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In Canada in 1984, 19-year-old Mark Henry Rothwell accidentally fell in love with Chinese while working part-time in a photo studio. This blonde high school student, with curiosity about oriental culture, began his journey of learning Chinese.
However, as a beginner, he almost annoyed a Chinese customer when he tried to use his newly learned Cantonese.
From Toronto to Beijing, from university classrooms to the stage of the Spring Festival Gala, Mark's journey to China is legendary. Not only did he become Jiang Kun's cross talk disciple, but he also appeared on the CCTV Spring Festival Gala many times, and even created his own talk show.
How did this Canadian guy grow step by step into a high-profile "China expert"? His story is a vivid epitome of cultural exchange between China and the West.
Mark Henry Rothwell's love for Chinese began with a seemingly ordinary part-time job experience. In 1984, at the age of 19, he worked part-time at a photo studio with a colleague from Guangdong.
This enthusiastic young Chinese saw that Mark had developed a strong interest in Chinese, so he did not hesitate to teach him a few simple Cantonese words.
Passionate, Mark couldn't wait to put his newfound language skills into practice. When a Chinese customer walks into the store, he immediately tries to use the words he has just mastered.
However, the path to language learning is never easy. When Mark innocently said the Cantonese slang phrase "your lungs", the originally kind customer instantly changed his face.
This embarrassing experience not only did not extinguish Mark's enthusiasm for learning Chinese, but instead stimulated his stronger desire for knowledge.
With an infinite yearning for Chinese culture, Mark resolutely chose the Department of East Asian Studies at the University of Toronto, majoring in Chinese Studies and minoring in Chinese Language and Literature. In order to show his love for Chinese, he even gave himself a rather creative Chinese name - "shredded meat".
Although the name baffled his mentor, it also exemplified Mark's unique understanding and love for Chinese.
Mark's linguistic talent is breathtaking. In just over a year, he has conquered what is known as one of the most difficult languages in the world to learn. At the age of 23, with a full scholarship, Mark embarked on a flight to Beijing and became an exchange student majoring in Chinese and Chinese literature at Peking University.
In China in the 1980s, a foreigner so obsessed with the Chinese language was undoubtedly striking. Mark's fluency in standard Mandarin quickly made him stand out on many occasions, the most representative of which was his wonderful performance at the CCTV New Year's Day party.
In this performance, he played a character named Xu Dashan, and the name "Dashan" has been closely associated with him since then.
For the new name, Mark was quite satisfied. He humorously said: "Although it is slightly more cheesy than Jianhua, it is more elegant than a name like Ergouzi!" This witty and humorous attitude also became one of the important factors in the future success of Mark, or "Big Mountain".
From a Canadian high school student who knows nothing about Chinese to a language expert who can speak eloquently on China's highest-profile TV shows, Dashan's journey to learning Chinese is full of sweat, laughter and a deep love for Chinese culture.
This experience not only changed the trajectory of his life, but also laid a solid foundation for him to become an ambassador of cultural exchanges between China and Canada in the future.
Dashan's talent soon attracted the attention of Jiang Kun, a giant in the Chinese cross talk industry. As a top representative of traditional cross talk, Jiang Kun has a good eye and accepts this unique foreign disciple.
Under Jiang Kun's disciple, Dashan became the first foreign actor in the history of the cross talk family, which not only broke the tradition, but also injected new vitality into Chinese cross talk.
Although he is not as good as Jiang Kun's other high-achieving apprentices in terms of academic qualifications, such as Li Hongye, a doctor from Shanghai Jiao Tong University, who is known as the father of formula cross talk, Dashan's unique identity and natural sense of humor have become his unrivaled advantages.
His fluency in standard Mandarin coupled with his deep understanding of Chinese culture has made him show an amazing talent in the language art of cross talk.
Oyama's ability to handle tongue twisters with ease, language skills that can be challenging even for native speakers, are at ease in his performances.
His cross talk is not only pure in language, but also full of unique insights into the differences between Chinese and Western cultures, which makes his performance both humorous and in-depth.
In order to push Dashan to a broader stage, Master Jiang Kun led him to perform all over the world. Dashan's talent has been widely recognized, and he has appeared in the Spring Festival Gala four times to perform cross talk sketches, which has become a unique landscape on the stage of the Spring Festival Gala.
In addition to cross talk, Dashan also participated in the filming of many film and television works, further expanding his influence.
In 2015, Dashan launched his own talk show "Dashan Kan Dashan", creating his own era of stand-up comedy. In this program, he skillfully integrates his own experience in China into the joke, showing the collision and integration of Chinese and Western cultures in a humorous way.
This unique form of performance quickly won the love of the audience and became another peak of Dashan's artistic career.
However, it is worth noting that Dashan did not make cross talk his main business. After graduating from Peking University in 1991, he worked as a public affairs officer at the Canadian Embassy in Beijing, playing a bridging role for cultural exchanges between China and Canada.
In addition to his busy diplomatic work, he still insists on bringing joy to the audience on major stages, and this dedication and love for art cannot help but make people respect him.
Dashan's success stems not only from his talent for language and sense of humor, but also from his sincere love and deep understanding of Chinese culture. He once humbly said: "I don't think I am such a great comedian, but in the context of that special era, I am willing to take on the important role of a cultural exchange messenger as a symbolic symbol."
This humble attitude and the consciousness of the cultural envoy make the image of Dashan in the hearts of the audience more three-dimensional and amiable. He not only brought laughter to people, but also built a bridge between Chinese and Western cultures in his own way.
