“The essence of rock n’ roll is energy and personality,” he told his fans who gathered in Beijing this week to commemorate his breakout performance.

“The burst of energy in the artistic creation comes from the suppression of personality.”

[...]Organizers gave each guest a piece of red cloth. Some tied it on their arms, others on their foreheads — a nod to the red blindfold Cui often wore when he sang his politically-charged love song, “A Piece of Red Cloth.”

His supporters were left heady with nostalgia.

“That time, we really had nothing,” recalled Bai Qiang, producer of the 70-minute video. “We had no fridge, no camera, no cell phone, nothing. But we were full of spirit. Today, we are much better off but we feel have lost something. Something is still missing.”[...]

Also see Asia Society’s recent interview with Jonathan Campbell, which traces the rise of rock music in China from Cui Jian and into the future.

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Post tags: Cui Jian, music, rock music
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A month before Nevermind, Black Panther, one of China’s first rock bands, released its debut record in Hong Kong and Taiwan. The difference between the two records approximates the distance between the worlds that birthed the two acts. If 1991 was the year punk broke, China never got the memo. Or, more accurately, it wasn’t in a position to process a memo of that nature.

Rock was still new to the Middle Kingdom in 1991—heck, music outside of the Eight Model Operas, some patriotic songs, and the barely-ten-years-old pop industry was still new. Cui Jian, who was already several years into his position as Chinese rock ‘n’ roll’s Chairman of the Board, had introduced China to the new sound in 1986, when he unveiled a song called “Nothing to My Name” at a We-Are-the-World-esque variety show broadcast across the televisions of the nation. “Introduced”, though, isn’t quite right; “hit the nation upside the head with a sledgehammer” is more like it. With that song, a departure from the plethora of pop stars also on the bill, Chinese rock ‘n’ roll began. Suddenly, Cui and his newly recruited fellow rockers had something, and it had a new name: Yaogun (“yow-goon”).

You can hear him discuss China’s rock scene on today’s episodes of PRI’s The World, and Radio Australia’s Asia Profile. Check out Jonathan’s blog to keep up with what’s happening in the world of Chinese rock n’ roll. Also, see Xinhua’s recently updated Cui Jian slideshow, with photos of the premier Chinese rockstar’s beginnings. For further listening and background, try the New Sounds of China podcast, via CDT.

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“Zheng Qianhua” is one of his well-known (or arguably the best known) works as a songwriter. The song is told from the perspective of a new father, who named his daughter “Zheng Qianhua,” which literally means, “to earn the money to spend.” Chuanzi once explained the origin of the song: “I have a friend surnamed Zheng who was very happy at the birth of his daughter. He wanted me to help him write a song for her. So I asked him what her name was, he said Zheng Qianhua. I was so surprised I didn’t believe it, but he swore it was true. And he wanted me to write his daughter into a song. My friend has guts, and I promised him I would, so I wrote ‘Zheng Qianhua.’”

Watch Chuanzi sing “Zheng Qianhua” below. Lyrics translated and added to the original video by CDT (with thanks to our translator).

宝贝，来到这世界的时候，
Baby, when you came into this world,

你知道爸爸有多高兴吗？
Do you know how happy your daddy was?

那天我请了我们很多的朋友，
That day we invited a lot of our friends,

还给你取了这个好听的名字，
And we gave you this pretty name.

从此以后你就叫郑钱花，[
From now on you will go by Zheng Qianhua.

钱是挣钱的钱，
Qian means “money” and

花钱的花，
Hua means “to spend it.”

你的爸爸我现在是穷光蛋啦！
Your daddy, well he’s a poor son of a gun!

将来的一切都靠你自己呀。
In the future, you’re going to have to rely on yourself.

宝贝来到这世界的时候，
Baby, when you came into this world,

你知道妈妈有多幸福吗？
Do you know how blessed your mother felt?

那天她织了一件漂亮的毛衣，
That day she knitted you a beautiful sweater.

我想你穿在身上肯定会很美！
I imagine you’ll be so pretty when you wear it!

从此以后你就叫郑钱花，
From now on you’ll go by Zheng Qianhua.

钱是挣钱的钱，
Qian means “money” and

花钱的花，
Hua means “to spend it.”

