General Introduction
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Considering the size of China and its communistic government, the first sprouts of modern music, better saying, of rock music broke through the hardened earth of mainland China after China's first steps with their opening up policy.
Being overwhelmed by the rock development in other countries, such as the US, the United Kingdom or Germany, the time to develop an own style of rock music was short and the space in Chinese culture very neat.
Having the political power concentrated in Beijing, this city was the entry point for most foreign influences, whether it was for study, travel or business reasons. Whereas most foreign companies spread into the southern areas of China (Shenzhen, Shanghai, Guangzhou), other influences stayed in the capital.
Yan Jun once divided the development of Chinese rock in 4 periods [1] :
1986-1990: “Myth of the hero”
Rock was a concept, symbolizing freedom and spirituality.
1993-1997: “Aristocratic Elite”
2nd generation of rockers emerges who were supported by Mo Yan and his Taiwanese record company Magic Stone (affiliated with Rock Records).
1997-2004: “Underground Spirit”
Third generation believes the rock stars of the 1st and 2nd generation sold themselves as they performed with pop stars.
2004-today: Today's period
taken from Jeroen [1]
However, for the years 1984 to 1992, the responsible chief editor of the national music magazine ?People’s music“ (Renmin Yinyue – 人民音乐) sets the following periods (as used by Andreas Steen in his book “Der Lange Marsch des Rock’n’Roll):
1984 – 1988 : The beginnings
1989 – 1990 : Cui Jian
1990 – 1992 : Rock concerts and their implications
These influences, talking in musical terms, were of several kinds. On the one hand more and more foreign students studied Chinese language in Beijing and came into contact with young Chinese students, on the other hand more and more rock records found their way into the country. Being poor quality tapes of The Eagles, Beach Boys, Simon and Garfunkel, they paved the way and educated the Chinese listeners and future rock bands.
1980 - 1986
Seven-piece Puzzle
So it is not surprising to say that the first band ever playing modern music, rock music, in China was established in 1980 in the Beijing foreign language university. The band was called Wan Li Ma Wang and played mostly Western classical rock.
As the underground scene in Beijing at that time was in far more smaller and more underground undeveloped kind, there had been no real concerts or tours or club gigs. There was no real nightlife scene as you can find it today in San Li Tun or Ho Hai. The first gigs were held in the bar of foreign hotels in Beijing with a mixed audience of foreign students and Chinese enthusiasts.
Therefore it is also no surprising, that Philippine cover bands, playing regular in hotel bars, also had their share on influencing future Chinese rock bands, such as the manager of Black Panther: "In 1982 a Filipino surf band did a show at a park. It was all covers, Beach Boys and stuff. We stood there stunned. We had no idea a guitar could make those sounds! That was a turning point."
Before Cui Jian finally started the big breakthrough of Chinese rock, a few other bands should be mentioned, such as Alisi (1981), a band mainly performing Japanese songs. Mainland band (1982), formed by Adi with some foreigners. Seven-piece Puzzle and Self Righting Doll form in 1984, the first band to play electronic instruments in China.
Events 1985
1985 gives you a quick overview about which bands formed that year.
In the beginning of 1985 the foreign band Wham performs in China and starts a pop euphoria.
Events 1986
1986 gives you a quick overview about which bands formed that year.
In Autumn 1986, the foreign band SheRock performs in China.
In November 1986 the foreign surfrock-Duo: “Jan (Berry) and Dean (Torrence)” performs in China.
1986 - 1990: “Myth of the hero”
Cui Jian at Tiananmen SquareBut the main event is still Cui Jian and his performance of "I have nothing / Nothing to my name" (Yi wu suo you, various English translation in use - English lyrics) during a 1987 television concert, with which Cui Jian became more famous than maybe any other band in China. His socially critical lyrics earned him the anger of the government and many of his concerts were banned or canceled. After the Tiananmen massacre he played with a red scarf around his head to demonstrate against the actions of the government.
