:''For other uses, see
Chinese rock (disambiguation).''
'Chinese Rock' (中国摇滚,
pinyin: ''Zhōngguó yáogǔn''; also 中国摇滚音乐, ''Zhōngguó yáogǔn yīnyuè'', lit. "Chinese shaking and rolling music") is an expression of attitude and lifestyle, which sees no borders or ethnic identity. It is music with modern orchestration (with or without traditional Chinese musical instruments). Chinese rock have often been inaccurately described as a combination of Chinese musical instruments with techniques of Western-style
rock and roll. It became popular in
mainland China in the mid-1980s during the
Tiananmen protests.
History
The Northwest Wind (1985-1989)
Chinese Rock had its origins in
Northwest Wind (西北风, xibeifeng) style of music, which emerged as a main genre in
Mainland China[1]. The new style was triggered by two new songs, "Xintianyou" (信天游) and "I Have Nothing" (一无所有), both of which drew heavily on the folk song traditions of northern
Shaanxi Province in the northwest. They combined this with a western-style fast tempo, strong beat and extremely aggressive bass lines. In contrast to the mellow
cantopop style, Northwest Wind songs were sung loudly and forcefully. It represented the musical branch of the large-scale Root-Seeking (寻根, ''xungen'') cultural movement that also manifested itself in literature and in film.
Many Northwest Wind songs were highly idealistic and heavily political, parodying or alluding to the revolutionary songs of the Communist state, such as "
Nanniwan" (南泥湾) and "
The Internationale" (国际歌). It is, however, associated with the non-Communist
national music side instead of the revolutionary side. The music reflected dissatisfaction among Chinese youth, as well as the influence of western ideas such as individuality and self-empowerment. Both music and lyrics articulated a sense of pride in the power of the northwest's peasantry. Songs such as "Sister Go Boldly Forward" (妹妹你大胆的往前走) came to represent an earthy, primordial masculine image of Mainland China, as opposed to the soft, sweet, polished urban
gangtai style.
Prison songs (1988-1989)
"
Prison Songs" (囚歌) became popular in 1988 and early 1989, parallel to the Northwest Wind style. The fad was initiated by
Chi Zhiqiang (迟志强), who wrote lyrics about his time in jail and set them to folk melodies from northeast China. In contrast to Northwest Wind songs, prison songs were slow, "weepy" and invoked negative role models, often using vulgar language and expressing despair and cynicism. Their non-conformist values are apparent in such songs as "Mother Is Very Muddle-Headed" and "There Is Not a Drop of Oil in the Dish". The popularity of these songs reflected the fact that many people in China during the 1980s became tired of official artistic representations and discourse. The patrons of prison songs were the urban youth, and private entrepreneurs, who at that time were mostly from marginal backgrounds.
Birth of Chinese rock and roll (1989)
The birthplace of Chinese rock was in
Beijing[2]. As the nation's capital, the music was highly politicised and open to a range of foreign influences. It was marginal for most of the 80s, consisting of live performances in small bars and hotels. The music was almost exclusively for the domain of university students and "underground" bohemian circles. In late 1989 and early 1990 Chinese rock partially emerged into mainstream music as a combination of the Northwest Wind and prison song fads.
The first Chinese rock song was arguably the Northwest Wind anthem "Nothing To My Name", first performed in 1985 by
Cui Jian, widely recognised as the father of Chinese rock. The song introduced into post-revolutionary China a whole new ethos that combined individualism, direct and bold expression. It soon came to symbolise the frustration harboured by a disillusioned generation of young intellectuals who grew cynical about
Communism and critical of China's traditional and contemporary culture. It also expressed, even for older Chinese, a dissatisfaction with unrealized promises of the Chinese regime.
In the spring of 1989, "Nothing To My Name" became the de-facto anthem of the student protestors at
Tiananmen Square. Additionally, in May and July of that year, three of China's famous rock bands were established: Breathing (''Huxi'', 呼吸),
Cobra (眼镜蛇), and Zang Tianshuo's (臧天朔) 1989. Earlier rock music groups include "Infallible" (''Budaoweng'' 不倒翁), formed by Zang Tianshuo and Tang Dynasty (''Tang Chao'', 唐朝) lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Ding Wu （丁武), and probably the most famous of all Chinese rock bands: "Black Panther" (''Hei Bao'' 黑豹), originally fronted by China's alternative music pioneer
Dou Wei (窦唯).
Rise of Chinese rock and roll (1990-1993)
After the Tian'anmen Square protests, rock became part of general urban youth culture in China. Its rise from marginality was celebrated on 17 and
18 February 1990, when Beijing's largest ever all-rock concert was held in the Capital Gymnasium, one of the city's largest halls. The concert featured six rock bands, among them Cui Jian's ADO and
Tang Dynasty (唐朝). The criterion that the organisers set as qualification to participate was "originality", generally a Western artistic ethos.
Chinese rock reached a peak of creativity and popularity between 1990 and 1993. Dozens of rock bands were established and rock music was performed on a regular basis. Because they were excluded from state controlled media such as
CCTV, the main venue remained to be informal, small-scale, underground rock parties. The core participants in rock subculture adopted characteristic nonconformist appearance and behaviour. These included long hair for males, jeans, silver metal ornaments, black leather coats, and carefree, hippie-style behaviour. The decline of Northwest Wind and simultaneous rise of the rock fad represented a shift in the attitude of many of China's intellectuals. Nostalgia changed into an unequivocally fierce negation, a sense of alienation from China's traditional and rural culture.
