A big black-and-white picture hung high above the stage. It was a portrait of an old Chinese man with thick eyebrows, and bright and piercing eyes, his hands gesturing and a faint smile on his face.
He was Hou Baolin (1917-93), a man who generated endless laughter for several generations of Chinese.
Once described by the Hong Kong media as having "a comic face," Hou is regarded the most important master of xiangsheng or crosstalk, a traditional Chinese verbal art which typically employs two performers who make comical speeches, employing exaggeration and irony.
Hou has always been dubbed as a Chinese Charlie Chaplin because both were masters of humor.
However, Hou and other crosstalk performers made audiences laugh mainly through words rather than actions or facial expressions.
Early this month, a major retrospective was held at the Modern Chinese Literature Museum in Beijing to mark the 85th anniversary of the birth of the man who lifted the once low and vulgar crosstalk to a loftier stage art. The retrospective included an exhibition, seminar and a special performance.
Risk of Extinction
As well as paying homage to the master, crosstalk performers and Chinese folk art experts from both China and abroad also gathered to discuss a question that has been haunting them for years.
The subject of debate was: Will crosstalk become extinct?
Their dilemma is the same as that faced by other practitioners of Chinese folk art -- in a rapidly developing society where people have more and more diverse choices of entertainment; the traditional forms seem to be less and less attractive to the public.
Several years ago, people could switch on the TV and very often would find a crosstalk performance being broadcast.
Today, a person could sit in front of the TV set for seven days a week, 24 hours a day, and still have trouble finding a single crosstalk show.
Many people who were born before the late 1970s can remember a long list of crosstalk performers: Ma Sanli, Feng Gong, Hou Yaowen, Jiang Kun, Li Jindou, Ma Ji, Niu Qun, Su Wenmao.
In mid-1980s, many of these performers frequently appeared on television programs in short comedy skits.
But most of them have since disappeared from public view.
Only a few -- such as Feng Gong, Jiang Kun and Niu Qun -- remain fresh in people's memory thanks to their performances at China Central Television's annual Spring Festival evening show.
These performers, however, are unwilling to devote all their time to crosstalk. Feng has been trying his hand at movies, and Niu worked as a magazine editor for a while before taking up a job as deputy county magistrate in East China's Anhui Province.
Lack of Good Material
Wan Hai, former deputy head of Beijing Culture Radio, said: "It is very natural that we do not have as much access to crosstalk as we did 10 years ago. Because urban life is now so colorful, it is impossible for crosstalk, as just one form of entertainment, to dominate people's leisure time."
Wan is still the presenter of a crosstalk radio program, which is broadcast at seven o'clock every morning on Beijing Culture Radio.
Commercials occupy about 10 minutes of the 30-minute slot, and the rest of the time is mainly used to broadcast classical crosstalk pieces.
Wan said his program is very popular with commuters.
For a long time, its audience rating has ranked second or third among the radio station's 400 programs, behind only the evening news program and sometimes the weather forecast.
"There are always people who want to listen to crosstalk, even though they have many other choices of entertainment," said Wan.
"If there is a problem, then the problem must be with those who do the talking, not those doing the listening," he added.
Many experts on folk art agreed with Wan.
Performer Cui Qi said: "Today's crosstalk writers lack originality. They cannot write comic dialogue that is interesting."
When the art form first made its appearance 150 years ago, performers would put on shows outside or at temple fairs.
Its fans were mainly farmers, peddlers and artisans.
Many old crosstalk artists performed in the Tianqiao area in old Beijing, where performances of folk art were concentrated.
However, for that reason, crosstalk was looked down upon and the performances were regarded as shows for the lower classes at that time. Open-air performances also allowed interaction between artists and audiences, which helped keep the art form full of vitality.
The humor of crosstalk is characterized by close observation of ordinary people's lives.
"Today's crosstalk writers live in well-furnished flats, and drive cars instead of taking buses. They have been insulated from the origins of their inspiration," Wan said.
While there were hundreds of full-time writers engaged in composing interesting comic routines in the 1950s, there are few professional writers of crosstalk nowadays.
Almost all the former crosstalk writers have chosen to move into TV and film scripts, which makes more money and can be done more quickly as well.
But there are also new crosstalk scripts, many created by amateur writers.
But most of their work lacks appeal because, on the whole, it merely eulogizes what is good in Chinese society, rather than criticizing and satirizing problems, experts said. As a result, few modern crosstalk routines have become popular as the old ones.
"Satire is one of the most appealing aspects of crosstalk. Without it, the art is much less attractive," Wan said.
Long Road Ahead
Some experts have called for crosstalk to adapt to keep pace with the rapidly changing world.
"Both the form and content of crosstalk need to be transformed," said performer Dai Hongsheng.
Dai said many changes have already taken place and some new styles have emerged.
Performer Zhao Ma suggested that crosstalk practitioners should work to encourage children and teenagers to take an interest in crosstalk.
He also said more children should be taught how to perform crosstalk.
Zhao said he envies the development of Peking Opera among young people. There are opera schools for training professional Peking Opera actors and actresses and there are national Peking Opera contests every year.
But crosstalk does not have any special training schools.
Crosstalk seems to have a long road ahead before it can prosper as it did in the past.
Many artists, such as Dai and Zhao, nevertheless are full of confidence.
They, and many others, are working hard towards this end.
Zhao is currently running a crosstalk training program for children at the Children's Palace of Beijing's Xicheng District.
Another artist, Ding Guangquan, has chosen to spread the art in another way.
Since 1989, Ding has taught foreigners how to perform the traditional art form. So far, he has taught 70 students from 60 countries.
Fifty years ago, Hou Baolin ditched low-quality crosstalk routines and developed the genre into an art form.
Shortly before his death, Hou said he hoped crosstalk would grow vigorously and that more performers would appear to take his place.
(China Daily December 16, 2002)
