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Go With Your Feelings: Hong Kong and Taiwan Popular Culture in Greater China*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 February 2009

Thomas B. Gold
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Extract

Trying to puzzle out the Communist leadership's reaction to the massive demonstrations then under way during the spring of 1989, some Chinese wits turned to “Go With Your Feelings,” a well-known song recorded by the Taiwan pop singer Su Rui. This not only indicated the critical role of one often unpredictable octogenarian, it also revealed the pervasiveness of popular culture from “peripheral China” on the mainland core: an allusion to a pop song from Taiwan could be used (and understood) to sum up an extremely volatile situation. As the economies of the mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan move toward increased integration, with Hong Kong and Taiwan supplying the dynamism and the mainland the market, a comparable trend is emerging in the cultural realm: popular culture from Hong Kong and Taiwan is claiming a substantial share of the market and loyalties of mainland consumers. Furthermore, it is redefining the essence of what it means to be a “modern” Chinese at the end of the 20th century, and popularizing a new language for expressing individual sentiments.

Type
Greater China
Information
The China Quarterly , Volume 136 , December 1993 , pp. 907 - 925
Copyright
Copyright © The China Quarterly 1993

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References

1. “Genzhe ganjue zou” (“Go with your feelings”), on the cassette Taibei, Dongjing (Taipei, Tokyo), WEA Records, Ltd., 1988. According to a 1992 survey of 1,500 people in Beijing, 81.9% of those surveyed had heard this song (although only 49% claimed to like it). Xiaobo, Liu, “Toushi dalu renmin di wenhua shenghuo” (“Perspective on the cultural life of mainland people”), Zhongguo shibao zhoukan (China Times Weekly) (hereafter, ZGSBZK), No. 61, 28 02–6 03 1993, pp. 70–77 at p. 76Google Scholar. In a speech at the University of California, Berkeley (12 April 1993), Liu Xiaobo noted that another Taiwan song, “Wo shi yizhi beifang laidi lang” (“I am a wolf from the north”), expressing sentiments of poverty, loneliness and authoritarianism, was also popular at the Square.

2. I use “popular culture” to refer to cultural products produced for the mass market, which reflect market-determined popular taste and are for enjoyment. This is in contrast to more elite or high culture which has a much narrower appeal and poses more of an intellectual challenge to the consumer. It is also in contrast to politically contrived directed culture. Taiwan and Hong Kong do have high culture, but its spread on the mainland, by definition, has not been as great as popular culture. The few cultural products which have gone from the mainland to Hong Kong and Taiwan are generally of the less commercial variety.

3. The Republic of China Yearbook 1993 (Taipei: Government Information Office, 1993), p. 103Google Scholar.

4. Mark, Jeremy and Leung, Julia, “KMT's blend of business and politics draws fire,” The Asian Wall Street Journal, 2 12 1992, p. 1Google Scholar.

5. American popular culture such as music, romance fiction and film was also disseminated and imitated during the KMT's rule on the mainland, at least in areas such as the Yangzi Delta.

6. Shanghai had been the centre and standard for everything “modern” in pre-Communist China. One could argue that the spread of Gangtai popular culture on the mainland now represents a return of Shanghai culture, since its émigrés have played such a major role in the culture industry in both places. I am grateful to Vice-Chancellor Wang Gungwu for these insights. Parenthetically, the Shanghainese who dominated the KMT émigré regime tried to recreate the Shanghai life-style in Taipei. For instance, the liveliest intersection was Nanjing Lu and Zhongshan Lu, and many nightclubs, restaurants and stores took their names from famous Shanghai establishments. As part of a nostalgia wave, beginning in 1992 EMI Hong Kong brought out compilations of old Shanghai popular songs.

7. Much of the following section is based on trips to Xiamen, Shanghai and Hangzhou in 1992. For an overview of the cultural scene in 1991, and references to post–1978 cultural developments, see Barme, Geremie, “The greying of Chinese culture,” in Hsin-chi, Kuan and Brosseau, Maurice (eds.), China Review 1992 (Hong Kong: The Chinese University Press, 1992), ch. 13Google Scholar.

8. Although her tapes were banned, during the late 1970s it was said that “Old Deng [Xiao-ping] rules by day, little Teng [Lijun] rules by night.” Significantly, Teresa Teng has not made a tour of the mainland. She has been outspoken in her anti-Communism and support of the Republic of China, making frequent trips to Quemoy to rally the troops. Nevertheless, her recordings are played and sold everywhere. Physician-turned songwriter/singer Luo Dayou has also not per-formed on the mainland. His song “Tongnian” (“Childhood”), expressing the frustrations of pubescence, a subject not publicly acknowledged on the mainland, was especially popular.

