The earliest xiangsheng comedian
known by name is Zhang Sanlu, who performed in the mid nineteenth century.
After the widespread use of Mandarin from 1949, the popularity of xiangsheng increased
throughout the People’s Republic of China. It is a standard feature of
CCTV’s annual Spring Festival television program and other popular performing
arts shows in China
. Modern xiangsheng is made
up of four skills-speaking, imitating, teasing, and singing.
Xiangsheng can be
performed by one person( solo comic talk), two players (comic dialogue ), and
three or more people( group cross-talk), with the comic dialogue by two players
being the main form of performance. In a comic dialogue, as a rule, the leading
actor, helped by the supporting actor, provokes laughter of the audience with
funny remarks. Due to its humor, sarcasm and unique aesthetic effects, Xiangsheng has
spread far and wide. Vernacular Xiangsheng or Xiangsheng performed in ethnic
languages, such as Tibetan Xiangsheng, has appeared in remote regions and areas
inhabited by ethnic minorities. Furthermore, Xiangsheng has been introduced
abroad and becomes popular in Southeast Asia including Burma, Singapore
and Malaysia.
中国相声起源于北京，是一种以说笑话、滑稽问答、说唱等引起观众发笑的曲艺形式。目前见于文字记载最早的相声艺人是清朝（19世纪中叶）的张三禄。新中国成立后，随着普通话的推广与传播，相声开始流行于全国各地。
相声根据演员人数一般可分为三种：单口相声，是一个演员表演的长短笑话。对口相声，是两个演员表演的，叙述人甲称“逗哏（gen）”，辅助对话的乙称“捧哏”，表演时，依据甲乙二人说话表演内容的轻重与语言风格的不同，又可分为“一头沉”、“子母哏”和“贯口活”三类。群口相声，是三个以上演员共同表演的，甲称“逗哏”，乙称“捧哏”，丙等称“腻缝”。
相声演员要达到高超的表演技能，一般需具备说、学、逗、唱四大基本功。“说”指的就是讲故事，还有说话和铺垫的方式。 “学”则指模仿各种人物、方言、和其他声音，学唱戏曲的名家名段，现代也有学唱歌，跳舞。 “逗”就是制造笑料。 而“唱”则经常被认为是唱戏，唱歌。随着相声的推广，相声不仅融入了现代的特色和风格，各地也盛行着以当地方言说的“方言相声”。另外，相声还蜚声海外，尤其是东南亚的缅甸、新加坡、马来西亚等地，广受当地人的喜爱。
