Ma Ji and Jiang Kun

if Hou Baolin and Ma Sanli are representatives of artists who have inherited the traditions of Xiangsheng and forged the modern art of xiangsheng the representative artists who emerged following the founding of New China are Hou Baolin`s student Ma Ji and Ma ji`s student jiang Kun. Ma Ji. originally called Ma Shuhuai. was born in 1934 in Beijing. For a time he was an apprentice in a factory. In 1951. he began to take an interest in xiangsheng. performing small at festival celebrations. In 1956. he was enrolled by the Central Broadcasting Recitation and Ballad Troupe as a professional xiangsheng actor. and he studied under Hou Baolin in his spare time. He excels at per forming new items reflecting real life. Apart from satire. he pioneers new items praising the new life and new heroes and heroines. ode to Mountaineers Dratw a Portait and Looking for Uncle are among his most popular per formance. In addition to performing traditional items he started writing and performing cross-talk comic dialogues such as ode to Friendship Storm on the Sop and Multistory Restaurant. and solo comic dialogues like The Universal- Brand Cigarette. In Five others Contend for Fame he is joined by several other comedians. Maji also set great store by theoretical research into Xiangsheng so as to make his creations more socially relevant. His books include Selected xiangsheng by Maji and An informal Discussion on the Art of Xiangsheng Ma is especially good at using homophones.

jiang Kun was born in 1950 in Beijing. He took to literature when he was a primary school pupil. and joined dramatic activities organized by the local Children`s Palace. At the age of 18. he went to the countryside and joined the Heilongjiang Province Production and Construction Corps. but he never gave up his amateur Cultural activities. in 1976. he was transferred to the Central Broadcasting Recitation and Ballad Troupe as a Xiangsheng actor He studied under Maji in his spare time. Before long. another actor in the troupe. Li Wenhua. became his partner in per forming cross-talk comic dialogue. Taking Photos. which he wrote himself. reflects the ultra-``left`` atmosphere during the Cultural Revolution. It established his position in the field of Xiangsheng Since the 1980s. he has performed a number of cross-talk comic dialogues with Li and other partners. including Poems. Songs and Love. The Story of the Nose and Watching Television. His most Popular items are those written by Xiangsheng writer Liang Zuo and performed together with Tangjiezhong. They are Reverie in the jaws of Death. Front Page News and An Adventure in an Elevator These vividly portrayed the state of mind of ordinary people in the early period of reform and opening to the outside world. These items are called xiangsheng which reflect social psychology. As the items compiled and performed by jiang Kun mainly deal with the joys. contradictions. aspirations and helplessness of people who find it hard to keep abreast of the times. so it is very hard to classify his items by the usual rules in the categories of satire and praise. Compared with his seniors. Jiang Kun has a more original performing style and pays more attention to entirety in terms of the expression of the content of his performances. His performances have little trace of deliberately showing off his special talent. for he puts more stress on harmony.