你的爸爸也想做个男子汉呐，
Your daddy wants to be a man,

给你们母女俩一个温暖的家。
And provide you and your mom a good home.

可是我的宝贝，你知道吗？
But baby, do you know something?

现在的钱有多么难挣啊！
Do you know how hard it is to make a buck these days!

养一个孩子他妈不容易呀！
Do you know how damn hard it is to raise a kid!

计划生育还有必要吗？
So is there honestly any need for the one-child policy?

伟大的祖国她超有钱呐！
Our great motherland, she’s got loads of cash!

四万个亿跟我有蛋关系呢？
Four billion in stimulus, but it ain’t got nothing to do with me.

骄傲的GDP他噌噌的长啊！
Our proud GDP, it grows and grows and grows!

能给我换来几包尿不湿吗？
But can it buy me any diapers in return?

宝贝，你就叫郑钱花，
Baby, your name is Zheng Qianhua,

爸爸我爱你呀却无能为力呢！
Your daddy loves you, but I can’t do nothin’ to help you!

所以以后要靠你自己啦！
So in the future you’re going to have to rely on yourself!

爸爸我只有衷心祝福你啦！
Your daddy can only give you his best wishes!

好好的成长，不要生病啊！
Grow up well, don’t get sick!

努力学习才能省掉赞助费呀！
Study hard, so we don’t have to pay school fees.*

将来你长大了自己挣钱花，
When you grow up you’ll have to earn your own money to spend.

爸爸我衷心地祝福你了，
Your daddy will always give you his best wishes.

可是我的宝贝，你知道吗，
But baby, do you know something,

现在的钱有多么难挣啊！
Do you know how hard it is to make a buck these days!

养一个孩子他妈不容易呀！
Do you know how damn hard it is to raise a kid!

计划生育还有必要吗？
So is there honestly any need for the one-child policy?

伟大的祖国她超有钱呐！
Our great motherland, she’s got loads of cash!

四万个亿跟我有蛋关系呢？
Four billion in stimulus, but it ain’t got nothing to do with me.

骄傲的GDP他噌噌的长啊！
Our proud GDP, it grows and grows and grows!

能给我换来几包尿不湿吗？
But can it buy me any diapers in return?

* School fees (赞助费) are fees assessed by many public schools in China. These fees replace a similar fee system (借读费) that was partially abolished by the government. “School fees” are often assessed solely, or disproportionately, on the children of migrant workers. In addition, if one seeks to enter a higher-ranking school, the payment of extra “school fees” can assure one’s admission even if one’s grades are low. See here (Chinese).

See CDT’s translation of Chuanzi’s song about the Wenzhou high-speed rail crash, People of July.

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CC: I’ve heard people comparing this world to CBGBs in the 80s, or saying it’s the 60s in New York all over again. It’s tempting to make those comparisons – but would you?

MN: I don’t know. I wasn’t in New York in the 60s or CBGBs in the 80s so I couldn’t call it. But this scene is definitely grounded in China. I think it’s easy to use these purely visual cues to try to draw such a comparison in a strange way, but if you live here there is also something definitely Chinese about the whole thing.

CC: Could you to describe what that thing is? Maybe we should say what’s ‘unique’ about it. It doesn’t have to be nationalistic.

MN: I guess if you want to compare it to something like New York in the 60s or CBGBs in the 80s there is a really creative flourishing going on here right now. There are a lot of people in Beijing right now who, in the past 6 or 7 years, have been exposed to an exponentially larger amount of art and international music – and it’s just been like a shock wave. People are experimenting and playing with possibilities. I’ve often described it as a creative orgy.

Read more about Matthew Niederhauser’s work via CDT here and here.

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The incongruity of security agents facilitating the sale of cannabis-themed merchandise was not lost on the festival’s organizer, Zhang Fan.

“The government used to see rock fans as something akin to a devastating flood or an invasion of savage beasts,” said Mr. Zhang, a handful of whose events have been canceled by skittish bureaucrats since he pioneered the Chinese music festival in 2000. “Now we’re all part of the nation’s quest for a harmonious society.”

He is not complaining, nor are the dozens of malnourished musicians who finally have a way to monetize their craft — although no one is getting rich yet.

