Other groups unapologetically adhered to more established styles. Tang Chao ("Tang Dynasty"), formed in 1987, presented itself as a heavy metal band. Their sole album, "A Dream Return to Tang Dynasty" (1992, Rock Records) nevertheless drew from both the imagery and music of Imperial China. Tang Chao has become a favorite with overseas Chinese.
A few groups defined themselves as "punk" musicians. The first among these, Mayday, was headed by the confrontational singer He Yong. Unlike the more cryptic lyrics of most yaogun musicians, the songs in He Yong's album "Garbage Dump" (1994, Rock Records) were openly disdainful of the government, the police, corrupt officials, and the people and culture of China. Another notable first wave punk band is the all-female Cobra. Formed in 1989, the five women in Cobra are an anomaly in the male-dominated culture of yaogun. The government disapproval for yaogun musicians in general was even harsher for female performers, and the members of Cobra found that they were often excluded from the underground music community. Their sole album, "Hypocrisy" (1995, World Beat) has not been released in China, although their live performances draw large crowds, and their overseas following is extensive.
The open musical climate of 1988, like everything else, changed dramatically the following year. The student protests of 1989 raised the prominence of yaogun music, as well as its political liabilities. A number of students cited Yi wu suo you as a source of personal inspiration and as a rallying cry in their political mobilization. The song represented their sense of having nothing to lose and everything to gain. Yi wu suo you was sung by the students marching through the streets of Beijing, and it and other songs were broadcast over the loudspeakers in the occupied Tiananmen Square. A handful of musicians, including Cui Jian and He Yong, performed in the Square for the hunger-striking students.
The government was aware of the role of yaogun in the demonstrations, and after June 4 yaogun musicians were among the targets of the crackdown. Although no musicians were arrested, those who had played in Tiananmen Square were banned from performing or making public appearances. Some were subject to interrogation and official harassment.(193) Even performers who were not personally targeted felt the newly restrictive climate. Between the summer of 1989 and the fall of 1992, yaogun stagnated as musicians were under close surveillance and even private performances were risky. The tongsu industry also felt the vise-grip, as more experimental songwriters were punished and only the most ideological bombastic songs were produced.
There were, however, some exceptions to the restrictive policy followed after 1989. Most notable was the concert tour that Cui Jian was allowed to give in autumn 1989 as a fund-raiser for the Asian Games. The tour proved as short as it was surprising, due to Cui Jian's refusal to tone down his music or performance. He performed the song, "A Piece of Red Cloth," which describes complicity in and even enjoyment of the perpetration of one's own suffering. Halfway through the performance, Cui would take a red piece of cloth and blindfold himself with it. The musicians in his band would also tie red cloths over their eyes and mouth. The symbolism of this was not lost on his enthusiastic audience or the government censors, and the tour was suddenly canceled after a few concerts.(194)
Following the Fourteenth Party Congress in October of 1992, when the economic reforms were reaffirmed and extended, the restrictions on music and other forms of popular culture were lifted. The Beijing municipal government began to permit occasional concerts, and official surveillance of yaogun musicians was relaxed. The surge in foreign trade with and investment in China also brought new opportunities for Chinese musicians. In the years since 1992, the line of distinction between tongsu and yaogun music has become blurred. Although the stylistic differences remain, the once marginal yaogun music has come to resemble the mainstream tongsu. music in terms of audience and structure of production.
The greater freedom allowed to musicians after autumn 1992 resulted in a proliferation of new non-tongsu artists. Many could be considered yaogun, but the majority pursued crossover styles that bore little resemblance to the original Chinese rock music. The musicians and bands in this "second wave" configured the splintering of yaogun music and culture. The number of musicians was no longer small enough to maintain a coherent artistic community as had existed in the late 1980's. Although interaction and collaboration between groups remained high, alternative musicians began to seek independent paths, both artistically and professionally.
