導讀
楊笠時常在《脫口秀大會》上調侃男性，例如「男生那麼普通，卻那麼自信」，受到許多歡迎，也遭到了一定的抵制。事實上，脫口秀這種原產自西方的喜劇形式，向來以調侃冒犯觀眾和權威為主，但是在一些話題上，還是可能讓一些國內觀眾感到不適和被冒犯。作為「舶來品」的脫口秀映照出了哪些中西方文化的差異？
Yang Li: The 'punchline queen' who offended Chinese men
楊笠：冒犯了中國男性的「笑點女王」
By Zhaoyin Feng and Yitsing Wang
China's "Punchline Queen" Yang Li is no stranger to controversy.
楊笠被稱為中國的「笑點女王」，她不是頭一回陷入爭議了。
The 29-year-old is now one of the country's most well-known comedians, having risen to fame in recent months on a Chinese television show called "Rock and Roast".
29歲的楊笠，是中國當下最火的喜劇演員之一，她近期走紅於一檔叫做《脫口秀大會》的綜藝節目。
Every week, in front of a national audience of millions, she addresses controversial gender issues using a style unfamiliar to many Chinese viewers - stand-up comedy.
每周，她都會在數百萬的全國觀眾面前，用單口喜劇這種很多中國觀眾還不大熟悉的形式，探討頗具爭議的性別問題。
She's attracted a huge following, but her punchlines haven't landed well with everyone - and now Yang is facing the biggest backlash of her career.
她吸引了大批粉絲，但她段子中的笑點也不是人人都買帳，眼下，楊笠正面臨著她職業生涯中遇到過的最強烈抵制。
In a December episode she talked about telling a male comedian her new jokes. He replied that she was "testing men's limits".
在12月份的一期節目中，楊笠談到她給一位男性喜劇演員講了她的新段子。他評價說楊笠是在「挑戰男人的底線」。
"Do men even have limits?" Yang sarcastically asked, triggering a fresh wave of criticism.
「男人還有底線呢？」楊笠調侃地問道，這引發了新一輪的批評浪潮。
There is little doubt that Yang's jokes have prompted fresh debate in China, where both the feminist movement and stand-up comedy are relatively new cultural phenomena.
在中國，女權運動和單口喜劇都是相對較新的文化現象。毫無疑問，楊笠的笑話引發了大家新的爭論。
It's not that humour has been absent in Chinese culture.
並不是說中國文化中沒有幽默。
Xiangsheng, China's comedy tradition, has been popular in the country for over a century. In this format, the audience watches and laughs as two comedians poke fun at each other.
相聲，是中國的喜劇傳統，在中國已經流行了一個多世紀了。在這種形式之下，觀眾們看著兩位喜劇演員互相取笑，樂不可支。
But when audience members themselves become the butt of the joke - as they sometimes are in Western stand-up comedy routines - some Chinese may not find it quite so funny.
就像在西方脫口秀中常見的，觀眾有時會成為被調侃的對象，但當這種情形發生在中國觀眾身上時，有些人並不覺得很好笑。
"In the West, stand-up comedy is about challenging and 'offending' the audience, authorities or social norms," Tony Chou, comedian and owner of Beijing comedy club Humour Section, tells the BBC.
Tony Chou 是一名喜劇演員，也是北京脫口秀俱樂部「幽默小區」的老闆，他對BBC記者說道：「在西方，脫口秀很多時候會挑戰和'冒犯'聽眾、權威或社會準則。」
But this is still largely seen as rude or disrespectful by some in China.
但是在中國，有些人仍然認為，這在很大程度上是粗魯或者缺乏尊重的行為。
應版權方要求，此內容僅對英國以外地區開放閱讀。
生詞好句
1.punchline英 [ˈpʌntʃlaɪn] 美 [ˈpʌntʃlaɪn]
n. （笑話或故事最後的）妙趣橫生的語句；畫龍點睛之語（the last few words of a joke or story, that make it funny or surprising）
2.be no stranger to sth. 某事不是第一次發生（to have had a lot of a particular kind of experience）
拓展:
The Western culture is no stranger to superstition, especially during a wedding.
