In China, a new class of female comics isn't holding back on the punchlines. Hear their story through the VogueGlobalWomen series
—the competition show credited for not only popularizing stand-up comedy in China, but also for bringing several female comedians into the spotlight.
to then Vice President Joe Biden during a Radio & Television Correspondents’ Association dinner. Yet it largely remained a niche movement until 2017, when Chinese tech giant Tencent releasedon its streaming platform and viewership skyrocketed. By the end of the first season, the series had reached over 1.38 billion views, with some episodes being watched over 200 million times.While stand-up is a newer phenomenon, comedic art forms have a storied place in China’s culture.
Comedy nights were once only found in major cosmopolitan hubs, but “now, even small cities in Dongbei, where I’m from, have [them].” Xueqin says. When Tony Chou, a comedy club organizer, hosted a boot camp for comics in June 2021, around a third of participants were women. “In 2014, there were only two comedy clubs in Beijing,” he says. “On one Saturday night earlier this year, there were nearly 80 events happening in the city.
The best comedy, of course, is always drawn from hard truths. Xueqin’s story about being a “Bei Piao” , for example, spoke to an experience shared by millions of young people across the country who dream of working in the big cities, only to be driven home again by the insurmountable cost of living.