Cui Jian
Cui Jian is a Chinese singer-songwriter and musician whose fusion of rock with Chinese musical traditions helped establish Chinese rock music.
Nothing to My Name: A 1986 song by Cui Jian that became an emblem of Chinese youth culture and protest. Its blend of rock and traditional instruments established the sound that made Cui Jian famous.
Chinese rock: Rock music created in China, combining rock traditions with Chinese languages, instruments, and cultural concerns. Cui Jian is widely regarded as the genre’s foundational figure.
Suona: A Chinese double-reed instrument with a piercing tone, used in folk, ceremonial, and popular music. Its sound appears in Cui Jian’s arrangements, including “Nothing to My Name.”
Tiananmen Square protests of 1989: A mass protest movement in Beijing and other Chinese cities that ended in a military crackdown in June 1989. Cui Jian’s songs became associated with the era’s youth dissent, though he did not perform at the square during the crackdown.
Rock ’n’ Roll on the New Long March: Cui Jian’s 1989 album, combining rock with Chinese folk and traditional musical elements. The album consolidated his distinct sound amid the political ferment surrounding Tiananmen Square.
Seven Ply Board: A Chinese rock band that performed with Cui Jian at Beijing’s Workers’ Stadium in 1986. The band accompanied the landmark performance that introduced his rock sound to a large audience.
Pentatonic scale: A musical scale consisting of five notes per octave. Pentatonic melodic patterns help connect his rock songs with familiar Chinese musical idioms.
Censorship in China: State and institutional controls over public expression, media, and artistic work in China. Restrictions on concerts and performances have repeatedly shaped the public career of Cui Jian’s music.
Beijing concert of May 1986: A concert at Beijing’s Workers’ Stadium where Cui Jian performed with the band Seven Ply Board. His performance of “Nothing to My Name” is widely treated as a starting point for Chinese rock.
Reform and Opening Up: China’s program of economic reform and greater engagement with the world, launched in 1978. Its cultural opening helped make foreign rock records and styles more accessible to Chinese musicians.