Cui Jian

Cui Jian (Template:Lang-zh; Template:Korean; born 2 August 1961) is a Chinese singer-songwriter and musician. Known for his countercultural impact,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> he has launched a ground-breaking musical trend of Chinese rock and pop,<ref name="arej" /> dubbed the "Godfather of Chinese Rock". With poetic, socially conscious lyrics,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> his experimental approach features multiple traditional instruments,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> eclectic musical elements and cultural references from different eras.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Cui is widely deemed the most influential rock musician in ChinaTemplate:Refn as well as one of the greatest and most prominent figures in Chinese music.<ref name="plzkrec" />

Born into an ethnic Korean family with parents who were both artists, Cui began his musical career as a classically trained trumpeter before switching to guitar. He rose to prominence with his single "Nothing to My Name", which mixed rock and roll and xintianyou and became an instant hit in 1986. A pioneer of the country's alternative music,<ref>Template:Cite thesis</ref> he challenged the dominant culture,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> earning a cult following on China's university campuses while also facing backlash from social conservatives.<ref name="cultf">Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref name="sccf" /> This was followed by the unprecedented success of Rock 'n' Roll on the New Long March (1989), generally acclaimed as China's first rock album, which heralded him as the "spokesperson for his generation".<ref name="paraio" /> However, for more than a decade, his performing in Beijing was on-off interdicted, partly because of his activist role in the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests.

He consolidated his fame with less commercial and more sophisticated Solution (1991) and Balls Under the Red Flag (1994), the latter of which is considered by critics to be his magnum opus. Later he shifted towards electronic and rap-oriented avant-rock on The Power of the Powerless (1998) and Show You Colour (2005), and returned to a folk and blues rock style with Frozen Light (2015) and A Flying Dog (2021). According to Billboard magazine, Cui is estimated to have sold 100 million albums, although the vast majority have been pirated copies.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> In 2009, he was voted the sixth most influential Chinese singer of the past 60 years in a China Internet Information Center history poll. At the 2010 Chinese Music Awards, he was ranked among the 30 greatest Chinese artists of the past 30 years.

Cui has also been involved in other projects including music directing and filmmaking. Since the 1993 underground movie Beijing Bastards, he has worked on several films as an investor, composer, screenwriter, guest star, and producer; he also directed the musical Blue Sky Bones. Despite his many denials, Cui's actions and work have led him to be often portrayed as a dissident.<ref name="pleads" /> His international acclaim is always tied to his public persona with political overtones, which frequently downplays his musical achievements.<ref name="acmr1" />

Early life

Cui Jian is a third-generation ethnic Korean whose grandfather migrated to China during the Japanese occupation and established the family.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Cui's parents moved to Beijing from the industrial northeast in the 1950s.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> His father, Cui Xiongji, who died in 2006,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> was a professional trumpet player, and his mother, Zhang Shunhua, who birth in Busan, South Korea,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> was a member of the China National Ethnic Song and Dance Ensemble.<ref name="zjw">Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp He lived with his parents and younger brother Cui Dong in an old two-bedroom apartment within a apartment building near Yonghe Temple.<ref name="cwr" /> Cui Xiongji conducted strict nationalist education, but Cui Jian rebelled against such education from childhood.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Cui Jian said that he was a little red guard.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He spent his childhood at an air force boarding kindergarten due to his parents' demanding work schedules. Their limited proficiency in Chinese contributed to his stutter. Cui Xiongji described the young Cui Jian as possessing "an intense intellectual curiosity about incomprehensible subjects, often engaging in solitary observation and contemplation".<ref name="zjw" />Template:Rp Cui Dong said that when Cui Jian was young, his essays were particularly strong, his other academic performance was also quite good, and he was a good student.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Cui Jian became jobless after graduating from middle school and lived in a 14-square-meter room with his family. Cui Xiongji told Cui Jian that "either up to the mountains and down to the countryside or play musical instruments".<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Cui Jian followed his father to start playing the trumpet at the age of fourteen. He joined the Beijing Symphony Orchestra in 1981, at the age of twenty,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> became a professional trumpet player of the Beijing Aihe Orchestra.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Yang Leqiang, a former member of Seven-Player Band, recalled that during symphony orchestra rehearsals at the time, while others wore crisp suits, Cui showed up in slim-fit pants.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Cui first heard rock and roll in the early 1980s when professional musician friends smuggled cassette tapes in from Hong Kong and Bangkok.<ref name="wc" /> He spent this period listening to Simon & Garfunkel, Bob Dylan, the Rolling Stones, the Beatles and the Talking Heads. He learned to play guitar and began writing music, which he played in cafés and dormitories.<ref name="wwb">Template:Cite web</ref> He bought his first guitar for 20 yuan and learned to play it from a Mongolian worker, surpassing him within a couple of weeks.<ref name="qnmd">Template:Cite web</ref> During that era, playing guitar was deemed "hooligan" and "bourgeois" behavior. In 1983, when Cui Jian went to Handan for a performance with his troupe, he played guitar one evening. He recalled "the audience was instantly stunned, and one girl immediately burst into tears". That same year, he wrote his first song "I Love My Guitar".<ref name="gmn">Template:Cite web</ref> Zhou Yaping, former timpanist of the orchestra, recalled that Cui could accurately imitate the singing styles of English-language vocalists, or artists like Liu Wen-cheng, which was quite rare at the time.<ref name="ttwz" />

Career

Early career

In 1984, Cui released his first album Contemporary European and American Popular Jazz Disco (Template:Lang-zh).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Inspired by Simon & Garfunkel and John Denver,<ref name="zgpnz">Template:Cite web</ref> at the same year Cui formed his first band, Seven-Player Band (also known as "Qi He Ban", 七合板, literally "Seven-Player Board," a double entendre reference to the seven-member band) with six other classically trained musicians, for which Cui played guitar and was also the lead singer. The seminal band was heavily influenced by The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and Talking Heads. The band played Western pop music in small restaurants and bars in Beijing and was the first of its kind in China.<ref name="ssoce" />Template:Rp<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> They performed their own works—mostly soft rock and love songs—in local hotels and bars. With his band, Cui released his first cassette Returning Wanderer that same year. The album featured commercial, pop-oriented love songs but also showcased songs with progressive and folk-rock influences, which were fresh and innovative in China at the time.<ref name="wc">Template:Cite web</ref>

In 1985, the band released another album titled "With Seven-Player Band", which featured a combination of Western pop-rock as well as new original songs.<ref name="wc" /> That June, under pressure from the authorities, the Seven-Player Band was forced to disband.<ref name="cwr" /> Soon afterwards, Cui wrote his first rock song "It's Not That I Don't Understand",<ref name="zjw" />Template:Rp regarded as the earliest ancestor of Chinese rap rock.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The song shares elements with Western hip hop through its use of drum set and foreign percussion instruments like bongos, congas, and timbales, while incorporating a dizi solo, marking one of the earliest moments when hip hop merged with Chinese traditional sounds.<ref>Template:Cite thesis</ref> Over the next two years, Cui wrote thirteen songs. In late 1985, the cafeteria of the Beijing Film Academy hosted a music performance where Cui performed his original song "Rock 'n' Roll on the New Long March". Midway through the set, several CBS journalists arrived to film "China's rock 'n' roll". Yang Leqiang, member of Seven-Player Band, rushed the stage, hoisted Cui onto his shoulders, and students, including future rock musician He Yong, chanted, "His name is Cui Jian!"<ref name="cwr" /> He later participated in the "Peacock Cup" vocal competition, with judges including Wang Kun and Li Shuangjiang, but was eliminated in the preliminary round due to his singing style being deemed unacceptable at the time.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

1986–1988: The popularity of "Nothing to My Name" and collaboration with ADO

Filling the World with Love and "Nothing to My Name"

In early 1986, coinciding with the International Year of Peace, Chinese musician Guo Feng organized the recording of the charity song "Filling the World with Love" and planned to hold a concert of the same name convening 100 popular singers in Chinese Mainland to change the stereotypes of popular music.<ref name="piaofang4">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="cuijtj" /> Prompted by this recording, cultural authorities made their first exception for popular music by permitting the organization of the concert.<ref>Template:Cite thesis</ref> At the recommendation of popular singer Wang Di, Cui Jian participated in the concert and applied for a solo segment.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> With the permission of Wang Kun, Cui was able to sing his song "Nothing to My Name" at the concert.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The concert took place at Beijing Workers' Gymnasium on 9 May. That evening, the venue was packed to capacity, with "everyone wondering what was going to happen".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Two minutes before taking the stage, Cui felt his suit was "utterly stifling," so he switched to the dagua belonging to the father of Wang Di.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Because of Cui's disheveled hair, cold look, and his apparel, which were different from the previous "gorgeously dressed" singers with "graceful singing", the audience became chaotic.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> However, the moment his "hoarse voice" rang out, the audience fell silent immediately.<ref name="cuijtj">Template:Cite web</ref> Then came applause and whistles, followed by continuous cheers.<ref name="byt" /> Keyboard player Liang Heping recalled that his hair "stood straight on end".<ref name="hanmaodou" /> After the concert, the young people sang his verses and played air guitar on the streets.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="sbs" /> Official personnel present displayed attitudes diametrically opposed to those of the young audience.<ref name="ngssch" /> Some "old comrades" from Yan'an left in the concert because they were afraid to take responsibility.<ref name="frs">Template:Cite thesis</ref> Music writer Andrew Jones describes this event with the words:<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Template:Blockquote

