Chinese Talent Show Features U.S. 'High Noses'
Dozens of contestants gathered recently in a windowless room with crimson-felt walls, gold-trimmed mirrors and a leaky ceiling, hoping for a chance to be famous in China.
Among them was Jennifer Johnston , a furniture seller fresh off the plane from Tucson, Ariz. She took the stage and sang her favorite karaoke song -- "Tzee," or "Chess Piece," a Chinese pop standard about a woman who is played by her lover like a pawn -- in front of a panel of stone-faced judges. "This is an incredible opportunity," said Ms. Johnston, 26 years old, who speaks fluent Mandarin learned at school in Tulsa, Okla.
Ms. Johnston was auditioning for "Arts from Our Land," a massively popular show broadcast every year in China during the Lunar New Year holidays, celebrated this year in early February. "Arts from Our Land" is a talent show in which non-Chinese people show off their skill in Chinese language or arts. More than 100 million people are expected to tune in, roughly as many as watch the Super Bowl.
Eugene Cooper won a semifinalist slot on the show with his country-western version of a Chinese folk song.
This year, for the first time, Beijing TV has come to Hollywood to recruit contestants. Since its debut in 1995, the program has attracted more than 2,000 competitors from more than 40 countries. Traditionally, it tapped the pool of foreigners living in China, many of whom have achieved minor-celebrity status.
The program draws heavyweight advertisers, such as Procter & Gamble Co. and Samsung Corp., who are eager to put their products before a mega-audience. To give the show more cachet, Beijing TV's bosses decided this year to hold auditions in the U.S, France and Japan. "The idea is to make the show global," said show director Li Bei during her stop in Los Angeles.
The competition is formidable. In addition to Ms. Johnston and her rendition of "Tzee," Michael Grubman, a senior at the University of California, Los Angeles, performed on the qin (pronounced CHIN), an ancient and rare zither believed to be played by only 1,000 people in the world. John Savell, 26, did tai chi, the traditional Chinese shadow-boxing exercise, choreographed to the music of Icelandic rock band Sigur Rós. "I like the ethereal sound of the band," he said.
The Chinese government, which controls all television programming, is investing in the show with greater motives than merely promoting a cultural exchange. As China has opened up, its people have eagerly embraced Western pop culture, from Hollywood movies to hip-hop. Despite China's emergence as an economic superpower, there is a feeling that its traditions haven't withstood the test of modern times.
"Arts from Our Land" helps send the message that "Chinese culture is so powerful and seductive, even foreigners want to learn it," said Stanley Rosen, a professor at the University of Southern California. Perfect execution of Chinese acts by foreigners also serves to "shame" Chinese people into preserving their culture, according to the scholar of Chinese politics and culture.
But for viewers in remote areas of China, who may have limited or no contact with non-Chinese, the foreigners are an entertaining oddity, one that the Chinese applaud rather than poke fun at. Indeed, in this sense, the show is the opposite of "American Idol"'s William Hung, who shot to fame because of his disastrous rendition of pop songs.
Take the country-western guitar rendition of a folk song about China's Cultural Revolution, performed by anthropology professor Eugene Cooper. Donning jeans, leather vest and felt hat, he declared his love for China to the cameras in impeccable Mandarin then belted out a tune glorifying Mao Zedong, father of communist China. Afterward, Mr. Cooper said he signed up for the audition for "the kick of it."
Lauren Elliott, an African-American nurse with her hair in dreadlocks, performed a popular, old Cantonese tune, "Fung Yu Tong Lo," about friendship and betrayal. She sprinkled in English verses, which she crooned to a rap beat.
"I am surprised at your proficiency in Cantonese," said one judge. Wowed by her stage presence, another judge declared, "You are comfortable in your skin."
In all, about 400 gao bizi -- a slang term for foreigner that means "high nose" in Mandarin -- are expected to compete in the talent show.
Most contestants at the Hollywood studio were self-proclaimed Sinophiles who covet any measure of fame in China. Several of them allude to Mark Rowswell, a blue-eyed Canadian who has achieved near-cult status since mastering the ancient Chinese art of Xiangsheng, or comedic dialogue. Virtually unknown in his home country, Mr. Rowswell, known as "Dashan," has become an advertising icon in China.
As for the U.S. hopefuls for "Arts from Our Land," they all have a shot at a few minutes of stardom, at least. Even if they appear only in the first round of the prerecorded show on Feb. 3, they will be seen by an audience larger than any they could hope to draw in the U.S. Only two Americans will win a trip to Beijing for the semifinals.
The marathon talent show stretches to Feb. 11, when a winner will be announced. There is no cash prize, only a trophy and a certificate. In previous years, some finalists and winners launched show business careers, although none has become a huge celebrity.
"Let's face it, Americans who do this tend to be nerdy," said Michael Cherney, a visual artist, after demonstrating his talent for writing Chinese calligraphy, an art form included in the competition this year for the first time. Mr. Cherney learned that he was one of the two U.S. semifinalists.
The other one is Mr. Cooper. But his country-style crooning about Chairman Mao won't be his ticket to fame in China. "That is the song I do best," Mr. Cooper noted. But the state-run station told him to find a tune about a less-sensitive subject.
