Cries on the Wall: The Chinese Rock Rebellion (1979-2000)

Abstract

In the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s, an artistic revolution began in China. With the participation of many young people, rock music became a banner of resistance against the government, which opposed any Western influence. Both artists and followers of the movement experienced various forms of censorship, ranging from the limited or nonexistent availability of musical material to the cancellation of performances. Despite constant repression from the Chinese government, rebellious youth managed to consolidate a solid music scene within working-class neighborhoods across the country, where artists and bands such as Cui Jian, Dou Wei, Tang Dynasty, and Black Panther stand out, among others. This paper seeks to compile and examine a musical scene that is relatively unknown in the Western world, while also analyzing this movement through several key questions: What happened for rock to become a poorly regarded genre in China? What actions did high-ranking authorities take to repress this movement? What type of censorship did young rock followers experience? And finally, how did rock manage to remain relevant despite government rejection? These are the questions that this study aims to explore.

The methodology used in this research consists of sources such as books and writings produced by individuals who lived through this period of artistic transformation, as well as Chinese biographies and blogs. These materials are analyzed through a historical-contextual approach that examines the relationship between the government of Deng Xiaoping and the rock movement, the Lin Liguo incident, and the Tiananmen incident and their repercussions. Additionally, a discourse analysis is conducted on the lyrics of a specific song, “A Piece of Red Cloth” by Cui Jian. In this way, the study presents an overview of the presence of rock music in China.