When Zhou is vocalized in " Yangzhou storytelling " , he speak in " Square mouth public talk " , which is a manner of speaking reserved for martial heroes , highly respected characters , or , sometimes , lesser characters that pretend to be an important hero . Square mouth public talk is actually a mixture of two forms of dialogue : Fangkou and Guanbai . Fangkou ( square mouth ) is a manner of steady , yet forceful over pronunciation of dialogue that was possibly influenced by Northern Chinese opera . Guanbai ( public talk ) is monologue and dialogue that is sometimes used for " imposing heroes " . This mixture of styles mean Zhou Tong is treated as a highly regarded hero .