Chinese Vaudeville

2 min read

If sports are not your wish, then sightseeing is of course another draw and in Liaoning there are ample locations to visit. In both the previous and following sections are descriptions of several key sights and areas of interest. But what about just simple entertainment? For this Liaoning offers a unique cultural performance called er ren zhuan and the best way to describe it would be as Chinese Vaudeville.

Fast becoming recognized as a cultural heritage performing art of Northeast China is er ren zhuan. Rising up from more humble beginnings than traditional opera, this mix of comedy and dance is popular with the local people,a very down-home style of comedy in Liaoning. The act consists of a man and a woman who sing and dance often joking back and forth at each other’s expense. Visually the act is highlighted by fans and most popularly bythe twirling of handkerchiefs not unlike a juggling act. Like many performance arts in China it is highly localized and mostly enjoyed by people from the area as the humor is very regional and the language colloquial. The traditional, culturally significant version of er ren zhuan is pretty different from the more locals-only style and bawdy humor of modern er ren zhuan performances that I was able to attend. What I saw was very funny and even a bit “blue,”far from the performances viewed as part of the CCTV Galas where it is normally seen by people outside of Liaoning.

My first run in with er ren zhuan was at a sauna in Liaoyang. My hotel near the city center advertised a nightly variety show as part of the hot springs sauna attached. Not knowing what to expect and since the advertisement that graced the inside of the elevator had pictures of can-can girls and animals I figured no matter what it turned out to be theexperience was sure to be unique. One evening after the standard trip through all the water therapy on offer inside the hotel sauna I, along with several of my traveling partners, settled into the relaxation room up close to the stage in our oversized reclining chairs.