Information about Xiangsheng

Xiangsheng is a kind of Chinese performing art, the word "Xiangsheng", the ancient Chinese word for "Like Sheng", originally refers to the simulation of other people's words and deeds, and later developed into Xiangsheng. It was later developed into Xiangsheng. Xiangsheng is also known as Next Door Xiangsheng. Xiangsheng originated from the folk rap opera in North China, and was popularized in the Ming Dynasty. After the development of the Qing Dynasty until the early years of the Republic of China, the Xiangsheng gradually developed from a person copying ventriloquism into a one-word joke, and the name was changed to Xiangsheng. One type of one-word comedy gradually developed into many types of one-word comedy, counterpart comedy and group comedy, synthesized into one. There are different modes of development of comedy on both sides of the Taiwan Strait.

The word "xiangsheng" (相声), anciently known as "elephant sound" (象声), originally referred to the imitation of other people, and was also known as next-door xiangsheng. It was further developed by the folk singing and singing in North China, and was incorporated into other forms of music and art such as mimicking ventriloquism, and is generally believed to have been formed during the Xianfeng and Tongzhi periods of the Qing Dynasty. It is a form of Chinese opera in which jokes or comical questions and answers are told to make the audience laugh. After the development of the Qing Dynasty until the early years of the Republic of China, the Xiangsheng gradually developed from a person copying ventriloquism to a single joke, and the name was changed to xiangsheng. A type of monologue, then gradually developed into a variety of types of monologue, duologue, group duologue, synthesized into one, become a veritable comic, and after years of development, duologue eventually became the most popular form of comic.

By the late Qing era, the comedy had developed a modern character and style. It is mainly spoken in Beijing dialect, but there are also "dialect comedies" spoken in local dialects.

●A monologue, performed by a single actor. A long monologue, usually divided into several performances, is similar to a commentary, but with more emphasis on laughs.

●Double entendre, the number of actors is two, the actor is a cup and a tease. Depending on the weight of the content and language style of A and B, it can be divided into three categories: "head sinking", "son and mother comedy" and "through the mouth".

(Men's and women's comedy, a kind of counterpoint)

●Group comedy, the number of actors in three or more people. A is called the "comic", B is called the "comic", and C is called the "comic".

●Satirical comedy: It can satirize oneself or others, such as Hou Baolin's "Night Journey" (a satire on people who do not follow traffic rules), and Jiang Kun's "Such a Photograph" (a satire on social phenomena during the Cultural Revolution period)

●Glorious comedy: Mainly found in mainland China, it is usually in line with the government's guidelines and policies. For example, Ma Ji's "The New Story of Peach Blossom Garden" (glorifying the new face of the socialist countryside), and Hou Yaowen's "Beijing-Kowloon Evolution" (glorifying the builders of the Beijing-Kowloon Railway).

●Entertainment-oriented comedy: "Speaking in Dialect", "Love Songs" and the like.

●Traditional comedy: late Qing Dynasty and early Civil War period

●New comedy: after 1949

●Contemporary comedy: after the late 1980s

Terms

●Comic: "comic" refers to comical, amusing words or expressions. The term "comic" refers to the actor who is in charge of making people laugh

●Comedian: The actor who narrates the storyline with the "comedian" during the performance.

●Baggage: a joke in comedy

●Liu work: a comedy based on learning to sing (drama)

●Leg work: in a comedy performance, the actor, in order to perform the drama, puts on a little make-up and rushes to the corner of the bag, gets into the role of the character, and then exits to narrate the story in the segment.

●Concordance (live): a large section of coherent and rhythmic lines, to the "big bodyguard" and "article will" as a typical, the comic line "Wen afraid of the "article will", martial arts afraid of the "big bodyguard".

●Fear of mouth work (怯口活)：the use of dialect or foreign language performance, such as: tofu hall will, Shanxi family letter, etc..

●Present Hanging (现挂，抓哏)：Scene grabbing the subject matter to cause laughter

Commonly used props

●Waking Wood: from the commentary, often used in long monologues as well.

