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Sanxian
Lang Ting Tang

 by

Lim Teong Beng






IN MEDIEVAL TIMES  the minstrels - acrobats cum jugglers - entertained Frenchmen with their stories and songs. In Penang we had the Lang Ting Tang man.  The radio had not yet been invented. And when it came, the 78 record gramophone produced a sound through the horn which did not sound like the real thing; and another drawback was that the music was American or English. So Lang Ting Tang continued to be the most popular street entertainer in town.. 

The super rich like Mrs Lim Mah Chye had a story teller visit the house every night to regale her with stories before bed of the Three Kingdoms, Water Margin, Kau Tay T'ian and Sam Pek Eng Tai. But for the not so rich, stopping the Lang Ting Tang  as he passed by was the less exalted way of being entertainedpractice

In the evenings, kids would wait for the welcome sounds of his coming - repetitive notes plucked from his three stringed san xian, from which dangled a lantern to light his way. Father would call out to him and he would stop, and there on the five foot way begin his ritual

The circle of tiny slivers of wood fixed to the lantern was spun. Father "chose" his story by catching a chip on the spin. Lang Ting Tang would read out what was written on the chip. Now that the story had been chosen, the tale would begin, with musical accompaniment. If father wanted another story he would have to pay for the next instalment, after selecting yet another revolving chip. 

Lang Ting Tang man was also in demand as a fortune teller. When there were no more requests for songs an additional fee would be paid for the host's fortune to be told.  It is an interesting question whether Lang Ting Tang's main role was that of singing stories or fortune telling but certainly he never acted one part without the other. Popular stories were The Three Kingdoms and Sam Peck Eng Tai (The Butterfly Lovers), also a favourite of Bangsawan

 
Japanese Occupation








 

 When the Japanese army occupied Penang in 1941 Lang Ting Tang ceased to do his nightly rounds. It has been suggested that the second reason for his disappearance from the entertainment business was because he could no longer buy opium, the indispensable stimulant to inspiration.

After the British re-occupation in 1945, when one thought that Lang Ting Tang  had become a lost art, one Tan Tong Tong began to perform nightly at Kampong Malabar. The surprising revival was enhanced when Rediffusion allotted 15 minutes everyday to a performance by Tan Tong Tong.  The performer was in fact an Indian boy brought up by a Hokkien, hence his popular name Oh Tong Tong. Oh Tong Tong's phenomenal memory made him an indispensable member of a puppet show troupe 

 
 The Story Tellers
 The general illiteracy also enabled another type of entertainer to survive. He was the sedentary story teller, the most popular located at the Sneh Teoh Kongsi at Lam Ch'an-ah (Carnarvon Street) and the other at Noordin Street. The customer paid one cent, a joss stick was lighted and the selected story was recited in the classical sing song manner. One cent more if one wanted yet another story, and the second joss stick would be lit

For those who could read, comic books were popular. These palm sized comic books were sold on the roadside or rented out for a few cents a time. But for those who had the luxury of a cent haircut along the banks of the Prangin River,  a free read was given as a discount. It was said that the roving Lang Ting Tang artistes could recite the entire contents of these comics; and that is not unbelievable.  #
 


 
 
 # For questions of heritage: The Penang Heritage Trust www.pht.org.my #
 
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