Xiangsheng and the Emergence of Guo Degang in Contemporary China

by Shenshen Cai, Emily Dunn

This book explores xiangsheng, one of the most popular folk art performance genres in China, its enlistment by official propaganda machine after the founding of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and its revival in popularity under Guo Degang and his Deyun Club. Just as the 1950's saw the shift of xiangsheng 's social function from entertainment to the political tool of ‘serving the party’, Guo Degang has completed the paradigm shift by turning its focus back to ‘serving the people’ as a means of entertainment and social criticism. This volume examines how Guo has resurrected the essence of xiangsheng, successfully commercialised it in a market economy, and simultaneously deconstructed the official discourse through grassroots means.

155 pages, Hardcover

Published October 18, 2020

Reviews

[Woocool · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a little bit biased towards Guo Degang and his Deyun Club in its narration and argument. Of course, Guo and his club made an undeniable contribution to the social acceptance of Xiangsheng in particular and Quyi in general in the new millennium, however, we want a more detailed analysis on the social and economical background that made such a contribution possible and feasible for people like Guo. This book seems to give all the credits to Guo Degang as an individual, which seems to me an argument from a wrong direction. Pop-culture and sub-culture studies should always connect the surface popularity of the regarded with the undergoing social trend and cultural breakthrough, as well as the driving force behind all these changes. From this perspective, the analysis in this book needs to be further deepened and rearranged.