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MILENE LARSSON: When we covered the Beijing punk
scene, we were surprised by how apolitical most of these
bands were.
So we decided to meet up with Cui Jian, the grandfather of
Chinese rock.
Cui Jian is the biggest rock star in China, and he's
probably more punk than all the new bands put together.
He wrote the song, "Nothing to My Name," that became the
anthem of the student revolution of '89.
And the album it was featured on was the best-selling record
in China's history.
Since Cui Jian has witnessed China's massive change, we
thought that he might have some answers to why the
country that invented stuff like paper and the compass
hasn't really come up with anything new lately.
We've been here in Beijing for a week and a half already, and
we've been meeting a lot of young bands.
It's basically all rock and roll.
Has China kind of run out of new ideas?
Or why all these Western influences?
CUI JIAN: You know, we start from Western classical music.
When I was 14 years old, I started the trumpet.
Someone doesn't really think, this is Western, as they would
say, this is the fashion, this is international.
Don't believe someone said Chinese rock
and roll is so active.
Only in Beijing, few clubs in the weekend, the huge country.
No, it's joke.
It's a joke.
It's not culture yet.
Everybody copying.
Something wrong, because they lose their own creativity.
They listen to Western music.
They have a much better system, but they don't create.
So the real situation in China, what the young people
really thinking about in China.
But I don't think you can get this from a CCTV, or we can
get some more on [INAUDIBLE].
I don't think you can get something who
tell you the truth.
People telling the truth is a good image for the country,
for the government.
The young people say something bad about this country, it
doesn't mean they don't like this country.
Maybe it's just because they love this country, and they
don't feel satisfied and they say something because they
want changes.
MILENE LARSSON: Shouldn't China still be creating
something new, since you're such a big nation?
CUI JIAN: I want to say I appreciate you asking me these
questions, why China has such huge history and culture, and
then they just want to leave them alone and listen to the
Western music or culture.
So it's a good question.
And a lot of people will keep thinking about it.
I don't think my answer is right, even from now.
In a lot of things, I have to keep thinking.
But it's very, very important, because I don't think it's a
matter of Chinese young people.
I think this is a big matter of the whole world, because
China's big, and China has really beautiful culture.
Confucius has totally destroyed
the culture of China.
It's the worst part of China.
Confucius teach people how to be nice to people, but not
nice to themselves, how to be polite.
My parents, I have to be nice to them.
But we have totally lost the direction about searching
themselves.
This is the bad part of the culture.
Don't listen to him.
He's old guy, born 2,000 years ago.
And he said something.
For that moment, it's OK, but not for now.
We [INAUDIBLE]
young people.
We have Chinese young people.
Don't believe that.
MILENE LARSSON: The fact that Cui Jian is so popular and
outspoken has put him in difficulties with the Chinese
government.
People can buy his records, since he's managed to get
around the censorship boundaries
through allegoric lyrics.
But to see China's biggest rock star perform live is a
whole different deal.
He hasn't been able to play any major venues in China
since his inappropriate stage behavior on the fundraising
tour for the 1990 Asian games.
And according to Western media, he's been banned from
playing live.
MILENE LARSSON: How do you make sense of it?
MILENE LARSSON: Still, you managed to kind of
not play the game.
You did your own--
MILENE LARSSON: You've been playing a lot of shows abroad.
You told me you were in the US.
What do you feel is the Western world's perception and
opinions about China?
MILENE LARSSON: Yeah.
MILENE LARSSON: When you're in the US or in Denmark, or
wherever you are, how do Western people react to China?
[MUSIC PLAYING]
MILENE LARSSON: We started to understand why Cui Jian is
such an icon, as our chat with him turned into one of the
most keen and precise explanations of the Chinese
psyche that we've ever heard.
Even though over a fifth of the world's population lives
in China, it's rare to find Chinese music that actually
has something to say.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
MILENE LARSSON: Almost everybody that we meet knows
your songs and say that you mean a lot to them.
MILENE LARSSON: I kind of get the impression that you're
important to them.
And it makes me wonder, makes us wonder, what
are your songs about?
MILENE LARSSON: I read an interview where you said
something about, people used to be heroes and now they care
more about having a nice salary.
Do you think why this generation have a lot of money
concerns is because they are the generation under the
capitalism?
MILENE LARSSON: What do you listen to right now?
MILENE LARSSON: Missy Elliott?