"Beijing is a strange city. It is a high-pressure environment politically, but it is a city that loves thought, that loves freedom, and that is very tolerant," says Wang Dong, a Beijing radio DJ. His remarks reflect the worldview of many in the city, who value culture over material gain, opposed to, say, Shanghai, where economics is king and life is materialistic.
In this soil, a group of "tenacious" rockers has sprouted.
Cui Jian, who wrote the 1986 anthem "I Have Nothing At All," was seen as a dangerous person by the authorities. After a difficult journey to once again get the chance to perform, he reorganized the band ADO and in 1989 produced the first album in Chinese rock history, "Rock On the New Long March."
Rock opera
"Give me some flesh, give me some blood, in exchange for my iron will, please let me cry, please let me laugh, please let me play in the snow." Not only does the intense honesty and vitality of his music touch listeners, but his use of traditional Chinese instruments like the zither, Chinese bugle, and gong, lends a "Chinese feel" to the music; this was especially influential to the first generation of Chinese rockers.
"Walking behind others, you'll never make it out of the shadows; we have to make our own Chinese style," says guitarist Lao Wu. His band Tang Dynasty, formed in 1988, tried to integrate a few phrases of traditional music in their compositions. One especially memorable effort involved Peking Opera singing. "A lot of music in China is the cumulative effort of the working class over hundreds of years; it's really a treasure," says singer Wang Tianxiang of the band 1989.
The members of these Beijing bands come from all walks of life. Some come from special school programs or arts troupes, some from the fine arts, others from sound-stage work or even restaurant work. What they have in common is the determination to practice and create, to live on skimpy incomes, in order to share their passion with the "party" of those like themselves. "A lot of rock and roll musicians would rather survive on instant noodles than go to some pub and sing stuff they don't like just for the 50 RMB."
Though there are no official statistics, in the early 1990s there were probably over 100 bands in Beijing, but most came and went in a flash. Only a few have survived. The keys have been creative ability, putting out recordings, and getting the opportunity for big concerts.
The first large rock concert was held in the Beijing municipal sports center in 1990. Six bands, including Tang Dynasty, Breathe, and ADO, revealed the results of their original creative work, drawing wider attention to rock and roll-which had previously had only a cult following-for the first time. Thereafter, bands went down to Shenzhen for a concert, extending their influence to southern China as well.
"Direct participation by Taiwan record companies in record production in the mainland has had a big influence on mainland music," says veteran Beijing music critic Jin Zhaojun. In 1990 subsidiaries of Taiwan's Rock Records signed Tang Dynasty and Hei Bao to contracts. The albums they released made a big splash in Taiwan and Hong Kong. Hei Bao's album sold over a million copies (not even counting pirate versions), a real miracle for Chinese rock.
"Without the Taiwan companies, there's no company in the PRC that could have produced albums like that, and without any recordings, there is no influence," says Jin.
In 1993, Taiwan's Magic Stone Records released China Fire, a Beijing "best of" collection, and it was a big success. In 1994 they signed singers Dou Wei, Zhang Zhu, and Wang Yong, and produced three very different albums. The same year the concert "The Power of Chinese Rock" held in Hong Kong was a big success, further carrying the stature of Chinese rock beyond PRC borders.
