As is known to everyone， Ma Ji is a famous Chinese crosstalk1 master and performing artist. He made great contributions to China’s crosstalk development.
　　众所周知，马季是中国著名的相声大师和表演艺术家。他为中国相声的发展做出了巨大的贡献。
　　Ma Ji was born in 1934 in Beijing. He was originally called Ma Shuhuai. For a time， he worked in a factory. He began to take an interest in crosstalk in 1951. In 1956， he entered the Central Broadcasting Recitation and Ballad Troupe as a professional crosstalk actor.
　　Ma Ji was good at performing new items reflecting real life. Apart from satires2， he pioneered new items praising the new life and heroes and heroines. He not only inherited3 and developed crosstalk of the Hou School （school of the master performer Hou Baolin） but also created his own art style.
　　Ma Ji performed traditional works well. Later， his creation and performance tended to better， and then he started writing. He wrote about 100 popular crosstalk works in his life， such as The Universal-brand Cigarette， The Telephone， Looking for Uncle and so on. The reason why people like his works is that his works express deep national feelings and reflect real life.
　　Ma Ji died of heart failure in Beijing on December 20， 2006， at the age of 72.
　　马季，1934年出生于北京，原名馬树槐。他过去在一家工厂做过工。1951年，他开始对相声产生了浓厚的兴趣。1956年，他调入中央广播文工团说唱团成为一名专业相声演员。
　　马季擅长表演反映现实生活的相声作品。除了相声艺术长于讽刺的传统之外，他开启了以赞美新生活和新的英雄人物为主题的新作品。他不仅继承并发展了侯派风格（侯宝林大师的风格），同时又创新出自己的风格。
　　马季表演传统的相声作品非常成功。后来，他创作和表演趋于全面，并开始创作作品。他一生创作了百余篇脍炙人口的相声作品，如《宇宙牌香烟》《打电话》《找舅舅》等。人们之所以喜欢他的相声是因为他的相声表达了浓厚的民族情感，并反映了现实生活。
　　2006年12月20日，马季因突发心脏病医治无效于北京逝世，享年72岁。