Dashan

Dashan
Dashan (Mark Rowswell) hosting a live broadcast for China Central Television in November 2006
Born	Mark Henry Rowswell (1965-05-23) May 23, 1965 (age 51) Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Nationality	Canadian
Alma mater	University of Toronto Beijing University
Occupation	Presenter

Dashan (Chinese: 大山; pinyin: Dàshān; literally: "Big Mountain") is the Chinese stage name adopted by Canadian Mark Henry Rowswell, CM (born May 23, 1965 in Ottawa, Ontario) who works as a freelance performer in the People's Republic of China. Relatively unknown in the West, Dashan is the most famous Western personality in China's media industry, where he occupies a unique position as a foreign national who has become a bona fide domestic celebrity.

Dashan is best known for his mastery of Mandarin, and most of his media work is done in Chinese. He also spoke Cantonese, which he learned before Mandarin, in a Ford commercial targeted at North American Chinese consumers.

Rowswell attended high school at Nepean High School in Ottawa, Ontario. Rowswell began studying Chinese while attending the University of Toronto in 1984. His original Chinese name, as given by his Canadian Chinese-language teacher, was Lu Shiwei (路士伟) based on his surname Rowswell. Upon graduation from the University of Toronto with a bachelor of arts in Chinese studies in 1988, Rowswell was awarded a full scholarship to continue Chinese language studies at Peking University.

Rowswell first appeared on Chinese television to host an international singing competition in November 1988. The following month he was invited to perform a comedic skit on national television during the CCTV New Year's Gala, a variety program broadcast to an estimated audience of 550 million people. The name "Dashan" ("big mountain" in Chinese) comes from the character Xu Dashan (Chinese: 许大山) that Rowswell played in the skit, which was entitled Ye gui (夜归). The skit propelled him to national stardom overnight because of his fluent Chinese and delivery.