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Zhao Benshan is a household name for his 19-year star appearance at CCTVs Gala Evening at the Spring Festival Eve. Little Shenyang, his most brilliant disciple, made it at the same gala on eve of the 2009 Spring Festival. This journalist has recently interviewed Little Shenyang, who relates his story with his master Zhao Benshan as follows.

Born into a family of folk artists in 1981 in Liaoning Province, Shen He started to learn the Song-and Dance Duet, a traditional popular folk entertainment in northeastern China. He and his elder brother started learning the art partly because the family was not well off and partly because they had parents who knew the art. At 15, Shen He and his brother joined a troupe in Changchun, the capital city of Jilin Province, to learn the folk art more seriously.

As they didnt have much education, they started from the very bottom. But they worked very hard. A year later, they began to perform. The first time on stage, he was frightened so badly that he forgot the lyrics. He shook violently on the stage and his partner asked what was happening. He had to invent lyrics on the stage and brought the show to a successful end. This experience opened a door for him to improvise.

As a Song-Dance Duet artist, he hoped someone could introduce new ideas to the tradition. Then he learned that Zhao Benshan, already nationwide famed for his skits on the CCTV gala on the eve of the Spring Festival, was promoting green Song-Dance Duet. He watched Zhaos performance and admired the artist. He began to imitate Zhao in his own performances.

As Shen He rose gradually to fame within Jilin Province as a Song-Dance duet artist, some of Zhao Benshens disciples learned about him. They worked together with Shen He in some shows. It was through his disciples that Zhao Benshan began to notice Shen He. At that time, Shen He was already known as Little Shenyang, which is also the name of the capital city of Liaoning Province.

It was not until March 2005 that Zhao Benshen saw Little Shenyang in person for the first time. Little Shenyang was performing in a show in Jilin Province. This show gave Zhao Benshan an opportunity to associate the name with the young artist.

In June, 2006, Zhao Benshan called Little Shenyang by phone and asked if the young man was willing to come to Shenyang. Zhao wanted to see if Little Shenyang was really good. Little Shenyang performed brilliantly in the audition. He summoned up his courage and asked if Zhao could take him in as his disciple. Zhao nodded. On the Moon Festival, 2006, a ceremony was held and Zhao Benshan became Little Shenyangs master. And as Chinese tradition suggests that if someone is your master just for one day, you need to respect him as your father all your life, Little Shenyang calls his master “daddy” since then.

Little Shenyang is chronologically Zhaos 25th disciple and the youngest. Zhao Benshan treats himself in a special fatherly way. The young disciple received an all-round training. In order to have adequate coaching time with the promising disciple, Zhao frequently readjusted his schedule and declined to appear in some important shows. Zhao even got himself hurt when demonstrating how to do a somersault. Gradually Little Shenyang became highly versatile. Among other things, he is able to mimic a lot of different pop stars singing. Some stars got startled when hearing Little Shenyangs imitation singing.

Zhao Benshen wanted Little Shenyang to appear at the CCTVs 2008 gala show for the Spring Festival. Little Shenyang was cut out at the last minute. The young artist was hugely disappointed and depressed. The master comforted him by saying that he had had the same depression before and that the self-pity was utterly useless. Zhao promised he would do his best to get Little Shenyang into the next years gala. The remarks soothed the young artist.

That year, Little Shenyang appeared in a television drama produced by Zhao Benshen. He was the best supporting character in the rural romance.

When the CCTV invitation arrived for the 2009 gala night, Zhao said he would accept the invitation only on the condition that Little Shenyang must come with him, or he would refuse to appear. The show director accepted the condition. The following weeks were a torturing for them. They rehearsed, modified the skit and rehearsed repeatedly and went through the worlds toughest audition several times before the skit was okayed. Presenting a funny skit to the Chinese audience is by no means a laughing matter.

It was the greatest success at the worlds most popular gala evening. Little Shenyang was the lead man of the success and Zhao Benshan played a role supporting him and another disciple of his.

Backstage, Little Shenyang was warmly congratulated by colleagues. He shut himself up in the toilet and cried. Then he came out, went down on his knees as required by tradition and kowtowed to Zhao Benshan and wished his master Happy Chinese New Year.

Little Shenyang rose to national fame overnight. He wrote a blog piece to express his happiness for his successful debut at the CCTV gala show and express his gratitude to his master Zhao Benshen.

Little Shenyang emphasized in his interviews with journalists that he would not have been able to appear in the gala show had it not been his masters selfless push and that he owes his debt of gratitude to his master forever. His blog had two millions hits within two days after the gala show. He also appeared in other gala shows at other major television networks. He was really the most popular comedian for the 2009 spring festival.

He knows that he is still inexperienced, and he has a long way to go and a lot of things to learn from his master. □