Lin Zhiping (L), an inheritor of dazuigu, teaches students the form of comic talking and singing at a school in Xiamen. [Photo/xmnn.cn]

Dazuigu is a special kind of comic talking and singing art popular in southern Fujian. It adopts strictly rhyming dialogue with strong linguistic rhythms.

There is a person in the city of Xiamen in Fujian province who has devoted himself to this traditional art. His name is Lin Zhiping and he is an inheritor of dazuigu — someone who has officially been recognized and charged with preserving it and passing it on to others.

When Lin was a child, he had a stutter. In order to get over the problem, he began to practice reading and reciting tongue twisters, among other things.

In 2006, he began to learn to perform dazuigu and fell in love with it right away.

As dazuigu is a verbal art, Lin had to work much harder than anyone else. Now he not only speaks smoothly, but can also recite for 20 or 30 paragraphs in a row.