"Nothing to My Name" is considered by some to be the first indie song in China.<ref name="indiclj">Template:Cite thesis</ref> The sampling inspiration for the song draws from Northwestern China's "Xintianyou" folk music. Cui Jian incorporated traditional instruments like the suona, guzheng, dizi, and xiao, while blending elements and rhythms from punk, jazz, Afro-pop, and rap.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Professor of East Asian Studies Nimrod Baranovitch wrote that the song features a hybrid of folklore with strong, fast and modern disco and rock beats.<ref name="bn1">Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp Stefan Simons wrote for Der Spiegel that Cui's loud, aggressive tones blasted against "oily party" arias and "schmaltzy" pop music from Hong Kong and Taiwan, making the song the anthem of the alternative music and youth scene.<ref name="amfm">Template:Cite web</ref> The song is about a failed love affair, but widely read as a metaphor for the growing estrangement of Chinese youth from the political climate of China.<ref name="jdk" /> Compared with the first-person plural pronoun "we" in revolutionary songs, the word "I" appears in 28 times out of the song's 42 lines and becomes a liberating call for self-expression.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> BBC correspondent Henry Knight described the song as "individualism, experimentation and non-conformity".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Hong Kong news website HK01 stated that this love song accurately and profoundly depicts the confusion experienced by China's younger generation amid the collapse of social values at the time, as well as their reflections on self-identity amidst dual material and spiritual hardships.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

His performance has been seen as the moment heralding the birth of Chinese rock 'n' roll,<ref name="id" /> which has been compared to The Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Template:Ill, known as the Father of Taiwanese Folk Songs, thought "the younger generation in mainland China can now write their own songs" after hearing "Nothing to My Name".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The song peaked at number one on the Template:Ill,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and remains one of the most influential songs in the history of China.<ref>Template:Cite thesis</ref>

Follow-up development

Two months after the concert, "Nothing to My Name" CDs and cassettes hit the market. Cui soon became China's rock icon and enfant terrible.<ref name="cuijianre" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He was considered the only singer in mainland China at the time who could write lyrics, compose music, and perform his own songs, all by himself.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Following the fashion style of Cui - long hair, jeans and boots - Chinese young fans cheered wildly and danced in the aisles when he performed this song.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Peking University established the "Peking University Cui Jian Backup Group", the first fan club in mainland China.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> American sinologist Orville Schell said that "listening to Cui Jian's music after all the disco bands in the country is equivalent to listening to Bach after Barry Manilow".<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Under the strong endorsement of writer-musician Liu Sola and scholar Template:Ill, Cui and his song "Nothing to My Name" quickly captured the attention of China's cultural circles, with the "Cui Jian phenomenon" becoming a fiercely debated topic in academia.<ref name="byt" /> From this time on, Chinese rock music transitioned from its initially controversial and less recognized "underground era" to a "mainstream era" with substantial youth support.<ref name="knhn">Template:Cite magazine</ref> On 16 July 1988, People's Daily published a lengthy 1500-word commentary on Cui, which explains Cui's popularity and analyses his immense appeal to students, teachers, workers, and private entrepreneurs. This was the first time a rock singer was featured in China's mainstream media.<ref>Template:Cite thesis</ref><ref name="skmedia">Template:Cite magazine</ref> Outside of China, Cui enjoyed international acclaim after a television appearance at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Former ADO members Eddie (left) and Liu Yuan (right) respectively served long-term as the lead guitarist and wind instrumentalist in Cui's backing band; the latter died in 2024.

Cui participated in a series of benefit concerts for the restoration of Beijing's Marco Polo Bridge after the 100-Singer Concert of Year of International Peace.<ref name="jamesmann" /> In 1987, the Party launched an ideological campaign against "bourgeois liberalization".<ref name="sbs" /> Cui was banned from performing for a year after a Beijing performance on 14 January enraged one Party official,<ref name="jdk">Template:Cite magazine</ref> forcing him to perform underground during this period.<ref name="rstp" /> It is generally agreed that this was because he covered "Nanniwan" in a rock style on that day.<ref name="zjw" />Template:Rp American journalist James Mann reported that Cui was resisted by old officials.<ref name="jamesmann">Template:Cite web</ref> Officials labeled Cui's rendition "red song sung in yellow fashion" (Template:Lang-zh), meaning that Cui's rock version of the song was a contamination of a sacred symbol.<ref name="bn1" />Template:Rp Some musicians with government background, such as Template:Ill, criticized Cui, even insinuating that he was an "instigator of riots".<ref name="tujinmei">Template:Cite thesis</ref> Linda Jaivin suggestsed in 1988 that "one reason for Cui's troubles was an internal document linking the student movement of late 1986 with the growing popularity of rock 'n roll".<ref name="bn1" />Template:Rp Eventually, Cui was forced to withdraw from the Beijing Symphony Orchestra.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Entertainment journalist Steven Schwankert said that when Cui left the philharmonic, there was no real opportunity to make a living without the government lifeline of an apartment and a paycheck.<ref name="pleads">Template:Cite web</ref> Cui began playing regularly with a band, ADO. With ADO, Cui managed to support himself by playing at private parties for foreigners, in restaurants, bars, small hotels and the after-hours club at Beijing Maxim's restaurant.<ref name="lsjsb">Template:Cite web</ref> Cui made a guest appearance in the 1987 TV series Football Revelation, which depicts the 19 May Incident.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In January 1988, Cui successfully staged his debut solo concert with ADO at Beijing's Zhongshan Music Hall.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He signed with EMI in this year.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

1989–1990: Rock 'N' Roll on the New Long March, Tiananmen Square Incident and banned from performing

Template:Quote box In February 1989, Cui and the ADO band released China's first original rock album Rock 'N' Roll on the New Long March, which was also China's first album recorded using electric instruments like electric bass, guitars, and drums. Taiwanese music critic Template:Ill described the album as "a knife that sliced Chinese music history into 'before Cui Jian' and 'after Cui Jian'".<ref name="ttwz">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="ligy" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Cui himself characterized the album's style as "rock with a touch of world music" and pop-rock.<ref name="mgz" /><ref name="zgxwzk" /> The album broke sales records and became the biggest selling album in China’s history at the time.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It was also certified double platinum in Taiwan and platinum in Hong Kong,<ref name="cjyscj">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="knhn" /> and listed in The 200 Best Taiwanese Popular Music Albums, a compilation jointly published by Template:Ill and the Template:Ill.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> This album is considered to have sparked the golden age of Chinese rock.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In early 1989, Cui performed at the "Printemps de Bourges" International Rock Festival in Paris, France, and was received by former French Prime Minister Jacques Chirac.<ref name="fce" /> He also represented mainland China respectively in London at the Salem Music Awards Show in March.<ref name="smas">Template:Cite thesis</ref><ref name="fce" /> In the same month, Cui held the Rock 'N' Roll on the New Long March Concert at the Beijing Exhibition Hall, attracting an audience of two thousand. During intermission, upon overhearing someone remark, "Isn't this just a bunch of hoodlums?" Cui took the microphone and addressed the crowd: "Someone just called us a bunch of hoodlums. If that person doesn't feel ashamed, then we take this as a great honor!" The venue erupted with cheers and thunderous applause.<ref name="cwr">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> EMI wanted to release a live video album of this concert, but Cui was dissatisfied with the filming and editing approach, feeling that "this is packaging me as a pop star". The collaboration, worth a million Hong Kong dollars, ultimately fell apart.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Template:Anchor Cui reached the apex of his popularity during the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, when "Nothing to My Name" became an anthem to pro-democracy demonstrators.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> His records were broadcast over loud speakers and sung repeatedly by protestors throughout the vigil. Iowa Central Community College professor David Drissel compared it to the American peace movement's relationship with rock and folk music in the 1960s.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> He was frequently seen with the students.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Cui was affirmed by Wu'er Kaixi, one of the prominent leaders of the movement, as highly influential among young Chinese of the time.<ref name="book64">Template:Cite book</ref> He claimed that Cui had an even greater influence on the protests than did such prominent dissidents as Fang Lizhi and Wei Jingsheng.<ref name="ssoce">Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp

On 19 May,<ref>Template:Cite thesis</ref> Cui walked onto the makeshift stage at Tiananmen Square to give a performance for students on hunger strike.<ref name="was64">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> This was his third visit to the square, while the first time he played.<ref name="cjtadw4">Template:Cite web</ref> The crowds at Tiananmen were thrilled to receive him, and Cui later described it "felt like a big party". Although he was "really clear about standing on the students' side", he heard someone asking him to "get out of the square" because the students were very weak.<ref name="was64" /> He impromptu performanced songs including "Start Over" and "Piece of Red Cloth" and received a warm welcome.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Despite the students' lack of energy, Cui "made them pretty crazy".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Voices in the crowd reassure the band that they're OK with the boisterous music.<ref name="cjtadw4" /> According to several sources, Cui left the square in disgust after several competing student factions attempted to manipulate him and claim ownership over him.<ref name="bn1" />Template:Rp The following government crackdown forced many rock musicians, Cui included, into hiding in the other provinces. Sanctions proved relatively temporary, and Cui was able to return to Beijing shortly afterward.<ref name="book64" /> There has been no further sanctions targeting him.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Chinese rock music faced criticism by the authorities due to the movement. At an official music symposium convened in 1990, it was asserted that Rock 'N' Roll on the New Long March bore "practically no difference" from "Western Beatles-style 'protest songs or political songs'".<ref name="rockta64">Template:Cite thesis</ref> Template:Ill, vice chairman of the Chinese Musicians' Association, publicly criticized the album for "misrepresenting and distorting" the Long March.<ref name="sunsh" /> The Minister of Culture, Wang Meng, who had praised Cui's qualities and encouraged independent creation, resigned after the massacre.<ref name="pierrehaski" />

In early 1990, Cui started his first rock tour entitled the "New Long March", to raise money for the 1990 Asian Games. Because of his admiration for Cui Jian, Zhang Baifa, Vice Mayor of Beijing, approved the tour.<ref name="book64"/><ref name="cwr" /> This was the largest-scale rock tour in mainland China at the time.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Due to complaints from relevant departments and the public, Zhang deployed over a thousand police officers and plainclothes personnel to ensure the concert proceeded smoothly.<ref>Template:Cite thesis</ref> The tour was terminated halfway through. While the reason was unclear, some did mention that Cui said the following words: "I hope last year's shot was really the last" after singing the song "Last Shot".<ref name="shu46l">Template:Cite book</ref> Chinese photographer Xiao Quan stated that Cui's performance was reported as excessively incendiary, "clearly an attempt to incite revolution".<ref name="cwr" /> David R. Schweisberg from UPI observed that Cui's performances routinely incite young Chinese to flash the V-for-victory sign, the emblem of Tiananmen Square Incident.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Other possible causes include the crowds were getting too large and unruly.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Then, for much of the 1990s, he was unofficially banned from performing in Beijing and carefully monitored when he gave concerts elsewhere.<ref name="nyd" /><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Journalists were unable to find any records or documentation on the concrete reasons for Cui's ban.<ref name="plzkrec">Template:Cite thesis</ref> Chinese music-lovers at that time considered seeing one of Cui's underground shows at venues around Beijing as a "badge of honor".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Korea Economic Daily reported that although under strict control, tens of thousands of the audience gathers every time at Cui's performance venue.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

After recording Rock 'N' Roll on the New Long March, Cui ceased working with Ado.<ref name="zjw" />Template:Rp He formed his own band featuring Japanese guitarist Masaaki Amari, bassist Liu Junli, drummer Ma He, and keyboardist Wang Yong.<ref name="infjmgy">Template:Cite web</ref> On 8 August 1990, Cui lost his lawsuit against the Beijing Dongcheng District Tax Administration over "improper taxation", which was allegedly China's first copyright lawsuit.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

1991–1993: Solution and charity performances

Template:Listen In February 1991, Cui released his album Solution in mainland China, sparking intense public resonance.<ref name="ganadian">Template:Cite web</ref> Nicholas D. Kristof of The New York Times that year called the album was perhaps Cui's most daring.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>。The recording achieves a rougher, faster sound using a more distorted guitar timbre and quicker tempos, while the vocal deliver is rougher, less melodic, and more rhythmic.<ref name="bookrg1" />Template:Rp Cui called the album featuring punk rock.<ref name="mgz" /> Kevin Platt of The Christian Science Monitor thought Cui began producing pop-punk songs after the Tiananmen Square massacre.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Author Wu Quntao wrote that Solution reflects Cui's state of extreme mental anguish during this period and his active pursuit of self-redemption, while also bringing punk into public consciousness.<ref name="pengkunk">Template:Cite thesis</ref>

Due to the underdeveloped professionalism in China's rock scene at the time, tensions over Cui's employment-based management led to his band's breakup shortly after releasing Solution. Cui subsequently formed a new lineup consisting mostly of Ado members alongside keyboardist Zang Tianshuo.<ref name="infjmgy" /> During the 1990s of his career, Cui stirred up controversy among the public and media due to his conflicts with other musicians, such as Lo Ta-yu, Hou Te-chien, and Zhang Chu; he remarked that the "conflict" between him and Hou had been greatly exaggerated by the media, and publicly reconciled with Zhang in 1996.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref name="itrccc">Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 1992, Australian sinologist Geremie Barmé wrote that over the previous two years, as Cui was approaching middle-age, younger rockers had come to think it was time for him to "roll over" and make room, even calling to "exterminate Cui Jian".<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Zhang Ju of Tang Dynasty stated, "If we are going to overthrow something, it will be Cui Jian's monopoly on the word "Superstar'".<ref name="pmzjtd" />Template:Rp As reported by UPI, Cui has also been attacked by more traditional musicians and people, and state-run media.<ref name="upi1992jl">Template:Cite web</ref> Chinese authorities' promotion of what they deemed "harmless" Gangtai pop to replace rock music led to a situation in the early 1990s where "it was easier for young Chinese to listen to the Hong Kong rock band Beyond through pirated CDs and tapes than to find Cui Jian's albums".<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

In July 1991, Cui traveled to Hong Kong to participate in the benefit concert, which aimed to raise money for the 1991 Huadong floods relief efforts.<ref name="cjyscj" /> The authorities rejected Cui's application to organize a charity performance in September.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Since July 1992, authorities have let Cui stage several small shows in Beijing, and also permitted him to undertake a Japanese tour.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Hankook Ilbo reported that during his Tokyo performances in March 1992, over 50,000 fans gathered and enthused wildly.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The same year, he announced legal action against record companies that have flooded the market with pirated tapes of his songs,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and accused journalist Zhao Jianwei and the Beijing Normal University Press of character defamation.<ref name="upi1992jl" /> In late 1992, Cui was granted permission to hold a three-day large-scale concert at the Beijing Exhibition Center.<ref name="cwr" /> The government permitted it due to his charity gesture, and all proceeds went to the Template:Ill.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He has not had the chance to perform at large-scale public occasions in Beijing since 1993.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Template:Multiple image Cui scored and was cast in the 1993 film Beijing Bastards,<ref name="bjzzzz" /> commonly billed as China's first underground movie.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> That same year, he performed in Germany and Switzerland with Chinese rock bands such as Tang Dynasty and Cobra. Chinese media dubbed this year the "Year of Rock".<ref name="elct" /> By the year Cui has sold hundreds of thousands of records in other Asian countries.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

1994–1996: Balls Under the Red Flag and international tour

Balls Under the Red Flag was released in August 1994 but it was soon banned by the authorities, due to its explicit reference to various social issues. Both Solution and Balls Under the Red Flag were re-released in 2005.<ref name="datehdwn" /><ref name="id" /> Cui characterized the album as jazz punk.<ref name="mgz">Template:Cite web</ref> Critics have noted that starting with this album, he has incorporated elements of hard rock and hardcore rap.<ref name="hrhcr" /> Hong Kong Inmedia noted that the album continues the approach from Solution that emphasizing rhythm and arrangements, and experiments with Chinese-style rapping, while infusing heavy doses of traditional folk instrumentation.<ref name="dlmt1">Template:Cite web</ref> Music journalist Cynthia Wong wrote that Cui's three albums have been progressively more sophisticated and experimental in terms of musical form, arrangement, and the realization of musical ideas.<ref name="acmr1">Template:Cite magazine</ref>