Decline of Rock (1994)
By 1994, Chinese rock slowly began to decline. This can only be attributed to strict
censorship by the
Communist party, such as the banning of rock from television and restrictions on performances
2. More importantly, the decline of rock reflected the general lack of interest in politicised cultural products, thoughts, or behaviour. People became more interested in engaging with the market economy, making money and improving their living standard. Cross-border cultural exchange facilitated by increased economic openness, and the radical commercialisation of the music industry in the mid-90s both lead to the import of overseas music, particularly from Taiwan and Hong Kong.
Cantopop singers such as
Andy Lau were backed up by well-resourced record companies and could raise revenues from film-making and advertising, two sources usually rejected by Chinese rock musicians. Moreover, the level of censorship imposed on
c-pop in less damaging, since
gangtai culture have existed without the mainland.
Rock musicians such as
Tian Zhen and
Xu Wei have adapted their subject matter to the cantopop style and achieved commercial success. By western standard, it could even be classified as Eastern-style
country rock music. Others, such as the self-styled punk
He Yong have fiercely resisted cantopop culture and their imitators on the mainland. In 1995 a handful of younger punk bands (
Brain Failure, Reflector, A Jerks, and 69) produced an album called "Wuliao Contingent," representing the boredom and frustration collectively felt within the urban landscape. At the forefront was Brain Failure, the most successful of these bands, who continue to tour the world with their ska/punk sound. English is used to both express what Chinese lyrics cannot and also in imitation of foreign musicians. One of the significant turning point for rock is
Cui Jian playing with
The Rolling Stones in 2003 at the age of 42. It opened the genre to the rest of the world for the first time.
Current
2000s
From 2000-2004
post punk and
extreme metal entered the underground scene and ascended among the fans. In 2004-2005, Beijing's
Joyside went on their first tour of China.
American filmmaker Kevin Fritz followed them to make the film
Wasted Orient. It was released on DVD in 2007 by
Plexifilm[3]. The film is China's version of
Decline Of Western Civilization. It depicts comically the pitfalls associated with trying to tour a country that has little taste for
Rock n' Roll music. In this film the original line-up of Joyside including Bian Yuan, Liu Hao, Fan Bo, Yang Yang, & Xin Shuang shows these colorful characters drowning away in
alcohol is both hilarious and depressing at the same time. The film also includes some of Joyside's early music, which brought them some recognition. The film Wasted Orient is non-political, and strays away from making any superficial social commentary. While Joyside is not particularly known for the talent, the film present Chinese rock music in the new millennium in the most authentic, raw, and genuine form.
:'Director Kevin Fritz:'
:
Another important step in the development of Chinese rock music had been the
Midi Modern Music School in
Beijing. Established 1993 by Zhang Fan, it was the first school in China offering classes for jazz music and rock music. Started as a school festival in 1999, the Midi Modern Music Festival advanced to the largest rock music festival in China with up to 80000 visitors and over 100 bands. Both the school and the festival supported the underground scene in China and opened the door for over 18 foreign bands in 2006 to perform at the festival and throughout the country. (i.e.
Alev, Monokino, Yokohama Music Association, The Wombats, etc.).
1
In addition to the Midi school, the
Painkiller Heavy Music Magazine started efforts to bring bands such as
Edguy,
Lacrimosa and
Hatesphere to China and organized China tours for them. Especially in the metal and gothic genre these tours are considered milestones in China.
Artists
Solo
Bands
Notes
1. Garofalo, Reebee. [1992] (1992). Rockin' the Boat: mass music and mass movements. South End Press. ISBN 0896084272
2. Jones. Andrew F. [2001] (2001). Yellow Music - CL: Media Culture and Colonial Modernity in the Chinese Jazz Age. Duke University Press. ISBN 0822326949
3. WastedOrient. "WastedOrient." ''Wasted Orient: The Official Rock n' Roll Film of Joyside.'' Retrieved on 2007-04-10.
References
★ Jones, Andrew F. (1992). ''Like a Knife: Ideology and Genre in Contemporary Chinese Popular Music. Ithaca, New York: East Asia Program, Cornell University.
★ Wong, Cynthia P. (2005). "Lost Lambs": Rock, Gender, Authenticity, and A Generational Response to Modernity in the People's Republic of China." Ph.D. dissertation. New York, New York: Columbia University, 2005.
★ Brace, Timothy L.(1992).
Modernization and Music in Contemporary China: Crisis, Identity, and the Politics of Style." Ph.D. dissertation. Austin, Texas: University of Texas, 1992.
Compilations
★ 2003 - ''
Beijing Band 2001: New Rock Bands from the People's Republic of China''. Kemaxiu Music.
External links
★
timeline of all Chinese rock/punk/metal records over the last 20 years
★
Chinese Rock Database (Japanese)
★
Rock in China (detailed archive about Chinese rock music in English)
★
Chinese Popular Songs, lyrics in Chinese, pronunciation and download
★
Heavy Metal Magazine from China: Painkiller Mag
★
Beijing Beat Regular column on the Chinese Music Scene.
★
Live at the Forbidden City Musician/author
Dennis Rea's memoir of the early Chinese rock scene.
Radio Stations Playing Chinese Rock
★ 华流另类AllChinaAlternative http://www.live365.com/stations/bluemonty2
Listening
★
Interview with Dennis Rea about early Chinese rock, from KUOW, November 9, 2006
Video
★
Video stream of Cold Fairyland concert at Paradiso, Amsterdam
★
Video stream of Second Hand Rose concert at Paradiso, Amsterdam
★
Video stream of Zuoxiao Zuzhou concert at Paradiso, Amsterdam
See also
★
C-pop
★
Cantopop
★
Mandopop
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