Masters and Disciples (10)
The saga of Water Margin in Yangzhou storytelling of today is transmitted in two major hereditary lines, the Deng School and the Song School. Ultimately the oral transmission is traced back to Liu Jingting around 1600. Historical sources, however, do not allow us to establish a direct lineage from his time to present-day storytellers. Water Margin, as transmitted in an unbroken chain from master to disciple, goes back in direct lineage seven generations to the founding father Deng Guangdou (fl.1821-1862), the founder of the so-called Deng school of Water Margin. There is also a parallel lineage going five generations back to Xu Dianzhang (fl.1821-1862) and his disciple Song Chengzhang (fl.1862-1908), after whom the Song school of Water Margin was named.
Next: The Wang School of Water Margin