●Folding fan: can be virtualized into other items during the performance: swords, guns, sticks and clubs ("The Great Bodyguard"), pens ("Yang Naiwu Writes a Letter"), drumsticks ("Spitting Lotus Flower"), and so on.

●Handkerchief: It can be used as a prop in make-up, such as "Learning the Four Provinces", "Wu Sung Fighting the Tiger", "Catching and Releasing the Cao"

●Table, a prop commonly used in traditional comic dialogues. When performing duologue, the comedian stands outside the table and the comic stands inside the table. The table is used to distinguish between the front and back of the stage, and the upper and lower doors of the stage when performing liu-liu.

●Yuzi: The instrument that accompanies the singing of Taiping lyrics is usually two bamboo boards.

Performance Forms

There were initially two types of performance styles for xiangsheng, the "dark spring" for those performed in a curtain, and the "bright spring" for those performed in public. To the Qing Xuantong three years (1911) after only "Ming Chun" a continued to develop. The form of comedy **** divided into three kinds of monologue, duologue, group comedy. A monologue is a short or long joke performed by a single actor. Counterpart comedy, is performed by two actors, the narrator A called "joke", auxiliary dialogues B called "joke", the performance, according to the A and B two people said the table of contents of the weight and different language styles, can be divided into "a head of the heavy When performing, depending on the weight of the content and language style of A and B, they can be categorized into three types of comedy: "head heavy", "son and mother comedy", and "slamming live". The group mouth comedy, is more than three actors *** with the performance of the A said "funny", B said "funny", C and so on called "putty seam".

A comedy generally consists of a "pad words" - improvised introductory remarks; "scoop handle" - a transitional transition into the body of the text. - a transitional introduction to the body; "work" - the body; "bottom" - the end of the climax. - the four parts of the ending after the climax. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the newly created comedy also often omit the "scoop handle". Comedy with artistic techniques to form "baggage", the performance through the table and "shake" to make people laugh. There are dozens of ways to do it: three times (flip) four shaking, first praise and then degrade, wrong and wrong, double entendre, self-contradiction, inconsistency, distorted interpretation, violation of the norms and so on. Each segment of the comic generally contains more than four or five funny and humorous "baggage".

Famous Performers

Mainland China

●First Generation of Comedians: Zhang Sanlu

●Second Generation of Comedians: Zhu Shaowen (朱绍文("穷不怕")), Ayantao (阿彦涛), Shen Chunhe (沈春和), etc.

●Third Generation of Comedians: Eunxu (恩绪), Xu Changfu (徐長福), etc.

●Fourth Generation of Comedians: ("Eight Virtues") Yuyue (裕裕声). Eight Virtues") Yu Delong, Li Dejiao (Ten Thousand People), Zhang Dequan (Pocky Zhang), Ma Delu, Zhou Deshan (Toad Zhou), Jiao Dehai, Liu Dezhi, Li Dexiang, etc.

●Fifth Generation of Comedians: Zhang Shoushen, Chang Lian'an, Ma Sanli, Guo Qiru, Guo Rongqi, Zhu Kuoquan, Li Shouzeng, Hou Yidian, etc.

●Sixth Generation of Comedians: Hou Baolin Liu Baorui, Chang Baokun, Zhao Peiru, Zhang Yongxi, Guo Quanbao, Wang Fengshan, Sun Shaolin, Chang Baoting, Bai Quanfu, Yan Xiaoru, Chang Baohua, Ma Zhiming, Yin Laughing, Yang Shaohua, Yang Shaokui, Yang Haiquan, Wang Baotong, Ma Jingbo, Yang Baozhang, Ou Shaojiu, etc.

