I think his view on Confucianism is fascinating. He identified the core lack of individualism that Chinese culture seemed to bare and briefly explained it. Super insightful even today (April 2021)
Just an update here, I've been listening to IN3 and really enjoy them a lot, they feel like some of the most sincere, authentic underground Chinese music I've heard.
@lmz 1. If you have to dig deep to find it, doesn't that mean it is rare? 2, Instead of just criticising, why not share with us some of the music you know about? Thank you in advance. :-)
As a Chinese, I totally agree with the criticisms that Cui made on Confucianism. In my opinion, Confucius ideology is out of day. Nowadays in China, we rarely see young people followed the same path as their parents, ironically Confucianism encourage young people to obey the elderly, which is contradicting with reality.
Sounds like then we should have a revolution of culture in which the old superstitions and relics of the past are overthrown and destroyed, and then we should gather up the elderly into groups and criticize them.
simon wang No need, it will slowly fades away. Just by looking at the younger generations, hardly anyone follows these old ideologies as their guidelines of behave. (including myself.) :)
That guy had a good taste in music. I give huge props for him and not just for the music taste but in general i had a good wibe about this guy! Keep on playing fella!
Enlightening. Thanks Vice! Getting to interview him can't be easy. The interviewer has skills. Didn't trip any wires that would have endangered the musician. It would've been cool to see subtitles in English for the Chinese-language (of course) songs he was singing. The Music Videos had a few, but not the live shows, unless I missed it (?).
"I have a feeling that you aren’t made of iron but you seem to be as forceful as iron I felt that you had blood on your body because your hands were so warm" - Cui Jian
I agree with the first part, but the second part couldn't be more wrong. People hate chains like those for completely valid reasons, not because they're jealous of others success. Walmart pays their workers in other countries next to nothing and they live and work in the most horrible enviorments.Mcdonalds uses chemicals in their foods that create almost an addiction and is very harmful towards their customers.I could go on my point is just that people do not hate big chains because they are big
Cui Jian. Legend. So much more than the Godfather of Chinese Rock n Roll... I was mostly Beijing based 1998 til 2017 and was lucky enough to have a jam with his "expat" band. I think there was a total of 5 rock n roll bands in Beijing in 98 and probably about the same amount of bars that were set up to actually host live music. Cui Jian still comes out and plays some small unnounced underground shows at various venues around Beijing and some of his band members are still kicking around doing music in Beijing. Legend.
As I typed and posted - I didn't scroll down to realize others already posted this information. So, it went out. I just typed it as a matter of fact info and I agree on Vaclav's sarcasm. I should of added, "...such a big nation with Kung Fu Panda, Moo Shu - both the food and Mulan's sidekick. Why no cure for cancer?"
i once heard an interesting theory about confucianism, which is about the "conditionaled stages of love" within confucism. You should love your authority -> you should love your parents -> you should love your relatives -> you should love your and in the end it leads to fundation of you should love YOURSELF. There is nothing wrong with "love" but something wrong with the "yours", if everyone has a "your's" than that would leads to conflict and selfishness. Like the infamous chinese "Guanxi' sys
Your right, no one has been able to lead Communism the way it's supposed to be used. Communism it's self is a great ideology, but no one can lead it correctly.
Lol, how is that even a thing. Asian Dancer's & Breakers are utterly crazy & accurate. They use Rhythm in unbelievable ways, complex and non rigid flowing.
Vice is usually good but this particular documentary is poor. The interviewer is only vaguely informed about China. In addition do overall ignorance of China, she is approaching the interview from a biased and shallow perspective. As a result, her questions are too broad, cliche, and lack any dynamic for Cui to embellish.
+Ian McMath By the way... with all the respect to Ciu Jian, but he is also talking rubbish about Confucius destroyed China's culture. What Ciu Jian has achieved is tiny compared to Confucius.
duuude you went to china one time? you must know everything about china. I mean you probably saw everything about chinese culture in that trip because china is the same everywhere, right? and you're so perfect that you're not influenced by cultural favoritism!! oh how I wish to be just like you
I just wish that Vice had a Mandarin-speaking correspondent go and interview Cui Jian. I thought they were going to, based on the accent of the narrator in the beginning. Then I was disappointed that it turned out to be some Swedish girl.
you guys need to be in touch with king ly chee, they have been the longest indie hardcore band in hong kong supporting china and hong kong and reflecting their political views of many different events throughout the history. my friend plays as a bass player in the band and i believe they have been around more than a decade.
