Note: This is a satirical xiangsheng (相聲/crosstalk) routine by Taiwanese comedian Huang Yihao (黃逸豪), performed recently and widely shared online. The humor relies on exaggeration, wordplay, and direct political mockery, highlighting contrasts in freedom of expression between Taiwan and mainland China. The poem at the end is a classic crosstalk punchline structure.
Chinese crosstalk comedy can be difficult to understand if you are not a native speaker, but some of the skits are understandable, and their humor readily accessible. I am posting this skit because it has become very popular, mainly for its political content, and also to introduce this Chinese comedic artform to readers who may be interested. ABN
Original Chinese Text (Transcription from the Performance)（逗哏：黃逸豪）現在的事，看今朝，在西方，有一東方大國。（捧哏：地理位置太亂了！）這國家亂的不只是地理位置！此人身高約莫一米七八，大背頭、小眼睛、短脖子、肉鼻頭、身形肥膩、貌似維尼。（觀眾大笑）上台之後，廢除任期，修憲連任，港版國安，香港不安，一國兩制，變成一國一制，動態清零，封城三年，經濟崩壞，民不聊生，房地產爆雷，地方債務高築，青年失業率高達20%，白紙革命，民怨沸騰，戰狼外交，四處樹敵，舉國之力堵悠悠之口，愚民排外成就千古一帝。這正是：治國猶如翻大餅，
麾下戰狼粉紅兵。
倒車油門總加速，
第一傻X習近平！（全場熱烈鼓掌，觀眾齊喊：第一傻X習近平！）
English Translation:
Things nowadays, look at the present: In the West, there is an Eastern power.(Straight man: The geography is too messed up!) This country’s chaos isn’t just in its geography! This person is about 1.78 meters tall, with a big slicked-back hairstyle, small eyes, short neck, fleshy nose, plump figure, resembling Winnie the Pooh. (Audience laughs) After coming to power, he abolished term limits, amended the constitution for lifelong rule; the Hong Kong National Security Law made Hong Kong insecure; “one country, two systems” became “one country, one system”; dynamic zero-COVID led to three years of lockdowns; the economy collapsed, people struggled to survive; real estate bubble burst, local debts skyrocketed; youth unemployment reached 20%; the White Paper Revolution with boiling public resentment; wolf warrior diplomacy creating enemies everywhere; using the power of the whole nation to silence public opinion, fooling the people and fostering xenophobia to achieve the status of an emperor for eternity. This is exactly: Governing the country is like flipping a big pancake,
With wolf warriors and little pinks as soldiers under command.
Always accelerating in reverse,
The number one idiot Xi Jinping! (Audience applauds enthusiastically and shouts in unison: The number one idiot Xi Jinping!)
- Taiwanese comedian Huang Yihao’s xiangsheng routine mocks Xi Jinping’s policies like COVID lockdowns, Hong Kong’s security law, and term-limit abolition, delivered in traditional crosstalk style with exaggerated gestures and props for comedic effect.
- The skit, shared widely on X since December 21, 2025, highlights Taiwan’s press freedoms, contrasting mainland China’s 2023 crackdown on similar satire that fined a comedian’s firm $3.1 million for a military slogan joke.
- Online reactions split along political lines: pro-independence users hail its boldness and superior humor to censored Chinese acts, while some critics decry the Taiwanese accent as disqualifying it from true xiangsheng tradition.
Chinese Crosstalk Tradition
Xiangsheng, commonly known as crosstalk, is a traditional Chinese comedic performing art that originated in the late Qing Dynasty, with roots potentially extending back to the Ming Dynasty. It is typically performed as a dialogue between two performers, though it can also be a monologue or a group act. The art form is characterized by rapid, bantering exchanges rich in puns, wordplay, and allusions, often delivered in the Tianjin dialect or with a strong northern Chinese accent. The term “xiangsheng” literally means “face and voice,” reflecting the interplay between the performers’ expressions and vocal delivery.
The performance relies on four core skills: speaking (shuō), which involves storytelling and joke-telling; imitating (xué), including accents, dialects, and sounds from traditional Chinese opera; teasing (dòu), considered the soul of the act; and singing (chàng), limited to specific lyrical forms like Taiping lyrics The lead performer is called the dougen (逗哏), while the supporting performer is the penggen (捧哏) Historically, xiangsheng began as street performance in teahouses and public spaces, particularly in regions like Beijing’s Tianqiao, Tianjin’s Quanyechang, and Nanjing’s Confucius Temple
After the establishment of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, xiangsheng was repositioned as a proletarian art form and became a tool for promoting Mandarin Chinese. It experienced a resurgence during the 1980s, becoming a staple of the annual CCTV New Year’s Gala, though it faced a decline in the 1990s due to political sensitivities and the rise of television sketch comedy (xiaopin). The genre was revitalized in the 1990s by Guo Degang, who founded the Deyun Society and brought xiangsheng back into theaters, appealing to younger audiences through modernized scripts, internet slang, and social media. This revival has led to a significant shift in audience demographics, with young women now making up a large portion of the crowd, often behaving like fans of pop idols.
Despite its popularity, the genre faces criticism from traditionalists who argue that commercialization and celebrity culture have compromised performance quality. Some performers have also faced backlash for controversial jokes, such as one involving the 2008 Wenchuan Earthquake, prompting official intervention In response, efforts have been made to professionalize training, including the establishment of the Deyun Institute in collaboration with a university. Xiangsheng continues to evolve, with new variety shows like “Qingchun Shouyiren” highlighting young performers and integrating modern themes to maintain relevance. Notably, women are increasingly participating in the traditionally male-dominated art form, challenging long-standing conventions.
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