Tian Lianyuan is a Chinese pingshu artist with a career spanning nearly 70 years. Through pingshu, a centuries-old form of oral storytelling, Tian has won a large base of enthusiastic fans for his skillful use of language and captivating way of describing scenes from books.

Tian's connection with the art of pingshu began at a young age. He experienced the hardships of wartime during his childhood, which led to him dropping out of school early. Under his father's encouragement, who is also a folk storyteller, Tian began to study the performing arts and took to the pingshu stage at the age of 17.

"One minute on the stage takes ten years of hard work off the stage." In line with this old saying, Tian Lianyuan dedicated years to studying literature and martial arts. His hard work ultimately paid off.

In 1985, Tian Lianyuan was invited to record a pingshu show called "Generals of the Yang Family (Yang Jia Jiang)" on Liaoning TV, making him the first artist to perform pingshu on television.

Considering the unique features of television broadcasting, Tian designed his performance with great care, combining his martial arts prowess and refined literary sensibilities. Tian's "The Generals of the Yang Family" received a warm applause from the audience and became a significant milestone in the history of contemporary Chinese pingshu.

Even at an advanced age, he has kept exploring ways to make the traditional art form more intriguing to modern audiences. In 2010, Tian filmed a live-action pingshu show titled "Catching Fire," which tells the story of the Communist Party of China's arduous struggle from the founding of the Party to the army building.

The production of "Catching Fire" was a challenge for Tian, who was 70 at the time. His stage was moved from the studios to the sites where historical events took place. Tian and his team traveled through more than 10 counties and towns in three provinces across China. It took months to finish the filming.

With an unwavering spirit, Tian Lianyuan celebrated the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China in 2021 by releasing a 100-episode pingshu series introducing the history of the Party.

Tian explained his motivation for creating the series, stating that the Communist Party of China has emerged from the most arduous of struggles. He was keen to commemorate this momentous historical development through his art.

Storytelling is an art that promotes traditional virtues and can spread a sense of national consciousness and pride. "People need to hear these stories and pass them on orally. Although the form may change, it has kept developing with the times, so it can retain its strong vitality," said Tian.