The mainstream media’s evaluation of him at the time was: He is a foreigner, but not an outsider. Although he also looks ordinary, with colored eyes and ringed hair. Speak Chinese, put on a coat, learn to perform cross talk, and make jokes. However, after hard study and many years of artistic practice, his language proficiency and artistic performance skills have gradually matured, and he has won praise from experts in the folk art circle and the general audience.
He is Dashan, whose real name is Mark Henry Rothwell. Dashan was born in Ottawa, Canada on May 23, 1965. Although he is a foreigner, he is not an outsider because he is very popular on CCTV and has a large number of fans in China.
In 1984, Dashan was admitted to the East Asian Department of the University of Toronto. His Chinese teacher gave him the Chinese name "Lu Shiwei" based on the transliteration of his original name. While studying at the University of Toronto in Canada, he fell in love with Chinese language and culture. When he was a freshman in college, he chose an elective course called "Modern Chinese" out of curiosity, and soon decided to major in "Chinese Studies." In his second year at the University of Toronto, Dashan changed Chinese from an elective course to a major course and became a well-known top student in the East Asian Department. After graduating from the undergraduate program in 1988, he received a full scholarship and was selected for the China-Canada exchange scholar exchange program. He was sent to Peking University, the highest institution in China, to study Chinese language and literature.
In 1989, by chance Dashan participated in the 1989 CCTV New Year's Day Gala and played a Chinese young man named "Xu Dashan" in the sketch "Returning at Night". His performance made the name Dashan become a household name overnight, and he later adopted the Chinese name Dashan. Later, he became a disciple of cross talk actor Jiang Kun, began to learn cross talk, and continued to perform on stages and TV screens across the country.
There were many famous cross talk masters in Beijing at that time, but Dashan only worshiped Jiang Kun as his teacher. He said: By chance, we met. I attended a party called "Unforgettable 1988". Two teachers, Jiang Kun and Tang Jiezhong, also performed "Big News" at the party, and they got to know each other that way. ?
In the Chinese cross talk world, it is a very serious and grand matter for a master to accept an apprentice. Except for Dashan, no foreigner in the cross talk world has officially become a disciple. When Jiang Kun decided to accept foreign apprentices, he had to face many different opinions in the cross talk circle.
Da Shan recalled: "As soon as he accepted me as his apprentice, I was regarded as the ninth generation successor of the legitimate cross talk disciples and the fourth generation successor of the Hou style cross talk. How big is this name?" The pressure can be imagined. At that time, some people in the cross talk circle were opposed, including Master Hou Baolin, who told Teacher Jiang that accepting apprentices was not a joke or a matter of making news. Teacher Jiang said, don't worry, he is studying seriously, just watch his development. ?
Over the past few years, Dashan relied on his earnest study to reach higher levels step by step. From comedy sketches to cross talk, to TV series and dramas, and finally to hosting; Dashan has been broadening his artistic path. As a dignified foreign host, he is talented and has been recognized and liked by the audience. Over the decades, he has hosted a variety of programs and activities, ranging from solemn state dinners to joyful celebrations.
Now Dashan can be said to be an experienced host with a unique style. He is especially popular for hosting bilingual and international large-scale events. Over the decades, he has hosted a variety of programs and activities, ranging from solemn state dinners to joyful celebrations. Whether in front of tens of thousands of live audiences in the open air square or in front of only the camera lens in the studio, Dashan is able to control it skillfully and with ease.
Everyone who has watched his show knows that Dashan’s strength in Chinese lies not in his fluency, but in his correct words and pronunciation. If you just listen to the sound, you really can't tell that a foreigner is speaking Chinese. There are really few foreigners who are as good at Chinese as he is. He is proficient in cross talk and can also play classical Chinese. It is no exaggeration to say that his Chinese level is higher than that of some Chinese people.
It is also worth mentioning that after he became famous, Dashan and his master Jiang Kun went to Master Hou’s house to celebrate his birthday. Hou Baolin patted Dashan on the shoulder and said: "This is my fourth generation." ?I was moved to tears at that time, because after three or four years of hard work, I think it is a very high honor to be recognized by him.
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This foreigner who once appeared on the Spring Festival Gala wearing a crosstalk coat as the first "foreign comedian" has been developing his career in China for decades. Perhaps in the hearts of Chinese audiences, he only has blue eyes. The yellow hair still retains the appearance of foreigners. Off the stage, he married a Chinese girl and became China's "foreign son-in-law."
In the autumn of 1990, Dashan went to Liaoning to perform and met Gan Lin, a Chinese girl who served as the band's organizer and coordinator. The two got married three years later. Dashan married Chongqing girl Gan Lin in 1993, and their son Ruirui was born in July 1995. In 1998, daughter Xiaoyi was born. After the child was born, Dashan sent his wife and child to Canada in order to avoid outside interference in his family life. Dashan himself moved between China and Canada. The child went to a French school in Canada, and the neighbors around him spoke English. At home, Chinese was the main language. China, a country that was once far away on the other side of the ocean, has long become a complex that Dashan will never leave.
Although Dashan has lived in China for a long time, the outside world has always been concerned about whether there is a cultural conflict between this foreign marriage, but Dashan finds this idea very strange: Marriage is a union of two people, and It is not a combination of two countries, nations, or two cultures, but any two people will have different backgrounds. In fact, the differences between China and the West are not so clear-cut. In some aspects, I am more Chinese than she is. ?However, Dashan likes to use "plain and plain is the true" way to describe his married life. ? Dashan probably said what many people are saying. How can two people love each other for 25 years if they can't experience the ordinary things?
In the next ten years, Dashan hopes that in the life stage of 50-60 years old, Dashan can not only give full play to his own characteristics, but also reflect the characteristics of this era, and gradually develop Dashan's "Da Shan Talks about Dashan" into something meaningful. Thoughts, a combination of Chinese and Western cultures with comedic effects and repeated appreciation value. I also look forward to this middle-aged man, who is never satisfied with the status quo, using his unique way to inject new interpretations into his lifelong role as "Chinese and foreign cultural envoy".