The song "I have nothing" became an enormous hit, and the phrase yi wu suo you (literally "one without everything) is now part of the vocabulary many young people use to describe their predicament and future prospects.
The rock music played from 1986 to 1989 is also known as The Northwest Wind (西北风) style rock. This new style was triggered by two new songs, "Xintianyou" and the above mentioned "I Have Nothing", 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 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. It also heralded the revival of musical creativity in Mainland China.[2]
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). They 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 a earthy, primordial masculine image of Mainland China, as opposed to the soft, sweet, polished urban gangtai style. [2]
Following Cui Jian and starting up as rock bands, Cobra (Yan Jing She), the all-female group; Black Panther, Guo's band; The Breathing (Hu Xi), Gao Qi's original band; Mayday, a seminal group that featured He Yong , China's semi-punk guitarist and also Tang Chao (Tang Dynasty, 唐朝 1988) were formed and are today known as rock legends in China.
He YongBlack Panther is a good old-school rock band, sometimes harder mostly softer. On their first CD "Hei Bao" were also English songs ('Don't break my heart') that became popular across China. "Don't break my heart" became a top ten hit in Hong Kong. They are still playing even though their first singer (Dou Wei) left the band after the first CD was released and started successfully a solo career.
As with most Chinese rock bands, they had to release their CDs in Taiwan or Hong Kong first, as no record company in mainland China wanted to take their CDs. Normally it took one year before the CDs were released officially in mainland China.
It was also in 1987 that Chinese musicians began using the phrase yao gun (摇滚), which translates into rock'n'roll.
Cui Jian's second release in 1989 Rock'n'Roll on the new long march and his famous concert at the Theater Exhibition Hall of Beijing prepared the takeoff for Chinese rock and metal music.
But then happened to be the year of 1989 and the year in which most foreign countries set an economical ban on China. 1989 is the year of the Tiananmen Square Massacre as it is named in foreign media. Many bands that were living at that time in Beijing performed on the square, but most of them avoid to be directly participating in the movement as they feared to be labeled political or even counter-revolutionary.
After the incident, of which all bands, all students and all young Chinese were shocked, a wind blew. A new direction within the youth happened to be. They did not talk anymore about Women Guojia, our country, but about Women Ziji, ourselves.
Some stopped to sing about political criticism or social problems, but started to sing about how to live on and how to have a good life in the world we're already living in. Some bands however did not stop and tried to go on with what they had complained about before. But the audience had changed and wasn't interested anymore in this kind of lyrical topics.
Rock was a big thing both in political and financial terms in the late 80s, but the popularity, the audience, was limited mostly to Beijing's college and university students and some artistic circles. Because it spoke of individuality, depression, and made veiled references to the government, the state-run recording studios would not produce rock albums.
But in the early 90s, as one effect of the new opening up the markets strategy to pull China out of its developing state, many state-run publishing houses lost their subsidies and had to show up with profits and real income. After the Tiananmen dust settled down and rock's popularity slowly but steadily rose in and out of Beijing, studios and publishers in China's biggest cities started to sign bands, such as The Compass or The Breathing.
Around that time, foreign music producers also began to take an interest in Chinese new music. EMI signed Cui Jian and the Taiwan record company Rock Records started looking for musicians from Beijing to sign contracts. Their new Mainland China division Magic Stone Culture signed former Black Panther singer Dou Wei, He Yong and Zhang Chu, providing them with studio equipment and even video productions.
Beginning of the 90s, bands were longing to get the chance to record CDs or cut videos. Nearly all established bands had their own records up to that time or they had at least participated in one of several compilation CDs. Videos of Tang Dynasty and Dou Wei could be seen on Channel V (one part of Rupert Murdoch's Star TV system).
They even got the chance to tour in foreign countries, such as Tang Dynasty's, Cobra's, Cui Jian's and vocalists Wang Yong's Germany tour called The Chinese Avantgarde.
But even though those rock stars popularity and success grew and grew, their own financial situation was in big contrast to this development. They were poor, some not having enough money for food or shelter. Being out of the dan wei system, that provided most of China's population with a safe work place and an apartment, these bands' members lived with their family and spent all their little money on buying new rock tapes or music equipment.