The album sank as both a commercial and a critical failure upon its release,<ref>Template:Cite thesis</ref> selling 3,000 to one million copies before removing from the shelves of music stores.<ref name="nytsf">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="shu46l" /> Over time, the album gained acclaim. In 2000, Template:Ill listed the album and Solution among "China's Top 10 Classic Rock Albums".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Matthew Corbin Clark of PBS said in 2003 that Balls Under the Red Flag is many considered Cui's best record up to that time and a masterwork of the genre he created.<ref name="pbs" /> Ma Shih-fang described the album as "flawless on every level, from lyrics, composition, arrangement, performance, vocals, recording, to echo with that particular era".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Template:Ill, one of the most renowned Japanese scholars in contemporary Chinese cultural studies, wrote that "the attitude of young Chinese audiences towards this informative album will be an excellent indicator of China's future".<ref name="frs" /> Peter Micic and David Stokes wrote in A selected annotated discography of Pop and Rock albums in the people's republic of China (1989–1995) that:<ref name="paraio">Template:Cite magazine</ref>

To promote the release of his album, Cui toured four cities in Japan, generating significant responses from local media and audiences. The same year, he performed at Bumbershoot in Seattle, U.S.<ref name="elct">Template:Cite thesis</ref> He also founded Beijing East West Music & Art Production Co., Ltd., and served as its chairman.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In August 1995, Cui launched his first U.S. tour, performing six solo concerts in Boston, San Francisco, and New York. This marked the first time a mainland Chinese singer had staged a personal concert tour in the United States.<ref name="nytsf" /><ref name="xhw" /><ref name="ctxwb" /> In 1996, Cui released a greatest hits compilation album, Best of Cui Jian:1986-1996.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

1997–2001: "Get Over That Day" and The Power of the Powerless

Cui performing "Get Over That Day" in 2022

In 1997, Cui released hit single "Get Over That Day".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The song is about someone hearing he is getting a new sister who is smart, sexy and wealthy, and wondering if he will fall in love with her, indicating the handover of Hong Kong.<ref name="thetimes">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The song is also believed to foresaw the Hong Kong–Mainland China conflict.<ref name="dlmt2" /> In the same year, Cui served as the producer for Zi Yue Band's debut album The First Volume.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> According to Reuters, the Chinese government passed a law in September 1997 that forbids private establishments to make money from music performances that do not have official approval to strike a blow at "subversives" such as Cui Jian.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In April 1998, Cui released the album The Power of the Powerless,<ref name="datehdwn">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> which recorded in his home studio.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> The album draws influence from techno,<ref name="pengkunk" /> featuring digital rock with incorporated elements of electronic rock. Cui utilized the expressive semantics and aesthetics of rap music to depict the changing society in China during the late 20th century.<ref name="knhn" /> In June, Mandopop!, the Internet Chinese entertainment news sheet, reported that this "modern classic" combining Cui's trademark buzz-saw guitars and intense lyrics with leading-edge jungle loops had fueled a Beijing-wide increase inrecord sales, with 200,000 units being moved in the first few days of its debut, "earning him rare praise from music industry suits".<ref name="itrccc" />Template:Rp

Starting 31 July 1999, Cui Jian embarked on his second U. S.-wide tour, with "igniting a wave of Chinese rock fervor at every stop".<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> On 8 September 2000, Cui and his band performed at the Ministry of Culture-sponsored "Oppose Piracy, Support Copyright" concert held at Workers' Stadium in Beijing.<ref name="rstp">Template:Cite thesis</ref> Cui was featured in a live music special on Hunan TV that year, which was the first time in 10 years he had received nationwide television coverage.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> He was also invited to attend the 2000 Cannes Film Festival.<ref name="ganadian" /> On 12 December, the Netherlands honoured him with the Prince Claus Award,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> making him the first Chinese musician to win the award.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Later, he announced a European tour in the following January.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Cui was cast in the 2001 film Roots and Branches. and scored Jiang Wen's film Devils on the Doorstep.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In February 2001, He collaborated with Cao Chengyuan, artistic director of the Hong Kong City Contemporary Dance Company and Beijing Modern Dance Company, on the experimental stage play Show You Colour, which premiered in Hong Kong. The play depicts China's different generations of revolution, pragmatism and the Digital Age, billed as "China's first rock 'n' roll dance concert". He was also invited to attend the Grammy Awards ceremony of the year.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref name="aswkyzzk">Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref name="dlmt2">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In October, the book Free Style, co-authored by Cui and philosopher Zhou Guoping, was released.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> The revised and expanded edition of this book, released in October 2012, had all its royalties donated to the Heping Life Foundation to fund the treatment and recovery of the musician Liang Heping.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

2002–2005: Live Vocals Movement

Template:Quote box Cui has long criticized Chinese musicians for the common practice of lip-synching at live shows.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> As early as March 1999, Cui Jian teamed up with Tian Zhen, Han Lei, and others in Beijing to launch a signature campaign opposing lip-syncing.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He called it the music industry's third greatest enemy in China alongside the system and piracy, describing it as "falling", "a malignant tumour", "a nest of crime", "the Emperor's New Clothes", and "an aggression against music and art".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He also criticized the performances at the 2001 Summer Universiade's opening and closing ceremonies as a disgrace for Chinese musicians, because "their performances were entirely lip-synced, and even the lip-syncing production was extremely poor".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> On 1 August 2002, he revealed to the Beijing Youth Daily that he would launch the "Live Vocals Movement" to combat the widespread practice of lip-syncing.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> On 7 August at 4:00 PM, Cui held the "Live Vocals Signature Campaign" at CD Bar. After reading aloud the "Live Vocals Movement Proclamation" co-drafted by him and others, over 200 people signed their names on a red cloth pledging to perform live.<ref name="jxsdyxszj">Template:Cite web</ref> Among them, Lo Ta-yu raised his hand in salute to Cui to show support.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Afterwards, he began promoting the movement through a nationwide tour.<ref name="nanzhouj">Template:Cite web</ref>

The "Live Vocals Movement" has sparked controversy within the music industry, as exemplified by Chinese singer Na Ying's remark that the movement "is damaging to the entire pop music industry".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> On 13 January 2003, the Ministry of Culture declared its opposition to lip-syncing. Cui stated the "Live Vocals Movement" had "achieved a phased victory".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> On 1 August 2005, Cui Jian announced that the "Live Vocals Movement" had "victoriously concluded", as the newly enacted national "Regulations on Administration of Commercial Performances" explicitly prohibited lip-syncing.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> At the 2010 Top Chinese Music Awards 10th Anniversary Ceremony, the Live Vocals Movement was listed among the "Top Ten Music Events of the Decade", and Cui was included in the "Most Influential Artists".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In August 2002, Cui participated in organizing the Lijiang Snow Mountain Music Festival, known as the "Chinese Woodstock", attracting at least 10,000 fans. Zhang Hongping, vice commissioner of the Lijiang regional government, expressed thanks to Cui.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In early 2003, Cui was authorized to open for the Rolling Stones' concert in Beijing.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Due to the SARS outbreak, however, the concert was cancelled.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> On 26 February 2004, Cui sued several audio-visual companies from Beijing, Tianjin, and Henan for piracy and copyright violations.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> In February and March, Cui was invited to be the guest singer in Udo Lindenberg's touring musical Atlantic Affairs in Shanghai and Beijing.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In March, when Cui opened for Deep Purple on their mainland tour, it was his first official performance in Beijing in more than a decade.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He received the World Peace Music Award in San Francisco, from the United Nations on 26 September.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> On 24 August 2005, Cui was allowed to headline a concert entitled "Dream in the Sunshine" at Beijing's Capital Indoor Stadium, which was his first concert in Beijing for 12 years.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="zgpnz" />

2005–2014: Show You Colour and other fields of activities

Template:Listen On 23 March 2005, Cui released the album Show You Colour.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He stated that this album is "more diverse, more independent, more cohesive... containing pop, rock, electronic, and hip-hop music",<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> attempting the "maximalism" of music.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> China Daily described it as distinguished from "all of Cui's previous albums, and probably from any other rock album in China".<ref name="prmsyc">Template:Cite web</ref> Reviewers described the album as a "concept album", and pointed out that the album continues the musical style of The Power of the Powerless, incorporating genres including folk, hip-hop, funk, big beat, drum and bass, and digital hardcore.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> The album was well-received by media and critics.<ref name="frs" /> The Beijing Star Daily gave this album a score of 95/100, stating that the album signifies Cui's "official transition from a great rock singer to a great musician".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Cui won Best Rock Singer at the 6th Top Chinese Music Awards for the album.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