Although Cui Jian and the other trailblazers remain the icons of yaogun, their artistic and symbolic significance has faded. Young singers now refer derisively to Cui as "old and rich." The second wave musicians are also more pragmatic: their lyrics tend to be less controversial, and they are willing to contract themselves out to tongsu-related activities, such as recording commercials or rock versions of revolutionary songs. (195)
One well-known second wave musician who represents the intermingling of tongsu and yaogun is Zhang Chu. In 1987, at age nineteen, he left his native Xi'an for Beijing. Zhang Chu became involved in tongsu music, where he was an anomaly for writing his own material. He performed songs such as "Bopomofo" and "My Sister" in the late 1980's, and released an early album, "A Heart Unwilling to be Vulgar."(196) In the early 1990's, however, Zhang broke from the tongsu industry to begin performing and recording independently. In 1994, Zhang's first yaogun album, "Shameful being left alone," was released by Rock Records (Taiwan), and it was followed in 1997 with "Airplane Factory."(197) Zhang Chu's tongsu roots remain apparent, as his subdued performance style and conventional, boyish good-looks make him inoffensive and easily marketable to the standard Chinese consumer. In one Hong Kong concert, Zhang Chu performed on stage with such luminaries as Tang Chao and He Yong, and the contrast was apparent. Next to the tall, long-haired, gnarled and emaciated members of Tang Chao and He Yong, with his heavy build and overgrown Beatles-style haircut, Zhang Chu looked more like a bewildered schoolboy who had wandered down the wrong street.
The ability of yaogun to absorb performers such as Zhang Chu, who are less willing to base their music appeal on their membership in an alternative subculture, shows the evolution of the genre. Along with cross-over musicians, a number of alternative styles have expanded the definition of yaogun in the opposite direction. The heavy metal style pioneered by Tang Chao had been continued by "death metal" bands such as the Fly, Underworld, and Underbaby. While older forms of yaogun have become increasingly acceptable in China, metal and punk remain on the fringes. Derisive of older "rockers," punk and metal bands scorn the comparisons made between their music and American groups. Like the early yaogun musicians, they view the marginalization as a badge of pride. On the other hand, they are sufficiently mainstream to sign record deals with foreign music companies. (198)
The majority of new bands, however, more closely resemble the early yaogun groups. Many are started by first wave musicians who leave their old bands to start new groups with younger musicians. For example, Dou Wei from Hei Bao left in 1991 to start a new band, Dreaming, and in 1994 he independently produced the album "Black Dreams." Other new groups that have become relatively famous include No. 43 Baojia Street, 1969, Face, and Again. Altogether, there are about fifty new groups and performers that have released albums since 1992. (199)
One ramification of the 1992 resumtion of reform was the involvement of overseas record companies in the Mainland music scene. The state-owned music industry was unwilling to publish albums that failed to adhere to the Party standard of acceptability. Although liberalization and the profit motive have continued to push the definition of what could be tolerated, the official standards remain artistically limiting. What state-owned companies were reluctant to publish, provided profitable material for music corporations from Hong Kong, Taiwan, and the United States. These international companies provided what yaogun musicians most lacked: equipment, publicity and, most of all, money.
Foreign companies had been involved in China since the mid-1980's, but at the time were mainly involved with distribution of Western and Gangtai popular music. In 1989, EMI signed a record contract with Cui Jian, and his first album, "Rock and Roll on the New Long March" was produced as a cassette. (200) Prior to 1992, very few yaogun musicians recorded or released professional albums. Access to recording studios was blocked by both prohibitive prices and ownership by an unfriendly government. Since 1992, musicians from both the first and second wave have profusely produced albums, and the overwhelming majority were released and distributed by foreign labels. (201)
The Chinese music scene has been recently influenced by foreign companies in more ways than record production. In the early 1990's, the Rupert Murdoch media empire launched "Star TV", which contained popular American shows as well as music videos from both the U.S. and Asia. Initially, the music was mainly from Taiwan and Hong Kong, but after 1992, mainland artists began to be featured. In 1995, Murdoch began broadcasting the Hong Kong based Channel V, also known as "MTV Asia", which regularly featured both alternative and tongsu Chinese music. Although these stations remain illegal in China, they are easily accessible with antennae. Even CCTV began to show music videos, and videos of the more popular tongsu songs are presently a staple component of its programming. (202)
The involvement of foreign labels has proven a mixed blessing for yaogun musicians. On one hand, many have gone from poverty and obscurity to international renown. On the other hand, it has forced them to make a number of artistic and personal compromises. Artistically, foreign labels seek marketability rather than artistic innovation. (203) In China Pop, Zha (1995) detailed the case of the conflict between Hong Kong based CIM records and popular mainland singer Ai Jing. Ai Jing had her start at age 16 as a contract tongsu singer for the Oriental Ensemble of Dance in Beijing. After a few years, she went on to the Central Drama Institute, where she was recruited in 1990 by a Taiwanese film company to act in Five Girls and a Rope. (204)
In 1992, Ai Jing wrote, recorded and released with CIM her first album, "My 1997", which included the hit songs, "My 1997" and "The Wandering Swallow". Ai Jing's musical style fails to fit into either category of tongsu and yaogun. It is soft without being light and evocative without excessive emotion. Her music has been compared to that of Suzanne Vega. Her most famous song, the autobiographical "My 1997," was based on her romantic involvement with CIM's music division manager Liu Zhuohui, who is from Hong Kong. The lyrics detail her frustration at not being able to visit him in Hong Kong. (205)
With a voice inside me born for singing,
My life went by pretty easy.
