Ma Sanli


Ma Sanli was a Chinese comedian in the traditional Xiangsheng or "crosstalk" style.

Biography

Ma was born in Beijing; he was of the Hui ethnic group, and the son and grandson of practitioners of Xiangsheng. He was apprenticed to Zhou Deshan in 1929. Ma was a Chinese Muslim.
He came to be noted for avoiding complication in a way that kept his performances accessible to a mass audience. He pursued his art in Tianjin.
He became a widower in 1984. In December 2001, Ma retired from the Xiangsheng profession.
On 11 February 2003, he died in Tianjin after a long battle with cancer.

Works