You You, Cui Jian's manager, said that the problems of his performance permits sometimes being refused by local authorities had "gradually gone with time".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Since 2005, all bans on Cui were lifted with the exception of the song "Last Shot".<ref name="shu46l" /> Danielle Fosler-Lussier, Professor of Music at the Ohio State University, wrote that the government blunted Cui's revolutionary reputation by allowing him access to media and inviting him to official state events. In July 2005 Cui appeared at the "Great Concert on the 60th Anniversary of the Victory of World Anti-fascist War", a state-sponsored event in Beijing.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> He did finally play with the Rolling Stones at the Shanghai Grand Stage on 8 April 2006, singing and playing "Wild Horses".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He performed his first English song "Outside Girl" and played with Public Enemy at the 2007 Beijing Pop Festival.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="zgpnz" /> Cui performed at the Hohaiyan Rock Festival in Taiwan on July 8, 2007, after numerous previous attempts to perform there were derailed by the Chinese government. The head Zhang 43 called Cui "the most important rock star in Asia".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

After the 2008 Sichuan earthquake, Cui donated 51,200 RMB and organized a charity concert titled "Get Over That Day" with China's rock music community on 22 May, raising over 400,000 yuan in disaster relief funds.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="cjsyp">Template:Cite web</ref> At the December 2009 Beijing Exhibition Center concert, "Rock 'N' Roll on the New Long March V21", Cui tied a red ribbon to call for attention to AIDS awareness.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="bzaid">Template:Cite web</ref> An ambassador for the annual Earth Hour campaign,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Cui performed at an outdoor concert, Green Now, to celebrate the World Environment Day and encourage a low-carbon lifestyle at the Shanghai World Expo on 5 June 2010.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> From 31 December 2010 to 1 January 2011, Cui Jian collaborated with the Beijing Symphony Orchestra to stage the "Rock Symphony Live Concert" at Beijing Workers' Gymnasium, marking Asia's first integration of rock music with a symphonic orchestra performance.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> At the concert, he unexpectedly performed the banned anti-war song "Last Shot".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> October: The Rite of Spring, the first dance drama under Cui's full directorship, premiered in Tianjin in 2014.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Cui (left) at the 2009 Busan International Film Festival

In 2006, Cui directed the short film The Age of Repairing Virginity,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> which was selected for the feature and short film competition categories at that year’s Vladivostok International Film Festival.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He made a cameo appearance in Jiang Wen's film The Sun Also Rises.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He also directed the "future" segment of the 2009 film Chengdu, I Love You.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In October, he attended the Busan International Film Festival to promote the film.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Following his attendance at the premiere of Chengdu, I Love You in Venice, Cui proceeded to Madrid to hold his debut solo concert in Spain.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Bai Qiang produced a 3D concert film and documentary titled Transcendence about Cui Jian, which was screened in Beijing in May 2012 for an enthusiastic fan audience, though its prospects for mainstream release in China remain doubtful.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The film ultimately grossed 370,000 yuan at the box office.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

On 17 October 2014, Cui's feature film Blue Sky Bones was released.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Xie Fei stated that the film was submitted to Chinese Film Bureau for review as early as 20 August 2012. However, due to its content touching on "Lin Liguo selecting concubines" and homosexual themes, the project has yet to receive approval.<ref name="cjsyp" /> The film, a nonlinear tale with a musical theme, tells the story of a young rocker who moonlights as a hacker.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It won the Special Mention at the 8th Rome Film Festival and the Special Jury Prize at the 10th Jecheon International Music & Film Festival,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> earning Cui Best New Director at the 2015 Chinese Film Media Awards.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Receiving mixed reviews,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> the film grossed 4.14 million yuan at the box office.<ref name="piaofang4" />

On 18 May 2006, Cui issued a statement addressing the Dou Wei incident, calling for sound legislation on news reporting and strong protection of artists' privacy.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He submitted a bid proposal to design the 2008 Summer Olympics opening ceremony to the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games, but was eliminated after the first round of presentations.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In November 2012, Cui announced plans to open a security guard company, citing dissatisfaction with the behavior of security guards at rock concerts in China.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> On 16 April 2013, Cui released his compilation album The 3rd Sound of China via global digital music platforms for the first time.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> On 17 April, Cui unveiled a custom "Blue Bone" smartphone to interact better with his fans.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He is first artist to launch his own custom smartphone in China.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Cui was invited to perform on the 2014 CMG New Year's Gala.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It has been seen as the final stage of Cui's political rehabilitation.<ref name="zgpnz" /> However, he eventually withdrew the show after organisers tried to censor his performance.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> For this action, he was listed on the Human Rights Foundation's list of Outstanding Work in the Field of Human Rights.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In September, Cui and fellow songwriters co-founded China’s first musician-initiated copyright agency.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

On 18 July 2006, Cui was awarded the "Hall of Fame Musician" accolade at the Template:Ill.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He was invited to present himself at the 20th anniversary of the Goethe-Institut on 1 November 2008, where he was awarded the title of "Goethe Cultural Ambassador".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Southern Weekly named him the "2012 Chinese Dream Practitioner".<ref name="zgmjxz">Template:Cite web</ref> In 2013, Cui was honored with the Tenco Cultural Operator Award at the Premio Tenco ceremony in Italy, and collaborated with Francesco Baccini in a joint performance.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

2015–present

Cui on the set of the micro-film Outside Girl

In 2015, Cui was asked to act as one of the three judges on Template:Ill, a singing talent show broadcast on Dragon Television.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> On the show, Cui criticized Hong Kong singer Andy Hui for performing a Cantonese oldie, and expressed dissatisfaction that "no more modern or younger Hong Kong artists had appeared on mainland stages to showcase their voices". Initium Media commentator Zhang Miao stated that several Hong Kong media outlets had published false reporting and defamed Cui in their coverage of the incident.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Hong Kong writer Template:Ill thought Cui's remarks were distorted by Hong Kong columnist Chip Tsao out of a pan-political bias stemming from Hong Kong separatism, ignoring Cui's admiration for Hong Kong singers like Tat Ming Pair.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> On 4 December, the China Star program team issued a statement demanding that Chip Tsao and Apple Daily publicly apologize for the false reporting about Cui.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

On 25 December of the same year, Cui collaborated with Sony Music to release the album Frozen Light,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> regarded as his musical comeback.<ref name="flt">Template:Cite web</ref> The single "Outside Girl" featured in the album, along with its same-titled music micro-film, premiered on YouTube on 24 December. Pre-orders for the album's digital version surpassed one million copies.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It received mixed reviews from critics.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="liuwt">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

On 26 September 2016, Cui led a 953-person rock band from the Beijing Contemporary Music Academy to perform at a venue in Tianjin, earning certification from Guinness World Records as the largest performing rock band.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> On 30 September, Cui held the "Rolling 30" concert at Beijing Workers' Gymnasium to mark the 30th anniversary of his career. Chinese avant-garde architect Ma Yansong designed the stage.<ref name="xhw">Template:Cite web</ref> During the performance, Cui performed a Mandarin cover of Message in a Bottle, while Stewart Copeland, drummer of The Police, joined the show as a guest performer.<ref name="frp">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Concurrently, he commenced the "Rolling 30" tour.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In October, he made a donation to support a Trip.com Group-sponsored initiative for the music education of left-behind children.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Cui served as the ambassador for the 2017 Croisements Festival, a cross-cultural event between China and France.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="fcjtsh">Template:Cite magazine</ref> On 23 August 2017, Cui released Rock Symphony Live Concert, containing the full recordings of the Rock Symphony Live Concert.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> On 4 November of the same year, Cui performed an electronic music concert as a DJ for the first time at the Chishui Valley Music Festival. He stated that this performance was a tribute to Igor Stravinsky, the original composer of The Rite of Spring.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="caiyangz">Template:Cite web</ref>

Cui performing in 2022, Changsha

On 27 August 2021, Cui released the album A Flying Dog.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The public interpreted the album as the resurgence of his critical feature, although Cui noted he has never ceased being critical.<ref name="zgxwzk">Template:Cite web</ref> Cui was nominated for Best Producer at the 2021 Asian Pop Music Awards for the album.<ref name="fg2">Template:Cite web</ref> It was also listed among the Top 20 Albums of the Year by the jury.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The single "The B-Side of Time" became the highest-scoring rock song of the year on the 2021 TME Chart.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Critic Li Wan believed the album represents a return to form for Chinese rock.<ref name="chinagod" />

At the 33rd Golden Melody Awards, A Flying Dog received four nominations — Best Mandarin Male Singer, Best Vocal Recording Album, Best Mandarin Album, and Album of the Year.<ref name="fg2" /> Ultimately, Cui won the Best Mandarin Male Singer award, making him the first mainland Chinese musician to receive this honor.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Taiwanese audiences were generally surprised by this result.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Chinese-language news magazine WHYNOT praised this decision reflects the confidence and courage of the jury.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

