When it comes to the Chinese comedic performance style known as xiangsheng, De Yun She are in a league of their own. Formed over 20 years by actor, comedian, and impresario Guo Degang, the group have been instrumental in the wider revival and increasingly international popularity of xiangsheng. Thanks to recent tours that have brought De Yun She to four different continents, Degang has helped create a new worldwide audience for a traditional style long enjoyed by audiences in China.

A phrase that translates literally as "face and voice," xiangsheng is a cultural form whose roots may extend back to the Ming Dynasty. Its most typical mode consists of two performers onstage exchanging a rapid-fire stream of puns, allusions, references, imitations, and — of course — joke-filled banter. Originally performed in dialect by street performers, these high-speed displays of wit and dexterity climbed up from their lowly origins to become a hugely popular and often satirical style of entertainment that's widely enjoyed both in live venues and on Chinese television.

Degang's efforts may be the biggest reason for xiangsheng's resurgence in recent decades. A disciple of xiangsheng master Hou Yaowen, Degang became a comedy superstar in his own right thanks to appearances in such films and TV series as Getting Home, Mars Baby, and Disney's High School Musical: China. He also founded his own chain of comedy clubs in China. In 2018, he made his debut as a feature film director with the comedy hit The Faces of My Gene. He made history the same year when De Yun She became the first Chinese crosstalk group ever to perform at London's Eventim Apollo theater. New York's equally iconic Lincoln Center was one of five stops on De Yun She's 2018 North American tour.

A tireless promoter of Chinese culture, Degang has introduced xiangsheng to lands far beyond his own thanks to De Yun She's performances in the U.S., Canada, Germany, New Zealand, Japan, and Singapore. All that has created a global profile for a performer who already boasts a huge social-media following in China (over 68 million followers on Weibo), as well as for a centuries-old performance tradition that continues to delight Mandarin speakers in the present.

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