Reviving rustic rhythm

Persistence and commitment have made him the inheritor of this intangible cultural heritage and the president of Jinan Youth Quyi Alliance, he says.

Liu met Wang Wenxi, known as "the king of clapper talk", during a performance 18 years ago. Wang Wenxi was brought up under the great influence of his father, Wang Fengshan, the partner of the crosstalk master Ma Sanli and the founder of the Wang school of clapper talk.

Wang Wenxi took to the stage at the tender age of 4. Despite being somewhat of a child prodigy, Wang Wenxi's extraordinary cross-talk art and his excellent clapper techniques later in life were in dire need of an inheritor until Liu came along. Wang believed that Liu had the potential to be a good inheritor, because the latter not only revered the folk art, he was also trustworthy and determined.

Liu accepted the role to pass down the heritage, and Wang Wenxi trained him.