Dashan Became China's Foreign Superstar

Canadian comedian and television personality Mark Rowswell, better known by his stage name Dashan, became one of China's best-known foreign entertainers and has often been described as the country's most famous foreigner, despite remaining largely unknown in North America. His breakthrough came in 1988, when his fluent Mandarin performance in a comedy skit on CCTV's New Year's Gala, watched by an estimated 550 million people, propelled him to national stardom overnight. He later studied the traditional Chinese comedy form xiangsheng and, in December 1989, became the first foreigner formally accepted into its strict performance hierarchy.

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