Im not normally one to scream "racist" but I agree there is definitely something annoying or intolerant or maybe just ignorant about her. Very frustrating
I am shocking cui can speak English so good. I do not think he creates more after 1990. China has missed 20 years or more in music, literature or politics. Like a popular saying now except money we have nothing.
Cui jian has been constantly putting out good stuff until today. Never lose his fire inside of him. Plus, there are many good chinese band and I can give you a long list. Your conclusion is correct: the crazy pursuit of money making the society toxic，but all your other “illusion” shows your ignorance towards what’s really going on. The good stuff are always out there，maybe buried along with trashes，but they‘re there. Maybe it’s you who give up and stop searching.
@@Hsterminator sure, cui jian is the first His album "Solution" is very beautiful. Then there is Zhang Chu, who is a representative of Chinese folk rock. His album "It's Shame to Be Lonely" represents the current situation of young people with ideas in China in the 20th century. I think he is the Chinese version of Neil Young, but maybe Bob Dylan is more accurate. There is also Dou Wei, whose first solo album is similar to Gothic style rock with Chinese culture. It is very famous in China. Then there is He Yong, whose album "Garbage Dump" is also very good, with a rock and folk style. There is also the Supermarket Band, who released the first electronic album in China in the 1990s. I personally like the singer Zhang Zhenyue from Taiwan, China. His early works are basically grunge rock style. There is also the Catcher in the Rye, the first British rock style band in China. There is also a compilation called "Boring Army" published in 1999. He is the favorite of Chinese punk fans. So much for me for now. I am from China, but I only started listening to Chinese rock songs in recent years. Before that, I thought there was no rock in China, but the fact is exactly the opposite.
Good interview. I can't say I've heard that take on Confucius from a Chinese person before... very interesting opinion, kinda makes sense. I definitely have a hard time finding antiestablishment music of any kind from China. It feels like music there is allowed to be surface-level rebellious - trap rap from Chengdu about bitches and booze - but never anything even slightly against the government. 50 cent army in the comments, btw
I’ve always felt an internal feeling of detest against Confucius’ teaching, but could never put this feeling and reasoning into words until I saw this interview and Cui’s take on it.
Their goal was a communistic society. There isn't "many, many variations on the theme of communism.". Communism is the revolt against capitalism. Capitalism - progress through competition, is the polar opposite of communism - progress through co-operation. It doesn't matter if you read the works of Marx, Lenin or Mao Zedong. It's the same ideology.
I know this. And I agree with you, up until the McDonald's and Walmart examples. I think people hate these chains because of their methods of operation and their ways/ingredients/etc, rather than their success. There are many healthy or ethical successes in America that people enjoy. But that's not really the point either way.
i think what he is trying to say is that both confucianism and organised religions demand obedience to authority and are conformist, preventing creativity.
good stuff, true legend, revolutionary figure, god father, he is still so ahead of his time until this very day, it is more about his message than the music itself. it is amazing that he said he actually listens to jazz, thanks!
It really depends, some groups opressed while other have been driven completely underground. There are cathedrals and churches all over the place in china, mosques too but groups like falun gong have been driven underground and are perscuted because they are percieved as being a threat to authority.
The CEO of McDonald's makes more in one year than one of his restaurant employees could make if he worked 1,000 years non-stop. Employees aren't paid enough. If people made enough money they would be happier and less likely to commit crime. Some will always be poor and criminal but most of the working poor are hard working and determined. They aren't respected or fairly compensated so the fat cats can compete with each other.
In all fairness though, the CEO of McDonalds is the overseer of the largest restaurant chain in the world which has a revenue of nearly 30 Billion dollars a year...
No, In a society where only helping is rewarded there is no fraud. A car isn't the same as an apple, but gold is almost the same as silver. Greece was not ruined by debt/taxation (Which isn't the same as socialism). Greece was ruined by greed.
i think this person is referring to the practical reality of confucianism i.e. the cultural tradition of oppressive patriarchy. i dont necessarily know about all of the philosophy, all i know is that its part of what is taught in basic western civ
That's actually not true. Most, if not all, forms of communism talk about "The Party" as a representative of the proletariat. While not "elitists" they are a special, selected group of individuals that run everything. Also, it doesn't matter if they're all influenced by Marx. It feels like you're leading into a false idea that because they're all based off of Marx, they're all nearly the same. They can vary greatly, and do. Just like capitalism has many forms. China is a very special case.
