Kouji

Kouji (Chinese: ), which can be translated literally as "mouth skill" or "skill of mouth" is a Chinese vocal mimicry performance art which utilizes the human speech organs to mimic the sounds of everyday life. When this vocal mimicry is combined with varying degrees of story telling, acting, and singing, it results in the basic structure for a Kouji performance. The sounds most commonly used in Kouji tend to be those of animals, such as birds or dogs, but with the advancement of technology, Kouji has also come to incorporate imitations of busses, planes, and modern weapons. It is also now common to use a microphone in the performance of Kouji. Often the Kouji of a highly skilled performer so accurately mimics real life sounds that if the audience were to close their eyes, they might not be able to tell that the sounds were being produced by a human. Although it is an art form in and of itself, it may often be performed in combination with other traditional Chinese art forms such as Cross-talk. The primary objective of a Kouji performance is to bring joy to the audience through the sounds of their everyday lives, in a celebration of the harmony which exists between human beings and nature.

Mimicry – The principle and most difficult element of a Kouji performance is of course the vocal mimicry. It has neither a theoretical basis nor a concrete standard framework, and instead relies on the performer’s own talent and hard work in attempting to imitate the sounds of their environment.

Dialogue – It is often necessary to use an appropriate amount of dialogue to accompany vocal mimicry in a Kouji performance. The main aim of using dialogue is to strengthen the connection between the performer and the audience. Dialogue is used as an introduction and a guide throughout the performance. It may be carried out in the form of narration, poetry recitation, or Shuo-chang (Talk-sing) monologues which may be used to introduce a performance.

Humor – Use of comedy serves to enrich a Kouji performance by providing an entertaining context in which to use vocal mimicry. Through humor the audience is invited to follow their innate instinct and laugh at the comical noises coming from the mouth of the performer. Humor fills out and gives character to a performance.

Singing – Often singing is also used in Kouji in order to reference well known songs. In addition, some Kouji performers may also choose to imitate the singing voice of a particular recording artist to display the extent of their vocal mimicry skills.

Although Kouji is believed by many to have origins in the animal calls used by hunters in tribal society, there are unfortunately no historical accounts of its transition from such a context into a performance art. The first historical account of Kouji ever recorded was over 2,300 years ago in Shandong province during the Warring States period. In the year 298 BC there was a Qin prime minister named Mengchang who was a student of Confucius, and accumulated over 3,000 followers. Mengchang found himself in a difficult situation when the Qin ruler began to believe that Mengchang could be spying on him for the neighboring state in which he was raised, and Mengchang was jailed. Mengchang tried to win his freedom by sending away for some very special garments to give the Qin ruler’s wife in an attempt to win her over, and thus gain his freedom. Complications arose however when the garments were seized by the guards and locked away. It was at this point that Mengchang used his followers' Kouji skills to steal back the clothes by luring the guards away by mimicking the barking of dogs. When the clothes were retrieved, they were successfully passed on to the ruler’s wife who was deeply touched and sent immediately for the release of Mengchang. By the time that the Qin ruler discovered what had happened, Mengchang and his followers had already begun to flee. When they had reached a nearby mountain pass which was their gateway to freedom, the Qin guards were hot on their trail. They needed to get through the mountains immediately, but it was still night time and the gatekeepers were not permitted to open the pass until the roosters' crows signaled that the morning had come. Yet again, one of Mengchang’s followers used his Kouji skills to mimic a rooster and trigger all of the local roosters to crow. This signaled that morning had come and allowed the gatekeepers to open the pass for Mengchang’s successful escape.

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