This volume has its origins in the project 'Large-scale Registration of Chinese Storytelling', which involved the recording on film of 360 hours of performances by the four masters of Yangzhou storytelling, Dai Buzhang, Fei Zhengliang, Gao Zaihua and Ren Jitang.

Four sets of these films have been deposited (in Washington D.C., Taipei, Beijing and Copenhagen) so that future generations of scholars will have access to this unique material.

The purpose of Four Masters is two-fold: first, it functions as a guide to the collections in situ (and one, moreover, that by its availability in libraries worldwide will promote further research into this material); second, with its introductory chapters, teller autobiographies, performances and catalogue entries (plus the audio-visual material), it stands as an independent and valuable contribution to research in Asian oral traditions.

With all text appearing in both English and Chinese and with its subject matter brought alive by a wealth of photographs plus 60-minute film on VCD, this volume promises to be a classic work in its field.