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ChineseRock has had a tumultuous lifespan since its inception to the place it istoday. In the past, rock music in the country was affiliated to protestsagainst the Chinese government. This was the phenomenon in the 1980’s, and afactor that contributed to its going underground. Owing to the manner of thestart, Chinese rock has sparsely been documented, and most visits on the rockmusic’s past and present is etched in news articles from popular magazines(Knight, 2015). I delved into available literature from webmagazines such as BBC, the New Yorker and New York Times to try gaining someperspective of Chinese rock music and comparing it with its Americanequivalent.

A good review of Chinese Rock artists, however, was given byculturetrip. com. This search included looking into the manner in which themusic has grown, some challenges, and the spot it takes in the country. Themain reason that tempted me to perform this search is my obvious and glaringinterest in diverse cultures, and my inadvertent liking of rock music. I am somuch interested in rock; such that I always find myself listening to rockanytime am seated down to relax.

I am fond of attending popular rock showswhenever I have time, and can afford it. Having once attended a show by LiangLong at Beijing, my preference of Chinese rock is ever increasing. Incidentally, I always find myself comparing their music to contemporary Americanartists like Linkin Park. ComparisonOne of the distinctive features thatcharacterize Chinese music, as opposed to its American counterpart is stateintervention. As stated earlier, in the past, Chinese rock was taken to be aprotest against the government. Musicians were targeted and bans imposed, making the music to mostly survive underground. Most of the country was lockedoff the western music, and most western genres were least appreciated. In orderto get foreign cassettes and at least have a foretaste of the Western sounds, artists like Cui Jian had to use uncouth means and smuggle the merchandise totheir possession.

Performances by such names as Rolling Stones or Linkin Parkwere previously unheard of. Lately, however, popular rock culture is beingappreciated, and an emerging breed of Chinese rock artists is on the rise. According to Waterfield (2016), Chinese musicwas heavily restricted in the past. Owing to the smuggling of cassettes andunderground playoffs, the music has been proliferating with time. Contrary, American rock music is dated back to the 1950s and 1960s where such genes asrock and roll were precedent. In the United States, music has been more liberalover time, and diversification was quite easy. As a matter of fact, the currentposition that Chinese rock music stands can only be compared to the Americanrock at the 60s.

Chinese rock is mostly ‘ rock ‘ n’ roll’ as noted by Kent (2009)and N. D. (2014). The former states that some of the fast upcoming Chinese rockartists are taking up their latest export to the United States, rock ‘ n’ roll, to the United States. The author exemplifies the latest American ventures byCarsick Cars and P. K.

14. N. D. (2014), on the other hand, noted the performanceof Rolling Stones in Beijing in 2016, and positively attributed it to thecurrent development and acceptance of music in China. In addition, the authornoted the preference of rock ‘ n’ roll in the country, and the manner in whichcrowds chant at the music. Looking at the nature of acceptance and theventures the musicians undertake to have their voices heard in the West, andsuch actions as smuggling of cassettes to her the music, it is evident thatChinese music is greatly influenced by American music. A good example is theall-girl rock group ‘ Hang on the Box’.

This group sings in English, usingintensely sexist language that was uncommon in China. Further, despite beingChinese, their music is more appreciated in the United States as opposed toChina. Most of the intended audience for Chinese music, according to Lim (2014) is the young. A performance by Liang Long in the UnitedStates attracted young and current Chinese immigrants in droves. Additionally, the styles used were mostly the rock ‘ n’ roll genres of the 90s properly mixedwith a good set of instruments.

Contrary, American music has veered off fromthe originality that was prevalent in the 90s, with eroding genres, every nowand then. Critique            Popular culture espouses variousfacets of the human life. It has been used to express ideas and ideologies onsuch concepts as governance. Further, it has been used to influence the mannerpeople express themselves. The control of Western intrusion to Chinese musicindicates the level of influence that such music can have. Banning of such musicas ‘ Nothing to My Name’ by the Chinese government follows in the same order. A visitby Chinese artists to the United States leads to an influx of Chineseimmigrants meaning that the culture reinforces social bonds. Identities arefortified, and cultures are expressed and recognized through popular culture.

Popular culture is unifying and can assist in the integration of the society. ReferencesKent, J. L.

(2009, Nov 13). China’s latest export — rock ‘ n’ roll — hits the U. S. CNN. Retrieved       from http://edition. cnn.

com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/11/12/china. rock/index. htmlN. D.(2014, Mar 16). It’s only rock ‘ n roll (but they like it).  TheEconomist. Retrieved from             https://www.

economist. com/blogs/analects/2014/03/western-music-chinaLim, A. (2014, Nov 10). Reinventing Alternative Rock in China. The New Yorker. Retrieved         from https://www.

newyorker. com/culture/culture-desk/reinventing-rock-chinaKnight, H. (2015, Jun 2).

Inside Beijing’s Underground Rock Scene. BBC. Retrieved from             http://www.

bbc. com/culture/story/20150602-how-to-be-a-rock-star-in-beijingWaterfield, D. (2016, Oct 24). The Rise Of Chinese Rock In 10 Bands.

Culture Trip. Retrieved      fromhttps://theculturetrip. com/asia/china/articles/dim-sum-and-rock-n-roll-10-chinese-     rock-bands/