Who could evaluate Yuan Kuocheng and Shan Tianfang's Investiture of the Gods?
Yuan Kuocheng and Shan Tianfang were both famous storytellers in China. Their stories about the Investiture of the Gods were one of the four great classical novels in China, and they were widely circulated among the people. The two artists had different styles and characteristics. The following is their evaluation: Yuan Kuocheng was a storytelling artist at the end of the Ming Dynasty. His Romance of the Gods told the story from the end of the Shang Dynasty to the establishment of the Zhou Dynasty. His voice was loud and melodious, and his language was vivid and infectious. His narration was more traditional, focusing on the plot and character creation. He described the character's personality characteristics very carefully. Yuan Kuocheng's voice and the way he narrated the story were very distinctive and comfortable to listen to. Shan Tianfang was a storytelling artist from the Qing Dynasty. His Romance of the Gods told the story from the end of the Shang Dynasty to the beginning of the Zhou Dynasty. His voice was low, his tone was melodious, and his language was concise and philosophical. His way of telling stories was more innovative, focusing on the logic and cohesiveness of the story. He was good at using figurative and symbolic rhetoric to make the story more vivid and interesting. Shan Tianfang's voice and way of telling the story was also very unique, making people like to listen to it. Yuan Kuocheng and Shan Tianfang's Investiture of the Gods were both excellent works, each with their own merits. Yuan Kuocheng's Investiture of the Gods focused on the plot and character creation, while Shan Tianfang's Investiture of the Gods focused on the logic and cohesiveness of the story, concise and philosophical. The two artists 'narrations were different, but they were both very outstanding. They were the representative works of Chinese storytelling art.