You have confused crony capitalism with exceptionalism. Nobody hates success rightly earned. It gives people hope that they can succeed too. In the USA our government can determine who is successful and who is not. I had a friend who co-founded a dot com. On his trips to Washington he got the distinct impression that if you gave them enough money they would make anything legal for you. Dianne Feinstein was worth $1 million when she was elected to the Senate. She is now worth $90 million.
But this rebellious 'Grandfather' is now a successful business star, performing on stages of all kinds of music festivals and business shows to make great fortune. Cui has changed as well as China. But why not?
Deep down in his heart, he has no interest in money. His music speaks for itself. In 2021 he released a new album - 'A flying dog'. Veteran fans know what he's trying to say.
Even minor, some of sect do exist and mixed it with Tao & Buddhist. Originally Confucianism isn't religion but philosophy. And what Cui Jian talking here is Confucianism that conducted in China's society. Confucianism is way of thinking as society. Regardless they're Christian or Muslim. Just like individualism conducted in western society.
Newsflash, When you own a company you can pay yourself and others what you want. Strangely enough, we call that freedom. If you work for a company and you feel you aren't paid enough compared to the "fat cat", you are free to leave and go find a different job that will pay what you want. Freedom allows some to prosper, but it doesn't force anyone to starve. Personal responsibility is lost on too many people and they feel entitled to something for nothing. If that makes me a tool, so be it.
He's not called the Grandfather of Chinese Rock. He's called the Godfather of Chinese Rock.
What's wrong with the translation.
scolfieldcheng 😂😂😂😂😂
I took a college course called "Rock and Roll in Post-Mao China" and this guy is the real deal. I've written essays about this dude. Goooood shit.
exactly. he's more than a musician. he went to the Tianan Square and sang for the students protesting there in 1989.
I think his view on Confucianism is fascinating. He identified the core lack of individualism that Chinese culture seemed to bare and briefly explained it. Super insightful even today (April 2021)
"is rare to find chinese music that have something to say"
you guys didn't dig deep enough
Suggestions welcome, I'm on the hunt. It's honestly very hard to find anything controversial besides Cui Jian.
Just an update here, I've been listening to IN3 and really enjoy them a lot, they feel like some of the most sincere, authentic underground Chinese music I've heard.
@lmz
1. If you have to dig deep to find it, doesn't that mean it is rare?
2, Instead of just criticising, why not share with us some of the music you know about? Thank you in advance. :-)
崔健英语这么好！
As a Chinese, I totally agree with the criticisms that Cui made on Confucianism. In my opinion, Confucius ideology is out of day. Nowadays in China, we rarely see young people followed the same path as their parents, ironically Confucianism encourage young people to obey the elderly, which is contradicting with reality.
Sounds like then we should have a revolution of culture in which the old superstitions and relics of the past are overthrown and destroyed, and then we should gather up the elderly into groups and criticize them.
simon wang
No need, it will slowly fades away. Just by looking at the younger generations, hardly anyone follows these old ideologies as their guidelines of behave. (including myself.) :)
The real O.G of Chinese rock music.
THE INAUDIBLE ON 1:52 IS ACUTALLY GET SOME MORE ON STREET
Anyone else get a random ad of some little toddler shaking his ass before this video played?
That guy had a good taste in music. I give huge props for him and not just for the music taste but in general i had a good wibe about this guy! Keep on playing fella!
"They didn't give a shit! Curtis Lemay was right!"
That really did make me laugh out loud.
He likes all the same music I do, he's a great musician and he's got a clear, untainted, honest view of the world.
He just got a new fan. :)
Enlightening. Thanks Vice! Getting to interview him can't be easy. The interviewer has skills. Didn't trip any wires that would have endangered the musician. It would've been cool to see subtitles in English for the Chinese-language (of course) songs he was singing. The Music Videos had a few, but not the live shows, unless I missed it (?).
