Wearing shirts and suits, Li Qiang and Sun Dunyu look nothing like cross talk performers. But the audiences often have a good laugh over the jokes they tell.
穿着衬衫西服的李强（音译）和孙敦宇（音译）看上去一点儿都不像相声演员，但他们所讲的段子却常常能引得观众哄堂大笑。
During the cross talk convention at Nanjing Normal University on April 25, they and other student comedians put on unique performances. They believe their adaptation of traditional cross talk not only makes it relevant to student audiences, but also injects new vitality into the art form.
4月25日，在南京师范大学举行的相声大会中，这对老搭档同其他“学生名嘴”一起，献上了一场独特的演出。他们认为，“相声新编”不仅可以让传统相声在校园中更加“接地气”，更为这种艺术形式注入了新的活力。
Student humour
“学生名嘴”
Li, 23, is the organizer of the cross talk convention. Coming from north China, the business management major has a big interest in cross talk, yet he found that students from the south seem indifferent to the art form.
23岁的李强是本次相声大会的组织者。这位来自中国北方、主修工商管理的学生对相声有着浓厚的兴趣。然而，他发现南方学生对相声兴趣寥寥。
“They prefer the talk show of Zhou Libo to the cross talk of Guo Degang,” Li says. Therefore, he set up a cross talk club in his university, trying to perform cross talk that students can enjoy.
“比起郭德纲的相声，他们更喜欢周立波的脱口秀。”李强说道。因此，他在自己就读的大学中创建了相声社，尝试着表演学生们喜闻乐见的相声节目。
“Our performances are different to the cross talk performed in theatres,” Li says. “Not only do we base our jokes on campus life, but also the buzzwords students like to use.” By adding elements that students relate to, he believes that student audiences can better appreciate their cross talk.
“我们的表演与剧场相声有所不同，”他说。“我们不仅从校园生活中汲取笑料来源，同时还加入了学生们喜爱的流行热词。”他认为，在相声中加入校园素材，可以让学生们更好地欣赏他们的相声。
Satirical words
讽刺的艺术
Li’s strategy works. Several hundred students came to watch his cross talk club and clubs from other universities perform at the convention. The medium-sized hall was so crowded that some students had to stand all the time.
李强的这一策略十分奏效。数百名学生前来观看他的相声社，更有其他高校相声社团在本次大会上的演出。中型礼堂座无虚席，一些学生甚至全程站着观看表演。
“I’m a hardcore fan of Li Qiang. He always makes me laugh when he mercilessly makes fun of those who talk big but act small,” says Cheng Nan, a sophomore student of English at Nanjing University.
“我是李强的铁杆粉丝。他毫不留情地调侃那些只说不做的人时，总是能够逗笑我。”南京大学英语系大二学生程楠（音译）说。
According to Sun Hao, a recent graduate of Southeast University who is also the former president of his university’s cross talk club, sarcasm is a common theme in cross talk for students. “We satirize those who always give empty talk,” he says.
东南大学应届毕业生孙浩（音译）是该校相声社的前社长。他表示，讽刺是校园相声的一个常见主题。“我们会讽刺那些总是说空话的人。”他说。
Eye for detail
发现细节
According to Sun Dunyu, a law major at Nanjing Normal University who is also Li’s cross talk partner, another type of humor students enjoy is based on common but often ignored scenes in student life.
李强的搭档、就读于南京师范大学法学院的孙敦宇表示，另一类颇受学生喜欢的笑料是从那些被忽略的校园日常生活中提取而成的。
“We find that students tend to overlook their own routines. For example, when they’re in a relationship, they make romantic phone calls every day. When we joke that some people spend hundreds on such phone calls every day, it makes students laugh because it sounds absurd. But it really happens sometimes,” the 23-year-old says.
“我们发现学生们常常会忽视自己的日常生活。比如，当他们恋爱时，每天都要煲情人电话粥。当我们打趣说一些人每天都要花上几百块电话费时，学生们都会大笑不止，因为这听起来荒诞滑稽。而这的确是时有发生的事情。”23岁的孙敦宇说。
Though Li was confident their performance would be a success, he didn’t expect it would be so welcomed by students. “It’s a good sign,” he says. “It shows we’re on the right track to popularizing this art form. With more students joining in, performing and enjoying cross talk, the ancient art will rejuvenate on campus.”
尽管李强相信他们的演出会大获成功，但是他并没想到他们的表演会如此受到学生的欢迎。“这是一个好的信号，”他说。“这表明我们走上了振兴相声艺术的正轨。随着校园相声社的不断壮大，越来越多的学生学习和欣赏相声表演，这种古老的艺术将会在校园中重放光彩。”