9. In November 1992,1 tried to buy a tape by the mainland singer Mao Aming at a state store, but was told they only carried Hong Kong and Taiwan music.

10. Ming's, Li 1992 concert tour was billed as “Li Ming's Return Home '92” (“'92 Li Ming huiguxiang”) (Renmin Ribao (People's Daily), 11 11 1992, p. 3)Google Scholar. The use of “huiguxiang” shows the effort to use a commercial tour to prove that Li Ming, like others in Hong Kong, sees his real “home” as being on the mainland and thus supports reunification.

11. I bought something called Gangtai mingxing (Hong Kong and Taiwan Stars), a series of six glossy fan magazines full of colour photographs and gossipy stories, published in Shenyang. Serious journals such as Renmin yinyue and Yinyue yanjiu have published articles discussing popular music, including that from Hong Kong and Taiwan.

12. Articles try to stress the mainland connection. For instance, “You Yiban Shanghai Xuetong di Yu Chengqing” (“Half-a-Shanghainese, Yu Chengqing”) makes a big deal of the fact that this Taiwan singer has a Shanghainese mother and Yunnanese father (Xinmin wanbao, 8 November 1992, p. 4).

13. See Barme, , “The greying of Chinese culture,” pp. 13.22–23Google Scholar for more on advertisements.

14. For a list of Taiwan films which played on the mainland in 1986–91, see Biling, Gu, Rulan, Luo and Pinger, Zhou, “Gangtai qunxing shanyao shenzhou” (“Hong Kong and Taiwan stars shine over the divine land”), ZGSBZK, 16–22 02 1992, pp. 66–69 at p. 69Google Scholar.

15. Privately-owned video cassette recorders are still not widespread. I went to a private restaurant in Shanghai where the owner provided a VCR on which diners could play their tapes. That particular evening, three young people eating hot pot watched a poor quality pirated Mandarin-language Hong Kong film. As far inland as Dali, Yunnan in 1985, I saw entrepreneurs selling tickets for Gangtai martial arts film videos.

16. ZGSBZK, No. 61, 28 02–6 03 1993, pp. 68–69Google Scholar.

17. On San Mao, particularly the effect of her suicide, see Barme, , “The greying of Chinese culture,” pp. 13.10–11Google Scholar. For a PRC perspective on Taiwan romance novels, see Zhongtian, Huang, “Cun you suo chang, chi you suo duan: guanyu Taiwan yanqing xiaoshuo” (“An inch has its strengths, a foot has its shortcomings: concerning Taiwan's romance fiction”), Taiwan yanjiujikan (Taiwan Research Quarterly), No. 4, 1991, pp. 84–89Google Scholar. For an overview of the state of the field, see Kinkley, Jeffrey C., “Mainland Chinese scholars' views of contemporary Taiwan literature,” paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Association for Asian Studies, Los Angeles, 25–28 03 1993Google Scholar. Cited with permission.

18. I am grateful to Ambrose King for this list.

19. Hanmao, Ma (Martin, Helmut), “Haixia liangan di wenxue jiaoliu” (“Literature flow across the Straits”), in Hanmao, Ma (Martin, H.) (ed.), Zhengbuduan di Hongsixian (The Unbreakable Red Thread) (Gaoxiong: Dunli Pub. Co., 1987), pp. 281–88Google Scholar.

20. Rulan, Luo, “Dalu yingdai Taiwan remai” (“Taiwan enthusiastically sells mainland film tapes”), ZGSBZK, 16–22 02 1992, p. 67Google Scholar. Strictly speaking, broadcasting these tapes is illegal, and no royalties are paid. I am grateful to Joseph Bosco for clarification. Channel 4 achieved legal status in 1993.

21. “Liangan wenhua jiaoliu mairu xinlicheng – dalu yanyi tuanti jiang luxu futai” (“Cultural exchange across the Straits strides on a new course - mainland performing arts troupes will visit Taiwan one after another”), ZGSBZK, 19–25 July 1992, pp. 80–82. On 9 June 1992, the Republic of China government passed regulations permitting mainland performers to come to Taiwan for commercial performances.