The shift in official sentiment — and among state-backed companies paying to have their logos splashed across the stage — has led to an explosion of festivals across China. In 2008, there were five multiday concerts, nearly all in Beijing. This year there have already been more than 60, from the northern grasslands of Inner Mongolia to the southern highlands of Yunnan Province.

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The band is called ‘P.K. 14′, and its music has been called post-punk. But its lead singer says he’s been influenced by everything from Bob Dylan and Motown to the Beat Generation and French existentialism. Mary Kay Magistad reports from Beijing.

Watch a P.K. 14 video:

And read more about the band via CDT.

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TH: Can you explain why you have such a distinct singing style? What reactions has it gotten?

ZXZZ: I’ve always wanted to make art more intimate and use a singing style that’s relatively easy to communicate with and to distill my art. But you know, when it comes to the aesthetics, most people stop at the level of enjoyment or its purported educational value, so there are people who say they like what I do. Others admire it. Others are indignant. There’s all kinds of reactions.

TH: How did you meet Michael Timmins of Cowboy Junkies?

ZXZZ: We’ve never actually met, nor have we ever directly communicated because we speak different languages. For the last two years a rock critic named Eric Chen has been our go between and helped us communicate. I’m very thankful that Cowboy Junkies thought high enough of my work. Their cover of “I Cannot Sit Sadly by Your Side” has been better received than my own version.

TH: How do you compare their sound and style to other Chinese musicians? Who do they remind you of?

ZXZZ: Cowboy Junkies’ form is similar to Xu Wei. There’s just a touch of that in there. Xu Wei also does folk, but Cowboy Junkies do a different kind of folk. They can be fairly heady sometimes. They consider me a folk artist as well. I think I’m actually a bit more wild than that.

TH: Why did you agree to work with them?

ZXZZ: I heard a kind of benevolence in their music. They are very creative artists and their love for music is almost beyond imagination. They really know what they’re doing when it comes to making new music.

Later, Hathaway asks Zuoxiao Zuzhou, who is also an artist and writer, about his friendship with Han Han and Ai Weiwei:

TH: You said you had dinner once with Ai Weiwei and Han Han. When was this and what did you talk about? Can you compare your personality and work with theirs?

ZXZZ: Han Han and I have admired each other for a long time now but we never actually met until last summer. I introduced him to Ai Weiwei that day, and they admire each other’s work too. I thought I should let them do most of the talking. Han Han and Weiwei spoke mostly of social problems. I spoke with Han Han largely about domestic life and interests. We could have gone on forever.

I’ve known Ai Weiwei for 16 years. I met him when he came back from New York’s East Village and came to Beijing’s East Village to hang out. We have a really close relationship. I stayed with him the whole time in 2009 when he went to Chengdu to present evidence for Tan Zuoren. I’m the guy wearing the hat on cover of the documentary Laoma Tihua [老妈蹄花].

Ai Weiwei and Han Han’s thinking have very strong logic, and their writing is clean and agile. They conduct themselves a bit more rationally than I do. I’m more carefree and emotive. I rely more on my instincts to create and do things. I don’t use plans. Also my age is right between theirs. Weiwei is about 12 or 13 years older and Han Han is that much younger. I’m honored to have them as friends and we get along well together.

Listen to and download the Cowboy Junkies’ song A Walk in the Park, on which Zuoxiao Zuzhou sings back-up, via Amazon here. And watch a performance by Zuoxiao Zuzhou below:

© Sophie Beach for China Digital Times (CDT), 2010. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Ai Weiwei, Han Han, musicians, punk, rock music, Zuoxiao Zuzhou
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It was the first day of summer in Beijing. It also happened to be the May holiday, when Chinese people had three days off in honor of International Workers’ Day. Holiday is a rare treat in the booming city, and the metropolitan youth poured into public parks to enjoy a new type of leisure activity: the rock festival. However, not everyone is there to hear the music. Instead, they give cool looks and are aloof, eyes gazing idly towards the bands. They dress retro, hip, bohemian, punk, creative, whatever. Consuming this “alternative” trend has become the mainstream fashion of the day.

There was a time when rock meant more. But twenty years have passed, and the first rockers — Cui Jian, He Yong — are now worshiped as saints of a bygone era and a more fashionable reason, namely having style, has sprung up and overtaken what the old rockers stood for — freedom of speech and liberalization. Bands now sing about material things, observing people’s opinions on money and the need for affluent lives. Not only this, increasingly more people on the scene need to have an outfit first — an outfit that befits the lifestyle.

