, singing long stories in dialect, covering historical tales, folklore, and rural life. In 2006, Northern Shaanxi storytelling was included in the first batch of national Intangible Cultural Heritage lists.
Xiong, raised in rural Hengshan, Yulin, developed a love for Northern Shaanxi storytelling from a young age. At 17, he apprenticed under a master, mastering the craft through observation and practice.
Xiong welcomed this cross-border integration but also emphasizes the importance of "maintaining tradition." He aims to faithfully interpret the authentic art of Northern Shaanxi storytelling, presenting the classics in their original form.
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