Ma Ji

Ma Ji
Chinese name 馬季 (traditional)
Chinese name 马季 (simplified)
Pinyin Mǎ Jì (Mandarin)
Born August 2, 1934
Tianjin, China
Died December 20, 2006(2006-12-20) (aged 72)
Beijing, China
Occupation Xiangsheng performer

Ma Ji (traditional Chinese: 馬季; simplified Chinese: 马季; Pinyin: Mǎ Jì; August 2, 1934 – December 20, 2006), born Ma Shuhuai (traditional Chinese: 馬樹槐; simplified Chinese: 马树槐; Pinyin: Mǎ Shù Huái), was a xiangsheng performer in China. He was one of his generation's most popular and influential xiangsheng performer and was mentor to many later xiangsheng performers. His disciples include: Jiang Kun, Zhao Yan, Liu Wei, Feng Gong, Humor, Wang Qian Xiang, Li Zengrui, Hanlan Cheng, Liuxi Yao, Peng Ziyi, Wong Chi Keung Wong, Yinzhuo Lin, Yao Xinguang, Hugh Lee, Zhaolong Jun, Xing Yingying Liu Lixin, Hou Guan-nan.

Biography

Ma Ji was born in Tianjin on August 2, 1934. After the Communists took over mainland China, Ma started to work in Xinhua bookstore. He joined the Central Broadcasting Recitation and Ballad Troupe as a professional xiangsheng performer in 1956. He studied under Hou Baolin and became a seventh-generation xiangsheng performer. He got his stage name Ma Ji from the film Mattie the Goose-boy, which is based on the poem of the same name by Mihály Fazekas.[1]

As a notable xiangsheng master and performer, Ma Ji created his own art style and made great contributions to China's Xiangsheng art.[2]

In the mid to late 1980s, together with his disciple Zhao Yan, he frequently travelled to Singapore on performance tours and proved to be very popular there as well.[3]

Ma Ji was also a member of the 5th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.[4]

Famous works

  1. "Ode to Mountain Climbers"
  2. "The Portrait"
  3. "Dispute of the Five Sense Organs"
  4. Performed with many comedians together in “Five Officers Contend for Fame”

Dialogues

  1. Ode to Friendship
  2. Storm on the State
  3. Multistory Restaurant

Monlogues

  1. “The Universal Brand Cigarette” playing a cigarette salesman with a bad product and satirizing newly rich Chinese preoccupation with brand names.

Death

Ma Ji died on December 20, 2006 at Beijing, China. The cause of his death was myocardial infarction. His death, of a heart attack, was reported by Chinese Central Television (CCTV). He is survived by his son, Ma Dong.[5]

References

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