For He Yong, allegedly China’s first punk (debuting in ’89), the legacy that he left was actually his dress code: a white and blue striped T-Shirt, sailor-like, coupled with a synthetic-looking red scarf originally seen on the necks of schoolchildren who were Young Pioneers (for school kids, this is the first time they pledge allegiance to the Communist Party). The symbolism of the red scarf has now disappeared, as adults walk around looking clownish. The fabric isn’t worn; instead, it looks mass produced and brand new.

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A ton of interesting testimony and analysis has come in since then. Here is a sample installment to get going. Probably two more installments to come. The emerging theme is that whatever “really” went on with this now-scrubbed concert tour, it probably wasn’t the version trumpeted around the world a week ago, and that I initially believed: namely, that the Chinese authorities had turned down the tour for fear of a Bjork-like embarrassing comment by Dylan. As I mentioned, this is a spillover cost of any kind of censorship policy: when people know you’ve shut down some kinds of expression, they’re willing to believe you’ve shut down others even when you haven’t.

Fallows then quotes a letter he received recently:

…[My neighbor] is Bob Dylan’s road manager. I bumped into him Tuesday night. He just came back from touring in Japan and Korea with Dylan.

He says there never was a China trip planned. the whole thing is a story concocted by a promoter and that Dylan had nothing to do with planning any China tour.

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At the über-hipster Glasslands venue in Brooklyn’s Williamsburg, one bearded, bespectacled bouncer looked positively astonished: “I’ve never seen a crowd like this. There’s a line out the door!” Another source of astonishment: “Wow! There are Chinese kids with tight pants and guitars who play music like our music!” Indeed; though Glasslands was certainly the hipsterati’s spot to see and be seen last Friday, it wasn’t immediately apparent that the crowd’s appreciation rose beyond the “Woah! Dude! Novelty! Cachet! China’s hip!” level.

More’s the pity: following the always-entertaining, always-gruff Xiao He, PK 14 turned in a terrific set. Carsick Cars, darlings and avatars of the Beijing scene, came off a bit lackluster compared to some recent D-22 and Yugong Yishan shows. But you wouldn’t have known it from the chatter in the crowd: scenesters know a hot trend when they see one, and lavished more praise than was really called for. But Jeffray Zhang and his band finished strong: their signature closing anthem “Zhongnanhai” brought forth a shower of unlit cigarettes to the stage, a su

Meanwhile, in the higher-toned confines of Carnegie Hall (full disclosure, again: this writer was in town working for them), that prestigious institution was wrapping up its “Ancient Paths, Modern Voices” China festival, which concluded Tuesday night. The program represented several generations of artists who learned their craft at Beijing’s Central Conservatory of Music. The legendary “class of 1978,” named for the year they started at the just-reopened school, included big names like Tan Dun, Chen Qigang (of Olympic ceremony fame), Chen Yi, and Zhou Long. Of more recent Central Conservatory vintage was Lang Lang, who played Rachmaninov’s 2nd Piano Concerto during Tuesday night’s festival finale. And at the youngest extreme, Li Shaosheng – born in 1988 – had a piece premiered in Alice Tully Hall under Carnegie’s aegis. Carnegie’s PR machine worked overtime, scoring several glowing reviews from the New York Times.

From a review of Ancient Paths, Modern Voices in the New York Times:

The concerts have had colorful moments, some in performances by traditional ensembles of various kinds, but most in works for Western orchestra drawing on Chinese themes and timbres.

Another of those hybrids, Chen Qigang’s “Iris Dévoilée” (“Iris Unveiled”), from 2001, brought the festival to a close on Tuesday evening. But the performance, by the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, was oddly anticlimactic.

That may be partly because eight of the nine movements in Mr. Chen’s 45-minute score are slow, gentle-textured meditations that require greater patience than New Yorkers can easily muster, particularly after being rattled by Lang Lang’s splashy, kinetic pianism in Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2.

Here’s Carsick Cars performing “Zhongnanhai” at the powerHouse Arena in Brooklyn:

And PK 14 at the same event:

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Post tags: Carsick Cars, classical music, Lang Lang, PK14, rock music
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