在西方文化中，迷信的現象並不少見，特別是在婚禮中。
be no stranger to controversy 對爭議見怪不怪了
3.controversy英 [ˈkɒntrəvɜːsi kənˈtrɒvəsi] 美 [ˈkɑːntrəvɜːrsi] n. 爭議，爭論
拓展:
create/cause/provoke/spark controversy 引起爭議
His speech caused great controversy. 他的講話引發了極大爭議。
4.rise to fame成名，名聲大振（to become famous）
拓展:
He rose to fame as a TV presenter. 他作為電視節目主持人而聲名遠揚。
5.Rock and Roast《脫口秀大會》
拓展:
rock v. 引發很燃的氣氛（to rouse to excitement as by performing rock music）
roast v. 烤；吐槽（引申義）
roast a chicken 烤一隻雞
Comedy Central Roast 美國喜劇中心頻道Comedy Central的一檔吐槽類節目
roaster 吐槽者；roastee 被吐槽者
talk show 脫口秀（一種談話類的廣播或電視節目）（A television or radio show in which various topics are discussed informally and listeners, viewers, or the studio audience are invited to participate in the discussion.）
stand-up comedy 單口喜劇
6.controversial英 [ˌkɒntrəˈvɜːʃəl] 美 [ˌkɑːntrəˈvɜːrʃəl] adj. 有爭議的（前文controversy的形容詞形式）
拓展:
a controversial issue/topic/subject 具有爭議的話題
highly controversial 極具爭議
Surrogacy is a highly controversial subject. 代孕是一個極具爭議的話題。
7.unfamiliar英 [ʌnfəˈmɪliə] 美 [ˌʌnfəˈmɪliər] adj. 不熟悉的，陌生的
8.land英 [lænd] 美 [lænd]
v. 成功地達成（某種期望的）結果，尤其是在激烈的競爭面前（succeed in obtaining or achieving something desirable, especially in the face of strong competition）；降落，著陸
拓展:
The plane landed safely. 飛機安全著陸了。
She landed the starring role in a new film. 她成功地拿到了新電影中主角的角色。
9.backlash英 [ˈbæklæʃ] 美 [ˈbæklæʃ] n. 抵制
10.episode英 [ˈepɪsəʊd] 美 [ˈepəsoʊd] n. （電視連續劇或無線電廣播劇的）一集，（綜藝節目的）一期
11.sarcastically英 [sɑːˈkæstɪkəli] 美 [sɑːrˈkæstɪkəli] adv. 諷刺地，挖苦地
拓展:
Sarcastic UK /sɑːˈkæstɪk/ US /sɑːrˈkæstɪk/ adj. 諷刺的，挖苦的
sarcastic remark/comment/question 冷嘲熱諷的話/評論/問題
He can’t help making sarcastic comments. 他就是忍不住地要發表一些諷刺的評論。
sarcastic manner 諷刺的方式
sarcastic smile/laugh 諷刺的笑
She speaks with a sarcastic smile. 她說話時，帶著諷刺的微笑。
12.a fresh wave of criticism新一輪的批評浪潮（隱喻）
拓展:
a shower of bullets 一陣彈雨
a blanket of snow 一層厚厚的積雪
13.It’s not that… (but…) 不是因為……（而是……）
拓展:
It’s not that I don’t like this car, but I think it is too expensive. 不是因為我不喜歡這輛車，而是因為它太貴了。
It’s not that..., it’s just that...
It’s not that I don’t love you, it’s just that I want to be free to live my own life. 不是我不愛你，我只是想自由地過我自己的生活。
14.poke fun at sb.（以不友好的方式）取笑別人（to make fun of someone in an unkind way）
拓展:
Some of the kids were poking fun at Judy because of the way she was dressed. 有幾個孩子在取笑朱迪的著裝。
15.be the butt of jokes/criticisms 成為別人取笑或者批評的對象
拓展:
He was sick of being the butt of their jokes. 他受夠了成為他們嘲笑的對象。
16.social norms社會準則
英語原文
Yang Li: The 'punchline queen' who offended Chinese men
By Zhaoyin Feng and Yitsing Wang
@BBC
China's "Punchline Queen" Yang Li is no stranger to controversy.