● Seventh Generation of Comedians: Su Wenmao, Li Buxiang, Gao Yingpei, Ma Ji, Yang Zhenhua, Jin Bingchang, Wang Zhitao, Chang Guitian, Zhao Zhenduo, Liu Wenheng, Hou Yaowen, Shi Fukuan, Tang Jiezhong, Du Guozhi, Huang Tieliang, Yang Ziyang, Shi Shengjie, Fan Zhenyu, Niu Qun, Li Lisan, Liu Hongyi, Zhang Wenshun, etc.

●Eighth-generation comedians: Jiang Kun, Li Jindou, Feng Gong, Guo Dettang, Yu Jian, Zhao Yan, Liu Wei, Xiaolin, Wang Qianxiang, Li Zengrui, Zhao Weizhou, Qi Zhi, Chen Hanbai, Cui Jinquan, Li Jianhua, Wang Ping, Wu Fuxing Qiu Xiaobao, Zhao Jinsheng, Liu Junjie, Jia Lun, Yin Zhuo Lin, Xu Deliang, Gao Xiaopan, etc.

●Ninth-generation comedians: Tang Aiguo, Dabing, Zhou Wei, Li Weijian, Wubing, Fu Qiang, Zhao Weiguo, He Yunwei, Cao Yunjin, Chang Yibo, Li Mingyu, Gong Shaochuan, You Xianshao, etc.

Taiwan, China

●Early performers (Seventh generation): Wei Longhao (Wei Su), Wu Zhaonan, Chen Yi'an

●Taipei Opera Troupe: Liu Zengkai, Guo Zhijie, Zhu Degang, Liu Yueti, Fan Guangyao, Xie Xiaoling, Su Yiqian, Chen Qingsheng, etc.

●Wu Zhaonan Comedy Drama Society: Wu Zhaonan, Jiangnan (comedian), Hou Guanqun, Lang Zuyun, Liu Zengkai, Liu Erjin, Fan Guangyao, Ji Tianyi, etc.

●Comedian Washe: Feng Yizang, Song Shaoqing, Huang Shiwei, etc.

Chinese Taiwan

●Early actors (seventh generation): Wei Longhao (Wei Su), Wu Zhaonan, Chen Yi'an Wei, etc.

