In crosstalk, xiangsheng, a performer is expected to have a master. A performer with no recognized line of teachers is called a haiqing, and colleagues in the trade look down on him.
A People’s Daily article described taking a master as “the public announcement of a contract. The master must be responsible for the disciple, and the disciple must respect the teacher.” When Yan Xiaoru became a disciple of Ma Sanli in 1948, Li Jiechen stood at the ceremony as guarantor, baoshi.