First you slander, then you apologize. Then, stand on high moral ground and judge everything, and that’s how you get famous. I even wrote the press release for you.
-Zhang Jiuling teaching Wang Jiulong how to be famous in their satire
“I, Wang Jiulong, has attacked plenty of celebrities and now my life is in danger, but my partner deserves none of the blame. …
Sure I’m just a comedian, but if I weren’t trying to promote our culture, increase national pride, and reduce the invasion of foreign influences, I wouldn’t have been going around slandering people. At first sight, my crosstalk works are spreading joy and love, but on the grand scale of things, they’re letting the world know what is Made in China.”
Meet the latest and hippest duo in town as they debuted on TV this summer. While other xiangsheng/crosstalk artists like Zhang Yunlei specialize in traditional arts, 25-year-old Zhang Jiuling and 24-year-old Wang Jiulong are on top of the latest trends. In addition to releasing their own rap song with The Rap of China’s Hui Zi, their newest original piece is a brilliant satire of ways to get famous in the entertainment world with digs at artists who beef for fame and those who use “made in China” as an excuse for poor quality. If you follow Chinese entertainment, it’s hilarious and full of memorable lines such as “How will people get to know your comedy if you don’t have a tragic backstory?”
Here are some random facts about them:
- The two are great at synchronized kuaiban, but have also tried rapping with beatbox. Watch a segment of their kuaiban below and one of their best skits with kuaiban with Chinese subtitles here. More Chinese subtitled programs here, though my favorite program of theirs is definitely their unsubtitled entertainment industry skit here.
He would wheel him around in a wheelchair off stage and be his crutch on stage. He would stay up until 3am waiting for word that Zhang Yunlei got home safely from filming. He doesn’t even hand Zhang Yunlei water without first unscrewing the cap. He almost never sings but knows the lyrics to every song Zhang Yunlei sings on stage. If Zhang Yunlei wants him to sing, all Zhang Yunlei has to do was to stop mid-sentence and look to the left, and Yang Jiulang will finish his sentence without missing a beat.
