Cui Jian

Cui Jian (; ; born 2 August 1961) is a Chinese singer-songwriter and musician. Known for his countercultural impact, he has launched a ground-breaking musical trend of Chinese rock and pop, dubbed the "Godfather of Chinese Rock". With poetic, socially conscious lyrics, his experimental approach features multiple traditional instruments, eclectic musical elements and cultural references from different eras. Cui is widely deemed the most influential rock musician in China}} as well as one of the greatest and most prominent figures in Chinese music.

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, he challenged the dominant culture, earning a cult following on China's university campuses while also facing backlash from social conservatives. 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". 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. 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. His international acclaim is always tied to his public persona with political overtones, which frequently downplays his musical achievements. Provided by Wikipedia