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Spring Festival Gala
The ''CCTV New Year's Gala'', also known as the ''Spring Festival Gala'', and commonly abbreviated in Chinese as ''Chunwan'', is a Chinese New Year special produced by China Media Group (CMG). It is broadcast annually on the eve of Chinese New Year on its flagship CCTV-1 and internationally through the China Global Television Network The ''Gala'' has the largest audience of any entertainment show in the world, and is recognized by Guinness World Records as the world's most watched television program. The 2018 edition of the ''Gala'' attracted more than one billion viewers. The program is a variety show, often featuring music, dance, comedy, and drama performances. It has become a ritual for many Chinese families, including overseas Chinese, to watch the show on Chinese New Year's Eve. Many ''Chunwan'' performers have emerged as household names in China solely as a result of their recurring appearances on the program. History In the early 1980s, CCTV director Huang Yihe pr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Huang Yihe
Huang Yihe (; April 1934 – 8 April 2019) was a Chinese television director who created the ''CCTV New Year's Gala'' in 1983. The program has become the world's most-watched TV show, with one billion viewers in 2018. Biography Huang was born in April 1934 in Shenyang, Liaoning, China. In 1949, he enlisted in the People's Liberation Army as a military entertainer. A year later, his unit was dispatched to North Korea to perform for Chinese troops fighting in the Korean War. After his entertainment unit was disbanded, he was discharged from the military and assigned to work for China Central Television. In the early 1980s, Huang proposed the idea of hosting a televised party to celebrate the Chinese New Year, and the first ''CCTV New Year's Gala'' aired in 1983. Operating on a very low budget, Huang was given a studio of , which could accommodate only 60 staff members and 200 guests. With no money for recording and editing, the show was improvised and broadcast live, and the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chinese New Year
Chinese New Year is the festival that celebrates the beginning of a new year on the traditional lunisolar and solar Chinese calendar. In Chinese and other East Asian cultures, the festival is commonly referred to as the Spring Festival () as the spring season in the lunisolar calendar traditionally starts with lichun, the first of the twenty-four solar terms which the festival celebrates around the time of the Chinese New Year. Marking the end of winter and the beginning of the spring season, observances traditionally take place from New Year’s Eve, the evening preceding the first day of the year to the Lantern Festival, held on the 15th day of the year. The first day of Chinese New Year begins on the new moon that appears between 21 January and 20 February. Chinese New Year is one of the most important holidays in Chinese culture, and has strongly influenced Lunar New Year celebrations of its 56 ethnic groups, such as the Losar of Tibet (), and of China's neighbours, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spiritual Pollution
The Anti-Spiritual Pollution Campaign () was a political campaign spearheaded by conservative factions within the Chinese Communist Party that lasted from October 1983 to December 1983. In general, its advocates wanted to curb Western-inspired liberal ideas among the Chinese populace, a by-product of nascent economic reforms which began in 1978. Spiritual Pollution has been called "a deliberately vague term that embraces every manner of bourgeois import from erotica to existentialism," and is supposed to refer to "obscene, barbarous or reactionary materials, vulgar taste in artistic performances, indulgence in individualism" and statements that "run counter to the country's social system" according to Deng Liqun, the Party's Propaganda Chief at the time of the campaign. The campaign reached a climax in mid November 1983 and largely faded into obscurity into 1984 after intervention from Deng Xiaoping. However, elements of the campaign were rehashed during the " anti-Bourgeois l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Xiangsheng
