Hong Kong\u00a0\u2014\u00a0\n <\/p>\n
\n A stand-up comedian, considered one of China\u2019s most influential cultural figures, has been placed under investigation and had performances cancelled after he joked about a communist party song.\n <\/p>\n
\n Guo Degang, China\u2019s best-known comic, was accused of violating public morals after he improvised his own lyrics to a famous Chinese revolutionary song during a performance in Wuhan at the end of July.\n <\/p>\n
\n He was reported to the city\u2019s Culture and Tourism Bureau by a complainant who said he had \u201cnot only distorted and vulgarized a classic revolutionary work, but also violated public morals and accepted standards of conduct,\u201d according to a screenshot of the letter published by state-affiliated media thePaper.\n <\/p>\n
\n Guo\u2019s trouble underscores the delicate line comedians must tread in highly censored China, especially as its ruling communist party steps up its ideological drive.\n <\/p>\n
\n The song in question, \u201cPlaying my beloved pipa,\u201d is said to capture the resilient spirit of communist guerrilla forces fighting the Japanese during the Sino-Japanese war. It was featured in a famous 1950s Chinese movie called Railroad Guerrillas, and in 2019 was one of 100 songs chosen to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People\u2019s Republic of China.\n <\/p>\n
\n The original lyrics are: \u201cThe sun is about to set in the west; all is quiet on Weishan lake.\u201d But Guo adapted the second part to instead say \u201call is quiet in the Forbidden City,\u201d and performed the song in a comedic style.\n <\/p>\n
\n The mention of the Forbidden City \u2013\u2013 the sprawling palace complex in the heart of Beijing that served as the seat of power for China\u2019s imperial rulers for hundreds of years \u2013\u2013 could be politically sensitive in China because of its close historical association with whoever is in power.\n <\/p>\n
\n The Wuhan Culture and Tourism bureau said, \u201cthe adapted portion performed by Guo Degang was not included in the materials submitted for prior approval and is suspected of violating the Regulations on the Administration of Commercial Performances,\u201d reported thePaper.\n <\/p>\n
\n The bureau confirmed to CNN that its investigation into Guo was ongoing, adding that they do not know when the results will be announced.\n <\/p>\n
\n CNN has reached out to Guo for comment.\n <\/p>\n
\n Guo had been on a nationwide tour to celebrate his theatre group\u2019s 10th anniversary, but CNN has learned that some of his later performances have been cancelled.\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cThere is no date or plan for a possible return. Ticket holders will be refunded automatically,\u201d said a worker from Xi\u2019an Chanba Poly Grand Theater, where Guo was scheduled to perform this week.\n <\/p>\n
\n Guo is credited with reviving a type of traditional Chinese comedy called crosstalk and is a household name in China. Along with several renowned Peking opera artists, he founded the Qilin theatre company to help promote lesser-known traditional Chinese art forms to a broader audience.\n <\/p>\n
\n The news the beloved star is under investigation has become one of the most discussed topics in Chinese social media.\n <\/p>\n
\n Some internet users think he should be punished for altering red (communist) songs, with one user saying that \u201cart is to serve the people, if people don\u2019t like it then please do not make such art.\u201d Though some users on China\u2019s tightly censored social media platforms suggested the officials were being \u201coversensitive.\u201d\n <\/p>\n
\n Performers in China are facing an increasingly limited space for artistic expression, as the communist party aims to bring China\u2019s online, celebrity and media in line with the doctrines of \u201cXi Jinping\u2019s Thought.\u201d\n <\/p>\n
\n It is not the first time that artists have faced backlash, or even the end of their career, for saying the wrong thing.\n <\/p>\n
\n Three years ago, Chinese stand-up comedian Li Haoshi was fined 14.7 million yuan ($2 million) in 2023 after he used a phrase associated with the People\u2019s Liberation Army (PLA) when he told a story about two stray dogs.\n <\/p>\n
\n After his joke prompted anger from officials, Li apologized. But he was banned from performing indefinitely, and he has not been seen in public since.\n <\/p>\n
\n In 2022, comic Li Bo was fined 50,000 yuan ($7,400) for joking about the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown in Shanghai and teasing teenagers.\n <\/p>\n
\n CNN\u2019s Shuai Zhang contributed to the reporting.\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Hong Kong\u00a0\u2014\u00a0 A stand-up comedian, considered one of China\u2019s most influential cultural figures, has been placed under investigation…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":588208,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[146,85,46],"class_list":["post-588207","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-entertainment","tag-il","tag-israel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/588207","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=588207"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/588207\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/588208"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=588207"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=588207"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=588207"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}