Vice, thanks for taking a break from the snowboard videos. I think going over 10 vids was pushing it. Love snowboarding, but enough is enough.
you just described about half the countries in the world
That kinda blew my mind! This guy needs to write a book.
This is a pretty old interview right? Because I saw him at an olympic stadium in 2011, in Beijing. Cui Jian is awesome!
"I have a feeling that you aren’t made of iron
but you seem to be as forceful as iron
I felt that you had blood on your body
because your hands were so warm" - Cui Jian
I agree with the first part, but the second part couldn't be more wrong. People hate chains like those for completely valid reasons, not because they're jealous of others success. Walmart pays their workers in other countries next to nothing and they live and work in the most horrible enviorments.Mcdonalds uses chemicals in their foods that create almost an addiction and is very harmful towards their customers.I could go on my point is just that people do not hate big chains because they are big
I don't know why you got so many negatives votes because you are absolutely correct.......rock 'n roll started in America lol
Cui Jian. Legend. So much more than the Godfather of Chinese Rock n Roll... I was mostly Beijing based 1998 til 2017 and was lucky enough to have a jam with his "expat" band. I think there was a total of 5 rock n roll bands in Beijing in 98 and probably about the same amount of bars that were set up to actually host live music. Cui Jian still comes out and plays some small unnounced underground shows at various venues around Beijing and some of his band members are still kicking around doing music in Beijing. Legend.
As I typed and posted - I didn't scroll down to realize others already posted this information. So, it went out. I just typed it as a matter of fact info and I agree on Vaclav's sarcasm. I should of added, "...such a big nation with Kung Fu Panda, Moo Shu - both the food and Mulan's sidekick. Why no cure for cancer?"
He is the godfather of Chinese rock indeed.
At 9:44 he says, "Not a single one." For those of you wondering.
i once heard an interesting theory about confucianism, which is about the "conditionaled stages of love" within confucism. You should love your authority -> you should love your parents -> you should love your relatives -> you should love your and in the end it leads to fundation of you should love YOURSELF. There is nothing wrong with "love" but something wrong with the "yours", if everyone has a "your's" than that would leads to conflict and selfishness. Like the infamous chinese "Guanxi' sys
This guy's got some deep shit to him, I'd like to have a proper conversation with him, as a friend.
Your right, no one has been able to lead Communism the way it's supposed to be used. Communism it's self is a great ideology, but no one can lead it correctly.
no，man，it's NOT a great ideology. it's a dangerous Fantasy about society. cause I live in it，it's so fucking depressing.
you have never lived in a ghetto before. fresh food is often not easily available in such communities in the US.
Lol, how is that even a thing. Asian Dancer's & Breakers are utterly crazy & accurate. They use Rhythm in unbelievable ways, complex and non rigid flowing.
wtf he's not even trolling hes just being sarcastic
Vice is usually good but this particular documentary is poor. The interviewer is only vaguely informed about China. In addition do overall ignorance of China, she is approaching the interview from a biased and shallow perspective. As a result, her questions are too broad, cliche, and lack any dynamic for Cui to embellish.
+Ian McMath Well said!!! Sharp conclusion of you
+Ian McMath By the way... with all the respect to Ciu Jian, but he is also talking rubbish about Confucius destroyed China's culture. What Ciu Jian has achieved is tiny compared to Confucius.
He is right...I thought about "Walden" what I heard that, "there is nothing old men can teach us, because their own...".
Guy has good taste in music :D
more documentaries on chinese culture please.
duuude you went to china one time? you must know everything about china. I mean you probably saw everything about chinese culture in that trip because china is the same everywhere, right? and you're so perfect that you're not influenced by cultural favoritism!! oh how I wish to be just like you
I just wish that Vice had a Mandarin-speaking correspondent go and interview Cui Jian. I thought they were going to, based on the accent of the narrator in the beginning. Then I was disappointed that it turned out to be some Swedish girl.
4:13 Lee Sin Champion Spotlight.
you guys need to be in touch with king ly chee, they have been the longest indie hardcore band in hong kong supporting china and hong kong and reflecting their political views of many different events throughout the history. my friend plays as a bass player in the band and i believe they have been around more than a decade.
what a cool guy. so wise. you can tell he's thought deeply about the things he's talking about.
great guy
please start adding english subtitles!