After 1987 and especially after 1989, the course of government changed. Having tried to suppress the rock development in the beginning and having forbidden rock musicians, such as Cui Jian to perform on stage, except if necessary to show an open-minded face to the foreign world (1990 Opening Concert for the Asian Games, 1994 Concert in the bidding ceremony for the 2000 Olympics), they nowadays changed their tactics towards ignoring the new music scene.
Therefore, state-run media houses have been and are still promoting the so called tong su, a kind of popular music originated in Taiwan and Hongkong. The Asian pop music industry as a whole is based on love songs sung by handsome men and beautiful women. "Once a singer and a record company agree to cooperate, the company handles everything," said Wu Yue, one of Central Chinese Television's top music video directors. "The company does it all: they choose the singer's image, write the songs, shell out the money for production, make the videos, and market the record. All the singer does is sing and live up to their image."
However, what was started couldn't be stopped and Cui Jian alongside with the other bands continued to make music.
Differences between the first two generations
But what are the main differences between the rock and metal scene of the first two generations 1986-1996 and the upcoming New Sound?
Those who played in the years of the opening, such as Cui Jian or Tang Dynasty, those were strongly influenced by idealism, heroism and individualism, trying to establish a unique Chinese rock style, which can be seen at Tang Dynasty's first CD (opera-influence). They expressed their feelings and their mood within their music and used it as medium of choice to critize the social and political situation they're living in.
The Beijing-New-Sound-Movement (Beijing Xinsheng Yundong) also called '98 Rock's New Wave ('98 Yaogun Xin Lanchao) started with "Sober's" first CD "It's Great!?" ("Hao Ji Le!?") December 10th, 1997. They mainly focussed on their virtueity in playing, their technique and experimenting with new sounds and influences of Western bands.
Whereas the first rockers showed their individualism, the so called third generation shared a strong realistic view of the world, knowing where they are, what they do and what they want. (Xian Shi Zhu Yi / Cheng Shi Ping Min Zhu Yi). The new generation bears the seed for a rebellion of denial. Further information on this topic see [3].
The 1990s
Tang Dynasty at the beginning of the 90sTang Dynasty, for example, had been the first real heavy metal band in China. Their first CD "A dream return to tang dynasty" combines elements of traditional Chinese opera and old school heavy metal. It was released 1991/2 and was the major breakthrough for Tang Dynasty. Unfortunately Zhang Jun (bass) of Tang Dynasty died 1995 during a car accident, so many Chinese admit that the present band is not as good as it was.
But whenever you have the chance to attend one of their concerts: Take it and enjoy living Chinese history! "Kaiser Kuo", one of the guitarists of Tang Dynasty is also playing in the band Spring Autumn.
1990 gives you a quick overview about which bands formed that year.
1991 gives you a quick overview about which bands formed that year.
1992 gives you a quick overview about which bands formed that year.
1993-1997: "Aristocratic Elite"
1993: The Beijing Midi School of Music (or Beijing Midi Music School) opened its doors at the Shuang'an Building near The People's University. It offered a three-month course in the basics of rock and blues, taught by famous musicians from the Beijing rock scene, Tang Dynasty, Breathing and the like. Zhang Fan (born 1967, Beijing) became Dean in late 1993. Zhang had studied trade at Capital University of Economics and Business, and had started playing guitar in high school, around 1983. Midi School, partly financed by the Midi company, imported and translated the teaching material themselves, and encountered a lot of problems because of lack of experience, frequent relocations throughout Beijing and funding difficulties. [1]
Since the school was the first of its sort and had a good reputation, it attracted many aspiring musicians from all over China. Yan Jun opens his book "UnderGroundGround" (地地下) [2002] with a chapter on the history of Chinese rock called "Iron Blood or Robber Sweat: Looking back at Ten Years Rock". In this chapter Yan focuses on the marginalized development of Chinese rock rather than on the appearance of rock stars and bands such as Cui Jian and Black Panther in mainstream culture. He opens the section "My out-of-town accent" (我的外地口音) with the following sentence: "The large scale movement of musicians from outside Beijing into the capital began with the founding of the Midi School in 1993." [1]
In the same section Yan also writes:
"The largest contribution of Midi is, in addition to generally improving the quality of a generation of musicians, helping students from a variety of places to get to know each other and forming an extensive network of contacts that is rejected by the center. If it would change its name into Midi Music Association, I think nobody would object."