Xiangsheng (), also known as crosstalk or comic dialogue, is a traditional performing art in Chinese comedy, and one of the most popular elements in Chinese culture. It is typically performed as a dialogue between two performers, or rarely as a monologue by a solo performer (similar to most forms of stand-up comedy in Western culture), or even less frequently, as a group act by multiple performers. The Xiangsheng language, rich in puns and allusions, is delivered in a rapid, bantering style, typically in the Beijing dialect (or in Mandarin Chinese with a strong northern accent). The acts would sometimes include singing, Chinese rapping, and musical instruments. Xiangsheng has unmistakable connections with the vaudeville Double act that developed in approximately the same era. Some Westerners have studied the art of Xiangsheng. One Canadian student of Xiangsheng, Mark Rowswell, who uses the stage name of Dashan, has said that the closest English equivalent is " Who's on First? ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Li Guyi
Li Guyi (; born 4 November 1944) is a Chinese singer and dancer. Li rose to fame after singing ''Homeland Love'' (), a mellow love ballad written by Ma Jinghua and Zhang Peiji, in 1980, the year of China's reform and opening-up. Biography Li was born in 1944 in Kunming, Yunnan, at Huidian Hospital (), she graduated from Hunan Art College (now part of Hunan Normal University) in 1961. From 1961 to 1974, Li worked in Hunan Opera Theatre. In 1970, Li performed ''Tinker a Pan'' (). Chinese officials thought she was a revisionist black talent. Officials searched her house, confiscated her property, and she was sentenced to hard labor. From 1974 to 1984, Li was transferred to Central Philharmonic Orchestra as a solo. Then she has toured with the Central Philharmonic Orchestra to perform in China and abroad, including in France, Japan and the United States. In 1980, the Chinese officials criticized Li as "mainland China's Teresa Teng" for singing ''Homeland Love'' (), considered the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wang Jingyu
Wang may refer to: Names * Wang (surname) (王), a common Chinese surname * Wāng (汪), a less common Chinese surname * Titles in Chinese nobility * A title in Korean nobility * A title in Mongolian nobility Places * Wang River in Thailand * Wang Township, Minnesota, a township in the United States * Wang, Bavaria, a town in the district of Freising, Bavaria, Germany * Wang, Austria, a town in the district of Scheibbs in Lower Austria * An abbreviation for the town of Wangaratta, Australia * Wang Theatre, in Boston, Massacheussetts * Charles B. Wang Center, an Asian American center at Stony Brook University Other * Wang (Tibetan Buddhism), a form of empowerment or initiation * Wang tile, in mathematics, are a class of formal systems * ''Wang'' (musical), an 1891 New York musical * Wang Film Productions, Taiwanese-American animation studios * Wang Laboratories, an American computer company founded by Dr. An Wang * WWNG, a radio station (1330 AM) licensed to serve Have ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jiang Kun (comedian)
Jiang Kun (; born November 19, 1950) is a Chinese comedian, specializing in the xiangsheng trade. A native of Beijing, he was a of another renowned comedian, Ma Ji. Jiang Kun currently acts as deputy chairman of the Association of Chinese Folk Art. Biography Jiang was born in Beijing, on 19 October 1950. His grandfather Jiang Zongli () was born in Yantai, Shandong. In order to escape famine, he came to Beijing and set up a steamed bread shop. Later he opened a restaurant called "Tong Fu Zhai" (). Jiang's father Jiang Zuyu (; 1924–1989) was a calligrapher, he studied calligraphy under Zhang Boying () and Hua Shikui (). Jiang Kun has two uncles and one sister, Jiang Zuming (), Jiang Zuyuan () and Jiang Shuzhen (). In 1976, he was transferred to the Central Radio Broadcasting Backstage Rap Group, whilst studying under Ma Ji. In 1985, Jiang Kun was elected Vice-Chairman of the Chinese Ballad Singers Association. In the same year, he replaced his mentor Ma Ji, and took on the du ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ma Ji
Ma Ji (; 2 August 1934 – 20 December 2006), born Ma Shuhuai (), was a Chinese xiangsheng comedian. He was one of his generation's most popular and influential xiangsheng performers and was mentor to many younger performers. His disciples include Jiang Kun, Zhao Yan, Liu Wei, Feng Gong, Xiaolin, Wang Qianxiang, Li Zengrui, Han Lancheng, Liu Xiyao, Peng Ziyi, Yin Zhuolin, Yao Xinguang, Zhao Longjun, Xing Yingying, Liu Lixin, and Hou Guannan. Biography Ma Ji was born in Tianjin on 2 August 1934. After the Communists took over mainland China, Ma started to work in Xinhua bookstore. He joined the Central Broadcasting Recitation and Ballad Troupe as a professional xiangsheng performer in 1956. He studied under Hou Baolin and became a seventh-generation xiangsheng performer. He got his stage name Ma Ji from the film ''Mattie the Goose-boy (1950 film)'', which is based on the poem of the same name by Mihály Fazekas. As a notable xiangsheng master and performer, Ma Ji created his ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Liu Xiaoqing
