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Nothing to My Name

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Cover artwork from the single release of "Nothing To My Name", showing Cui Jian performing while wearing a red blindfold

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"Nothing To My Name" (simplified Chinese: 一无所有; traditional Chinese: 一無所有; pinyin: Yī Wú Suŏ Yŏu; also known in English as "I Have Nothing") is the English title of a 1986 Mandarin rock song by Cui Jian. It is widely considered Cui's most famous and most important work, and one of the most influential songs in the history of the People's Republic of China; the song was an unofficial anthem for Chinese youth and activists during the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989.

Both in its lyrics and instruments, the song mixes traditional Chinese styles with modern rock and roll elements. The lyrics of the song evoke senses of disillusionment and lack of individual freedom that were common among Chinese youth in the 1980s.

Historical context

Further information: ]

By the late 1970s, Western rock music was gaining popularity in mainland China; after the Cultural Revolution ended in the mid-1970s and the government began a period of economic reform called gaige kaifang, many students and businessmen went abroad and brought back Western music. Chinese singers began performing covers of popular Western rock songs.

At the same time, Chinese society and the Chinese government were quickly abandoning Maoism, and pushing capitalist economic policies. Many Chinese youth were becoming disillusioned with their government, which they felt had abandoned its ideals; furthermore, because of the rapid economic changes, many youth felt that they had no opportunities and no individual freedom. These factors contributed to the successful reception of "Nothing To My Name" among Chinese youth in the 1980s.

Impact

Cui Jian, who wrote and performed "Nothing To My Name"

Cui is known as the "Father of Chinese Rock" (中国摇滚之父), and "Nothing To My Name" is the song Cui he is most famous for. It has been described as "the biggest hit in Chinese history." The song gained immediate popularity and created a "sensation" when he first performed it on a televised music competition in May 1986, and it made Cui a hit among urban youth. By 1989, when Cui performed it live at Tiananmen Square wearing a red blindfold to symbolize the oppressiveness of the "red" Communist government, it had become a "battle song" or "anthem" among the youth movement. The performances by Cui and other rock artists during the Tiananmen Square protests have been described as "a revolutionary few days that rocked a nation," and many Chinese youth sang "Nothing To My Name" to express their rebellion against the government and their desire for individuality and freedom; ethnomusicologist Timothy Brace describes how, during Cui's Tiananmen performance, students "jumped to their feet and began to sing," a practice that had rarely happened at music performances in China before then.

When Cui first performed the song in 1986, the government-controlled People's Daily surprisingly gave it a positive review, considering its politically sensitive message. This song and others in Cui's performances had, however, a major influence on the underground movement among Chinese youth, and not long after his 1989 performance at Tiananmen Cui was restricted to playing in small venues; he did not play before a large audience in mainland China again until 2005.

Music and lyrics

Musical style

Cui was heavily influenced by Western artists such as Bob Dylan, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and The Talking Heads; in the late 1980s he even performed with a hair style meant to imitate that of John Lennon. In "Nothing To My Name" and other songs, he intentionally altered the sounds of traditional Chinese musical instruments by mixing them with elements of rock music, such as electric guitar. He also purposely divorced his musical style from that of the revolutionary songs and proletarian operas that were common under Chairman Mao Zedong during the Cultural Revolution—for example, he performed his music very loud, as high as 150 decibels, just because Mao had considered loud music disruptive to the social order.

Lyrics and meaning

Throughout the song, the narrator addresses an unidentified girl, asking when she will "go with" him, and lamenting the fact that she ridicules him for having nothing to his name. Interpretations of the song's meaning vary from one listener to another; the song has been interpreted as being both a political song and a song about love or sex. One music scholar describes the lyrics as being directed "as much to China as to a girlfriend." This ambiguity stems partially from the structure of the phrase yī wú suŏ yŏu, an idiomatic chengyu: it literally means "to have nothing," and has no subject, and thus can be interpreted to mean "I have nothing" (suggesting that it is a song about two people), or "we have nothing" (suggesting that it is a song about society and politics).

