By Wang Yufeng

Zhou Libo. Photo: Courtesy of Zhou Libo

With his signature slicked-back parted hair and flashy suits, comedian Zhou Libo, has made a name for himself in Shanghai with his unique style of haipaiqingkou, loosely translated as "clean talk about Shanghai," in which he mixes Shanghainese and putonghua to comment on major issues currently facing the public.

Zhou's shows, such as Comments on Shanghai and Crazy for Money, almost always play to packed houses. Since 2006, he has gone from selling out 200-seat rooms to 3,700-seat theaters. "I have organized many shows, but have never seen anything like it. Every one of his 132 shows has played to a full house," said Yu Shuqin, the general manager of Shanghai Yanyi Co. Ltd., Zhou's booking agent.

Zhou's nonstop three-hour shows, which feature characteristics of both cross-talk and stand-up comedy, has won him millions of fans, but also his share of detractors - especially from northern China - at a time when he was trying to spread his act to audiences outside of Shanghai.

Capitalizing on coffee and garlic

Zhou had been a popular comedian in the 1980s, but had to leave the stage after he was jailed following a fight with his then girlfriend's father (now his father in-law), who was trying to stop Zhou from marrying his daughter.

Zhou spent about six months in jail because of the incident, and decided to leave the stage to go into the business world. But eventually, he felt the pull to return.

"The stage, however, never left my heart and after I got tired of business I decided to return and bring something new to my act," Zhou told the Global Times as he lit a cigar during an interview in his office.

With his penchant for exaggeration, in both words and gestures, Zhou has a reputation for speaking his mind about current events and the minutia of daily life, which has greatly appealed to audiences.

However, parts of his act, especially the comparison between northern and southern Chinese, has not always been appreciated. Zhou likes to draw distinctions between the two cultures. He has called southern culture, especially that in Shanghai, "coffee culture," highlighting what he considers the region's more cosmopolitan attributes. At the same time, he has referred to northern culture as "garlic culture."

"Northern people who like eating garlic emit a smell that others have to bear, but on the contrary, the coffee that we Shanghainese drink tastes bitter but makes the air around us fragrant for others," Zhou said during one of his shows after joking about a rumor that he and renowned northern comedian Guo Degang would perform together.

"How can a man who is fond of coffee work with a man who is fond of garlic?" Zhou said.

Zhou's dismissal angered some comedy fans, who presumed that he had implied that Guo's comedy was lowbrow.

Some Internet denizens said that Zhou was simply catering to his main audience, but others criticized him for his arrogance. Guo later responded during one of his shows that "any comedian who calls a peer 'lowbrow' is doing it out of jealousy."

During his interview, Zhou reiterated that the remark was just a joke. "I have no prejudice against northerners," he said, as the cigar smoke began to cloud his face.

Even for some of his northern fans, Zhou's response was offensive. "Although I am a northerner, I like your act, but this time you have gone too far," one Internet user commented on one of his performances.

Zhou denied that garlic means lowbrow and coffee means highbrow.

"They just represent the Eastern and Western culture; Confucius, the great educator, as all northern people, liked to eat garlic. Can we really say that he was lowbrow?"

Zhou has also been criticized for his style, especially when he mimics women with a limp wrist and car-toonish high-pitched voice. He said that he doesn't pay much attention to it.

"Some people like you; some people dislike you, that's life," he said.

Still, Zhou insists on reading Internet users' comments about him, something he said many of his celebrity friends don't have the stomach for. Instead, Zhou studies netizens' criticism to get material for future shows.

"I have a thick skin, so I can laugh it off," he said.

Building a new audience

Along with Internet comments, Zhou said he reads about 15 newspapers and magazines each day to keep up on the world. "My goal is not to be a clown, but a wise man who can make audience laugh with his wit and wisdom."

Zhou plans to perform more outside Shanghai to build a northern - as well as a national - audience, something he had said he would never do. "There are huge differences between northern and southern culture; one represents the Yellow River civilization, the other Yangtze River civilization. One should know himself well, and never engage in blind cultural expansion," he said in a past show.

But now he said his plans have changed. "We can not predict the future," he said as he leaned forward and waved away the smoke wafting upward.

Still many doubt how well Zhou's act will play for a national audience, considering how heavily he relies on the Shanghai dialect.

"Sure, the Shanghai dialect has helped me express some of my ideas," he said. "But actually, my ideas and wisdom are what make me popular, not my dialect, which only accounts for about 40 percent of my act."

In 2008, he gave up Shanghainese to do "Weekly Libo Talk Show" on Shanghai Dragon TV, which was well received in Shanghai. This year, he went to Beijing to do a show with the famous symphony director Yu Long.

"The essence of haipaiqingkou is humor, irony, creativity and the ability to talk off the cuff," Zhou said.

Zhou has no plan to change another of his habits that is often criticized, reading from an outline during his performance, which is something that other comedians never do, especially in cross-talk, a style of comedy popular in Beijing that features two comedians.

"My act is timelier and much longer than a typical crosstalk show," he said. "It is very difficult to memorize the entire three hours."

With the new goal of entering the national market, especially the northern market, he is not worried about the ire of northerners and claims he will not change his style. "I am not acrid, but just frank; I just perform for those who like me and understand my style of comedy."

"God has paid me back for all the ups and downs I have experienced in the past 40 years," said Zhou. "I am content, so I do not want to appease those that dislike me, but just follow my own path."