Born in Beijing in 1914, Ma Sanli, who came from a well-known family of Quyi artists of the Hui ethnic group, grew up in Tianjin where he received his schooling. At the age of 15, Ma began to study Xiangsheng under Zhou Deshan and performed with Geng Baolin, Hou Yichen and Zhang Qingsen. After the founding of new China, Ma joined the Tianjin Quyi Troupe. Ma is a very famous contemporary Xiangsheng performing artist and is very skilled in both crosstalk and comical monologues. Ma's monologues are unique in the sense that they are imbued with social meaning.

For instance, Make Fun of You recounts the tale of a mother who tells her child to guard their clothes drying in the sun. A thief secretly enters the house and tells the child his name is make fun of you. When the child calls for help and the mother asks who was stealing, the child answers: make fun of you! The story is interesting and reflects the lamentable fact that some people will take advantage of naivete.

Another example is Patrimonial Secret Recipe where someone purchases a box of anti-itch medicine. When he opens the package, all he sees inside are two characters that for scratch the itch. Nearly all comical monologues performed by Ma underline profound meanings using mini-stories.

With years of performing experience, Ma has developed his own style. He likes to perform using the first person -- "I" 　 which is the leading character in his performances and also the source of comic relief.

Ma's performances are full of people's ordinary feelings. In both comic dialogues and monologues Ma uses mild but popular language. Ma once said that real life is the source of the art form: Instead of just making faces at the audience, crosstalk should reach the heart of things for inspiration. Although Ma's technique belongs to a style of cool-headed humor, his work is full of warm heartedness. Ma, who is reputed as the artist of ordinary people, won the admiration of his subjects, and he often said ordinary people were his wealth. In 1984, when Ma's wife was dying, Ma was on stage performing. The guilt-ridden artist later erected a gravestone for himself next to his wife to compensate for his insensitivity.

A crosstalker's artistic level can only be judged by the audience. I shall never forget my loyal listeners, said Ma. There is no denying that a crosstalker's career relies on a wide and devoted audience for his success.

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