Liu Xiaoqing (born 30 October 1955) is a Chinese actress and businesswoman. She was one of the leading actresses in China in the 1980s. Biography In her early days Liu worked as a farm labourer, then as a propagandist for the People's Liberation Army and later a stage actor for the Chengdu Military Drama Group. Liu acted in mainland Chinese films before she turned 30—''The Great Wall of the South China Sea'' (1976), ''What a Family'' (1979) and ''The Little Flower'' (1980). Her breakthrough role was the ruthless Qing dynasty Empress Dowager Cixi in ''The Burning of the Imperial Palace'' (1983) and ''Reign Behind the Curtain'' (1984). Her portrayal of Cixi won her numerous awards in Chinese film festivals and she later reprised the role in two unrelated films, including '' Li Lianying: The Imperial Eunuch'' (1991). She won Best Actress at the Hundred Flowers Award for her role as Hua Jinzhi in ''The Savage Land'', filmed in 1981 but not released until 1987, and again for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Overseas Chinese
Overseas Chinese () refers to people of Chinese birth or ethnicity who reside outside Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan. As of 2011, there were over 40.3 million overseas Chinese. Terminology () or ''Hoan-kheh'' () in Hokkien, refers to people of Chinese citizenship residing outside of either the PRC or ROC (Taiwan). The government of China realized that the overseas Chinese could be an asset, a source of foreign investment and a bridge to overseas knowledge; thus, it began to recognize the use of the term Huaqiao. Ching-Sue Kuik renders in English as "the Chinese sojourner" and writes that the term is "used to disseminate, reinforce, and perpetuate a monolithic and essentialist Chinese identity" by both the PRC and the ROC. The modern informal internet term () refers to returned overseas Chinese and ''guīqiáo qiáojuàn'' () to their returning relatives. () refers to people of Chinese origin residing outside of China, regardless of citizenship. Another of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Variety Show
Variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is entertainment made up of a variety of acts including musical performances, sketch comedy, magic, acrobatics, juggling, and ventriloquism. It is normally introduced by a compère (master of ceremonies) or host. The variety format made its way from the Victorian era stage in Britain and America to radio and then television. Variety shows were a staple of English language television from the late 1940s into the 1980s. While still widespread in some parts of the world, such as in the United Kingdom with the '' Royal Variety Performance'', and South Korea with '' Running Man'', the proliferation of multichannel television and evolving viewer tastes have affected the popularity of variety shows in the United States. Despite this, their influence has still had a major effect on late night television whose late-night talk shows and NBC's variety series '' Saturday Night Live'' (which originally premiered in 1975) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Hollywood Reporter
''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Hollywood film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade paper, and in 2010 switched to a weekly large-format print magazine with a revamped website. As of 2020, the day-to-day operations of the company are handled by Penske Media Corporation through a joint venture with Eldridge Industries. History Early years; 1930–1987 ''The Hollywood Reporter'' was founded in 1930 by William R. "Billy" Wilkerson (1890–1962) as Hollywood's first daily entertainment trade newspaper. The first edition appeared on September 3, 1930, and featured Wilkerson's front-page "Tradeviews" column, which became influential. The newspaper appeared Monday-to-Saturday for the first 10 years, except for a brief period, then Monday-to-Friday from 1940. Wilkerson used caustic articles and gossip to generate publicity and got noticed by the studio bosses in New Yor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
