Ongoing History Daily: China’s first rock star

The People’s Republic of China wasn’t always open to rock music. It took until at least the late 1980s for the country to really open up to Western music. But here’s a question: Who was China’s first domestic rock star?

You can make a strong argument for Cui Jian, the guy who tried to update the Chinese music scene by incorporating Western rock. He moved from being a classically trained trumpet player to writing and performing songs more akin to Talking Heads and The Rolling Stones.

By the early 90s, he was known across the country and much of Asia. The fact that he’s had his run-ins with members of the Chinese Communist Party have made him only more popular.

And when Rolling Stone published its one-and-only Chinese issue, he was on the cover. No wonder Cui Jian is often referred to as the Father of Chinese Rock.