An online "Keep Going Wild" concert held by Cui on 15 April 2022 drew 46 million views and 120 million likes, breaking the viewership record for online concerts.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="tianxia">Template:Cite web</ref> In August 2022, Cui published Poetry Collection of Cui Jian: 1986-2021, compiling 56 lyrics written over 35 years.<ref name="xwcb">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> On the 2023 world music collaborative album Police Beyond Borders by Stewart Copeland and Ricky Kej, Cui covered The Police's single "Tea in the Sahara".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Cui staged the "Rolling Power" Snow Mountain Zhijiao Concert on 22 December 2023, drawing 36 million online viewers. Subsequently, the documentary Snow Mountain Music Revelation, which chronicles the 2002 Snow Mountain Music Festival, was released.<ref name="jxsdyxszj" /> On 21 December 2024, Cui kicked off the "Keep Going Wild" tour in Chengdu.<ref name="ctxwb">Template:Cite web</ref> As the sound director of Beijing's Sea Strings Restaurant, Cui has held the weekly "Electronic Music & Remix Gala Dinner" at the restaurant since 17 July 2025.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Artistry

Musical styles

Template:Quote box Template:Listen A multi-instrumentalist who resists the mainstream music industry's tendency towards a division of labor, Cui writes his own music, lyrics, and arrangements,<ref name="mmcccips">Template:Cite thesis</ref><ref name="npr" /> as well as handles production, recording, and mixing himself.<ref name="prmsyc" /> Some consider him to be the first indie musician in China.<ref name="indiclj" /> Cui incorporates elements of pop, reggae, blues, funk, ska, soul, disco, hip-hop, jazz, folk, country, Qinqiang, Northwest Wind, new wave, hard rock, punk, post-punk, hardcore, electronic music and EDM into his works.Template:Refn Chicago Tribune called it an "almost anarchic eclecticism".<ref name="anren" /> He is considered to have drawn inspiration from jazz fusion in his creative approach.<ref name="jazzfu" /> Cui also incorporated traditional Chinese instruments into his music compositions,<ref name="fby">Template:Cite thesis</ref> and borrowed much from the Chinese folk music in music forms.<ref name="wangx80">Template:Cite magazine</ref> He explained that it isn't because he wants to broadcast or promote Chinese traditional art, but rather because when he uses those instruments, they help him express his true emotions.<ref name="wc" /> His music has been compared to that of David Byrne and Prince.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> The Independent described his music as a "sometimes bewildering mix of styles that reflects his two biggest influences, Miles Davis and The Clash, and his classical background",<ref name="inde" /> while Chrissy Hey from Cashbox described his performance as a Springsteen/Marc Bolan hybrid.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

Cui pioneered the use of rap in the Chinese music scene, which sharply contrasted with the mainstream Hong Kong-Taiwan pop and campus folk songs of the time.<ref name="liulip">Template:Cite magazine</ref> He combined rap and hip-hop with northern folk music, free jazz, and reggae.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In the late 90s Cui began to experiment on digital avant-rock with elements of rap music.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Jeroen de Kloet wrote for UNESCO Courier that Cui carries on with the rapper's staccato precision.<ref name="unescoc" /> In the album Show You Colour, Cui employed dialect rapping to address Mandarin's rhythmic limitations, with its "top speed capped at shulaibao and kuaibanshu".<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref name="mgz" /> His style in the album has been described as similar to abstract hip hop, instrumental hip hop or The Philadelphia Experiment.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He also uses delay in some of his hip-hop works to make these tracks listen "less hip-hop".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Maria Cheng from SFGate described him as a Beastie Boys-style rapper laden with Peking Opera-style recitation.<ref name="cui89n">Template:Cite web</ref>

Cui considers electronic music "connected to the times, creative, belongs to the young".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Influenced by The Chemical Brothers,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> starting with the album The Power of the Powerless, Cui incorporated electronic and MIDI elements into his music, independently producing the work at home using digital music technology.<ref name="elct" /> He frequently uses electronic techniques such as programming, sampling and looping, and distortion effects.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="southcn">Template:Cite web</ref> Cui always samples various quyi,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> as well as Chinese folk songs like Hua'er.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Social environment soundscapes are often included.<ref name="sccf" /> He also incorporates techno beats and breakbeats into his songs,<ref name="jonpar2" /><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> and draws influence from electronica and post-rock.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> To add Chinese timbres into his work, he connected guqin and pipa to effects units, transforming them into electronic versions.<ref name="ttwz" /> Some songs from the album Show You Colour features noise music,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> sound collages and electronic jazz.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Taipei Times dubbed him "China's godfather of electric rock".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2007, Cui collaborated with DJ Hyper, Hybrid and Sugar Daddy to remix some of his classic tracks from the '80s.<ref name="beijingdj">Template:Cite web</ref>

Themes and lyrics

Template:Multiple image Cui's music idea mainly revolves around rebellious and resistance, making introspection and irony to the tradition while exploring people's living condition.<ref name="yqhz" /> His works convey his reflections on the history of the motherland, introspection of the state of life, longing for a "utopian" beautiful future,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> and questions to the nationalism and materialist Zeitgeist of post-1989 China.<ref name="unescoc">Template:Cite magazine</ref> His songs were also the earliest in Chinese music to tackle the subject of sex,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> sometimes touching on topics of masturbation that "not many rock songs ever deal with, even in the U.S.".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> According to CNN correspondent Jaime FlorCruz, Cui's songs are "sometimes amusing, sometimes plaintive but often overtly political" and challenge "conventional Chinese ideas and attitudes".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Jonathan Matusitz described Cui's music as "insurgent and anarchic", music whose lyrics denounce China's corruption, hypocrisy, outlandish "self-righteousness", and the rejection of idealism.<ref name="arej">Template:Cite magazine</ref>

Cui said that the ratio of time he spends composing music versus writing lyrics is 20:1.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> His lyrics are nearly grammatically incoherent<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> and are considered to be postmodernism,<ref name="yqhz">Template:Cite thesis</ref> expressing the pursuit of idealism and identity,<ref name="id" /> alienation, disillusionment, and the craving for personal freedom and sexual desire.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="sbs">Template:Cite web</ref> Conceptual metaphors are widely present in the lyrics of Cui's albums.<ref name="yinyu">Template:Cite magazine</ref> According to Junru Huang of The Times, largely by writing ambiguous lyrics, Cui has skilfully become a symbol of freedom to many without becoming an Ai Weiwei-esque martyr of the arts.<ref name="jhtt">Template:Cite web</ref> Italian rock musician Francesco Baccini believed that Cui's lyrics largely focus on marginalized communities and touch on politically sensitive topics.<ref name="hrhcr">Template:Cite web</ref> Besides, he was the earliest artist to use Chinese swear words like "qù nǐ māde" (fuck off) in song lyrics.<ref name="qnmd" /> He also frequently employed sexually suggestive.<ref name="jyzs" /> According to Jilin University music professor Pang Zhonghai, Cui's creative work featured many elements of irony, black humor, and absurdity, possessing a certain avant-garde and pioneering paradigm.<ref>Template:Cite thesis</ref>

Cui's lyrics draw on the expressive techniques of modern Chinese poetry and influenced by the Misty Poetry movement.<ref name="mdyjl" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Some of his works feature frequent use of short sentence and simple sentence structures, while others employ a more colloquial style.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> He also used poetic devices such as repetition, rhyme, alliteration, and assonance.<ref>Template:Cite thesis</ref> Template:Ill, a Fudan University professor, described Cui as "contemporary chief rock poet".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Taiwanese poet Yu Kwang-chung called him China's "great poet like Lennon".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Chinese writer Wang Shuo called Cui "China's greatest bard".<ref name="haibaigd" /> Xie Mian stated that Cui's lyrics constitute important component parts of modern Chinese poetry history, possessing high value as poetry.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Jianying Zha wrote that Cui's lyrics were "the best Chinese poetry of our time".<ref name="jyzs">Template:Cite magazine</ref>

Cui performing in Beijing, 2009. His parody of political symbols in his works is regarded as deconstructive and subversive.

