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With American talk shows gaining popularity in China， Guo Xiaohui， a talk-show lover and researcher on stateside politics and culture living in Beijing， is rendering subtitles of programs such as The Daily Show and The Colbert Report into Chinese and posting China-related pieces on his Weibo and Tencent microblogs， which have 153，500 followers combined to date.
Guo became interested in American humor after reading a book called Humor Quotation 20 years ago. He said reading such books not only improved his English， but also helped him understand American culture. Later， he was exposed to American talk shows and their way of satirizing politics aroused his interest. Since last year， he has been translating subtitles of such shows， posting an episode every few days. The talk shows he focuses on are mainly based on political topics.
“It takes me more than two hours to translate a five-minute episode because as a Chinese without much knowledge of American politics， I have to Google cultural background. Otherwise， I won’t be able to do a good job，” Guo said.
In addition to rendering subtitles into Chinese， Guo also explains American audience reactions by including additional details on screen.
“It’s a process of learning，” the translator， 45， added.
American talk shows in China
Guo is not alone in introducing American talk shows to China. A netizen named Gudabaihua has been engaged in the same venture， attracting over 500，000 followers on his microblog.
However， due to cultural differences， American talk shows are obviously not as popular in China as they are back home.
“Without enough background knowledge， Chinese audiences may not find such talk shows funny at all，” Guo said.
Even Chinese American comedian Joe Wong was not well received by the Chinese. Wong headlined the annual dinner hosted by Radio and Television Correspondents’Association in 2010 and is now a popular comedian in the United States. But when he performed at a theater in Beijing in 2008， much of the crowd couldn’t understand his jokes.
“An American audience laughs when the comedian makes fun of himself， however， Chinese counterparts don’t find it funny at all，”Wong said. He recalled that his Beijing audience struggled to understand his jokes throughout the show， with serious and perplexed expressions on their faces.
At the start of one of his shows， Wong says he is Irish， which gets a laugh out of American audiences. However， Chinese netizens fail to grasp the humor. Guo said the group of American talk-show viewers in China is still small. However， in recent years， with an increased English learning frenzy among local youth and exposure to Western culture， the number is expanding.
Gudabaihua currently receives hundreds of comments each time he posts an episode online.
In Beijing， stand-up comedy shows are put on at clubs located deep in hutongs. Hot Cat Club is one popular venue. Performances are staged by both foreign and Chinese comedians. Tony Zhou， who works as a journalist for China Central Television during the day， performs English shows at the club at night.
Compared to Chinese “cross talks，” where comedians tell stories irrelevant to themselves， Western-style sometimes talk shows are more personalized， with performers sharing their real life experiences or observations with the audience， Zhou explained.
A big dream
Guo majored in international trade at university， subsequently working for an automobile dealership that sells imported cars. However， he quit six years ago and has since focused exclusively on American culture studies.
“I earned a lot of money working at the dealership， but found myself unhappy in life. I had to follow my heart and do something that I love，” he said.
The translator spends more than seven hours each day studying American politics， religion and philosophy by reading books on related topics， while translating talk shows accounts for only a small proportion of his daily engagement.
The motivation behind his hard work lies in his dream to become a guest on an American talk show one day.
Although some Chinese envy American ways of expression， Guo said the U.S. political system is not without defects， which is evident in stateside talk shows.
A conservative anchor would look for the contradictions in a liberal’s speeches and make fun of such incoherence to entertain the audience， and vice versa. As a result， no problems can be solved. It’s the same with democrats and republicans. In their debates， both stick to their own ways of thinking， with neither party capable of convincing the other.
In order to make his ideas better suited to a possible Western audience， Guo watches American talk shows and reads interesting quotations to improve his own sense of humor.
“If I convey my ideas in a humorous way， people would feel more inclined to consider what I have to say，” he explained. Guo’s dream sounds unrealistic because it is not easy for a Chinese person to gain an opportunity to appear on an American talk show. First， he must speak fluent English； second， he needs to have a sense of humor that locals can understand.
Wong’s success as a standup comedian in the United States is very rare. He earned a Ph.D. in biochemistry at Rice University in the 1990s. When many of his Chinese classmates secured a teaching position at American universities， Wong chose to become a comedian because of his interest in humor. He said Chinese professors are common in the United States， but that Chinese seldom appear in American media. He wanted to make a breakthrough by telling immigrant stories in a funny way.
Guo knows it is not easy to copy Wong’s success. In addition， he said they differ in that his purpose is not to make people laugh， but to introduce the Chinese way of thinking into American politics.