22. In the music area, Charles Hamm discusses a generic “Pacific Pop” with the following stylistic features: “moderate tempi, texts concerned with romantic love, string-dominated backings (now often generated by synthesizer), a singing style reminiscent of Olivia Newton-John and Barry Manilow, and the frequent use of rhythmic patterns derived from disco music of the 1970s.” Hamm, Charles, “Music and radio in the People's Republic of China,” Asian Music, Vol. XXII, No. 2 (Spring/Summer 1991), pp. 1–42 at p. 17CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

23. Hamm, , “Music and radio,” p. 7Google Scholar.

24. The characteristics of Gangtai popular music include: “smooth, flowing melodies, which usually have no direct or obvious relationship with traditional Chinese melodic construction; a type of vocal production which was described to me as the ‘middle way’ (a term carrying a positive connotation) between Western full, ringing vocal style and Chinese folksong style; lyrics emphasizing feelings of love between young men and young women; a relatively high level of technical sophistication, from the standpoint of studio production; and an easy dance beat back-ground (provided by the instruments most commonly used in Western popular music), which Americans might commonly associate with ‘light’ disco-inspired dance music, or with the popular music style commonly known as ‘easy-listening’.” Brace, Tim, “Popular music in contemporary Beijing: modernism and cultural identity,” Asian Music, Vol. XXII, No. 2 (Spring/Summer 1991), pp. 43–66 at p. 47CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

25. Jones, Andrew F., Like a Knife: Ideology and Genre in Contemporary Chinese Popular Music (Ithaca: Cornell University East Asia Program, 1992), p. 16Google Scholar.

26. Interview, Hangzhou, 19 November 1992.

27. Interview, Berkeley, 5 March 1993.

28. “Women di shenghuo chunman yangguang” (“Our life is full of sunshine”), on the cassette 1979nian Zhongguo Jinqu Shiwushou (15 Chinese Golden Hits 1979), Baili Record Co., 1980Google Scholar.

29. “Genzhe ganjue zou” (“Go with your feelings”), lyrics by Chen Jiali.

30. In the poll referred to in n. 1, Qiong Yao ranked first among eight authors for name recognition: 85.8%. The runner up, interestingly enough, was Cultural Revolution writer Hao Ran (79.8%). Third was the nihilistic Beijing writer Wang Shuo (70.3%) and fourth was martial arts writer Jin Yong (64.3%). When asked which of eight authors they had actually read, the rankings were: Qiong 71.8%; Hao 69.8%; Wang 57.4%; and Jin 55.2%. Respondents were asked to rank the eight by preference (1,2,3)- Hao Ran received the highest number of first ranks (29.9%), while Qiong Yao came in second with 27.6%;. Jin Yong scored 19.4% and Wang Shuo 13.2%. Xiaobo, Liu, “Toushi dalu renmin di wenhua shenghuo,” part 2, ZGSBZK, No. 62, 7–13 03 1993, pp. 74–79 at p. 75Google Scholar.

31. Interview, Shanghai, 12 November 1992.

32. Western (especially American) and Japanese popular culture are also wildly popular, although being in a foreign language makes them harder to identify with.

33. This point is also made by Brace, , “Popular music,” p. 48Google Scholar. Although official propaganda treats Gangtai people as blood compatriots, many Chinese on the street with whom I spoke included them in the category of “foreigners.”

34. Kristof, Nicholas D., “Via satellite, information revolution stirs China,” The New York Times, 11 04 1993, p. 1Google Scholar.

35. Ibid. Kristof writes that “at last count, 1,800 cable television systems were operating in China, with 429 set up in just the first three months of this year … A State Statistical Bureau survey several months ago found that 4.8 million households in China can receive Star Tele-vision - presumably a significant underestimation, since the bureau counted only Government-authorized satellite dishes” (p. 6). With more than 11 million viewers in Asia, Star TV is contributing disproportionately to the unification of Asian (including Chinese) popular culture. It can be accessed virtually everywhere in China, and it brings PRC programming directly into Taiwan, bypassing government restrictions there. It was established in 1991 by Richard Li, son of Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-Shing. Fitzpatrick, Liam, “Does Asia want my MTV? An interview with Richard Li,” Hemispheres, 07 1993, p. 21Google Scholar; Lee, Rachel F.F., “TV viewers star-struck by satellite broadcasts,” Free China Journal, 25 05 1993, p. 5Google Scholar. Media mogul Rupert Murdoch bought 64% of Star TV in July 1993. Tanzer, Andrew, “Four heavenly kings,” Forbes, 30 08 1993, p. 51Google Scholar.

36. In his “Report on the Work of the Government,” Premier Li Peng claimed that, “In 1992 the average amount of per-capita income that city dwellers used for living expenses was 1,826 yuan, an increase of 910 yuan over the 1987 figure. The average per-capita net income of fanners was 784 yuan, an increase of 321yuan.” In Beijing Review, 12–18 April 1993, p. III.

37. “Report on the survey on ‘Social and Cultural Life and Ethics Education in the Middle Schools’,” Chinese Education and Society, Vol. 26, No. 2 (03–04 1993), pp. 6–39 at p. 15CrossRefGoogle Scholar. I want to thank Stanley Rosen for bringing this survey to my attention.

