石玉昆

石玉昆（1810年?—1871年），号问竹主人，天津市人，生卒年不详，据学者考证，应活跃于清嘉庆至咸丰年间。清朝十九世纪评话家、小说家，编有《龙图公案》、《忠烈侠义传》。

善讲《忠烈侠义传》，原稿有三千余篇。其后经人编为小说，成《三侠五义》一百二十回，《小五义》一百二十四回，《续小五义传》一百二十四回，先后出世。

《龙图公案》，为五鼠闹东京的故事，别出心裁，改编成侠义英雄白玉堂等人辅佐包拯为民申冤办案，并且平定藩王作乱的故事。其中人物描写细腻，情节曲折，富有生活气息。

Shi Yukun (fl. 19th century), courtesy name Zhenzhi, was a highly popular Qing dynasty storyteller who performed in Beijing during the first half of the 19th century. Little is known about his life, but anecdotes recorded in the 1940s claimed he worked as a Booi Aha at prince Zhaolian's mansion before he became a performer.

He is the credited author of the 1879 wuxia novel The Tale of Loyal Heroes and Righteous Gallants—better known today as The Seven Heroes and Five Gallants or The Three Heroes and Five Gallants—as well as some of its sequels. While the first novel was undoubtedly based on his oral performances, most modern scholars believe Shi died several years before 1879 and played no role in the novel's publication. Nevertheless, his name was prominently displayed on its cover, the first time a Chinese storyteller was credited as a novel's sole author.

Biography

While eponymous poems and zidishu solely to celebrate (or perhaps mock) Shi Yukun's fame and storytelling skills have survived, little is actually known about his life, besides that he performed his art in the national capital Beijing during the 19th century, probably as early as 1817. While some scholars had believed he was originally from Tianjin, it was probably a mistake made by confusing Shi Yukun and Shi Duo (石鐸), the publisher of the 1891 novel The Five Younger Gallants (小五義) which also claimed Shi Yukun as its original source. The suggestion that Shi Yukun was ethnic Manchu, based on his surname (common in Manchus) and the Manchu genre of zidishu in his performances, also lacks convincing evidence. He was called "Third Master" (三爺) by at least another storyteller.

Style

His performances, accompanied by sanxian (3-stringed lute) playing, attracted audience in the thousands. He did not employ a wooden clapper like modern pingshu performers, rather, he used his musical instrument to call the audience's attention. He was best known for his poetic lyrics and tunes during his songs.

In addition to the story that eventually became The Seven Heroes and Five Gallants, at least 2 other stories have been associated with him:

Fengbo Pavilion (風波亭, about events after Yue Fei's death)

Black Rock Mountain (青石山, a supernatural tale featuring fox spirit)

Rare for a public storyteller, he was literate and is believed by some to be the same person as the one behind the pen name Wenzhu Zhuren ("Bamboo-Inquiring Master"), who first edited the original transcript of his storytelling for publication, which eventually became The Three Heroes and Five Gallants.

The novel's sequels The Five Younger Gallants and A Sequel to the Five Younger Gallants (續小五義) claimed him as the author, but as Lu Xun pointed out, "these works were written by many hands... resulting in numerous inconsistencies."

In popular culture

Shi Yukun is a character in two fictitious television costume comedy-dramas, both co-written by the Taiwanese author Kuo Cheng:

The Strange Cases of Lord Shi (施公奇案), a 1997 Taiwanese TV series. Segment 11, "Odd Happenings in Examination Halls" (考場怪譚) was written by Kuo Cheng and stars Hou Kuan-chun (侯冠群) as Shi Yukun, a scholar who despite finishing first in the district civil service examination, went to great lengths to expose cheating by other examinees and corrupt officials. In his escape from their persecution, he was helped by 5 chivalrous beggars named Lu Fang, Han Zhang, Xu Qing, Jiang Ping and Bai Yutang. (Historically, Shi Yukun could not have been a contemporary of Lord Shi or Shi Shilun (1659–1722).)