Mo lei tau
Encyclopedia
Mo lei tau 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 anachronism
s.
During an interview with Stephen Chow
for his 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.
: mou4 lei4 tau4) is a Cantonese term which may be loosely translated as "with no source", but is generally used to mean "makes no sense". The original phrase was mo lei tau gau (無厘頭尻) which literally means "no heads and tails". However, in Cantonese the word 尻 (Jyutping
: haau1/ commonly mispronounced as "gau1") that means end of spine has the same pronunciation of the vulgar word 𨳊
, which means penis. To avoid saying the word gau, the phrase is cut to mou lei tau.
, 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.
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
.
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
, anachronism
s, fourth wall
references, and Cantonese slang
and word play
.
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 pun
s and other Cantonese word tricks.
.
A verbal example is the catchphrase "Choh dai yam tam cha, sik goh bau" , 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 . 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.
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
.
Humour
Humour or humor is the tendency of particular cognitive experiences to provoke laughter and provide amusement...
originating from Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
during the late 20th century. It is a phenomenon which has grown largely from its presentation in modern film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
media. Its humour arises from the complex interplay of cultural subtleties significant in Hong Kong. Typical constituents of this humour include nonsensical parodies
Parody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
, juxtaposition of contrasts, sudden surprises in spoken dialogue and action and improbable and deliberate anachronism
Anachronism
An anachronism—from the Greek ανά and χρόνος — is an inconsistency in some chronological arrangement, especially a chronological misplacing of persons, events, objects, or customs in regard to each other...
s.
During an interview with Stephen Chow
Stephen Chow
Stephen Chow Sing-Chi is a Hong Kong actor, comedian, screenwriter, film director and producer.- Professional career :Stephen Chow began as a temporary actor for TVB. He entered TVB in early 1980s, and was trained there, although he had few opportunities to appear in films. Chow graduated from...
for his 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.
Semantics
Mo lei tau (JyutpingJyutping
Jyutping is a romanization system for Cantonese developed by the Linguistic Society of Hong Kong in 1993. Its formal name is The Linguistic Society of Hong Kong Cantonese Romanization Scheme...
: mou4 lei4 tau4) is a Cantonese term which may be loosely translated as "with no source", but is generally used to mean "makes no sense". The original phrase was mo lei tau gau (無厘頭尻) which literally means "no heads and tails". However, in Cantonese the word 尻 (Jyutping
Jyutping
Jyutping is a romanization system for Cantonese developed by the Linguistic Society of Hong Kong in 1993. Its formal name is The Linguistic Society of Hong Kong Cantonese Romanization Scheme...
: haau1/ commonly mispronounced as "gau1") that means end of spine has the same pronunciation of the vulgar word 𨳊
Cantonese profanity
The five most common vulgar words in Cantonese profanity are diu , gau , lan , tsat and hai , where the first literally means fuck, while the rest are sexual organs of either gender. They are sometimes collectively known as the "outstanding five in Cantonese" . These five words are generally...
, which means penis. To avoid saying the word gau, the phrase is cut to mou lei tau.
Related catchphrases
Another phrase in Cantonese that is used similarly is (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.1970s and 1980s
As a film form the earliest proponents of this form of humour can be seen to be the Hui brothers (Michael HuiMichael Hui
Michael Hui Koon-Man is a Hong Kong comedian, scriptwriter and director. He is the eldest of the four Hui brothers who remain three of the most prominent figures in the Hong Kong entertainment circle during the 1970s and the 1980s...
, Samuel Hui
Samuel Hui
Samuel Hui Koon-kit , usually known as Sam Hui, is a Hong Kong Cantopop singer, lyricist and film actor. He is credited with popularizing Cantopop both with the infusion of Western-style music and using popular, street Cantonese jargon in his lyrics writing...
and Ricky Hui
Ricky Hui
Ricky Hui Koon-Ying was a Hong Kong movie star. He and his brothers, Michael and Sam, made several comedy blockbusters in the 1970s and 1980s.-Biography:...
) working in the late 1970s and early 1980s, although their comedy was never specifically labelled as mo lei tau. Jackie Chan
Jackie Chan
Jackie Chan, SBS, MBE is a Hong Kong actor, action choreographer, comedian, director, producer, martial artist, screenwriter, entrepreneur, singer and stunt performer. In his movies, he is known for his acrobatic fighting style, comic timing, use of improvised weapons, and innovative stunts...
's Fantasy Mission Force
Fantasy Mission Force
Fantasy Mission Force is a 1983 Hong Kong action-comedy film directed by Chu Yin-Ping and starring Jackie Chan in a supporting role, Brigitte Lin, Jimmy Wang Yu....
(1982) could conceivably be seen as another early example of the genre.
1990s and contributions by Stephen Chow
Immediately following the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989Tiananmen Square protests of 1989
The Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, also known as the June Fourth Incident in Chinese , were a series of demonstrations in and near Tiananmen Square in Beijing in the People's Republic of China beginning on 15 April 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
Stephen Chow
Stephen Chow Sing-Chi is a Hong Kong actor, comedian, screenwriter, film director and producer.- Professional career :Stephen Chow began as a temporary actor for TVB. He entered TVB in early 1980s, and was trained there, although he had few opportunities to appear in films. Chow graduated from...
