A Guy you might see on CCTV

[Randy W]

Mark Rowswell (Dashan) on Comedy in China

 

 

Dashan, , literally Big Mountain, is the stage persona of Mark Rowswell, a tall, sandy-haired Canadian who is China’s most famous homegrown foreign entertainer. Mr. Rowswell, 49, began studying Chinese at the University of Toronto and moved to Beijing after graduation to further master the language. In December 1988, four months after landing in the Chinese capital, he appeared in a comedy skit on the main state television network, China Central Television, or CCTV. That was when Dashan was born.

Mr. Rowswell then studied a traditional Chinese form of comedy called cross talk. His fame grew as he regularly performed that, along with other kinds of entertainment, on television. Starting in 1998, he appeared four times on the annual CCTV Spring Festival Gala, the most watched television event of the year in China. No other foreigner has made as many appearances in the gala, though Mr. Rowswell says it is a “common misconception” that that is what made Dashan a household name. Most of his big shows have been on CCTV during other holidays, he says.

This year’s gala will be broadcast on Wednesday, the eve of the Year of the Sheep. But Mr. Rowswell, who since 1995 has split his time between homes in Beijing and Canada, where his family lives, will not be performing. He has focused more recently on doing Western-style stand-up comedy in venues across China. In an interview, he discussed his decision to reinvent himself, the straitjacket of tradition and making Chinese laugh.

 

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Q.

Do you have any favorite jokes that you want to share with our readers?

A.

No. I don’t really tell jokes, actually. I think that’s a misunderstanding about comedy. At least my humor tends to be much more situational and story-based, it’s about being a Westerner in China, or being this Westerner who’s seen as being “more Chinese than the Chinese,” being between cultures, or being the “national TV celebrity” that you are now seeing live and close up as a flesh-and-blood person, and all of the twists and turns that can be worked off of those kinds of themes.

 

[Mick]

I saw Dashan on TV quite often during my years in China, plus he made an appearance at our university in 2000 or 2001 or thereabouts. He is a very popular figure.

[Guest SloppyZhou_]

Even though Dashan is old news in China, he is embarrassingly enough an enigma to be one of the few Westerners who live or travel to China who can speak more than a few words or phrases. Chinese people deeply appreciate those who try to learn their language, but most never do.