These relatively poor students lived together and rehearsed in small and dilapidated places, first in artist villages such as the one close to the former Winter Palace and later in a former peasant village in the northern suburbs of Beijing called Tree Village (树村) and the neighboring Dongbeiwang.
The background of these out-of-town musicians is very different from that of the Beijing youths that had dominated the rock scene so far. In the capital poor people from rural areas or smaller cities are called "waidiren", out-of-towners, and are frequently portrayed as having no culture, that is, being uncivilized.
Both cut CDs and the Beijing midi school of music stimulated the growth of rock musicians in China and in the capital, until by 1997 the number of rockers was sufficient for the advent of the underground rock community.
Around 1994-96: the first trash metal band was formed: Chao Zai (Overload) that have released three CDs, the last one titled "in cooperation with Gao Qi" of the disbanded hard rock band The Breathing, though he also co-founded Overload.
The suicide of Kurt Cobain, the frontman of the Seattle grunge rock band Nirvana, in 1994 was another major event for the underground scene of China, as the music and behavior of Nirvana influenced the Chinese rock scene thoroughly. In 1997 Hao Fang published Radiant Nirvana: The Life of Kurt Cobain which was widely read. It is remarkable that Hao Fang could write an original biography based on material in English without ever having to leave Beijing. This proves the importance of the internet and the impact of globalization in this period. Cobain's rejection of rock stardom, the DO IT YOURSELF-attitude of Nirvana, the cultural and geographical periphery of the grunge-hotbed Seattle and Nirvana's explicit glorification of the small but true underground scene can all be seen as feeding in to the underground community Beijing 1997-2004. Yan Jun writes: 'In 1997 Hao Fang's biography of Kurt Cobain came out, and the whole underground spirit represented by Nirvana became reality in an exaggerated way. By this time, explaining to others 'we are an underground band' already seemed very respectable.' [1]
Going on to the 90's the new wave of "grunge" (Nirvana, Alice in Chains, Soundgarden ...) reached China and influenced the youth, so that the face of Kurt Cobain is still omnipresent at concerts / students. You can buy Nirvana's CDs everywhere - even though most of them are fake CDs - as well as T-Shirts, bags ...
Punk became famous in China around 1994 - 1996 (first Chinese punker: He Yong) and was succeeded by New Metal (influenced by Limp Bizkit, Linkin Park, others). Together both movements are part of the so called "New Sound" of China.
Around 1995 the first wave of Chinese punk bands comes up in Beijing, whereas the second generation followed around 1997.
1997-2004: “Underground Spirit”
Yan JunIn May 1997 the Midi Modern Music School moved to a grammar school in the commercial and industrial development area Shangdi in the north-west of the capital and started a two-year course that also incorporated jazz. The school had learned about jazz through a yearly international jazz festival first held in Beijing in 1994. Every year six to eight bands of the festival would come to the school for master classes. The Midi School had established ties with music schools abroad (mainly in Japan, Australia and Scandinavia) to which they sent students and teachers.[1]
Until the end of the 90's, when foreign bands, such as Korn, Limp Bizkit or Linkin Park became known in China, dozens of New Metal bands developed within China:
Yaksa (夜叉), rapcore later metalcore (BJ)
Twisted Machine, rapcore later metalcore/hardcore (BJ)
AK 47, electro-punk-hardcore, later more metalcore (BJ)
Overheal Tank, new metal (famous in Xi'an)
About 1999
1999 gives you a quick overview about which bands formed that year.
