THE CHANG STYLE COMEDY
“A LEGACY OF CROSSTALK (XIANG SHENG)”
中国著名常氏相声世家

At a young age he was trained to be a Peking Opera performer, but later he switched to being a magician and crosstalk comedian. He is the founder of the Chang family style of crosstalk. He personally trained his six sons to be crosstalk comedians. Each became famous for contributing to the Chiang family legacy of crosstalk.

Chang Bao Kun followed in his father’s footsteps by becoming a famous crosstalk comedian in his own right. He became one of China’s most popular crosstalk comedians but passed away in his 20’s. His fans mourned his passing with shops, schools and factories closing for three days to pay respect to him.

Chang Bao Ting, became famous for performing crosstalk comedy at a very young age and had a long and fruitful career spanning decades. The Chinese government honored him with the title of Cultural Treasure of China, an honor bestowed on a select few. He has received many awards recognizing him as an outstanding performer, including the equivalent of a Tony Award and a Lifetime Achievement Award.

Bao Hua Chang still continues to perform and carries on the Chang Family crosstalk comedy tradition. He has trained and mentored countless young entertainers in this unique style, including many of his own grandchildren. He finds time to give inspirational talks and lectures to people of all ages.

He also followed in his father’s footsteps as a crosstalk comedian. He went on to Lanzhou City to expand his family’s distinct art and comedy and trained many of his own children to do the same.

Bao Qing Chang not only followed the tradition of performing the Chang Family style of crosstalk comedy, but also became a master of the art of Kuaiban, a form of storytelling with rhythmic lyrics and bamboo clappers. He often writes his own lyrics and gives inspirational talks to youths across the country.

Chang Bao Feng is still actively performing on the world stage. To commemorate the passing of 100 years since the establishment of the Chang Family style of crosstalk comedy, he wrote a book titled “My father Lian An Chang”. At his book signings, he has given many Q&A’s.

Chang Gui Tian is a third generation Chang Family style Xiang Sheng comedy performer. He followed his father’s footstep and has become one of the most well known Xiang Sheng comedians in China.

At the young age of eight, Chang Gui De trained at a Peking Opera school. He has become an outstanding Peking Opera performer in his own right. Later in life, he switched to performing the Chang family style of crosstalk comedy. He has created his own comedy pieces with many of them included lyrical tunes. He has earned his own fame in the world of Chinese crosstalk comedy.

Gui Rong Chang trained at a Peking Opera school at the age of eight. She has been singing and performing Peking Opera for many years. Her performance style is called Qing Yee, which requires a high-pitched voice and soft, gentle movements.

At a young age Gui Qing Chang began to learn sleight of hand methods for magic tricks. She is able to make a total of 12 eggs appear from her empty hands. Her signature magic trick is a fishing trick that involves catching live fish right out of the audience.

Gui Zhi Chang went to Peking Opera school as a young girl and has been singing all her life. After she moved to Northwestern China, she continued performing Peking Opera.

As a child Grace learned how to use sleight of hand to perform magic tricks. Like her sister Gui Qing, Grace can do the twelve egg magic trick. Her signature magic trick is taking a single burning candle and turning it into eight burning candles out of her bare hands. She now lives in NYC, and has gone on to become a children’s book writer, and actor. Recently she produced, wrote and directed her own first short film. She plans to work on more film and book projects.

He has been performing crosstalk since a very young age. He also does Kaiban, the art form that combines poetic lyrics and the beats of a bamboo clapper.

He is one of the younger entertainers of the Chang family, who’s followed in the family tradition of performing crosstalk. He’s also appeared in many TV comedy shows, making him very recognizable to young Chinese audiences who love him.

Chang Liang is also continuing the legacy of the Chang family. He entertains young Chinese audiences as a crosstalk performer.

Tracy Chang is currently working as newscaster for CCTV’s English channel. While she didn’t follow in the Chang family tradition as an entertainer, she is very much in the public eye. Her column about international trading is so popular in China that it is a household favorite.

Wen Shang Chang /Chadd Chang was born in New York.  Since the age of four, he has performed on stage. His has performed a variety acts ranging from magic to Kaipan and acting. He recently appeared as the principal role of  David in the short film Mott Street aka A Missing Piece.

Chang Yue is a fourth generation Chang style crosstalk performer. He is a popular amongst young Chinese.

He started out as a child performer and started to perform crosstalk at age four. He has also been in many stage shows and Chinese movies. Later he immigrated to America and became a sort of bi-cultural ambassador of China.

He is a child performer and has already been on stage and TV. He also performs crosstalk and has fans many of whom are youngsters like him.