Mo lei tau (無厘頭) is a name given to a type of humour originating from Hong Kong during the late 20th century. It is a phenomenon which has grown largely from its presentation in modern film media. Its humour arises from the complex interplay of cultural subtleties significant in Hong Kong. Typical constituents of this humour include nonsensical parodies, juxtaposition of contrasts, sudden surprises in spoken dialogue and action and improbable and deliberate anachronisms. Look up humour in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999... Film is a term that encompasses individual motion pictures, the field of film as an art form, and the motion picture industry. ... In contemporary usage, a parody (or lampoon) is a work that imitates another work in order to ridicule, ironically comment on, or poke some affectionate fun at the work itself, the subject of the work, the author or fictional voice of the parody, or another subject. ... Look up juxtaposition in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Look up Anachronism in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

During an interview with Stephen Chow for its 2006 "Asian Invasion" season, the BBC's film critic Jonathan Ross referred to the genre as "Silly Talk", a label that Chow was happy to accept. Stephen Chow (also Stephen Chiau) (traditional Chinese : 周星馳; simplified Chinese : 周星驰; Romanized as: Chow Sing Chi ; pinyin : Zhōu XÄ«ngchí; jyutping : zau1 sing1 ci4) (born June 22, 1962) is a director and actor in many blockbuster movies in Hong Kong. ...

Semantics

Mo lei tau is perhaps a corruption of 無來頭 or 無嚟頭 (Jyutping: mo4 loi4 tau4 / mo4 lei4 tau4), which can be loosely translated as "with no source" but is generally used to mean "makes no sense". Note in Cantonese, 來 (loi4) is usually spoken as 嚟 (lei4 or lai4). Jyutping (sometimes spelled Jyutpin) is a romanization system for Standard Cantonese developed by the Linguistic Society of Hong Kong (LSHK) in 1993. ...

Related catchphrases

Another phrase in Cantonese that is used similarly is 九唔搭八 (gau m daap baat). This literally translates as "nine doesn't follow eight". gau m daap baat is something that is considered completely nonsensical, but in a somewhat comical manner. Cantonese is a major dialect group or language of the Chinese language, a member of the Sino-Tibetan family of languages. ...

History

Mo lei tau humour is a recent phenomenon in the culture of Hong Kong.

1970s and 1980s

As a film form the earliest proponents of this form of humour can be seen to be the Hui brothers (Michael Hui, Samuel Hui and Ricky Hui) working in the late 1970s and early 1980s, although their comedy was never specifically labelled as mo lei tau. Jackie Chan's Fantasy Mission Force (1982) could conceivably be seen as another early example of the genre. Michael Hui in The Private Eyes Michael Hui Koon-Man (許冠文 Jyutping: heoi2 gun3 man4; pinyin: Xǔ Guànwén) (born September 3, 1942) is a Hong Kong film comedian, scriptwriter and director. ... Samuel Koon-kit Hui (Traditional Chinese: ; Simplified Chinese: , Jyutping: heoi2 gun3 git6; pinyin: Xǔ Guànjié; born September 4, 1948), usually known as Sam Hui, was a star in Cantopop and movie industry in Hong Kongs 1960s to 1990s. ... Ricky Hui Koon-Ying (許冠英, pinyin: Xǔ Guànyīng) (born August 3, 1946) is a Hong Kong movie star in the Hong Kongs 70s to 90s. ... The 1970s decade refers to the years from 1970 to 1979. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Chan Kong-Sang (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: ), also known as Jackie Chan Sing Lung (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: ) or Jackie Chan SBS, (born on April 7, 1954) is a Chinese martial artist, action star, actor, director, screenwriter, film producer, singer and stunt performer. ...

1990s and contributions by Stephen Chow

Immediately following the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 and the subsequent tensions, the escapist nature of mo lei tau led to a surge in its popularity and it has since become synonymous with the comedy of Stephen Chow. One of his classic mo lei tau movies being the 1990 hit All for the Winner. The Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 were a series of demonstrations led by students, intellectuals, and labour activists in the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) between April 15, 1989 and June 4, 1989. ... Stephen Chow (also Stephen Chiau) (traditional Chinese : 周星馳; simplified Chinese : 周星驰; Romanized as: Chow Sing Chi ; pinyin : Zhōu XÄ«ngchí; jyutping : zau1 sing1 ci4) (born June 22, 1962) is a director and actor in many blockbuster movies in Hong Kong. ... Year 1990 (MCMXC) was a common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1990 Gregorian calendar). ... All for the Winner All for the Winner (Chinese: 賭聖 Literal translation: Saint of Gambling) is a 1990 Hong Kong comedy directed by Jeff Lau and Corey Yuen. ...