“中华才艺大赛”走进好莱坞
在洛杉矶一间墙壁呈深红色、装有几面镶金边镜子的房间里，尽管房屋不透风、顶棚也有裂缝，但这并不妨碍来这里参赛的几十名选手做著在中国一夜成名的美梦。
家具推销员珍尼弗?乔纳森(Jennifer Johnston)便是其中的一员。她刚从亚利桑那州图森坐飞机赶过来。面对舞台下面一群面部毫无表情的评委，她演唱了她最喜爱的一首卡拉OK歌曲《棋子》。乔纳森表示，此次参赛是个难得一遇的机会。26岁的乔纳森在俄克拉荷马州塔尔萨学习了中文之后现在已可以讲一口流利的普通话了。
乔纳森来这是为了获得“外国人中华才艺大赛”的参赛资格。这是一个才艺展示大赛，每年举办一次。参赛节目将在中国的春节期间播出，深受中国观众的喜爱，今年2月第一周的2005年春节也不例外。在比赛过程中，外国人将展现他们的语言及艺术才华。届时将有超过1亿人的观众收看这个节目。
今年，北京电视台首次来到好莱坞挑选参赛者。自1995年推出以来，这个节目共吸引了40多个国家超过2,000名参赛选手。以前，北京电视台只是从居住在中国的外国人中筛选参赛者，一些外国人在参赛之后已经变得小有名气。
这个节目得到了宝洁(Procter & Gamble Co, 又名:宝硷)、三星(Samsung Corp.)等知名大企业的大力支持，该节目拥有广大的受众群体，而这正是吸引这些大公司之处。为了扩大节目的知名度，北京电视台领导今年决定到美国、法国和日本去选拔参赛者。用节目导演李蓓（音译）的话说就是让外国人中华才艺大赛走向世界。
选手要经过严格的选拔才能脱颖而出。除了乔纳森的歌曲之外，加州大学(University of California)四年级学生麦克尔?格鲁曼(Michael Grubman)演奏了古琴，据说全世界能演奏这种乐器的只有1,000人。26岁的约翰?塞维尔(John Savell)配合著冰岛摇滚组合Sigur Ros演唱的歌曲打了一套太极拳。他说，“我喜欢Sigur Ros柔美的音乐风格。“
控制著各种电视节目的中国政府投资制作这样一个节目，其动机绝不只是为了促进文化交流这么简单。
随著中国社会的开放，从好莱坞电影到说唱音乐，各种西方流行文化迅速在中国风靡起来。尽管中国作为一个经济大国正在冉冉升起，但中国的各种传统却在西方文化的冲击下中逐渐走上了下坡路。
南加州大学(University of Southern California)的教授斯坦利?罗森(Stanley Rosen)表示，外国人中华才艺大赛希望传递这样一个信息，即中国文化仍然具有强大的生命力和吸引力，就连外国人都希望学习中国文化。中国政界及文化圈的学者表示，外国人将中国传统才艺展现得维妙维肖对于那些仰慕、崇拜西方文化的中国人具有教育意义，可以让他们在感到惭愧的同时意识到继承传统文化的重要性。
对于很少、甚至根本没有和外国接触的中国边远地区的观众来说，他们会饶有兴趣地观看外国人的表演，会给予外国人掌声，而不会取笑他们。
南加州大学的人类学教授顾尤勤(EUGENE COOPER)用吉它演奏了一曲文化大革命时期的民歌。身著牛仔裤、皮马甲，头戴毡帽的顾尤勤在用字正腔圆的普通话表达了他对中国的热爱之情后便献上了一首歌颂毛泽东的歌曲。顾尤勤表示，他之所以参赛纯粹是为了自娱自乐。
非洲裔美国人劳伦?埃利奥特(Lauren Elliott)用广东话唱了一首老歌《风雨同路》。其间，她还不时以说唱歌曲的节拍用英语唱上几句。一位评委对她讲的广东话的流利程度感到惊讶。
预计将有约400名外国人将参加本次外国人中华才艺大赛。
来好莱坞摄影棚参赛的选手大多号称是中国文化的爱好者，但实际上他们也渴望在中国扬名立万。其中的一些人还间接地提到了一位加拿大人──马克?罗斯韦尔(Mark Rowswell)，艺名为“大山”的罗斯韦尔因表演相声而在中国变得近乎妇孺皆知。在加拿大籍籍无名的“大山”在中国现已成为炙手可热的广告代言人。
大部分参赛者只能在初赛阶段的节目录像中出现而且还只有几分钟的露面时间，但在中国收看他们表演的观众要远远超过美国。只有2名美国人有资格参加复赛，拿到飞往北京的机票。外国人中华才艺大赛将从2月3日播放到2月11日，届时将公布谁是最后的胜利者。
这个大赛没有奖金，只有奖品和证书。一些前几年曾进入决赛的选手和最后的胜出者进入了演艺圈，但并没有人大红大紫。
视觉艺术家麦克尔?切尔尼(Michael Cherney)在展现了他的中国书法技艺后表示，来这参赛的美国人往往都是有一技之长但无用武之地。后来他知道他和顾尤勤获得了去北京参加半决赛的资格。
切尔尼在表演期间表示，“看看我们这身中国行头，就连中国人也都叹为观止。”