Cui's works saturate political symbols like red flags, color red, (political) movements, the Long March, revolution, which he deconstructively parodies and ridicules from a personalized perspective.<ref name="mdyjl">Template:Cite magazine</ref> Such subversive "political parody" was often seen as disrespectful at the time.<ref name="rockta64" /> Dai Jinhua said that through parody, Cui accomplished both a burial of an era and a reconfiguration of the memory of the times, constituting an "astonishingly destructive rearticulation or replication".<ref name="guojm">Template:Cite magazine</ref> Cultural critic Rey Chow wrote that due to Cui's playful use of these symbols, the authorities negated his music, intending to impose a forced cultural memory to emphasize respect for the Communist predecessors.<ref name="sunsh">Template:Cite book</ref>

The term "guniang" (girl) is frequently used in Cui's texts, signifying varied personas.<ref name="frs" /> This imagery has often been interpreted as an eroticization of political themes.<ref name="tujinmei" /> Taiwanese lyric scholar Hu Yu-tien thought that Cui's lyrics carry on the tradition originating from Chu Ci of using "beauty" as a metaphor for the ruler, while interweaving romantic love with patriotic sentiment.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Rachel DeWoskin of Words Without Borders also noted that Cui's songs inherit the "tried and true manner" of court poets and essayists from China's imperial past, appering to be about love but actually about history and contemporary China.<ref name="wwb" /> Malaysian columnist Tan Wei Guang described Cui as "writing about the nation like a lover and transforming political awakening into love songs".<ref name="bjzzzz">Template:Cite web</ref> Music journalist Zhou Jian called it a "Spring and Autumn brushwork".<ref name="haibaigd">Template:Cite web</ref>

Vocal style

Cui performing in 2025, Nandan

Cui sings in a pinched, hoarse voice with "guttural yet passionate" vocals,<ref name="zsxw">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="bookrg1">Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp<ref>Template:Cite thesis</ref> blending the folk singing techniques represented by Li Guyi with bel canto and breathy singing.<ref name="ligy">Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite thesis</ref> He used mostly his modal voice from lower middle to high notes, with his delivery almost entirely in forte, and employed many short portamentos, vibratos and sighings.<ref>Template:Cite thesis</ref><ref>Template:Cite thesis</ref> He can also sings in ascending falsettos.<ref name="paraio" /> Agreeing that language should not overshadow music, Cui deliberately obscures the accuracy of pronunciation in lyrics by omitting vowels, forcefully articulating labiodental affricates, and employing rapid, consecutive same-pitch note patterns in melodies, making the lyrics difficult to recognize.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Believing that the four tones of the Putonghua impose an undue restriction on the rhythmization of the language, he has long experimented with rhythmizing Chinese language, using it as an instrument to make compound rhythms.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Besides, he often uses non-lexical vocables such as ooh.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> His blurred enunciation marks a deliberate departure from 1990s pop music, which emphasized "precise articulation and polished vocals".<ref name="shwx">Template:Cite magazine</ref>

Daniel Southerland from The Washington Post described Cui's voice "sounds like a cross between Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen and Joe Strummer of the Clash".<ref name="wash" /> British sinologist Gregory B. Lee called it a raucous, guttural Beijing proletarian street accent.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> According to Jinan University professor Shuwen Qu, Cui's signature voice, constraining the vocal cords to make a husky and boorish sound, resembles that of the "cock rock" voice tradition.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Of The Power of the Powerless, Larry Katz of Boston Herald compared his vocal to Kurt Cobain, and wrote that Cui snarls, spits and barks out his lyrics in a gruff voice seething with resentment.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Taiwanese musician Li Pai-kang praised Cui for his "highly individualistic vocals and articulation" and his reinvention of vocal expression within Chinese rock music.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Videography and stage

Chinese Sixth Generation filmmaker Zhang Yuan directed the music videos for "Piece of Red Cloth", "Wild on the Snow", "Last Shot", and "Flying".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Zhang stated that he always filmed Cui as a hero, because in his perception, Cui was "a hero imbued with power".<ref name="byt">Template:Cite web</ref> The video for "Piece of Red Cloth" won special mention at the Golden Gate Viewers awards ceremonies at the 1992 San Francisco Film Festival.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> The "Wild on the Snow" video won the International Viewer's Choice Award for MTV Asia in 1991.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2005, Cui teamed up with Flash artist Lao Jiang to release the animated video for his song "Mr. Red".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Cui held a negative view toward music videos in his later career. For his 2021 songs "A Flying Dog" and "The B-Side of Time", he filmed live-performance music videos blending genuine onstage performances with visual elements, aiming to "defend the inherent qualities of live music".<ref name="gdfg">Template:Cite web</ref>

Cui Jian at Workers' Gymnasium during his concert in 2008. He himself served as the artistic director.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Cui Jian is described as frequently engaging in "intricate and dazzling experiments in musical craftsmanship" during his live performances.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He said that the most wishful way of death for him is to die on the stage, not on the bed or sofa at home.<ref name="waytod" /> At his 2008 Chengdu concert, Cui invited Chinese gymnast Li Donghua as a special guest, who appearing on stage with a pommel horse.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2010, Cui became the first mainland Chinese musician to tour across China and stage over 1,000 live performances.<ref name="ctxwb" /> In 2017, Cui made his debut as a DJ for a solo electronic live performance at the Chishui Valley Music Festival, without singing throughout the entire performance.<ref name="caiyangz" />

Apparel and accessory

Cui uses the red star as his symbol and wears a white baseball cap with that symbol.

Cui's costume has been characterised as "bricolage" and a bodily embodiment of postmodernism.<ref name="nnwrsu">Template:Cite thesis</ref><ref>Template:Cite thesis</ref> He used to wear a green People's Liberation Army uniform jacket at live performances and in music videos. It has been interpreted as a "subversive sartorial recontexutalization" or an expression of nostalgia.<ref name="id" /> His uneven pant legs are considered a mockery of symmetry and propriety.<ref name="nnwrsu" /> Cui also wore grunge clothing in his 1990s' stages.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In his 21st-century live performances, he has sometimes worn retro and introspective stage costumes, such as floral shirts and traditional Nakhi ethnic clothing, to create stark contrasts with the trendy electronic music he performed.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2005, Beijing fashion designer Feng Ling designed a new stage jacket for him that featured green linen with red silk lining in 1960s style.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Cui often appears wearing a white baseball cap with a bright red star.<ref name="id">Template:Cite magazine</ref> Cui said he initially wore the hat because he wanted to control his exposure, and he can lower his head and no one can tell who him is.<ref name="fce" /> He intentionally distressed the hat to look worn-out because that's "interesting".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> German journalist Template:Ill believed Cui reverses the colors of the Chinese flag, where the big yellow star on a red background stands for the Communist Party, appropriating and deconstructing the state symbol.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He usually blindfolded himself with a piece of red cloth when performing his song "Piece of Red Cloth".<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

Legacy

During Cui Jian's 1993 performance in Germany, the audience held up a banner reading "Long Live Cui Jian" (Template:Lang-zh).

Some security guards giving the sign of the horns to Cui during his performance, Qinhuangdao, 2014.

Cui is credited with popularizing rock throughout China,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and with being a trailblazer in Chinese progressive music.<ref name="pmzjtd">Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp He's been called the "Father of Chinese Rock", "Grandfather of Chinese Rock", "Godfather of Chinese Rock", "Emperor of Chinese Rock", "Chinese King of Rock", and "China's God of Rock".<ref name="Gunde">Gunde, Richard. [2002] (2002) Culture and Customs of China. Greenwood Press. Template:ISBN</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="zzaq">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="chinagod" /> As Cui became a national phenomenon, his rock music gained widespread, fervent popularity among youth and led him to be referenced as the voice of his generation, while simultaneously facing fierce opposition from socially conservative forces that dubbed him a "freak of this era".<ref>Template:Cite thesis</ref><ref name="sccf" /><ref>Template:Cite thesis</ref> In Western countries, Cui is often compared as the Chinese equivalent of John Lennon, Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, Kurt Cobain, Bruce Springsteen, Prince, and Johnny Hallyday,<ref name="cultf" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="inde">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="pierrehaski">Template:Cite web</ref> and is recognized for his anti-establishment persona.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> British journalist Jasper Becker wrote in 1995 that Cui is usually known as China's greatest rock star.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Billboard called him "the lone voice of originality in Chinese music".<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Matthew Corbin Clark of PBS described Cui as "a bizarre concoction of post-Communist celebrity, cross-cultural artistic transfer, David & Goliath political dynamics, and inspired musicianship".<ref name="pbs">Template:Cite web</ref> Die Tageszeitung named him the most successful Chinese rock musician of all time.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Jo Ling Kent from CNN wrote that Cui led a "musical counterculture that is redefining what it means to be 'Made in China'".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In Newsweek, Melinda Liu described him as the godfather of China's new music.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Public image

Cui is recognized as a cultural icon,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="pdtcka" /> a pop icon,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="bmc">Template:Cite web</ref> a teen idol,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> a fashion icon,<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> an icon of the punk subculture,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and one of the most famous iconic figures in contemporary Chinese art.<ref name="fce">Template:Cite web</ref> He is seen as one of the most popular critical voices in the nation.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Unlike Teresa Teng who occupied a liberated position after the Reform and opening up, Cui took on the role of a "rebel" in the 1980s.<ref name="fcjtsh" /> He and his music were regarded as symbols of rebellious youth and an oppositional educated class.<ref name="mmcccips" /> Xue Manzi stated that Cui brought "the most sincere and rebellious voice".<ref name="baiqiang">Template:Cite web</ref> During the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests, his music evolved into anthems of self-determination.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> In 1990, The Washington Post said Cui is an "unauthorized hero" or "antihero" for many youths in China.<ref name="wash">Template:Cite news</ref> Since 1991, South Korean media have consistently emphasized Cui's ethnic identity in reporting news. In response, Cui stated that he had never seriously considered his own ethnic identity, stressing that individuality matters more and that he is Chinese.<ref name="skmedia" /> Template:Blockquote Since the early 1990s Cui has been portrayed in numerous Western media as China's indomitable political conscience.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Although "from any end of the left-wing or right-wing spectrum, Cui's presence is so striking that no power can ignore or incorporate him",<ref name="wangx80" /> he often pleads with reporters that he is not a rock star or a political dissident, but a composer.<ref name="pleads" />