I sang my way from Beijing to Shanghai's Bund
From Shanghai all the way South, singing my song.
I stayed in Canton for days, oh the days were long,
Because my man, he was living in Hong Kong
What's this thing they call Hong Kong?
What's so cool about Hong Kong?
He can come to Shenyang, but I can't go to Hong Kong.
Take me to that wonderful world,
Give a passport to this girl.
Come on 1997! What's so cool about Lan Kwai Fong?
Come on 1997! So I can make it to Hong Kong.
Come on 1997! Let me sing at the Coliseum.
Come on 1997! Dancing with him all night long.(206)
"My 1997" was an immediate hit. Its video was first released on CCTV in October of 1992. December of the same year, the album was released in Taiwan, where it sold 100,000 copies within the first two weeks. In January 1993 it was released in mainland China, and received a similar response, with 200,000 copies selling within a month. Ai Jing was catapulted to instant fame. She became a regular guest hostess on mainland, Taiwanese, and Hong Kong music shows as she traveled and performed throughout East Asia. (207)
Her fame, however, gave her little bargaining power when set against the corporate behemoth. In 1994, Yu Pinhai, the director of CIM's mainland branch, announced that all singers would have to sign a six-year contract with CIM during which they would not receive a salary. Rather, more money would be spent on marketing, packaging, and promoting, with life-size photos in shop windows and concert tours throughout the country. When Ai Jing, CIM's first mainland star, indicated that she would prefer a different arrangement, Yu threatened to cut off all promotion efforts and halt her current recording. Liu's job was also at stake.
The relative powerlessness of mainland musicians in dealing with international music companies is not unlike the situation between tongsu singers and music and television officials. Ai Jing ultimately broke away from CIM, and switched to the Taiwanese company, Rock Records. She has since released a number of other albums, including "Once Upon a Time in Yanfen Street" (1995), "Chasing the Moon" (1996), and English and Japanese language versions of "My 1997" (both in the summer of 1997). Although high-profile musicians, such as Ai Jing and the others mentioned above, have the ability to negotiate with foreign record companies, most mainland musicians are not so lucky.
The problems posed to musicians by record companies are just part of the new issues arising from the commercialization of Chinese rock. Not only are performers subject to the control of the companies; they have also begun to exercise self-censorship in order to maintain their popularity and profitability. The audience has shifted from the small Beijing "Bohemian" community to the whole of China and, for some, the world. For example, the Cobra album "Hypocrisy" (1995) has only been released in Germany. Tang Dynasty became the most popular band in Taiwan. Cui Jian has become famous throughout Asia. Ironically, a musical genre that once depended on the musical black-market for its very existence is now part of the campaign to wipe out illegal copying and distribution of tapes.
The shift of yaogun music to the mainstream can be viewed in two ways: as selling out or as a necessary adaptation to current conditions. Musical creativity is constrained by corporate and audience demand, and success dulls the edge of their social and political criticism. On the other hand, perhaps it is better to produce less unique music with a less powerful message if by doing so it can reach a vastly larger audience. The groups that have signed on with foreign labels argue that their success is hard earned and well deserved, and that the popular approval indicated by commercial success has long been among the goals of their work.
