Behind the sudden rise of stand-up comedy in China

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In a small Beijing bar less than 40 square meters in size stood a crowd of over 40 people. Da Li, the host of the night's stand-up comedy show stood on the stage, with a mic at hand and jokes at the ready.

"You paid only 2.33 yuan for the show and you know what you should expect – nothing," he quipped. Lining behind him were 11 young amateur comedians hoping to break into the performing world.

In a society defined by harmony and self-discipline and where grabbing attention is shunned at all cost, poking fun at others or standing out in front of – and among – crowds seem unlikely. Yet stand-up comedy is under the spotlight in China, owing to online programs that brought it to the mainstream.

"Roast Convention" is the Chinese equivalent of the U.S. show "Comedy Central Roast" and its 20 episodes have raked in 3.6 billion views online.

Yi Nengjing tells a joke on stage during "Roast Convention." /VCG Photo

Stand-up comedy enters the mainstream

Da Li's unlikely foray into stand-up comedy began when his career fears. Crippled by stage fright and the need to do presentations at work, Da Li decided to try out stand-up comedy to improve his public speaking skills.

"I went to Toastmaster Club (a public speaking club) in Shanghai and found that I could not afford the annual membership fee," he said, with a tone of self-deprecation, "but the comedy club next door was free and so I walked in."

In 2015, when Da Li first decided to put his humor to the test, the stand-up comedy scene in China was still nascent.

Chinese-American comedian Joe Wong's 2011 stand-up performance at the White House Correspondents' Dinner inspired a new breed of Chinese comedians. Stand-up comedy clubs sprang up in Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen in 2009, later spreading to second-tier cities. The first nationwide stand-up comedy festival took place in 2015.

The growing interest in stand-up comedy mirrors changes in the Chinese society. With a more cosmopolitan younger population, China is able to appreciate the Western form of comedy with self-expression at its essence.

29-year-old Huang He is one of the few young Chinese comedians who can put on a show in English.

She works at an NGO focusing on poverty alleviation, with much of her spare time spent on grinding jokes and testing them out at open mic nights at comedy clubs.

The English-speaking stand-up comedy circle she is in used to be dominated by expats, but now consists of bilingual Chinese speakers, with many having studied or worked abroad.

"I found stand-up comedy to be a great way to express myself," Huang said.

Da Li hosts an open-mic performance at a local bar in Beijing, December 25, 2018./CGTN Photo

Comedy as a form of art

In China, before stand-up comedy, there was Xiangsheng, or crosstalk – a traditional comedic performance featuring a dialogue between two people with puns and references to Chinese literary classics. It is regarded in China as a highly skilled form of performing art beyond the reach of ordinary people.

Though at first glance stand-up comedy seems to have low entry barriers, there are many hurdles that outsiders cannot see, said Da Li.

Coming up with a joke and properly delivering it is no small feat. The comedian needs to know exactly how to tell the vignette, when to pause, and how to seal the deal with a strong punch line accompanied with the right body gestures.

Finding experiences relatable to the audience and everyday observations help grab people's attention. Joke materials range from the universal such as generational gap between parents and children to more topical, for example, the incredible congestion on the Beijing subway.

In the U.S., Huang used to customize her jokes according to where she was performing. For example, in suburban areas dominated by wealthy people, she would go with gender awareness, because cracking jokes that are politically incorrect would be "suicidal." In inner cities where the majority of her audience are bar-goers are blue-collar workers, the same strategy would not work, she said.

"A good stand-up performance is a form of art that can withstand the test of time," Da Li summarized.

Two of the most popular stand-up comedians in China, Li Dan (L) and Chizi, both featured in “Roast Convention”, speak to the audience during an awards ceremony. /VCG Photo

The illusion of a booming market?

Stand-up comedy is now finding larger audiences on the Internet.

The first season of "Roast Convention," produced by the company that Da Li works for, received more than two billion views, while the second season received around 1.7 billion. Its success triggered the creation of a collection of variety shows featuring comedy skits.

"But those are variety shows, not stand-up comedy in its purest form," Da Li said, terming the situation as "an illusion of a booming market." The show mostly revolves around celebrity gossips and is often detached from the life of ordinary people.

Earning a living through stand-up comedy is not easy in China.

Most of the times, comedians have to take up other jobs in order to make ends meet.

Ya Qian, a freelance stand-up comedian, who now runs a WeChat official account teaching stand-up comedy, said for the majority of stand-up comedians in China, "a monthly salary around 4,000-7,000 yuan per month would be good enough."

He recounted that at one point, his job titles included stand-up comedian, host, scriptwriter for variety comedy shows and public speaker.

Ya expressed his hope that one day doing stand-up comedy can be considered a "proper job." And in order to achieve that goal, a shake-up of the entire industry is needed, he said.

(Video produced by Qi Jianqiang and Zang Shijie)