Exciting: Cultural Forum Recordings

Author: Yin Minghua / Country:
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-06-01
Features:
Comedy must be lively, first understand PK. I think, our traditional Chinese comedy is very cultural and has both high and low aspects. Of course, comedy is also very much about humor. Sometimes we ourselves feel that our current situation is indeed unfavorable to the art of satire. Nowadays, comedy is generally said to be in decline, which is related to the overall atmosphere. Mr. Qian Zhongshu once said, "No profanity, no laughter." Comedy is about profaning sacred things. In the past, works like The Hat Factory and The White Bone Demon Manifests were so popular because comedy profaned what the common people considered sacred. In the past, people praised Jiang Kun for saying what the common people wanted to say but dared not. That's why they gave him honor, laughter, and applause. Now, however, we dare not say what the common people want to say. (Laughter throughout the hall) So what should we do? Therefore, under new circumstances, we must redefine the position of Chinese comedy.
The writer Wu Huan once said, "Qi Baishi was a painter, don't treat him as a warrior. If you make him throw grenades, the little strength he has will just blow himself up." (Laughter throughout the hall) So I think that any society develops culture after achieving certain economic development. Conversely, economic development relies on culture. Therefore, in the new era, we must redefine the position of Chinese comedy and find this position again.
In the West, everyone knows stand-up comedy. They tell a lot of jokes every day, but there are two main features: politics and sex. These things spark the spread and exchange of various things in life, both current and past, creating resonance and laughter. Of course, in the process of our nation's development, we must distinguish between foreign influences and what our own nation loves. The traditions long upheld by our nation are not regulated by one person but are passed down through generations and should be inherited by all of us.
In fact, no nation has the same level of cultural cohesion as the Chinese nation. Look, wherever Chinese people go, there are Chinatowns. No matter where we are in the world, we set up Chinese restaurants. Once a Chinese restaurant is built, it must hang lanterns. With lanterns, it becomes decorated with painted beams and rafters, and then we bring in our cultural artifacts. With cultural artifacts and squares, during the Spring Festival, we dance lions and set off firecrackers. Chinese culture is truly very cohesive—it's not something one person can easily erase.
So I feel that our generation carries a heavy burden. We are involved in the project to train outstanding talents in Chinese performing arts. I invited a few teachers to teach them English. I said, "You must learn it." For example, if someone stands on stage and says, "PK me, I PK you," what does PK mean? If others don't understand, you'll know after learning English. Where do the two words PK come from? They are derived from the English words "Player" and "Kill."
Then there are things like "fans," "corn," "box lunches," "cold noodles," and even "lychees." Who are these? When trendy cultures keep pouring in, we must learn them. Although they belong to another culture, as comedians, we must master them to truly achieve a blend of high and low appreciation. This is also the common requirement for me and the comedians of today.
With the progress of the times, if you don't know English, it's indeed a bit difficult. So, based on this thinking, I recently performed a comedy called Joy Outside the Box, which was recently broadcast on China Central Television. After some reflection, I wrote some jokes about English:
"I'm going abroad, and I want to buy something, so I need to learn some English. At least I have to ask, 'How much?' So I learned the phrase 'How much.' When I was learning it, I thought it was simple—just remember it. But when I spoke it out, I said it wrong. I said, 'What's delicious.' (Laughter throughout the hall) After saying it, I realized, is this English? How did it turn into Tianjin dialect? I thought and thought, then changed it to 'Delicious, what?' Still like Chinese, so I changed it again to 'Eat, what's good?' (Laughter throughout the hall)"
I performed this comedy segment to timely inject the cultural symbols of the times into our traditional comedy art, so that it can better showcase its charm and brilliance in the new era, making people love comedy more and ensuring that comedy remains glorious and does not perish. (Originally published in Jiefang Ribao on January 13, 2006, page 14) P120-P122