“To achieve my purpose will be tough. Nevertheless， I will persist in the pursuit of my dreams，” he said.
Guo became interested in American humor after reading a book called Humor Quotation 20 years ago. He said reading such books not only improved his English， but also helped him understand American culture. Later， he was exposed to American talk shows and their way of satirizing politics aroused his interest. Since last year， he has been translating subtitles of such shows， posting an episode every few days. The talk shows he focuses on are mainly based on political topics.
“It takes me more than two hours to translate a five-minute episode because as a Chinese without much knowledge of American politics， I have to Google cultural background. Otherwise， I won’t be able to do a good job，” Guo said.
In addition to rendering subtitles into Chinese， Guo also explains American audience reactions by including additional details on screen.
“It’s a process of learning，” the translator， 45， added.
American talk shows in China
Guo is not alone in introducing American talk shows to China. A netizen named Gudabaihua has been engaged in the same venture， attracting over 500，000 followers on his microblog.
However， due to cultural differences， American talk shows are obviously not as popular in China as they are back home.
“Without enough background knowledge， Chinese audiences may not find such talk shows funny at all，” Guo said.
Even Chinese American comedian Joe Wong was not well received by the Chinese. Wong headlined the annual dinner hosted by Radio and Television Correspondents’Association in 2010 and is now a popular comedian in the United States. But when he performed at a theater in Beijing in 2008， much of the crowd couldn’t understand his jokes.
“An American audience laughs when the comedian makes fun of himself， however， Chinese counterparts don’t find it funny at all，”Wong said. He recalled that his Beijing audience struggled to understand his jokes throughout the show， with serious and perplexed expressions on their faces.
At the start of one of his shows， Wong says he is Irish， which gets a laugh out of American audiences. However， Chinese netizens fail to grasp the humor. Guo said the group of American talk-show viewers in China is still small. However， in recent years， with an increased English learning frenzy among local youth and exposure to Western culture， the number is expanding.
Gudabaihua currently receives hundreds of comments each time he posts an episode online.
In Beijing， stand-up comedy shows are put on at clubs located deep in hutongs. Hot Cat Club is one popular venue. Performances are staged by both foreign and Chinese comedians. Tony Zhou， who works as a journalist for China Central Television during the day， performs English shows at the club at night.
Compared to Chinese “cross talks，” where comedians tell stories irrelevant to themselves， Western-style sometimes talk shows are more personalized， with performers sharing their real life experiences or observations with the audience， Zhou explained.
A big dream
Guo majored in international trade at university， subsequently working for an automobile dealership that sells imported cars. However， he quit six years ago and has since focused exclusively on American culture studies.
“I earned a lot of money working at the dealership， but found myself unhappy in life. I had to follow my heart and do something that I love，” he said.
The translator spends more than seven hours each day studying American politics， religion and philosophy by reading books on related topics， while translating talk shows accounts for only a small proportion of his daily engagement.
The motivation behind his hard work lies in his dream to become a guest on an American talk show one day.
Although some Chinese envy American ways of expression， Guo said the U.S. political system is not without defects， which is evident in stateside talk shows.
A conservative anchor would look for the contradictions in a liberal’s speeches and make fun of such incoherence to entertain the audience， and vice versa. As a result， no problems can be solved. It’s the same with democrats and republicans. In their debates， both stick to their own ways of thinking， with neither party capable of convincing the other.
In order to make his ideas better suited to a possible Western audience， Guo watches American talk shows and reads interesting quotations to improve his own sense of humor.
“If I convey my ideas in a humorous way， people would feel more inclined to consider what I have to say，” he explained. Guo’s dream sounds unrealistic because it is not easy for a Chinese person to gain an opportunity to appear on an American talk show. First， he must speak fluent English； second， he needs to have a sense of humor that locals can understand.
Wong’s success as a standup comedian in the United States is very rare. He earned a Ph.D. in biochemistry at Rice University in the 1990s. When many of his Chinese classmates secured a teaching position at American universities， Wong chose to become a comedian because of his interest in humor. He said Chinese professors are common in the United States， but that Chinese seldom appear in American media. He wanted to make a breakthrough by telling immigrant stories in a funny way.
Guo knows it is not easy to copy Wong’s success. In addition， he said they differ in that his purpose is not to make people laugh， but to introduce the Chinese way of thinking into American politics.
“To achieve my purpose will be tough. Nevertheless， I will persist in the pursuit of my dreams，” he said.