Prominent crosstalk master gone with tears and laughs

时间：2006-12-25 03:07:30

（单词翻译:单击）


A local resident holds a portrait of Crosstalk Master Ma Ji outside the mourning hall, Dec. 24, 2006. The funeral for Ma was held on Sunday morning in Babaoshan Cemetery1 in Beijing. Ma died from heart attack at age of 72 in a Beijing hospital on Wednesday morning.
 
Dec. 25 - Ma Ji, a well-known Chinese crosstalk master, will never imagine so many tearful eyes around him, as he always drew peals2 of laughter from people wherever he was.

 

Ma, who died of heart disease at the age of 72 in a hospital in Beijing last Wednesday, was cremated3 at the city's Babaoshan Cemetery on Sunday.

 

Early at dawn, hundreds of people already gathered in front of the gate of the cemetery. Grandpa Liu, 73, got up at 5:00 a.m. so as not to miss the chance to bid farewell to his favorite performer.

 

"I have listened to his Xiangsheng (crosstalk or comic dialogue) for my whole life. I must come to see him off. It's the last chance," Liu said.

 

People started to flock in after the gate was opened. Some took photos of the condolence banners hung on the trees, some stood in silent tribute to the photo of the deceased, and some were placing their wreaths.

 

Grey-haired Cao Wenhan, a retired4 teacher from Beijing Normal University, came with his hand-made show board, which displayed 20photos taken a decade ago when Ma Ji was giving a report at the campus.

 

"He is not only a great performer, but also a good man. He was always willing to satisfy others' demands, but seldom asked for something from others," Cao said.

 

By the time the hearse carrying Ma's body arrived, more than 1,000 people had assembled on the square in front of the mourning hall. They swarmed5 toward the carriage side, arousing a small surge after a long solemnity.

 

Many elderly people shed tears. "Please don't push and get into lines! Your feelings are understandable, but please!" a female staff member yelled, eyes brimmed over with tears.

 

People then gradually stood in lines and queued to sign their names on a commemoration book. Chen Guoyue, who suffered serious eyesight weakness, wrote the names of him and his friend in egg size, with his face so close to the paper as if they were stuck together.

 

"I have grown up with listening to his Xiangsheng. So many times have I listened that I can repeat some," Chen said.

 

Though not sure to say he hadn't missed any of Ma's comic dialogues, Chen was confident that he had covered at least 100. Heeven performed one of Ma's comic dialogues titled "Pulling out teeth".

 

Those endless laughs were still touching6 him today. "Ma Lao (Old Ma, a call to show respect) left us, together with laughs of a generation," Chen said.

 

Ma, born in 1934 in Beijing, began to learn Xiangsheng at the age of 17. He is regarded as an artist who combines the traditional with modern crosstalk art forms. His works reflected every-day life in China. Ma was good at satirizing7 social problems and praising heroes. He created more than 100 pieces of crosstalk works and published a number of books on crosstalk.

 

His departure also triggered worries over the ebb8 of the traditional art with thousands of years of history.

 

"I don't know whether we will have another Xiangsheng performer so persistent9 like him in the future," said sculptor10 Wen Yongli, who had worked day and night to devote a bust11 of Ma to the funeral.

 

"I want to tell him that we will never forget him," he added.

 

A blogger named "Bangbang" wrote on the Internet that he liked the comic dialogues of Xiangsheng masters like Ma Sanli, Ma Ji andJiang Kun very much.

 

"But I witnessed the decline of Xiangsheng, and haven't listened to it for many years," he said.

 

"Another master has left us. I don't know when Xiangsheng can revive in China," he added.

 

Xiangsheng, a "language art", combines four basic techniques: speech, mimicry12, comedy and song. Xiangsheng can be performed by one person or more, but the most common form is two persons.

 

It dates back to the Spring and Autumn period (770-476 BC) and the Warring States (475-221 BC) when professional entertainers were first recorded.

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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 cemetery ur9z7     
n.坟墓，墓地，坟场
参考例句：
  • He was buried in the cemetery.他被葬在公墓。
  • His remains were interred in the cemetery.他的遗体葬在墓地。
2 peals 9acce61cb0d806ac4745738cf225f13b     
n.（声音大而持续或重复的）洪亮的响声( peal的名词复数 )；隆隆声；洪亮的钟声；钟乐v.（使）（钟等）鸣响，（雷等）发出隆隆声( peal的第三人称单数 )
参考例句：
  • She burst into peals of laughter. 她忽然哈哈大笑起来。
  • She went into fits/peals of laughter. 她发出阵阵笑声。 来自辞典例句
3 cremated 6f0548dafbb2758e70c4b263a81aa7cf     
v.火葬，火化（尸体）( cremate的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
  • He wants to is cremated, not buried. 他要火葬，不要土葬。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The bodies were cremated on the shore. 他们的尸体在海边火化了。 来自辞典例句
4 retired Njhzyv     
adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的
参考例句：
  • The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
  • Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。
5 swarmed 3f3ff8c8e0f4188f5aa0b8df54637368     
密集( swarm的过去式和过去分词 )； 云集； 成群地移动； 蜜蜂或其他飞行昆虫成群地飞来飞去
参考例句：
  • When the bell rang, the children swarmed out of the school. 铃声一响，孩子们蜂拥而出离开了学校。
  • When the rain started the crowd swarmed back into the hotel. 雨一开始下，人群就蜂拥回了旅社。
6 touching sg6zQ9     
adj.动人的，使人感伤的
参考例句：
  • It was a touching sight.这是一幅动人的景象。
  • His letter was touching.他的信很感人。
7 satirizing e1b2ec6f22444ccb60c6bfa45e15046d     
v.讽刺，讥讽( satirize的现在分词 )
参考例句：
  • River morals " is novel satirizing the knight novel. " 《堂吉河德》是一部讽刺骑士小说的小说。 来自互联网
  • Marlows delights in excesses, until sometimes he seems to be satirizing his own manner. 马洛老爱走极端，直到他有时嘲笑自己的态度。 来自互联网
8 ebb ebb     
vi.衰退，减退；n.处于低潮，处于衰退状态
参考例句：
  • The flood and ebb tides alternates with each other.涨潮和落潮交替更迭。
  • They swam till the tide began to ebb.他们一直游到开始退潮。
9 persistent BSUzg     
adj.坚持不懈的，执意的；持续的
参考例句：
  • Albert had a persistent headache that lasted for three days.艾伯特连续头痛了三天。
  • She felt embarrassed by his persistent attentions.他不时地向她大献殷勤，使她很难为情。
10 sculptor 8Dyz4     
n.雕刻家，雕刻家
参考例句：
  • A sculptor forms her material.雕塑家把材料塑造成雕塑品。
  • The sculptor rounded the clay into a sphere.那位雕塑家把黏土做成了一个球状。
11 bust WszzB     
vt.打破；vi.爆裂；n.半身像；胸部
参考例句：
  • I dropped my camera on the pavement and bust it. 我把照相机掉在人行道上摔坏了。
  • She has worked up a lump of clay into a bust.她把一块黏土精心制作成一个半身像。
12 mimicry oD0xb     
n.（生物）拟态，模仿
参考例句：
  • One of his few strengths was his skill at mimicry.他为数不多的强项之一就是善于模仿。
  • Language learning usually necessitates conscious mimicry.一般地说，学习语言就要进行有意识的摹仿。

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