Distortion (incongruity) + distancing + surprise: These are the primary elements of comedy and humor. It’s difficult to understand the comedy of another language/culture, because, in order to see what convention/expectation has been distorted, one needs to fully understand what is conventional/expected. The following examples might help illustrate the Chinese comic tradition.

Buddhism. • The Three Monks: A song satirizing the laziness of monks. Lyrics in traditional and simplified characters, with pinyin and English.

Confucianism • A comic selection from the Analects.

Daoism

Native speakers of English performing in Chinese

• Comedian Dashan performs a skit about telephone talk. 2.51 minutes