Nothing to My Name

Every generation enjoys an artistic voice or figure that embodies the changing cultural attitudes of the time period. Cui Jian or “Old Cui” is the rebellious voice of the Chinese generation that dared to challenge the Chinese Communist Party. With his song, With Nothing to My Name, Cui Jian gave the Chinese youth an anthem to march to. Nothing to My Name was one of many tracks that combined western rock and traditional Chinese music, paving the way for the westernization of Chinese culture. This profound influence in musical culture and the hearts of the younger Chinese generation earns Cui Jian the title: Father of Chinese Rock ‘n Roll.

Cui Jian was born on August 2, 1961. Both of his parents were performers, his father was a professional trumpet player and his mother a dancer. Cui Jian grew up as a classical trumpet player, joining the Bejing Philharmonic Orchestra at twenty, and then forming his classical band, Seven Ply Wood. Throughout his musical career, Cui Jian was influenced by American rock and love songs mainly from the Rolling Stones and the Beatles. Cui Jian’s rise to fame came in 1986 when he and his band, ADO, performed Nothing to My Name on a television show. This single track propelled Old Cui to stardom and the track instantly became a cult favorite among the Chinese youth.

Nothing to My Name is Cui Jian’s most popular, well known track, as it is widely accepted as the track that defines the birth of Chinese rock. Lyrics aside, Cui Jian combines western soft rock with traditional Chinese instrumentation. The resulting sound is a very interesting and unique east meets west experience. The electric guitar with traditional Chinese flute and what sounds like a huqin instrumental solo fit together surprisingly well. If one looks at popular Chinese music up to this point, most of it has been music glorifying Communism and Mao. Think sounds a marching brass band accompanied with the imagery of happy Communists marching into the rising morning sun. The instrumentals in Nothing to My Name stand out clearly as something completely alien. Finally, Cui Jian’s voice is reminiscent of generic American rock; he’s got that slight rough yet soft rock vocal that is widespread in the genre, but a first in Chinese popular music.

What’s more interesting is the interpretation of the song’s lyrics. At face value, the track is a love song, involving a male narrator spilling his heart for a female love interest that doesn’t feel the same way. But for the students that protested in Tiananmen Square in 1989, the political undertones of this track were persuasive enough for them to adapt the track as their personal anthem. If one were to take a Chinese college student’s perspective in 1989, the track represents their struggle in many ways. The male narrator represents not just the college student, but the average, individual Chinese citizen. The female is a representation of China as a Communist nation. At the time, the average Chinese citizen was giving up so much for the greater collective, he/she was “giving you my dreams, and my freedom” to Communist China. But in return, the Party fails to embrace its people and reciprocate the sacrifices of the common folk. The Party sees nothing in the individual sacrifices; they have no weight or value, and thus the individual has nothing to his/her name. The song even questions why the Chinese people are giving up so much for a country that when with her, “I’ll always have nothing to my name?” The line, “The earth beneath me is moving, the river beside me flowing” can be interpreted as time passing as the Chinese people waiting patiently for China to reciprocate their sacrifices. But China is finicky and always responds with scorn and laughter in the line immediately after. Finally, the male makes a final request for the female’s love even though to her he certainly has no worth, nothing to his name.

College students in China then were fairly poor and had did not have the same respect as education would have given them before the Cultural Revolution. The government had inadequate funding for universities, and due to gaike kaifang many students saw less educated businessmen becoming successful without an education. Naturally they were disgruntled, and thus Nothing to My Name spoke to them directly. Why were they sacrificing so much for a country that would never love them back? Students have given up so much that they have nothing left to give; shouldn’t a country love its people even if they can’t bring anything to the table? All these questions and concerns, previously internalized during the 70s and Mao times surface in this song.

Cui Jian’s Nothing to My Name not only provided one of many outlets for discontent during the protests of 1989, but also marked the beginning of the Chinese rock era. Cui Jian may not have had this purpose in mind when he first performed this track, but his creation has definitely cemented him as a huge cultural influence and the Father of Chinese Rock ‘n Roll.