A new textbook for university students in China warns that rock 鈥檔鈥� roll is a security threat, designed by the West to stir up young people for revolution. That news is a bit off-key to the tens of millions of Chinese who attend rock music festivals almost every weekend, enjoy a vibrant underground music scene in big cities, and tune in to TV competitions among rock bands.
One industrial city, Shijiazhuang, even dubbed itself the 鈥渉ometown鈥� of rock in the past year, while Wuhan enjoys being known as 鈥淧unk City.鈥� In April, one fan of Chinese rock, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, was in Beijing and bought the album 鈥淏lack Dream鈥� by rock star Dou Wei at a record store.
Rock certainly has roots in youthful rebellion. That鈥檚 why the first Elvis album from the 1950s was not released in China until 1977, or after the Cultural Revolution and death of Mao Tse-tung. The Rolling Stones did not play in China until 2006.
The first big Chinese rock star, Cui Jian, had a hit in the mid-1980s, 鈥淣othing to My Name,鈥� which was used during the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests. Mr. Cui 鈥渋ntroduced people not only to a new sound, but to a new idea: That there were alternatives out there; that you could be an individual, that maybe, just maybe, we didn鈥檛 have all the things we were supposed to have,鈥� wrote Jonathan Campbell in his book, 鈥淩ed Rock: The Long, Strange March of Chinese Rock & Roll.鈥�
But rock in the Middle Kingdom has evolved, adopting Chinese instruments and sounds while often being overshadowed by pop music, especially songs by megastar Taylor Swift. It has 鈥渂ecome more diverse and decentralized,鈥� wrote one big rock fan, Cai Yineng, an editor of the cultural news site Sixth Tone. The new rock music, while often censored by authorities, is bringing attention to issues like pollution and globalization, he states.
If rock sparks revolutions 鈥� and it clearly had an influence in the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 鈥� it is only in the thought of the listener. Rock relies on a creative freedom and a curiosity that breaks mental boundaries.
鈥淏y retaining our 鈥榦pen-earedness,鈥� we can enjoy all the new features and sounds that China鈥檚 rock musicians are constantly throwing our way, and perhaps also keep our ears to the ground of Chinese society and popular sentiment at the same time. Let鈥檚 stay curious,鈥� wrote Mr. Cai in August.
What most worries the Chinese Communist Party is that rock music may be the bearer of 鈥渦niversal values,鈥� like the idea of individual freedom. Yet the party鈥檚 new college textbook is up against a very strong music scene in China, whether it be rock, reggae, or rap. That was clear in a social media posting by China鈥檚 table-tennis gold medal winner Fan Zhendong during the Paris Olympics. An avid 鈥淪wiftie,鈥� he wrote, 鈥淢usic is universal. Great musicians like Taylor Swift bring us healing power and confidence.鈥�
Mark Sappenfield