As typified by Chow's 1990s Hong Kong movies, mo lei tau developed into an 'anything goes' form of nonsensical humour that can and does ignore narrative conventions. It is nonsensical in the same way that Edward Lear's poems are, where irrelevant elements are somehow thrown together; as opposed to, say, Lewis Carroll's novels, where the nonsense relies on a play on logic or semantics. Generally, a mo lei tau scene gives one the feeling of incongruity, consisting of rapid comic banter, non-sequiturs, anachronisms, fourth wall references, and Cantonese slang and wordplay. For the band, see 1990s (band). ... Edward Lear, 1812-1888 Eagle Owl, Edward Lear, 1837 Another Edward Lear owl, in his more familiar style Edward Lear (12 May 1812 – 29 January 1888) was an artist, illustrator and writer known for his nonsensical poetry and his limericks, a form which he popularised. ... Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (Lewis Carroll) – believed to be a self-portrait Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (January 27, 1832 – January 14, 1898), better known by the pen name Lewis Carroll, was an English author, mathematician, logician, Anglican clergyman and photographer. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Look up Anachronism in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Slang is the use of highly informal words and expressions that are not considered standard in the speakers dialect or language. ... Word play is a literary technique in which the nature of the words used themselves become part of the subject of the work. ...

Regarded as an integral part of Hong Kong's popular culture, it is considered by some as being unique and untranslatable. Compared to Wacky Comedy film for a Western cousin, mo lei tau movies have a greater attention on puns and other Cantonese word tricks. Chinese people in Hong Kong have adopted many western folkways, but a substantial number of them still adhere to traditional Chinese traditions on various aspects of social living; for instance family solidarity, “courtesy and face” in interpersonal relationship. ... Wacky Comedy or Anarchy Comedy is a genre of cinema using nonsensical, stream-of-consciousness humor which often lampoons some form of authority. ... A pun (also known as paronomasia) is a figure of speech, or word play which consists of a deliberate confusion of similar words within a phrase or phrases for rhetorical effect, whether humorous or serious. ...

Characteristics

A mo lei tau performance can be either verbal or slapstick. Slapstick is a type of comedy involving exaggerated physical violence. ...

A verbal example is the catchphrase "Choh dai yam tam cha, sik goh bau" (坐低飲啖茶，食個包), meaning "Let's sit down, take a sip of tea, and have a bao (a Chinese bun)", first uttered by Stephen Chow in the TV serial The Final Combat (蓋世豪俠). The phrase becomes mo lei tau because it is repeated in irrelevant and inappropriate situations. It also serves as a comedic device because the actions suggested by "sitting, drinking and eating" are so plain and normal. A catch phrase is a phrase or expression that is popularized, usually through repeated use, by a real person or fictional character. ... The baozi (Chinese: 包子; pinyin: ), bao tze (Wade-Giles romanization), or bau, is a type of steamed, filled bun or bread-like item in Chinese cuisine. ... A comedic device is used in comedy to write humor in a common structure. ...

For a slapstick example, consider this scene from a mo lei tau film: a man is battered by others but is still able to stand upright. He bravely tells his friend he can take the beating, whereupon his friend replies: "Wow! After being hit so badly, you can still talk? If that was me I'd be puking right now!". The man promptly starts vomiting. The scene is hackneyed, but can be seen even to this day in, for example, the 2005 movie Initial D. Slapstick is a type of comedy involving exaggerated physical violence. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Initial D is a 2005 live-action film based on the Japanese Initial D manga and anime series. ...

See also

• Cinema of Hong Kong
• Surreal humour
• Anarchic comedy film
• Screwball comedy film

The cinema of Hong Kong is one of the three major threads in the history of Chinese language cinema, alongside the cinema of China, and the cinema of Taiwan. ... This photograph, a cow with antlers standing on a pole, is an example of surreal humour. ... Anarchic comedy (or wacky comedy) is a genre of cinema using nonsensical, stream-of-consciousness humor. ... The screwball comedy is a subgenre of the comedy film genre. ...

External links

• http://www.hkfilm.net/schow.htm