I've got people who are with me right now, who needed the subs, nice subs thanks...
more please
AM I THE ONLY ONE THAT THINKS THIS PIECE IS RACIST???
JUST SOME GIRLS OPINION ON CHINESE MUSIC BASED IN RACIAL BIAS?!?!?
Im not normally one to scream "racist" but I agree there is definitely something annoying or intolerant or maybe just ignorant about her. Very frustrating
True
I am shocking cui can speak English so good. I do not think he creates more after 1990. China has missed 20 years or more in music, literature or politics. Like a popular saying now except money we have nothing.
Cui jian has been constantly putting out good stuff until today. Never lose his fire inside of him. Plus, there are many good chinese band and I can give you a long list. Your conclusion is correct: the crazy pursuit of money making the society toxic，but all your other “illusion” shows your ignorance towards what’s really going on. The good stuff are always out there，maybe buried along with trashes，but they‘re there. Maybe it’s you who give up and stop searching.
@@5amohtaerg60 Can you give me the long list?
@@Hsterminator sure, cui jian is the first His album "Solution" is very beautiful. Then there is Zhang Chu, who is a representative of Chinese folk rock. His album "It's Shame to Be Lonely" represents the current situation of young people with ideas in China in the 20th century. I think he is the Chinese version of Neil Young, but maybe Bob Dylan is more accurate. There is also Dou Wei, whose first solo album is similar to Gothic style rock with Chinese culture. It is very famous in China. Then there is He Yong, whose album "Garbage Dump" is also very good, with a rock and folk style. There is also the Supermarket Band, who released the first electronic album in China in the 1990s. I personally like the singer Zhang Zhenyue from Taiwan, China. His early works are basically grunge rock style. There is also the Catcher in the Rye, the first British rock style band in China. There is also a compilation called "Boring Army" published in 1999. He is the favorite of Chinese punk fans. So much for me for now. I am from China, but I only started listening to Chinese rock songs in recent years. Before that, I thought there was no rock in China, but the fact is exactly the opposite.
@@user-rf2uk9su9r Thank you! :)
Thankyou for that comment, glad someone else sees sense :)
THAT GUY ROCKS
Amazing, live, improvisational Chinese musicians can be heard at: C:UNION in Shenzhen, C:UNION in Guangzhou, JAH BAR in Chengdu
no shit man! this is the first time i've EVER not finished watching a vice production. i got ~ halfway and just couldn't keep watching!
the song he is singing at the 8:00 mark, kind of sounds like the Ewok song at the end of "Return of the Jedi"...
Good interview. I can't say I've heard that take on Confucius from a Chinese person before... very interesting opinion, kinda makes sense. I definitely have a hard time finding antiestablishment music of any kind from China. It feels like music there is allowed to be surface-level rebellious - trap rap from Chengdu about bitches and booze - but never anything even slightly against the government. 50 cent army in the comments, btw
I’ve always felt an internal feeling of detest against Confucius’ teaching, but could never put this feeling and reasoning into words until I saw this interview and Cui’s take on it.
Yep. As long as in positive connotation. It's your own problem if you see it wrong.
Why subtitle him? He was speaking fine English.
From what little I know about Confusionism, he is right. It is about social conventions and obedience, mostly.
Their goal was a communistic society. There isn't "many, many variations on the theme of communism.". Communism is the revolt against capitalism. Capitalism - progress through competition, is the polar opposite of communism - progress through co-operation. It doesn't matter if you read the works of Marx, Lenin or Mao Zedong. It's the same ideology.
I know this. And I agree with you, up until the McDonald's and Walmart examples. I think people hate these chains because of their methods of operation and their ways/ingredients/etc, rather than their success. There are many healthy or ethical successes in America that people enjoy. But that's not really the point either way.
And he speaks english so well!
i think what he is trying to say is that both confucianism and organised religions demand obedience to authority and are conformist, preventing creativity.
yeah but they only put them on a few minutes in...
good stuff, true legend, revolutionary figure, god father, he is still so ahead of his time until this very day, it is more about his message than the music itself. it is amazing that he said he actually listens to jazz, thanks!
thank god im in america. god bless
Why is there always a comment about America in the top comments on VICE videos?
