{"id":16622,"date":"2021-03-31T17:54:44","date_gmt":"2021-03-31T21:54:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/?p=16622"},"modified":"2021-03-31T17:54:44","modified_gmt":"2021-03-31T21:54:44","slug":"rocking-out-in-china-part-two","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/rocking-out-in-china-part-two\/","title":{"rendered":"Rocking Out in China (Part Two)"},"content":{"rendered":"

I hope you’re ready to crank it up and do a little head-banging today, because we’re continuing our series about Rocking Out in China! In case you missed it, go back and read Part One<\/a>. In it, you’ll learn about the first rock band in China who went by the name Peking All-Stars as well as the “godfather of Chinese rock,” Cui Jian<\/strong> (\u5d14\u5065 cu\u012b ji\u00e0n). They created the Chinese rock<\/strong> (\u4e2d\u56fd\u6447\u6eda zh\u014dng gu\u00f3 y\u00e1o g\u01d4n) scene, so who picked up the torch and ran with it next? Let’s find out!<\/p>\n

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Image by Okan Caliskan<\/a> from Pixabay<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

The Emergence of “Prison Songs”<\/h2>\n

As I mentioned in Part One, Cui Jian and other early rockers played a style of music that came to be known as the Northwest Wind<\/strong> (\u897f\u5317\u98ce x\u012b b\u011bi f\u0113ng). It combined Western rock music with the traditional sounds of northern Shaanxi. This kind of Chinese rock was fast and aggressive.<\/p>\n

A different style of music soon emerged, this one drawing influences from the traditional sounds of the Northeast region<\/strong> (\u4e1c\u5317 D\u014dng b\u011bi). These slower, melancholy tunes were known as prison songs<\/strong> (\u56da\u6b4c qi\u00fa g\u0113). It’s not just a clever name, as many of these songs were actually written in prison. Two of the more famous artists were Zhang Jingsheng and Chi Zhiqiang<\/strong> (\u8fdf\u5fd7\u5f3a Ch\u00ed zh\u00ec qi\u00e1ng). I found a pretty fascinating story about this sub-genre of Chinese rock that you can read here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I was able to track down one of Chi Zhiqiang’s songs so you can have a listen. It’s called “Tears From Behind Bars<\/strong>” (\u94c1\u7a97\u6cea ti\u011b chu\u0101ng l\u00e8i) and it definitely sounds like a song written from prison! If you’re interested, I also found a good translation of the lyrics that you can read here<\/a>.<\/p>\n