The 29-year-old is now one of the country's most well-known comedians, having risen to fame in recent months on a Chinese television show called "Rock and Roast".
Every week, in front of a national audience of millions, she addresses controversial gender issues using a style unfamiliar to many Chinese viewers - stand-up comedy.
She's attracted a huge following, but her punchlines haven't landed well with everyone - and now Yang is facing the biggest backlash of her career.
In a December episode she talked about telling a male comedian her new jokes. He replied that she was "testing men's limits".
"Do men even have limits?" Yang sarcastically asked, triggering a fresh wave of criticism.
In recent weeks on social media, male netizens have accused her of "sexism" and "man hating". Meanwhile a group claiming to defend men's rights has called on netizens to report Yang to China's media regulator, alleging her of "repeatedly insulting all men" and "creating gender opposition".
But supporters have defended Yang, saying the male critics are oversensitive and lack a sense of humour.
There is little doubt that Yang's jokes have prompted fresh debate in China, where both the feminist movement and stand-up comedy are relatively new cultural phenomena.
Can China take a joke?
It's not that humour has been absent in Chinese culture.
Xiangsheng, China's comedy tradition, has been popular in the country for over a century. In this format, the audience watches and laughs as two comedians poke fun at each other.
But when audience members themselves become the butt of the joke - as they sometimes are in Western stand-up comedy routines - some Chinese may not find it quite so funny.
"In the West, stand-up comedy is about challenging and 'offending' the audience, authorities or social norms," Tony Chou, comedian and owner of Beijing comedy club Humour Section, tells the BBC.
But this is still largely seen as rude or disrespectful by some in China.
For example, Mr Chou says, a comedian performing at his club was assaulted by an audience member because he'd made a joke about people from Henan province. "The thing was - the comedian was from Henan too," Mr Chou says.
As a result, he says, some comedians tend to hide their personal opinions, not only because of the cultural taboo, but sometimes also because they fear political or commercial repercussions.
Fellow Chinese comedians have been divided over Yang's controversy. In a Weibo post that later became a trending hashtag viewed more than 100 million times, popular comedian Chi Zi said Yang is "not performing true stand-up comedy."
But Chinese-American comedian Joe Wong said he supported Yang as comedy grants a chance to "underprivileged people to poke fun of those who are privileged".
'Militant feminist'
But the deeper issue of this controversy is the difficult path of feminism in China.
Though Yang Li has never publicly announced that she is a feminist, her online critics have coined a new phrase to describe Yang and her tens of thousands of supporters - "militant feminists".
"Nu quan" in Chinese means feminism, or literally, women's rights. Netizens have replaced "quan", which means "rights", with a homophonous character meaning "fist", making it a somewhat derogatory term for feminists.
"The militant feminists are unreasonable, punching fists everywhere and demanding privileges," one of Yang Li's online critics, a 23-year-old college student surnamed Yang (not related to the comedian) tells the BBC.
Chu Yin, a Beijing-based law professor and comedian, said on Weibo that "gender politics from the West" threatens "the unity of the working class" and will lead to "hatred against straight men".
Meanwhile Yang Li's supporters argue that the backlash has proven Yang's point in many of her jokes - the female perspective is often silenced by those who believe men are more superior than women.
Traditional gender roles largely prevail in China, and both men and women are under social pressure to play their parts.
Chinese women's rights activist Xiong Jing says men are also victims of these gender stereotypes.
For example, in a country with a huge bachelor surplus, men need to own houses and cars to be considered eligible for marriage, and they are expected to be the main breadwinners of the family.
"Many men have to bear heavy expectations, which lead to depression and resentment," she says. "But they have to think about what needs to be changed fundamentally."
Lu Pin, a prominent Chinese feminist, tells the BBC that compared to other countries, feminists in China face unique political and social pressure.
"In China's patriarchal system, compared with feminists, their critics have enjoyed more support from the authorities."
As feminists challenge the deeply entrenched gender stereotypes in the country, they have been accused by the authorities of "provoking social instability".
2021 BBC