Moreover, as musicians and groups from the first and second wave of alternative Chinese music rise to fame and fortune, the original yaogun subculture lives on. Beijing and Shanghai still, and perhaps more than ever before, host a number of rebellious young musicians, the budding vanguard of upcoming third and fourth waves, who still live off of beer, cigarettes and the adrenaline rush of the music. Beyond the music subculture, the values (or lack thereof) of yaogun music have permeated into the collective consciousness of China's urban youth. Moreover, the popularization of yaogun has begun to alter the style of many tongsu performers. Although the soft, smooth love and propaganda films continue to be produced, but they are joined with a much greater variety of musical styles than had previously been allowed.
Footnotes, Chapter 5
132. Jones, Andrew, Like a Knife: Ideology and Genre in Chinese Popular Music, (Ithaca, New York: Cornell University East Asian Program)1992, p. 71.
133. Ibid., p. 10-11.V
134. Clark, Paul, Chinese Cinema: Culture and Politics since 1949, (New York: Cambridge University Press), 1987, p. 9-15.
135. Jones, p. 11-12.
136. Hamm, Charles, "Music and Radio in the People's Republic of China," Asian Music, vXXII, n2, (Spring/Summer 1991), p. 9.
137. The Republic of China Yearbook 1993 (Taipei: Government Information Office, 1993), as cited in Gold, p. 908.
138. Gold, Thomas B., "Go With Your Feelings: Hong Kong and Taiwan Popular Culture in Greater China," China Quarterly, v136 (December 1993), p. 907-909.
139. Brace, Tim, "Popular Music in Contemporary Beijing: Modernism and Cultural Identity," Asian Music, vXXII n2 (Spring/Summer 1991), p. 47.
140. A selection of Deng Lijun's songs can be found as sound files at "Sunsite Music Archives," (http://sunsite.unc.edu/pub/multimedia/chinese-music/Deng_LiJun/).
141. Brace, p. 46.
142. Gold (1993), p. 913-915.
143. Brace, p. 45-46.
144. See, for example, songs on the cassette, 1979nian Zhongguo Jinqu Shiwushou (15 Chinese Golden Hits 1979), Baili Record Co., 1980.
145. Brace, p. 48.
146. Han Xin'an and Andrew F. Jones, interview with Jia Ding, Beijing, 5 July, 1990, as cited in Jones, 1992.
147. Han and Jones, interview with Li Lifu, in Jones, p. 69.
148. Jones, p. 48.
149. With a high rate of turnover, tongsu songs any less recent than the past year or two are difficult to find. The ones mentioned here are probably not the best examples of ideology in tongsu, but they were all that I could find.
150. Assorted artists, Yazhou xiongfeng: di shiyi ju yayun hui gequi (The valiant spirit of Asia: songs of the 11th Asian Games), 1990.
151. From the cassette, The Whirlwind of '89 (Guaxiang '89 de da xuanfeng), as cited in Jones, p. 151.
152. Jones, p. 66.
153. Han and Jones, interview with Li Lifu.
154. Han and Jones, interview with Li Lifu.
155. Jones, p. 17.
156. Mao Bian, "How a TV Contest Captivated China: Music Lessons for Millions," China Youth, 1987/1, 28.
157. Ibid., p. 28.
158. Ibid., p. 28.
159. Ibid., p. 29.
160. Ibid., p. 28.
161. Ibid., p. 30.
162. Ibid., p. 30.
163. Han and Jones, Interview with Jing Gangshan, cited in Jones, p. 82.
164. Han and Jones, Interview with Hu Yue, cited in Jones, p. 81.
165. Han and Jones, Interview with An Dong, 25 June 1990, cited in Jones, p. 75.
166. One such diatribe can be found in Schell, Orville, Discos and Democracy , p. 101-116.
167. Mao, p. 29.
168. Barme, Gereme, "Revolutionary opera arias sung to a new, disco beat," Far Eastern Economic Review, 5 February 1987, v135, n66, p. 37.
