Cui Jian is a Beijing legend and the country's most loved rock singer, as well as being a skilled trumpet player, guitarist, and composer. Starting off with an almost Bob Dylan like simplicity with voice, guitar and mouthorgan, he has continued to explore new musical styles with each album he produces. By far, his compositions are the most complex on the Chinese music scene, and most recently have a strong Jazz flavor.

Today he is known as the grandfather of Chinese rock and roll. Despite this title, many people are unaware of who he is. One reason for his relative lack of fame may have to do with an official government dislike of the type of music that Cui Jian plays, and the fact that his most famous song became the anthem for the pro-democracy movement in China that came to a boiling point during the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989. Prior to this, in 1986 he gained some international fame with his song "I Have Nothing." This is the song that became the youth anthem of the late 1980s China. He would often perform the song at concerts with a red cloth wrapped around his eyes - symbolizising the majority of people of his generation having been raised with a socialist idealism that merely masks the widespread government corruption and favoritism that dominated China daily life at the time.

"I Have Nothing" is a hauntingly sad, and plaintive song that begins with a slow tempo and ends with hard rock energy. This song is a China classic, and one that most Chinese will recall. The song articulates the general sense of frustration Chinese had at the time with lyrics like:

I am giving you my aspirations
And my freedom too.
But you always laugh at me
Because I have nothing

Cui Jian spent time in prison after the Tiananmen incident, further mythologizing his status amongst Chinese youth. Nowadays however both he and the government have mellowed out, and he now performs regularly.

Here're some clips well worth watching of him :

"Fake Monk" taken recently at the Concert for Earthquake Relief in Beijing three weeks ago : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXbC2f1BV_Y

"I Have Nothing" Cui Jian with MLTR: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uh4Xt3a-Pyc

Cui Jian Remix: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=su63hbpYCTk

Cui Jian Website (with full discography, concert dates and downloads: www.cuijian.com