Abstract
This chapter examines how Guo Degang acts as a grassroots culture hero in the contemporary Chinese xiangsheng circle specifically and in the sociocultural context generally. Guo Degang’s xiangsheng is not meant to educate the masses, and he rejects any form of refined taste or elegance in his xiangsheng performance. For Guo, the de-vulgarising of the art form by the Group at the early stage of socialist China destroyed its original essence as a source of entertainment. Guo’s return to the core values of traditional xiangsheng revives its intended purpose and meaning. However, Guo Degang’s reforms upset the official party line which promotes and depends on a prudish tradition to stabilise and consolidate its rule. During the Counter the Three Vulgarities campaign Guo Degang underwent a transformation from a culture hero to a public enemy, demonstrating the immense power wielded by the CCP dictatorship over potential challengers and opponents. The Guo Degang incident signifies the much deeper struggle between the non-conformist, critical social discourse—and the established political and cultural dictatorship of the official regime; and the struggle between China’s emergent entertainment and cultural industry and official propaganda and moral discipline.
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Notes
- 1.
It was customary for work units to give their staff members some small gifts out of solicitude during festive periods.
- 2.
In 2010, Guo was reported to have built an illegal small garden at the back of his house and journalists of Beijing Television were asked to investigate the matter. During their investigation, a journalist was hit by one of Guo’s disciples and this incident triggered a series of disputes between Guo, the television station and the Association of Journalists of China.
- 3.
While microblogging, Guo Degang also wrote frequent blog posts for Sina Web, Netease Web and Blog China Web from 2007 to 2012. However, he seemed to quit blogging when microblogging became the dominant online social networking platform that enjoys more popularity among the Chinese bloggers and is utilized by celebrities as a medium to update information and keep in touch with their fans.
- 4.
Guo Degang claimed to be author of all of his xiangsheng works except those traditional pieces. Also, he is supposed to be the author of all of his “official” microblog posts as there is no evidence suggesting that an assistant or employee in the Deyun marketing team writes them for him.
- 5.
Hou Yuewen is the youngest son of the xiangsheng master Hou Baolin. Because of the unsurpassed reputation of his father in the industry, Hou Yuewen enjoyed great popularity and admiration among his fellow performers and audiences alike. Within the xiangsheng circle in Beijing, there is a deep-rooted belief that one’s master is crucial for career development, and intense connections exist among different xiangsheng performing groups and individuals. Therefore, although Guo Degang did not learn many performing skills from Hou Yuewen, their relationship as master and disciple lent Guo authenticity as a xiangsheng performer. Since then, he started receiving more opportunities to perform his art and display his talents.
- 6.
The second sentence in this posting is not Guo Degang’s original creation; however, he intelligently borrowed it from the ancient Chinese literati to express his emotions and outlook on life.
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Cai, S., Dunn, E. (2020). Guo Degang as a Grassroots Culture Hero. In: Xiangsheng and the Emergence of Guo Degang in Contemporary China. Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-8116-8_6
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