Classic repertoire

Traditional comedy

Finding the Halls, The Great Bodyguard, Essay Club, Boast of the Residence, Open Congee Factory, Theory of the Dang Line, Reporting the Name of the Dishes, Geography Map, Yellow Crane Tower, Eight Changes in the Line of Work, Eight Panels, Three Near-Sightednesses, The White Matters Club, Stripping the Horse's Lab Coat, Theory of the Cupping, The Wrapping of the Tongue, Guan Gong vs. Guan Gong Battles Qin Qiong", "Toad Drums", "Fighting Wisdom in the Golden Palace", "Pearls, Emeralds, and White Jade Soup", "Shandong People Fighting", "False Connoisseur", "Vajra Legs", "Against the Seven Mouths", "Criticizing Liaozhai", "Criticizing the Three Kingdoms", "Distorted Speech of the Three Character Classic", "Distorted Speech of the Four Books", "Han Xin Strikes the Cylinder", "The Little Immortals", "Against the Four Generations", "Donkey Loses His Pills", "The Two Sophora Trees", "Master Shuo Ershang", "The Gentleman and the Ministers Fighting with Their Wisdom", Yang Naiwu Writes, Lotus Flower, Vinegar Lights, Selling Five Wares, Shao Kangjie Measures the Characters, Character Image, The Great Face, The Great Western Chamber, Pairing Pairs, Cowardly Pulling a Cart, Cowardly Selling Vegetables, Bonesetting, The Great Longevity, Pairing Pairs, Waxing Skewers, Persian Cats, Discipleship, The Old Elderly, Vulgar Theory, A Crooked Approval of a Hundred Surnames, The Five Hundred Opera Names, and The Cold Curse of the Foreign Money. The Foreign Money Typhoid", "The Thief Speaks", "Three Sessions", "The Ministry of Comic Politics", "The Wheat Field", "The Matchmaker with a Smart Mouth", "Yang Shubiao", "Shooting Liu Hanchen", "Bai Zongwei's Fall", "Simmering Persimmons", "Selling Cloth", "Finding the Five Elements", "The Half-Fathered Immortal of Huang", "Returning to the Boat in the Rain and the Wind", "The Day of the Three Risks", "The Yellow Crane Building", "Catching the Release of the Tso's", "Playing the Lantern Riddles", "The King of the Antiquities" and "The Sale of Hanging Tickets", The Speech of Han Fuzi, Zhu Fu Zi, Fenhewan, Kang Xi's Private Visit, Open Thatched Cottage, Eating Dumplings, Uncovering the Tile, Lying Poetry, Congee Picking, Fans of Opera Posing for Longevity, Fans of Opera Smashing the Casserole, Fans of Opera Entering the Cave Room, Fools Turning to Writers, Fools Worshiping the Birthday of the Fools, JI Xiaolan, The Hundred Beasts Picture, Little Zhuge Measurement of the Characters, Shandong Running Halls, Shanxi Family Letters, Buy and Estimate Clothes, Three Sexes. Estimated Clothes", "The Three Sexes", "Theory of Sale", "Cowardly Running", "The Fool Goes to the City", "Stealing the Axe", "Cowardly Follower", "Reading the Rituals", "Daoguang Eats Hot Noodles in Soup", "The Five People's Righteousness", "The Doll's Brother", "Praise for Horses Poetry", "Three Crippled Sons-in-Law", "Three Weird Sons-in-Law", "Eating Watermelon", "The Little Rascals", "Sister Wang Sister Thinks of Her Husband", "Zhang Fei Climbing the Tree", "The Order of the Wine", "Learning the Four Sides of a Sidewalk", "Learning the Four Provinces Zengheqiao," "Ask the Way," "Avoid the Rain," "Jargon," "Speak Big," "Knocking on the Head," "Birthday at the Mid-Autumn Festival," "Jealous of the Word," "Running the Matchmaker and Pulling the Fibers," "Buying the Gold Pen," "Gangnam Wei," "Borrowing the Sedan Chair," "Discussing the Payment of Military Personnel," "The Case of the Nine Heads," (Note: The second half of this traditional comedy has already been lost, and the first half is still extant.) "Counting the Treasures," "Learning to Sing the Counting of the Treasures," "Sitting Against the Counting of the Treasures," "Looking for Chen Gong", "Miscellaneous Learning to Sing", "Chasing the Willow", "The Theory of Weeping and Laughing in Opera", "Shandong Erhuang", "Weeping in Four Outlets", "Oolong Yard", "Learning Chinese Opera", "Learning to Fall", "Learning to Drum", "Learning to Sing the Lyrics of the Taiping Opera", "Learning English", "Western Drums and Western Horns", "Foreign Eight Fans", "Theory of Friends", "The Worries of the Sages", "Transmitting Money", "Cowardly Fortune-Telling", "Theory of Gambling", "Anyway, Words", "Learning Foreign Languages", "Opera About Changsha The Story of Changsha", "The Red Lanterns", "The Treasure Bowl", "Counting the Population", "Busy at Both Ends", "Twisting Mouths", "Improved Counting", "Selling Horses", "The Temple of the Fa Men", "The Straw Boat Borrows Arrows", "The Battle of Changsha", "Visiting a Friend with a Harp", "The Cow", "The Twenty-Four Filial Piety", "Du Shiniang", "The God of the Underprivileges", "Confused for the Rest of My Life", "A Wife and a Concubine", "Cooked Up and Ready to Be Cooked", "Sending the Matchmaker", "The Powerful Pill", "Turning Heel", and "The Sacred Worry". Pills", "Turning the Heel", "The Emperor's Tomb", "Twelve Shortages", "Master Zao", "The Tale of the White Snake", "The False Scholar", "Borrowing Fire", "Brother and Sister in a Joint Sentence", "Meng Jiangnu", "Race for the Water", "The Riotous Hairdresser", "Household Matters", "The Entry of Cixi into the Palace", "Learning the Jargon", "Fatty Yellow and White", "The 9th Day of the 9th Month of the 9th Month of the 9th Lunar New Year", "Yama Invites a Physician", "Look at the Grapes", "The Yamen by the Mouth", "The Family Brothers", "The Temple of Literature The Temple of Literature", "Two-syllable Characters", "Sitting on the Guanyin Terrace Inverted", "Shaving Eyebrows", "Fish on the East Slope", "Witty Words", "Help the Cook", "Writing Couplets", "Dou Gong Disciplines His Daughters", "Promoted to the Third Level in a Row", "Astronomy", "The Great Marriage", "Learning from Xihe", "Appellation", "Golden Turtle and Iron Clad", "A Fool Learns from His Own Words", "Playing the Lantern Festival", "The Answer to a Foolish Question", "The Tree Has No Leaves", "The Presentation of Maps", "The Exposure of the Joke", "The Apprentices The Fool Learns to Be a Good Boy", "Five Line Poem", "The Cockleshell Flower", "Crying for a Ticket", "Love Story", "Pearls Rolling Back the Curtains", "Wuxinglou", "Hongluanxi", "Eating Mooncakes", "Passing the Boundary", "Southern Words", "Stories and Riddles", "Theory of Superstition", "Temple of the Heavenly King", "Picking at the Skin of a Member", "Miscellaneous Schools Singing", "The Ten Thousand Man's Enthusiast", "The Theory of Weeping