Chengdu underground magazine called "Wo Men" (We) [我们] that had been published in 1999 included interviews with rock musicians, literature and a section called "new diary of a madman", a reference to Lu Xun's "Diary of a madman".[1]
Going on to the first years of the new millenia (2000-2004), Post Punk and Extreme Metal entered the Underground scene and is ascending among the fans. As I'm a metalhead I haven't listened too much to punk and post punk, so I cannot tell too much about it.
But the extreme metal scene is tremendous. Just in Beijing more than 25 bands formed and began to develop their own style. They still have to go a long hard road, as they miss the experience foreign bands have. Most bands are just 1-3 years old and try to make their way in the still quite conservative society. They miss support (social - family - label) and most of them have not many songs.
Some good examples (based upon my opinion):
206 and Thinkers, extreme metal from Xi'an
Ritual Day, black metal (BJ)
Regicide, grind/death metal (BJ)
Suffocated, trash metal (BJ)
In the punk scene, the release of the compilation "Wuliao Contingent" (translated: Boring Contingent or Army of the Bored) is seen as a major impact and milestone for Chinese punk.
Events 2002
2002 gives you a quick overview about which bands formed that year.
In August the LiJiang Snow Mountain Festival 2002 was organized and held by Cui Jian bringing together several bands to celebrate Chinese rock music. Coverage by South China Morning Post, Sydney Morning Herald and Time.com
Events 2003
2003 gives you a quick overview about which bands formed that year.
In February, 3rd and 4th, foreign band Suede performs in Beijing.
During 2003, SARS striked in China and cut deep into the social daily life of many Chinese. Dead streets, closed bars, canceled concerts and events were the result. It also struck the metal scene as it was impossible to perform in any city. The major bars were closed or didn't allow shows, bands had no chance to present themselves, business went down and some broke up. The Midi festival 2003 had to be canceled in May and was postponed to October.
Even after SARS was over and tourism slowly reestablished, the scene was still in a paralysis. Some old bars had closed down, some changed the owner due to financial reasons and others lost the customers, the flair and the atmosphere. It would need time to heal the wounds of SARS and so every small step in the right direction was cheerful anticipated, such as the first metal concert after SARS in Xi'an (206 and Thinkers, Pulse :: Bella Bar), which launched a new series of concerts and events taking place in the beginning nearby the old 8 1/2 Bar and later in the YoYo Bar.
The development of new metal in the beginning of the third millenia (2000-) started to diverse into several distinct genres, such as Pop New Metal (Ashura), more Hardcore-orientated New Metal (Miserable Faith) and a more rap / voice orientated metal as it is favored by Yaksa.
Similar to the uprise of New American Heavy Metal in the US and New Death Metal in Scandinavia, this trend reached China with two years delay in Mid 2003/2004. The genre to be described as Metalcore is used by bands such as Hollow or Ego Falls, both having two vocals, one for a clean voice and one for a dark one.
In October, the Midi Modern Music Festival 2003 was hold and on the 2nd Japanese band BRAHMAN played on stage, an event that arouse strong negative reactions of the audience resulting in discussions in Japan and China.
2004-today: Today's period
Instead of a full-text paragraph the main events are listed. For a full account of the activities in Chinese music and their connection to each other a certain period in time needs to have past.
Events 2004
2004 gives you a quick overview about which bands formed that year.
July: Black Panther release their fifth record: "Black Panther V" (黒豹V)
November: Brainfailure performed in Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka.
In October, 1st-4th, the Midi Modern Music Festival 2004 is hold in Beijing. The accompanying double-DVD is released in Mid 2005.
Events 2005
2005 gives you a quick overview about which bands formed that year.
March 2005: The dragonradio starts with its first podcast in Hongkong. Up to March 2006 they have released 36 issues with Asian and Chinese underground music. Cui Jian's fifth record is released: "Show your colour". Between March 3rd and March 27th, Austrian punk band Sonic Bastards tours China.
April: Three records are released: X.T.X & Cold Blooded Animal with "Cold Blooded Animal" | The Verse with "Tale of two cities" | Ashura with their second CD.