169. Ibid., p. 37.
170. Ibid., p. 36-38.
171. Jones, p. 45.
172. Brace, p. 49-50.
173. Jin Zhaojun, "Feng cong nali lai: ping getan Xibei Feng," Renmin Ribao, August 23, 1988; as cited in Jones, p. 55.
174. Jones, p. 55.
175. Many versions have been recorded, one of which can be found at "Sunsite Music Archives," (http://sunsite.unc.edu/pub/multimedia/chinese-music/Northwestern_Wind//), which also has a number of other Xibei Feng recordings.
176. Brace, p. 50.
177. Delfs, Robert, "The controversial fame of China's first rock star," Far Eastern Economic Review, v130 n51, 26 December 1985, p. 40.
178. "Sonarchy: New Directions in Chinese Music," (http://www.sonarchy.org/archives/ndicm_index.html)
179. Delfs, (1985), p. 40.
180. Delfs, Robert, "The controversial fame of China's first rock star," Far Eastern Economic Review, v130 n51, 26 December 1985, p. 40.
181. Brace, p. 52.
182. http://cs.berkeley.edu/~zyang/cuijian/
183. http://www.pathfinder.com/Asiaweek/97/0822/feat2.html
184. Chen, Yusheng, "A Brand-New Music - Chinese Rock'n'roll," Zhongguo qingnian, v4 1988, p. 31.
185. Ibid.
186. Steven Schwankert, "Beijing Rocks: Rockin' in the Not-So-Free World", originally from The Wire, September 1995, as reprinted at http://www.sat.dundee.ac.uk/~arb/music/chinario.html.
187. Brace, p. 52.
188. Chen, Yusheng, "A Brand-New Music - Chinese Rock'n'roll," Zhongguo qingnian, v4 1988, p. 31.
189. Cui Jian, Yi wu suo you (I have nothing), on Xin changsheng lushang de yaogun (Rock and Roll on the New Long March), 1989. Yi wu suo you can be found as a sound file at http://sunsite.unc.edu/pub/multimedia/chinese-music/Modern_Pops/M02.I_have_Nothing.au. A number of other Cui Jian songs, including, Rock and Roll on the New Long March, and A Piece of Red Cloth. can also be found at the "Sunsite" homepage, (http://sunsite.unc.edu/pub/multimedia/chinese-music/Modern_Pops/).
190. Chen, p. 31. The very in China Youth of an article praising yaogun evidences the remarkably open artistic climate of 1988.
191. Ibid, p. 31.
192. The other members of Hei Bao were Zhao Mingyi, Li Tong, and Luan Shu.
193. Barme, Geremie, "Official Bad Boys or True Rebels," (http://www.nmis.org/Gate/film/badboys.html).
194. Jones, p. 142-143.
195. Milhalca, Matei, "Rocking in the twilight zone," Far Eastern Economic Review, v155 n46 (19 November 1992), p. 35.
196. "Rock Hero," (http://www.ihw.com.cn/rock/rock_hero_eng.asp).
197. "Zhang Chu - Shameful Being Left Alone," (http://www.gotitmusic.com/jaw/cubl/index.html).
198. "Punks in Peking," (http://ccwf.cc.utexas.edu/~irish/VAC/music/punk/musicpunk.htm).
199. For an exaustive list of Chinese bands, see "Chinese Ultimate Band List," (http://www.gotitmusic.com/jaw/cubl/index.html).
200. Steven Schwankert, "Beijing Rocks: Rockin' in the Not-So-Free World", originally from The Wire, September 1995, as reprinted at http://www.sat.dundee.ac.uk/~arb/music/chinario.html
201. An informal survey of albums reveals this fact. In a review of about twenty well known albums, only one ("Creation" by the band "Again" and released by the China Record Company of Shanghai in 1995) was produced by a mainland Chinese record label. "Jack's China Music Page," (http://www.unc.edu/~jtang/chineserock.html).
202. http://home.hkstar.com/~rickylau/AIJING/
203. Mihalca, p. 34-35.
204. http://home.hkstar.com/~rickylau/AIJING/1987.htm
205. Zha, Jianying, "China's Popular Culture in the 1990's," in Joseph, William A. (ed.), China
206. "My 1997", from English version released 4 June 1997, (http://home.hkstar.com/~rickylau/AIJING/music/1997eng.htm).
207. http://home.hkstar.com/~rickylau/AIJING/1994.htm