Dashan's cross talk career is not only a successful story of a foreigner in the field of Chinese culture, but also a moving chapter that transcends cultural boundaries and promotes Sino-foreign exchanges.
In the wonderful trip to China, love is like a spring breeze, quietly descending. In 1990, in Liaoning Province in northeastern China, Dashan met his beloved, Gan Lin.
This cross-cultural romance adds a romantic touch to the Chinese story of Dashan.
Despite his busy work, Dashan, who is also a diplomat and a cross talk actor, can always find time in his busy schedule and give Gan Lin meticulous care. In that era when communication technology was not yet developed, Dashan was still able to maintain a sweet connection with Gan Lin in addition to his busy work, and this dedication was touching.
Their relationship heated up rapidly, and only three years later, in 1993, the two entered the palace of marriage hand in hand. After marriage, Dashan devoted himself to his new family life.
In just five years, they have two lovely children and fulfilled their wish for a happy family.
After becoming a "Chinese son-in-law", Dashan's position in the hearts of Chinese audiences has become more and more stable. He often humorously laughed at himself: "I forgot my mother after marrying my daughter-in-law, and now I am about to forget my surname."
This self-deprecation not only shows his sense of humor, but also his deep identification with Chinese culture.
The depth of his affection for China was on full display at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. When asked why he wore a Chinese journalist card, Dashan replied firmly: "I have always been on China's side!" This sentence not only expresses his deep affection for China, but also shows his sense of responsibility as a cultural envoy.
Dashan's marriage is not only a union of two people, but also a blend of two cultures. Through this cross-border marriage, Dashan gained a deeper understanding of Chinese family culture and social customs, and these experiences provided rich materials for his cross talk creation, and also allowed him to go further on the road of cultural exchange.
His story is a vivid portrayal of the fusion of Chinese and Western cultures, interpreting the true meaning of love without borders.
Dashan's deep affection for China has long been flowing in his blood. As he delves deeper into his family history, a little-known Chinese past emerges, and one marvels at the wonderful arrangement of fate.
The story goes back to 1906, when the Church of Canada launched a generous donation campaign to help build a church hospital in China. This act of kindness has forged an indissoluble bond between the Dashan family and China.
In 1923, Dashan's grandfather, Lao Luo, was appointed by the church to cross the ocean to China. After undergoing rigorous training in Beijing, Lao Luo was sent to Shangqiu, Henan Province, to work as a doctor.
In China, he is affectionately known as "Dr. Rao".
This discovery surprised Dashan and gave him a deeper understanding of his fate with China. It wasn't until 2001 that people suddenly realized that Dr. Rao had worked in St. Paul's Hospital, the predecessor of the First People's Hospital of Shangqiu City.
He selflessly helped the Chinese people during that turbulent era, winning the respect and love of the local residents.
In order to commemorate Dr. Rao's contribution, the Shangqiu Municipal Government invited Dashan to serve as the "Image Ambassador of the Ancient City". In 2012, Dashan was honored as a China-Canada Goodwill Ambassador.
As the People's Daily commented: "Although Uncle Rao is a foreigner, he is not an outsider. This sentence is not only a praise for Dr. Rao, but also an apt description of Dashan's status in China.
This family story not only deepened Dashan's feelings for China, but also strengthened his determination to become a cultural envoy. He deeply felt that he was not only inheriting the spirit of his grandfather, but also continuing the deep friendship between the two peoples.
Dashan's story extends from personal fate to family origins, showing the friendship between China and Canada for more than a century, and also adding a deeper foundation to his identity as a "China expert".
With China's rapid development and increasing international influence, "China experts" like Dashan are no longer rare. However, this did not stop Dashan, but prompted him to start a new journey of cultural exchange.
In the face of the changes of the times, Dashan has chosen an innovative way to continue its cultural mission - reverse output. He decided to return to his homeland and used his 30 years of experience in China as the material for his creation, carefully crafting a vibrant and interesting stand-up comedy.
This decision marked a shift in Dashan's role from introducing Western culture to Western audiences to showing the charm of Chinese culture to Western audiences.
Daisen's overseas tour received an enthusiastic response. Although abroad, his performances are called "talk shows", Oyama has always insisted on calling them "stand-up comedy".
This insistence not only reflects his respect for traditional Chinese culture, but also demonstrates his sense of responsibility as a cultural envoy.
In 2019, Dashan once again appeared on the stage of the Spring Festival Gala, but this time at the 6th Overseas Spring Festival Gala. He brought a long-lost stand-up comedy performance to the overseas Chinese in a foreign country, vividly depicting China's customs and arousing the homesickness of countless wanderers.
This performance not only made overseas Chinese feel the warmth of the motherland, but also made Dashan re-examine his role as a cultural envoy.
Today, at the age of 57, Oyama's sideburns are slightly white, but he is still active on stages around the world. He continues to tell the story of his wonderful experiences in China with the unique comedy art form he learned in China, playing the role of a cultural exchange envoy.
Oyama often said, "As long as we always uphold the heart of peace and fraternity, then the people of all countries in the world should become a harmonious and harmonious family." This may be the ultimate goal of Dashan's lifelong commitment to cultural exchanges between China and the West, and it is also his greatest value as a "China expert".
The story of Dashan, from the original language learner, to the cross talk actor, to the cultural ambassador, has now opened a new chapter. His experience is not only a personal growth, but also a microcosm of cultural exchanges between China and the West, interpreting the meaning and value of cultural envoys in the new era.
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