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Zhang Jieyao
Tianjin xiangsheng comedian known on stage as Zhang Shazi, one of the Five Masters of Laughter of the 1930s, who created the routine Guan Gong Fights Qin Qiong.
Backstage of a theatre troupe, an open trunk spills embroidered red and blue robes, one worked with a phoenix, beneath a jewelled headdress with long plumes; a mirror stand, a stool and a row of painted drums stand beside it, with a red curtain hanging at the right.
Also known as Zhang Baohua · Zhang Shikui · Zhang Shazi
- Roles
- Stage Performers
Zhang Jieyao, also known as Zhang Baohua and Zhang Shikui and on stage as Zhang Shazi, was born in Tianjin in 1893. He joined a Hebei bangzi troupe at about ten and later became a disciple of Gao Deming's father, turning to xiangsheng comic dialogue. From 1919 to 1931 he played Shanghai, Nanjing, Kaifeng, Hankou and other cities; back in Beijing in 1931 he made his name in a double act with Xu Degui at the Baita Temple fair, and by the mid-1930s he was counted with Gao Deming, Xu Degui, Tang Jincheng and Dai Shaofu among the Five Masters of Laughter. He commanded more than four hundred pieces and created new ones such as Guan Gong Fights Qin Qiong, Luo Cheng Teases Diaochan and Zhang Fei Beats Yan Song. He settled in Xi'an in 1951 and in 1961 was invited to Beijing to record eight pieces. He died in 1971.
Life and times
Dates 1893–1971