Storytelling, also known as storytelling, is popular in North China, Northeast China and Northwest China. In Jiangnan, it is called Pinghua. It has a long history. As early as the Spring and Autumn Period, people told stories. It is an oral literature created by the working people in our country. As an independent storytelling variety, storytelling was formed in the early Qing Dynasty. Most storytelling artists come from "rap" artists.

Early storytelling is a person sitting behind a desk, using folding fans and waking wood as props, wearing a traditional gown, telling stories and commenting on stories. By the middle of the 20th century, most people did not need props such as tables, chairs, folding fans and awakening wood, but stood and said and performed, and their clothes were not fixed in robes. Storytelling is mainly based on northern pronunciation, with Beijing pronunciation as the standard pronunciation.

There have been ten generations of storytellers. Among them, the most famous ones are Shuang Houping (the sixth generation), Wang Jiekui (the eighth generation), Lian Kuoru (the ninth generation) and Liu Lanfang (the tenth generation). They are all good at telling the historical romance of crowns, robes and horses. Since the founding of New China, China has made great achievements in the compilation of new books, with the emergence of,, Li, and so on. Representative works of storytelling: Reform Movement of 1898, Romance of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Xue Jiajiang, Xue Gang's Anti-Tang Dynasty, Romance of the Gods, Liangshan Mountain in Shui Bo, Xiong Feng in Nagano, Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Hongyan Soul, Loyalty and Fire King Kong.