Chinese comic actor Guo Degang is under investigation after he altered the lyrics of a song he performed as part of the opera 濟公活佛 (‘Ji Gong, living Buddha’) at the Zhongnan Theatre in Wuhan on 24th July. Guo sang 弹起我心爱的土琵琶 (‘playing my beloved pipa’) and changed the original lyric “微山湖上静悄悄” (‘all is quiet on Weishan Lake’) to “紫禁城中静悄悄” (‘all is quiet in the Forbidden City’). Mocking patriotic symbols can lead to prosecution in China: in 2023, a talent agency was fined the equivalent of $2 million for a comedian’s joke about a military slogan.
