I had a lot of friends who worked in foreign embassies so I had the chance to exchange music tapes. That's the way I listened to a lot of rock music … - Cui Jian

I think the biggest enemy in this country is the corruption. I think everybody will - now they learn it.

If you’re singing and writing lyrics in Chinese, then you’re making Chinese music. You have your own story and you try to tell your own feelings, which are different from older generations’—different from the revolution. We were the first generation to try and express our own feelings. You can say this is Western, but I would say it’s human. Anyways, it doesn’t matter. I’m playing rock music and I’m singing in Chinese. That’s it.

His lyrics evoked alienation, a craving for personal freedom and sexual desire. His voice was a deep bass growl, the likes of which few outside the tiny, nascent Beijing rock scene had ever heard.