Cui Jian

Cui Jian embodies the whole movement of China’s adaptation of Western ideals and its struggle with communism. Not only does his work represent the changes occurring in the pop culture in China with the rise of Rock-n-Roll, but he also reflects the growing courage among the youth to speak up and express themselves. Cui Jian’s comment in the video Voice of a Generation that “some people say that there are hidden meanings in my love songs, political meaning” conveys his playfulness and his wit. On the one hand, he knows that there is an underlying political message in his songs, yet he does not directly state it. This prevents the government from being able to accuse him of creating instability. On the other hand, he plays with the fact that his songs COULD be interpreted politically, especially when he says “I don’t want to say it that clearly because I don’t have to.” In reality, both his songs With Nothing to My Name or A Piece of Red Cloth can be interpreted either as a love song or as a political statement which makes each song all the better and more moving.

Initially, Cui Jian’s With Nothing to My Name could be read as a passionate love song about an individual trying to persuade his or her lover to join and go away with him or her. At the same time, however, it also expresses the Chinese youth’s yearning for democracy and the desire to be freed from the grasp of communist ideals and leadership. The line “but you always laugh at me with nothing to my name” expresses how democracy mocks the youth and does not recognize the individual because of the idea of communism and the collective. In communism and the collective people work for the community and for everyone as a whole, therefore each person does not have his or her own identity. With this in mind, Cui Jian expresses why individuals in China have “nothing to their name” because they are simply a part of a larger group. Later in the song Cui Jian sings, “the earth beneath my feet is moving, the river beside me is flowing” reflecting the changing times in China. This line however, is followed by the line, “but you always laugh at me…” which expresses how although the times are changing, democracy is still out of the peoples’ reach. Even though, on the surface, this song is a moving love song the core of it expresses the disillusionment of the Chinese people and the struggle for democracy.

The second song A Piece of Red Cloth is similar to Cui Jian’s other song With Nothing to My Name in that it could be read as a love song, but also having political message embedded within it voicing the emotions of the Chinese people. His first couple of lines reflect the utopian ideals of Communism and its overly optimistic views on how society could be. This idealistic view on society leads to his next couple of lines expressing the happiness that the individual feels. The entire song has a sense of fake happiness which shows the kind of fake hope that communism gives people. The line “made me forget I had no place to live” exemplifies how communism attempts to do away and “alleviate” peoples’ problems, but in the end Communism is weak. Cui Jian comments on the actual characteristics of Communism in the lines that say “I have a feeling that you aren’t make of iron…I felt that you had blood on your body.” These lines exemplify the ineffectiveness of Communism as well as the hardships it has caused. The mention of blood and the color red represent the bloodshed that resulted from the different ways Communism was used in the Chinese government. It also symbolizes all the sweat and blood Chinese people, especially peasants, shed under the pressures of the Communist Party. Lastly, the line “because my body is already withered and dry” symbolizes the struggle of the Chinese people and how the fight for change has worn people out. This song truly expresses the superficial hope that Communism gives people and how individuals blindly follow communism.

Ultimately Cui Jian perfectly expresses the sentiments of Chinese people, which gave rise to his popularity. It is evident how Cui Jian reached out to so many people because his songs help express and speak so many peoples’ feelings. After watching Voice of a Generation I was able to understand the basic circumstances of China during that time, and even though I have not experienced anything close to what Chinese people experienced at that time, I was definitely moved by Cui Jian’s music. I could understand how people related to his music and look towards it for comfort and for a voice against the government and in turn create change.