June: Cui Jian's Gegentala Inner Mongolia Festival.
July: Scream Records releases the tribute compilation "Who is Cui Jian?" (谁是崔建).
October: 1st-4th, The Midi Modern Music Festival 2005 was hold in Beijing, meanwhile advanced to China's largest rock festival.
December, 2nd - 24th: German rock band "The Lucky Punch" goes on a China tour through more than 15 cities.
Events 2006
2006 gives you a quick overview about which bands formed that year.
March 2006: The German power metal band Edguy plays together with Overload and Gao Qi in Beijing.
May 1st-5th: The Midi Modern Music Festival is held in Beijing. (More info about Midi 2006) Twelve foreign bands join the festival and start China national tours.
May 24th: The Gigshanghai podcasts starts service in Shanghai.
July - September: The band Subs is touring Nordic Europe.
Events 2007
2007 gives you a quick overview about which bands formed that year.
May: The Midi Music Festival 2007 is held and attracts tens of thousands of fans from all over China.
October: The Modern Sky Festival 2007 is held in the Haidian Park (Beijing) featuring 4 stages and over 120 bands.
December: The Mao Live Club is holding their Mao Awards 2008 with the formal ceremony on January 23rd 2008.
Events 2008
2008 gives you a quick overview about which bands formed that year.
January: Several foreign metal bands visited Beijing: Dark Tranquility, Nightwish, Skylark and Prog-Rock-Legends Dream Theater.
February: Cold Fairyland heads out for their Finland Tour 2008.
March: No Name tours Europe, mainly Germany, France and the Netherlands; Tour info.
April / May: The Midi Music Festival 2008 was cancelled due to developments regarding the Olympic Games 2008. Furthermore, foreign acts, such as Soilwork cancelled their tour in China.
Authorship
History of Chinese Rock Music / Underground Modern Music written by User:Azchael.
Special Articles at rockinchina.com
The LAND Tour and the Rise of Jazz in China by Dennis Rea
Dennis Rea about Cui Jian by Dennis Rea
Liu Yuan, the CD Cafe, and Jazz in China by Tara Shingle Buzash
Ten Years, A Snapshot For Chinese New Music by Yan Jun
Interview with Zhang Fan (Dean of the Midi School) by Azchael
Interviews with Chinese and foreign bands
Additional Sources
Rockmusik in der V.R. China: Andreas Steen, Deutschland/Berlin. Der Traum von der "TANG DYNASTY", oder: Ueber die Anziehungskraft der Ehrlichkeit.
Metal in the Middle Kingdom: Report on the Chinese Metal Scene (Part I). By Michael De Los Muertos.
Birth of a Beijing Music Scene: By Matthew Corbin Clark.
Beijing Rocks: Rockin' in the Not-So-Free World: By Steven Schwankert.
New Sound aus Peking: Modern Sky und die neue Rock-Ideologie in der Volksrepublik China. By Andreas Steen.
Download the article "Sound, Protest and Business" by Andreas Steen in original English language from their band's page Alptraum der Roten Kammer.
Brief history of china's punk rock scene: by David O'Dell. Published in That's Beijing, August 2002
Chinese rock at wikipedia: Article about Chinese rock from the English wikipedia project
Tongue - Making sense of Beijing underground rock, 1997-2004: MA thesis by Jereon Groenewegen
Der Lange Marsch des Rock'n'Roll by Andreas Steen, 32. Berliner China-Studien, LIT Verlag Hamburg
Live at the Forbidden City by Dennis Rea, iUniverse
History of Rock in Wuhan by Whrock.net
BAP ?vver China by Gerhard Hirschfeld and Jesko Sander, Vorw?rts Verlag GmbH, Bonn, 1989 - German rockband BAP tours 1987 in China
English lyrics of Yi Wu Suo You taken from the Article Dennis Rea about Cui Jian, lyrics from Cui Jian's website
Chinese Records Timeline; a chronological overview of all released Chinese records in modern music
