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From Quora: What is xiangsheng and what makes it funny?

The definition of xiangsheng is something that open for debate.  Some would argue that it is simply the Chinese term for “comic dialogue”; Others insist that it refers to a very specific form of comic dialogue with certain artistic conventions that distinguish it from Western stand-up, Japanese Manzai 漫才 or other Chinese forms of comic dialogue such as huajixi 滑稽戏 (a form of comic dialogue popular in Shanghai and the Yangtze River Delta).

Personally I would argue the former, that xiangsheng is simply the Chinese term for “comic dialogue”, at least in the northern part of China.  In northern China, any sort of humorous dialogue can be referred to as xiangsheng.  Even in casual conversation, one might say: 你就别说相声了 (literally: Stop performing xiangsheng) which could be translated as “Stop joking around” or “Stop pulling my leg”.

The Chinese-American comedian Joe Wong performs a very standard form of American stand-up comedy, yet during interviews with the Chinese media Joe, who is originally from northern China, often refers to his performances as “xiangsheng” or “American xiangsheng”.

There is a standard, traditional format for xiangsheng, yet even performances that do not adhere to this format or style are still commonly referred to as xiangsheng.

For example, Feng Gong 冯巩 is a prominent comedian and actor who first became famous for performing xiangsheng in the 1980s.  Since that time, his performances have moved far away from the traditional style of xiangsheng, yet on television these are still referred to as xiangsheng.  This has led to some debate as to whether his performances should be called xiangsheng or xiaopin 小品 (comedic skits), with a small faction of xiangsheng afficionados vehemently denying that Feng Gong’s performances should be called xiangsheng at all. To this, Feng Gong’s response is that he performs a style of pan-xiangsheng 泛相声 that intentionally expands the boundaries of xiangsheng.

As far as the audience is concerned, I’m sure their collective attitude could be summarized as: “As long as it’s funny, who cares what you call it?”

I would agree.  Only a small number of xiangsheng fanatics really care about the technical definition of xiangsheng.  For most people, it simply means “comic dialogue”.

The reason for this long-winded prelude is to make the second part of the question incredibly simple to answer.  Since xiangsheng is simply comic dialogue, what makes it funny is exactly the same as what makes any comic dialogue funny, regardless of language or culture.

What makes anything funny? The answer can be very subjective, as nothing is funny to everyone all the time.  Some xiangsheng is not funny at all (Google “Dashan” and “xiangsheng” for examples), others are hilarious. Some are brilliant and nuanced, some are low-brow and offensive.

As for analogues in English-speaking comedy, as mentioned in Gus Tate‘s answer, Abbot and Costello’s classic “Who’s On First” gives you a good idea of what a typical xiangsheng looks like. In comparison with Western stand-up or comedic dialogue in general, I would characterize xiangsheng as follows:

1) The most common form of xiangsheng consists of a two-man dialogue, although there are also one-person monologues and multi-person dialogues.

2) As with Western stand-up, xiangsheng consists of a performer (or performers) speaking directly to the audience, at least in large part. It’s not so much a dialogue between performers as it is between performers and the audience.

3) Also similar to Western stand-up, the use of elaborate props or costumes is generally discouraged. The stage setup for xiangsheng typically consists of nothing more than two microphones on stands, although in traditional performances a table and simple props like a Chinese fan may be used.

4) A heavy emphasis is placed on language itself — puns, creative turns of phrases, rhymes, tongue-twisters and so on.

5) Traditional skits are often revised and reused. Whereas in the West it’s relatively rare for someone to take a classic skit like “Who’s on First” and do an updated, modern version (it has been done on occasion), with Chinese xiangsheng this is a relatively common occurrence.

Apart from these general conventions, the rest is open for interpretation. In my opinion, if it consists of two people on stage, talking directly to the audience and saying something funny in Chinese, then it’s xiangsheng.