Opinions vary about the origin and historical development of Tanci.

关于弹词的渊源流变，历来众说纷纭。

Suzou Tanci and P'ansori are both a comprehensive art with literature, music and performance well combined.

苏州弹词与盘索里是由文学、音乐、表演这三者相互烘托、有机融合而成的综合艺术。

Suzhou Pingtan, a combined term for Pinghua and Tanci is a flower in the art circles of Southern Yangtse River.

苏州评弹是评话和弹词流传到江南，与以苏州话为代表的吴方言结合的产物。

The art of Tanci of Wu Dialect which is popular in Province Jiangsu and Zhejiang, is an important part of folk art in the Area Jiangnan.

吴歌之“吴”应当指“吴语地域”，大致是现在江苏的苏州、无锡、常州地区，浙江的湖州地区和嘉兴地区的一部分，以及上海地区，即原江苏的松江地区。

There are several long narrative poem in the Tanci of Qing Dynasty, and this is special case not only in Chinese literature, but also in world literature.

清代弹词出现了数十万乃至百万字的长篇巨制，这在中国文学史上是仅见的，在世界文学史上也是罕见的。

Today, there has been an overall research on the Baojuan, Tanci, Guci, local opera and other folk art. And some valuable results in related fields have been achieved.

时至今日，对宝卷、弹词、鼓词、地方戏等民间艺术的研究已全面展开，并且在相关领域中已经取得了一批有价值的成果。

Suzhou Tanci is a typical music art that combining saying and singing , though saying taking the main part, singing plays an important role in expressing emotions and amusing listeners .

苏州弹词说唱兼备，是一种音乐性很强的说唱艺术，虽以说为主，但唱在抒发人物感情和满足听众欣赏要求上也起着重要的作用。