. One of his classic mo lei tau movies being the 1990 hit All for the Winner
All for the Winner
All for the Winner is a 1990 Hong Kong comedy film directed by Jeffrey Lau and Corey Yuen.This is the movie that launched Stephen Chow to stardom...
.
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
Edward Lear
Edward Lear was an English artist, illustrator, author, and poet, renowned today primarily for his literary nonsense, in poetry and prose, and especially his limericks, a form that he popularised.-Biography:...
's poems are, where irrelevant elements are somehow thrown together; as opposed to, say, Lewis Carroll
Lewis Carroll
Charles Lutwidge Dodgson , better known by the pseudonym Lewis Carroll , was an English author, mathematician, logician, Anglican deacon and photographer. His most famous writings are Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and its sequel Through the Looking-Glass, as well as the poems "The Hunting of the...
'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
Non sequitur (absurdism)
A non sequitur is a conversational and literary device, often used for comedic purposes. It is a comment that, because of its apparent lack of meaning relative to what it follows, seems absurd to the point of being humorous or confusing....
, anachronism
Anachronism
An anachronism—from the Greek ανά and χρόνος — is an inconsistency in some chronological arrangement, especially a chronological misplacing of persons, events, objects, or customs in regard to each other...
s, fourth wall
Fourth wall
The fourth wall is the imaginary "wall" at the front of the stage in a traditional three-walled box set in a proscenium theatre, through which the audience sees the action in the world of the play...
references, and Cantonese slang
Slang
Slang is the use of informal words and expressions that are not considered standard in the speaker's language or dialect but are considered more acceptable when used socially. Slang is often to be found in areas of the lexicon that refer to things considered taboo...
and word play
Word play
Word play or wordplay is a literary technique in which the words that are used become the main subject of the work, primarily for the purpose of intended effect or amusement...
.
Regarded as an integral part of Hong Kong's popular culture
Culture of Hong Kong
The culture of Hong Kong can best be described as a foundation that began with China, and became more influenced by British colonialism. Despite the 1997 transfer of sovereignty to the People's Republic of China, Hong Kong continues to hold an identity of its own.-People in the culture:Most Hong...
, 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 pun
Pun
The pun, also called paronomasia, is a form of word play which suggests two or more meanings, by exploiting multiple meanings of words, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from the intentional use and abuse of homophonic,...
s and other Cantonese word tricks.
Characteristics
A mo lei tau performance can be either verbal or slapstickSlapstick
Slapstick is a type of comedy involving exaggerated violence and activities which may exceed the boundaries of common sense.- Origins :The phrase comes from the batacchio or bataccio — called the 'slap stick' in English — a club-like object composed of two wooden slats used in Commedia dell'arte...
.
A verbal example is the catchphrase "Choh dai yam tam cha, sik goh bau" , meaning "Let's sit down, take a sip of tea, and have a bao
Baozi
A bāozi or simply known as bao, bau, humbow, nunu, bausak, pow or pau is a type of steamed, filled bun or bread-like item in various Chinese cuisines, as there is much variation as to the fillings and the preparations...
(a Chinese bun)", first uttered by Stephen Chow in the TV serial The Final Combat . The phrase becomes mo lei tau because it is repeated in irrelevant and inappropriate situations. It also serves as a comedic device
Comedic device
A comedic device is used in comedy to write humor in a common structure. They can become so common that they are difficult for writers to use without being perceived as cheesy.-Double entendre:...
because the actions suggested by "sitting, drinking and eating" are so plain and normal.
For a slapstick
Slapstick
Slapstick is a type of comedy involving exaggerated violence and activities which may exceed the boundaries of common sense.- Origins :The phrase comes from the batacchio or bataccio — called the 'slap stick' in English — a club-like object composed of two wooden slats used in Commedia dell'arte...
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
Initial D (film)
Initial D is a 2005 Hong Kong film directed by Andrew Lau and Alan Mak. It is a film adaptation of the Japanese Initial D manga and anime series.-Plot:...
.
See also
- Cinema of Hong KongCinema of Hong KongThe 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...
- Surreal humourSurreal humourSurreal humour is a form of humour based on violations of causal reasoning with events and behaviours that are logically incongruent. Constructions of surreal humour involve bizarre juxtapositions, non-sequiturs, irrational situations, and/or expressions of nonsense.The humour arises from a...
- Anarchic comedy filmAnarchic comedy filmAnarchic comedy is a genre of cinema using nonsensical, stream-of-consciousness humor. Films of this nature stem from a theatrical history of anarchic comedy on the stage. Jokes and visual gags are utilized, usually in a non sequitur manner that eschews narrative for sheer absurdity...
- Screwball comedy filmScrewball comedy filmThe screwball comedy is a principally American genre of comedy film that became popular during the Great Depression, originating in the early 1930s and thriving until the early 1940s. It is characterized by fast-paced repartee, farcical situations, escapist themes, and plot lines involving...