Zhao Benshan (simplified Chinese: 赵本山; traditional Chinese:
趙本山; pinyin: Zhà o BÄ›nshÄ n; born 2 October 1957) is a Chinese
skit and sitcom actor, comedian, television director, and businessman.
Originally from Liaoning province, Zhao has appeared on the CCTV New
Year's Gala, a widely watched performing arts program, every year from
1990 to 2011. Zhao's performances at the gala had made him a household
name in China.Zhao is also known for his lead roles in the 2000 Zhang
Yimou film Happy Times and the 2007 film Getting Home, as well as
having directed and produced three television series based around
rural life in his home province, Liu Laogen, Ma Dashuai, and Xiangcun
Aiqing ("Rural Love Story").Zhao was born in Lianhua Village, Kaiyuan,
Liaoning province, to a peasant family. He was orphaned at the age of
6. Apprenticed to his uncle, he learned many local traditional
performance arts, including erhu, a traditional Chinese musical
instrument, and Errenzhuan, a traditional style of stand-up comedy
that involves two people talking to each other on the stage which is
popular in northeastern China.Jiang Kun, a nationally renowned
xiangsheng artist, recommend Zhao to appear at the 1990 CCTV New
Year's Gala, a TV program broadcast all over China to celebrate
Chinese New Year. After his first appearance, he had appeared in each
Gala show every year from 1995 to 2011. Zhao's skits focus on social
issues, including wealth disparity, the urban-rural divide, family and
relationships (guanxi), trust in society, and social changes in the
era of economic reform. His works often drew inspiration from his own
life in rural northeastern China.
趙本山; pinyin: Zhà o BÄ›nshÄ n; born 2 October 1957) is a Chinese
skit and sitcom actor, comedian, television director, and businessman.
Originally from Liaoning province, Zhao has appeared on the CCTV New
Year's Gala, a widely watched performing arts program, every year from
1990 to 2011. Zhao's performances at the gala had made him a household
name in China.Zhao is also known for his lead roles in the 2000 Zhang
Yimou film Happy Times and the 2007 film Getting Home, as well as
having directed and produced three television series based around
rural life in his home province, Liu Laogen, Ma Dashuai, and Xiangcun
Aiqing ("Rural Love Story").Zhao was born in Lianhua Village, Kaiyuan,
Liaoning province, to a peasant family. He was orphaned at the age of
6. Apprenticed to his uncle, he learned many local traditional
performance arts, including erhu, a traditional Chinese musical
instrument, and Errenzhuan, a traditional style of stand-up comedy
that involves two people talking to each other on the stage which is
popular in northeastern China.Jiang Kun, a nationally renowned
xiangsheng artist, recommend Zhao to appear at the 1990 CCTV New
Year's Gala, a TV program broadcast all over China to celebrate
Chinese New Year. After his first appearance, he had appeared in each
Gala show every year from 1995 to 2011. Zhao's skits focus on social
issues, including wealth disparity, the urban-rural divide, family and
relationships (guanxi), trust in society, and social changes in the
era of economic reform. His works often drew inspiration from his own
life in rural northeastern China.
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