Modern Comedy

Déjà vu, 81st Floor, Buying Monkeys, Fishing, Night Journey, Discipleship, Five Officials Strive for Merit, Reverie of the Tiger's Mouth, Thieves Incorporated, Mouse's Secret Language, Hard to Speak Mandarin, True or False, Meat Rotten in the Pot. No. 77", "Peking Tongue", "It's Not Appropriate to Move the Earth", "Crosstalk", "Playing the Percentage", "Dialect", "African Independence March", "Attitude Toward Service", "Rule Sets", "Marriage and Superstition", "The Drunkard", "A Little Singing at the Opening", "Chopping Cabbages", "The Empty City Plan", "Wide Playing and Narrow Using", "Prelude to Divorce", "Buying a Buddha's Niches", "A Wonderful Hand Becomes a Dilemma", "South Comes, South Goes, North Comes, and South to North," "Mandarin and Dialect," "Modesty," "Family Portrait," "Modesty," "Three Stick Drum," "Plausible," "Raising the Bar," "Talking about Laws," "Sports and Advertisements," "Dance Junkie," "Ten Thousand Tons of Hydraulic Presses," "I'm a Parent," "Wusong Beats the Tiger," "Drama and Dialect," "Theatre Miscellany," "Opera Junkies," "Opera Fans," "Theatre and Songs," "Saying Happy Birthday to You," "Rubber Stickers, A Study of Laughter", "New Style of Vests", "Night Journey", "A Meal", "The Consistent Way", "Finding the Tune", "Drunkenness", "Window", "Talking about Tigers in the Year of the Tiger", "The Artful Coupling of Shadow Couplings", "Begging for Completion", "Birthday Greetings", "Nothing to do", "The Best of the Asian Games", "Hosting a Gala Party", "An Auction", "The Company of Ideas", "The Worst Misters", "Tomorrow is a Better Day", "The World of Two People , "Sit and Enjoy", "Look at These Two Dads", "I Want to Read", "I Want to Go to the Spring Festival Gala", "I Want to Be Happy", "I Want to Struggle", "I Want to Fight Against Triviality", "I Want to Travel", "I Want to Make a Scandal", "I Want to Play Online Games", "I Want to Get Married", "I Am a Triad", "I am a Scientist", "I am a Literary Scientist", "I Have This Lifetime", "I Want to Eat Dumplings", "I Want to Go to the Spring Festival Gala", My College Life, I'm a Collector, My History of Struggle, I Want to Fall in Love, Half of Your Life, You Want to Exercise, and more.