"Nothing To My Name" Sample of the first verse and chorus of "Nothing To My Name", demonstrating the lyrics and the mixing of traditional Chinese instruments with rock elements.
Problems playing this file? See media help.

Music scholar Dennis Rea describes the song's lyrics as a means of expressing politically sensitive ideas that couldn't be stated through other mediums; for example, the lyrics near the beginning, "我曾经问个不休 / 你何时根我走 / 可你却总是笑我 / 一无所有" ("I've asked you without end / When will you go with me / But you always laughed at me / for having nothing to my name") are claimed to express the "lack of freedom" of people in China at that time, and the "sense of loss and disorientation" among China's youth. The repeated lyric "I have nothing to my name" is thought to refer to the "humiliation and lack of individuality, possession, and personal freedom" among Chinese youth in the 1980s. The narrator of the song worries that the girl he is addressing will ignore him because he has nothing to give her; likewise, the song's audience in the 1980s—young students and workers—were also suffering from not having resources to marry, to be with their girlfriends and boyfriends, or to attract members of the opposite sex. Brace has described this common analysis of the song lyrics as "recast the setting of this piece from that of a boy talking to his girlfriend to that of a youthful generation talking to the nation as a whole."

The lyrics also express Western concepts of individualism, and were some of the first popular song lyrics in China to promote self-expression and individual freedom, in contrast with older music, which had emphasized conformity and obedience. Near the end of the song, the narrator proclaims to the girl that he will "grab her hands" ("我要抓起你的双手") and then she will go with him　("你这就跟我走"); in the end he suggests that she can love the fact that he has nothing ("莫非你是正在告诉我 / 你爱我一无所有"). According to one interpretation, this suggests that the song is about "love conquering all."

Just as Cui adapts traditional Chinese sounds and instruments to a new format, in "Nothing To My Name" he also reappropriates traditional Chinese lyrical tropes: the song includes lines such as "脚下的地在走 / 身边的水在流" ("The earth under your feet is moving / The water around your body is flowing"), which are reminiscent of the use of natural imagery in classical Chinese poetry and music, but here are intended to evoke the events going on around the song's listeners, and to provoke them to rebel against the authorities.

Notes

  1. Brace & Friedlander 1992:119.
  2. Matusitz 2007:6.
  3. ^ Matustiz 2007:11–12.
  4. ^ Calhoun 1994:95.
  5. Gunde 2002.
  6. Brace & Friedlander 1992:120.
  7. ^ DeWoskin, Rachel. "Power of the Powerless". Words Without Borders. Retrieved 28 February 2009.
  8. Rea, Dennis (2006). "The LAND Tour and the Rise of Jazz in China". Live at the Forbidden City: Musical Encounters in China and Taiwan. Retrieved 28 February 2009.
  9. Brace 1992:164.
  10. ^ "Cui Jian: The man who rocks China". The Independent. 14 November 2005. Retrieved 28 February 2009.
  11. ^ Clark, Matthew Corbin (13 February 2003). "Birth of a Beijing Music Scene". PBS Frontline. Retrieved 28 February 2009.
  12. Donald 2000:107.
  13. Blum & Jensen 2002:292.
  14. Poet, J (19 August 2008). "Cui Jian". Global Rhythm. Retrieved 28 February 2009.
  15. Matusitz 2007:8.
  16. "Time Out Heroes Beijing". Time Out Beijing. Retrieved 3 March 2009.
  17. Matusitz 2007:1.
  18. Brace & Friedlander 1992:122.
  19. Zhou 2008:116.
  20. Matusitz 2007:7.
  21. Matusitz 2007:9.
  22. Matusitz 2007:10.
  23. Blum & Jensen 2002:301.
  24. Calhoun 1994:94.
  25. Brace & Friedlander 1992:121.
  26. Matusitz 2007:2.
  27. Blum & Jensen 2002:297.
  28. Matusitz 2007:16.
  29. Brace 1992:154.
  30. Matusitz 2007:4.
  31. Matusitz 2007:17–18.

Bibliography

External links

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