38. Ibid. p. 16.

39. Biling, Gu, Rulan, Luo and Pinger, Zhou, “Hong Kong and Taiwan stars,” pp. 66–67Google Scholar.

40. Kong's, Hong underworld is known to be heavily involved in the entertainment industry, so we can conclude gangsters are also involved in distributing Gangtai works on the mainland (“Heishili changjue yingquan nan jiuwang” (“The film industry cries for help from underworld violence”), Jiushi Niandai (Nineties), 06 1992, pp. 23–27)Google Scholar. Because of the rationing of distribution rights by the PRC government to domestic enterprises, we can speculate that there is a certain amount of corruption in this part of the business. I am grateful to John Burns and Andrew Jones for raising these issues.

41. “Shangpinhua weixie Beijing yaogunyue” (“Commoditization threatens Beijing's rock-and-roll”); ZGSBZK, No. 60, 21–27 02 1993, pp. 66–67Google Scholar.

42. Biling, Gu, “Changchu zheyidai Zhongguoren di xinsheng” (“Sing out the aspirations of this generation of Chinese”), ZGSBZK, No. 53, 3–9 01 1993, p. 76–77Google Scholar; Mihalca, Matei P., “Chinese rock stars,” Far Eastern Economic Review, 19 11 1992, pp. 34–36Google Scholar; Chunsen, Song, “Dalu mingxing haiwai zhanshenshou” (“Mainland stars reach out abroad”), ZGSBZK, No. 50, 13–19 12 1992, pp. 78–79Google Scholar.

43. “Liangan dianyingjie sanlongtou wei Zhongguo dianying bamai” (“Three dragons of the film world from two sides of the Straits stimulate Chinese cinema”), ZGSBZK, No. 54, 10–16 01 1993, pp. 94–95Google Scholar.

44. For additional information, see Xiongping, Jiao, “Cong bingfeng gejue dao jiedong huiliu -huaren dianying di guoqu yu weilai” (“From frozen isolation to thawed confluence - past and future of Chinese cinema”), ZGSBZK, 2–15 02 1992, pp. 45–51Google Scholar.

45. There was also an effort at competition. This took the form of emphasizing and reincorpo-rating some of the traditions of inland peasant China which had been neglected in the focus on the coastal regions and opening to the outside world. The “root-seeking” fiction and peasant films of such “fifth generation” directors as Chen Kaige and Zhang Yimou (and their mentor Wu Tianming) generated interest among intellectuals in particular and the films attracted much international attention and acclaim. They presented very unglamorous portraits of the North China peasantry. Some hardliners criticized the directors for emphasizing China's backwardness and pandering to foreign audiences who seemed to enjoy seeing such degradation. The controversial 1988 television documentary Heshang (River Elegy) argued that these same traditions were responsible for China's continued failure to modernize. The film scores utilized traditional instruments, singing styles and themes, resulting in a “north-west wind” (xibeifeng) style which was popular for a time in 1987–89. While reincorporating elements of traditional music, they also incorporated some of the new qualities of instrumental accompaniment and production imported from Hong Kong/Taiwan. On these matters, see Brace, , “Popular music,” pp. 49–53Google Scholar; and Jones, , Like a Knife, pp. 52–63Google Scholar. To compete head-on, in 1991 the Ministry of Propaganda produced an extensive series of karaoke audio and video tapes of officially-produced mainland music, including highly politicized songs and selections from the Cultural Revolution's model operas. Nevertheless, Chinese statistics indicated that “over 80% of the most popular 600 songs used in the bars originated outside the mainland (mostly Taiwan and Hong Kong).” Barme, , “The greying of Chinese culture,” p. 13.18Google Scholar.

46. See Gold, Thomas B., “‘Just in time!’ China battles spiritual pollution on the eve of 1984,” Asian Survey, Vol. XXIV, No. 9 (09 1984), pp. 947–974CrossRefGoogle Scholar; and Schell, Orville, Discos and Democracy: China in the Throes of Reform (New York: Pantheon, 1988)Google Scholar.

47. Stanley Rosen has published several essays providing empirical evidence for popular attitudes – especially youth attitudes – toward the party-state and ideology. For an example, see “Students and the state in China: the crisis in ideology and organization,” in Rosenbaum, Arthur Lewis (ed.), State and Society in China: The Consequences of Reform (Boulder: Westview Press, 1992), pp. 167–191Google Scholar.

48. The state continues to subsidize many of these traditional units and their leaders are trying to think of ways to “modernize” them enough to appeal to youth. Meanwhile, faced with the need to make money, many troupes are opening restaurants and clubs.

