What is "quyi"

Quyi ( Simplified: 曲艺; Traditional: 曲藝; pinyin: qǔyì) Refers to such traditional art forms as ballad singing , Pingshu , comic dialogues , clapper talks and cross talks . This is one of the art category that gained momentum since the New Culture Movement. With the exception of the Cultural Revolution period, a great number of stories written for this art are preserved. Quyi is a Chinese performance art consisted of narrative storytelling using staged monologues and dialogues. It is mostly a spoken performance, and is generally not a full-fledged theatrical play. It should not be confused with Chinese opera.