Laughing Before the Show

Laughing Before the Show is a collection of essays by columnist Shen Hongfei, published by Writers Publishing House in 2006. The 264-page book gathers his newspaper and magazine columns from that period. Unlike his earlier work centered on food writing, this book turns from the dining table to relations between men and women and urban life: the opportunity cost of wedding banquets and weddings, the "economics" of a couple's bath, the handwritten charm of love letters, husband-wife resemblance and weddings and funerals, gossip and popular discourse, feminism versus "male chauvinism," fitness and plastic surgery, and gendered gazes in cinemas and on ball fields. In a cool, restrained style, the author takes apart these everyday fragments one by one, revealing sharp wit without raising his voice and hiding mockery in banter. Shen Hongfei's writing is known for being "knowingly provocative": he casually blends food and fashion, academic terms and street slang into a style both elegant and vulgar, seemingly serious but actually jesting. This book continues that manner, discussing "food and sex" as well as human temperament, desire, and social attitudes. Its knowledge is wide-ranging, yet it never departs from observing social manners and human feelings. Some critics hold that Shen Hongfei should be read seriously as serious writing: "beneath the pen, wind and moon stir up storms, yet the storms are discussed as wind and moon"—on the surface he writes of romantic leisure, but within is a critique of popular ideas and social psychology. Most pieces are short, with titles such as "See a Beauty Instead of a Doctor," "The Male Chastity Arch," "The Economics of Peeping," "Feminist Breakfast," and "Thick Fat, Thin Face," all with a teasing tone. The book is suitable for casual dipping and rewards close reading.