49. “Report on the survey,” p. 13.

50. Ibid. pp. 33–39.

51. Cheek, Timothy, “A literature of protest, a literature of change: on the role of directed culture in Chinese literature,” in Lin, Bih-Jaw and Myers, James T. (eds.), Forces for Change in Contemporary China (Taipei: Institute of International Relations, 1992), pp. 239–250Google Scholar.

52. See the discussion in Barme, Geremie, “The Chinese velvet prison: culture in the ‘new age’, 1976–89,” Issues and Studies, Vol. 25, No. 8 (08 1989), pp. 54–79 at pp. 70–75Google Scholar.

53. Geremie Barme applies the Hungarian writer Miklos Haraszti's concept to China in “The Chinese velvet prison.” See also, Kraus, Richard Curt, “Four trends in the politics of Chinese culture,” in Lin, and Myers, , Forces for Change in Contemporary China, pp. 213–24Google Scholar.

54. One area where it has intruded more is rock-and-roll (yaogun yinyue) as contrasted with the popular music (tongsu yinyue) discussed above. This appeals to a more fringe audience. See Jones, , Like a Knife, and “Beijing bastards,” Spin, 10 1992, pp. 80–90, 122–23Google Scholar; and Schell, Orville, “China's rock and roll underground,” San Francisco Chronicle This World, 29 11 1992, pp. 7, 12–13Google Scholar.

55. Ironically, given the fact that he was one of a group of four intellectuals left at Tiananmen Square in the early hours of 4 June 1989, Hou's defection to Beijing occurred on 4 June 1983. Much of the following information on Hou comes from Zujun, Yang, “‘Long di chuanren’ shi zenma dao Beijing di?” (“How did the ‘descendant of the dragon’ get to Beijing?”), Qianjin (Progress), No. 12, 18 06 1983, pp. 4–8Google Scholar; “Hou Dejian di jueze” (“Hou Dejian's choice”), ibid. pp. 6–7.

56. Prior to his defection, the KMT also approved of the song and invited Hou to compose “Uniting China with the three principles of the people.” See Zujun, Yang, “‘Long di Chuanren’,” p. 5Google Scholar.

57. The very popular (in Taiwan) soundtrack for this forgettable film was sung by Su Rui, who also recorded “Go With Your Feelings.” In 1985 I saw the Changsha Opera Troupe's performance of its stage version of the film entitled Jiugan Tang Maiwu in Changsha. Hou does not appear to have been very productive while on the mainland. He issued one recording, Hou Dejian zuopinji (Collected Works of Hou Dejian) through the China Audio and Video Recording Company, undated. He does not sing all of the tracks, and many songs predate his defection. Interestingly, in retrospect, there is one song in English which he does sing, “Well, I Need to Be Alone.” Hou hid in the Australian Embassy for a time after the Tiananmen killings. After emerging with assurances of no reprisals, he granted several outspoken interviews to foreign journalists, and was unceremoniously put on a fishing boat in Fujian and shipped off to Taiwan in mid-1990, where he remains very quiet. See Barme, Geremie and Jaivin, Linda (eds.). New Ghosts, Old Dreams: Chinese Rebel Voices (New York: Times Books, 1992), pp. xix–xx, 48, 72, 82nGoogle Scholar.

58. Wei-ming, Tu, “Cultural China: the periphery as the center,” Daedalus, Vol. 120, No. 2 (Spring 1991), pp. 1–32 at p. 12Google Scholar.

59. I noted above the “search for roots” cultural movement on the mainland. In Taiwan, and to a lesser extent in Hong Kong, many intellectuals and artists have initiated a conscious movement to define the elements of what they argue is their unique identity. I discuss this in “Civil society and Taiwan's quest for identity,” in Steven Harrell and Huang Chun-chieh (eds.), Culture Change in Postwar Taiwan (forthcoming).

60. Jones, , Like A Knife, p. 46Google Scholar.

61. Barme, , “The Chinese velvet prison,” p. 69Google Scholar.

62. Jones, Like A Knife and “Beijing bastards”; Mihalca, “Chinese rock stars”; Schell, “China's rock and roll underground.” I attended a concert by China's premier rocker, Cui Jian, in Hangzhou in November 1992. The concert had a very definite cathartic effect on the youthful audience, but they did not turn their emotions outward into a rampage on the streets. They left the concert venue in a very orderly and quiet fashion. The heavy police presence may have had something to do with this.

63. Goldfarb, Jeffrey C., Beyond Glasnost: The Post-Totalitarian Mind (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1989)Google Scholar.