Wang Zhoushi, a leading artist of SuzhouTanciin the early Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), was born in Yuanhe, East China's Jiangsu Province. Since he had a baldhead with red scars on his face, he was called Purple Favus by people.
Wang Zhoushi was good at making fun and amusing the audience during his performance. It is said that he once performedYou Long Zhuan(The Story of Swimming Dragon) before Emperor Qianlong (1736-1796) while Qianlong was on an inspection tour in Suzhou. After his performance, the emperor brought him back to the capital and made him an official. Later, he returned home on the excuse of poor health and hung a tablet with words of "Performing Before the Emperor" in front of his house. In 1776, Wang founded the Guangyu Club, which laid the foundation for his career in performing SuzhouTanci.
Wang Zhoushi's major contributions are that he summarized performing skills ofTangciarts and wrote booksShu PinandShu Ji, which dwell on skills to learn and problems to avoid duringTanciperformance. His work provides good reference for artists of later generations.
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