Since 2000s, Cui has been perceived more as a nostalgic symbol and spiritual icon representing "marginalization, rebellion, and critical consciousness", rather than a commercial star with mainstream influence.<ref name="nyls">Template:Cite web</ref> In 2015, Cui said people view him more as "an old man" than a rebel, a familiar face on television but no longer influential.<ref name="tjp">Template:Cite web</ref> However, according to Japanese journalist Template:Ill, since the Xi Jinping era began, most singers and musicians have abandoned the pursuit of individuality and freedom to maintain their presence in the Chinese market, while Cui Jian, known for his "free-spirited" style, has regained prominence.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> A New York Times editorial pointed:<ref name="nyd" />

Cultural impact

Cui's success marked the rise of subculture in China, leading to a social landscape where mainstream culture coexisted with subcultures, and orthodox culture paralleled popular culture.<ref name="ngssch">Template:Cite thesis</ref> His hairstyle became popular across China,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> empowering young men to grow long hair.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> With the release of Rock 'n' Roll on the New Long March, mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan experienced a "Cui Jian Fever" (Template:Lang-zh).<ref name="cuijianre">Template:Cite book</ref> His music "profoundly shook" the cultural and social conduct across these regions in the 1980s and 1990s,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and changed the status of Chinese indie music.<ref>Template:Cite thesis</ref> In Taiwan, although his album was censored by the Government Information Office shortly after its release for "being incompatible with current politics", he still exerted a profound influence on Taiwanese underground rock scene.<ref>Template:Cite thesis</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> According to a 1994 report from The Chosun Ilbo, Cui's "powerful rock sound and melody, uniquely hoarse voice, and rich vocal abilities" combine to fuel his rising popularity in Japan.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

According to OhmyNews, Cui is revered as a top musician who exerted profound influence on Chinese popular culture.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Music critic Huang Liaoyuan wrote that Cui was "the first person in contemporary China to modernize the subject matter of popular music".<ref name="cna">Template:Cite web</ref> Chinese singer Cheng Lin stated that Cui is "a banner in the history of music". Gong Linna remarked that Cui pioneered a form of "Chinese rock" that "dug into the roots of Chinese culture".<ref name="youthfilm">Template:Cite web</ref> Mongolian singer Daichin Tana called him the "backbone and gall of this land", and described his music as the "hope and despair of this country".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Music critic Jin Zhaojun believed that the immense cultural impact generated by Cui stemmed from his "fundamental questioning" of the Chinese people's way of existence.<ref name="cna" />

Template:BlockquoteCui exerted a lasting influence on the creative production of rock music in mainland China.<ref name="fcjtsh" /> Since Northwest Wind and Cui's rock, the experimental use of traditional musical components in the creation of popular music has formed a striking trend.<ref>Template:Cite thesis</ref> The Beijing News and Sixth Tone have noted that in the 1980s, Cui represented elite culture's resistance against mainstream culture, the production model which led to the successors of Chinese rock music retreating into increasingly marginalized subcultural circles.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="chinagod">Template:Cite web</ref> Music critic Yan Jun wrote: "Ever since Cui Jian, Chinese rock has been seen as an alternative, outsider's and Underground sound."<ref>Template:Cite thesis</ref>

Template:Multiple image Many musicians and bands were influenced by him, such as Chang Chen-yue,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="nbd">Template:Cite web</ref> Xu Wei,<ref name="chennan">Template:Cite web</ref> Liang Long,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Pu Shu,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Wowkie Zhang,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Tang Dynasty,<ref name="cjtb">Template:Cite web</ref> Black Panther,<ref name="cjtb" /> Wang Feng,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Wang Leehom,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Tan Weiwei,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Liang Bo,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Gao Xiaosong,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Deserts Chang,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Lin Sheng Xiang,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Khalil Fong,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Yaksa,<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Li Zhi,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Tengger,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Qiu Ye,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Mao Amin,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Gao Qi,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Emil Chau,<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Again,<ref name="sccf">Template:Cite thesis</ref> Vajara,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and Dantès Dailiang.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Chinese newspaper National Business Daily reported that in numerous variety talent shows, contestants paying tribute by performing Cui Jian's songs has become a common occurrence.<ref name="nbd" /> A 2018 Yangcheng Evening News survey showed that the song "Greenhouse Girl" alone, has been covered more than 20 times on TV shows since 2010, and has appeared in at least five blockbusters.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The song "The Lost Season" inspired Ning Hao's film Guns and Roses.<ref name="baiqiang" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

A tribute album Who Is Cui Jian!? was released in 2005 by Scream Records, featuring 11 bands covering Cui's songs.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Jon Campbell from South China Morning Post reviewed that the album "leaving much mediocrity", although he thought Reflector's pop-punk take on "Rock 'N' Roll on the New Long March" and Pao Pao Tang's reinvention of "Piece of Red Cloth" are highlights.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Archives and recognition

Cui ranked 51rd on Forbes China Celebrity 100 list in 2004.<ref name="fbscfb">Template:Cite web</ref> He graced the cover of the first Chinese edition of Rolling Stone in March 2006.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2007, Cui was included in the China Power List by openDemocracy and Chatham House.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2009, in an online poll by China Internet Information Center, Cui ranked as the 6th most influential singer in China since 1949 and the 12th most influential celebrity overall, with 160,000 votes.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Chinese edition of L'Officiel Hommes listed him as one of the fashion legends since the founding of the People's Republic of China.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In September, he ranked fifth in the 1990s category of Sohu's idol vote across decades.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> In a 2010 survey of Chinese university students, Cui ranked second among the symbolic figures in the Chinese entertainment world.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> A wax figure of Cui has been unveiled at Madame Tussauds Beijing in May 2013.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In the same year, according to a market survey by Template:Ill, 60-70% of middle-class and above males had varying degrees of complex to him.<ref name="cwr" /> Template:Ill described Cui as "the best rock singer in China".<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> A booklet of the Arezzo Wave calls him "protagonist of the Chinese pop-rock scene".<ref name="dezijazzc" /> He has been recognized by the media outlet Cultural Tourism China under China's Ministry of Culture and Tourism as "a musical genius born for Chinese rock and roll, the founder of Chinese rock, and a pioneer and thinker of China's new music".<ref name="pdtcka">Template:Cite web</ref>

Discography

• Returning Wanderer (1984)
• Rock 'n' Roll on the New Long March (1989)
• Solution (1991)
• Balls Under the Red Flag (1994)
• The Power of the Powerless (1998)
• Show You Colour (2005)
• Frozen Light (2015)
• A Flying Dog (2021)

Filmography

• 1993 – Beijing Bastards (北京杂种; Beijing Zazhong), directed by Zhang Yuan, as himself
• 2003 – Roots and Branches (我的兄弟姐妹; Wo de xiongdi jiemei), directed by Yu Chung, as the father/music teacher
• 2007 – The Sun Also Rises (太阳照常升起; Taiyang zhaochang shengqi), directed by Jiang Wen, as Tang's friend in Beijing
• 2012 – Transcendence 3-D concert, directed by Bai Qiang
• 2013 – Promise, directed and written by himself
• 2013 – Blue Sky Bones

Books

• Template:Cite book
• Template:Cite book
• Template:Cite book

Tours

• Rock 'N' Roll on the New Long March Tour (1990; 1991-1992)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• 1995 US tour (1995)
• 1999 US tour (1999)
• 2001 European tour (2001)
• Live Vocals Movement Tour (2002–2005)
• 2004 North American tour (2004)<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
• 2009 Concert Tour (2009)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• The Blue Bones Tour (2012–2015)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Rolling 30 Tour (2016–2018)
• 2019 Australian tour (2019)
• A Flying Dog Tour (2021–2023)
• Keep Going Wild Tour (2024–2025)

External links

• Official website
• Cui Jian on Douyin
• Cui Jian's agent You You on Sina Weibo
• Template:IMDb name
• Cui Jian on AllMusic
• Cui Jian on Chinese Rock Database (in Japanese)
• Cui Jian Sings for the Students on 4 June Memory & Human Rights Museum
• Wei, S. Louisa (2006). "Template:Usurped" (DV). Music documentary.