I met Cui Jian in 1990. He didn't speak English then. The "rock scene" was very, very small.
where does it say anything about snowboarding?
2022 still loving this vid
He said he listens to radiohead Hell yea!
01:10 Sid vicious said "Chinese rock".
This guy is my herro!!
Do a documentary on the journalist
Neat, good job VICE.
Go to China. I dare you. I dare you to visit China and say what you just said.
崔健牛逼！！！！！
0:10 - 0:14 a prime example of what I mean
It really depends, some groups opressed while other have been driven completely underground. There are cathedrals and churches all over the place in china, mosques too but groups like falun gong have been driven underground and are perscuted because they are percieved as being a threat to authority.
hahaha, you should turn on the automated captions, it's fucking hilarious :D
thumbs up for this vid.
The CEO of McDonald's makes more in one year than one of his restaurant employees could make if he worked 1,000 years non-stop. Employees aren't paid enough. If people made enough money they would be happier and less likely to commit crime. Some will always be poor and criminal but most of the working poor are hard working and determined. They aren't respected or fairly compensated so the fat cats can compete with each other.
He’s a hero of rock!
Cool, would have liked to see more of his music interspersed into this.
Dude, anything "on acid" is amazing.
In all fairness though, the CEO of McDonalds is the overseer of the largest restaurant chain in the world which has a revenue of nearly 30 Billion dollars a year...
No, In a society where only helping is rewarded there is no fraud.
A car isn't the same as an apple, but gold is almost the same as silver.
Greece was not ruined by debt/taxation (Which isn't the same as socialism). Greece was ruined by greed.
i think this person is referring to the practical reality of confucianism i.e. the cultural tradition of oppressive patriarchy. i dont necessarily know about all of the philosophy, all i know is that its part of what is taught in basic western civ
the guy does really look like mr chaow from the hangover
I think it was a good interview.
fantastic video
That's actually not true. Most, if not all, forms of communism talk about "The Party" as a representative of the proletariat. While not "elitists" they are a special, selected group of individuals that run everything. Also, it doesn't matter if they're all influenced by Marx. It feels like you're leading into a false idea that because they're all based off of Marx, they're all nearly the same. They can vary greatly, and do. Just like capitalism has many forms. China is a very special case.
saying that something is gay, because you disapprove of it, is very mature.. seriously.
Man that's so true
You have confused crony capitalism with exceptionalism. Nobody hates success rightly earned. It gives people hope that they can succeed too. In the USA our government can determine who is successful and who is not. I had a friend who co-founded a dot com. On his trips to Washington he got the distinct impression that if you gave them enough money they would make anything legal for you. Dianne Feinstein was worth $1 million when she was elected to the Senate. She is now worth $90 million.
It always makes me laugh seeing people in the far east act like westerners. Asians in general give me a good chuckle, Asians are awesome for this.
Confucianism DOES kill creativity. The tradition of rigorous standardized testing for literally EVERYTHING is extremely stifling
But this rebellious 'Grandfather' is now a successful business star, performing on stages of all kinds of music festivals and business shows to make great fortune. Cui has changed as well as China. But why not?
Deep down in his heart, he has no interest in money. His music speaks for itself. In 2021 he released a new album - 'A flying dog'. Veteran fans know what he's trying to say.
Brilliant! Information is making the world very small. Soon, we will all be one, imagine...
Even minor, some of sect do exist and mixed it with Tao & Buddhist. Originally Confucianism isn't religion but philosophy. And what Cui Jian talking here is Confucianism that conducted in China's society. Confucianism is way of thinking as society. Regardless they're Christian or Muslim. Just like individualism conducted in western society.
"balls under the red flag" lol
Wow, i love these videos
Like individualism isn't criticized anyway. As far as i know, Japan still dominant in the creative arts. It has nothing to do with conformity.
Shanghai is actually a bigger market than Hong Kong at this point
I love western music, but this guy has more balls than every artist in my iTunes library combined.
Newsflash, When you own a company you can pay yourself and others what you want. Strangely enough, we call that freedom. If you work for a company and you feel you aren't paid enough compared to the "fat cat", you are free to leave and go find a different job that will pay what you want. Freedom allows some to prosper, but it doesn't force anyone to starve. Personal responsibility is lost on too many people and they feel entitled to something for nothing. If that makes me a tool, so be it.