US-China Foreign Language, ISSN 1539-8080 April 2014, Vol. 12, No. 4, 276-283 D DAVID PUBLISHING

Analysis of Anti-languages in Chinese Raps

LI Kun-mei Nanfang College of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China

This paper takes the anti-language (sometimes semi-antilanguage) in Chinese raps as an example to present the anti-language and the related anti-society. Rap as a music genre landed China with the coming of reform ad opening up. In the past decades, because of its distinct characteristics, e.g., strong emotional expression, apparent resistance, rebellious spirit, fashionable languages, though it is not in the mainstream music in China, it wins gradual acceptance from the Chinese “GenY” generation. Based on Halliday’s (1976) anti-language theory, this paper steps into the counter-cultural society by analyzing some representative raps and presents how anti-language provides a mode of resistance against the mainstream culture. This study could help readers grasp the meanings and social functions of language more accurately and accordingly have a better understanding of the functions of anti-languages and the minority social groups as well.

Keywords: anti-language, anti-society, Chinese rap

Introduction Rap consumers in China are a group called the cool “GenY” generation. The cool “GenY” generation, labeled to be linglei (other species) by people like critics and scholars, is a continuation of the assumedly critical and rebellious spirit of the 1980s (balinghou) and 1990s (jiulinghou). This new generation of “little emperors or empresses”, as they are often cynically referred to, mainly comes from one-child families, born in a country which is opening up, increasingly prosperous and abundant, particularly in the urban areas. Rap is rich in non-standard forms. The non-standard forms (e.g., spelling) are usually used deliberately by lyricists and rappers for certain purposes, e.g., to demonstrate a positive evaluation on the unusual speech forms that characterize rap, to highlight the phonological, grammatical, and syntactic features. It is argued that the non-standard conventions employed in rap lyrics function to create, sustain, integrate, or cement the minority community which may be labeled as an “anti-society”. With the revolution of modern technology, on the one hand, commercialization as well as media transmission brought great momentum to the popularization of raps, but also on the other hand, highlighted the attack on such serious social problems as racism, sexism, materialism, violence, and inequality (de Kloet, 2008). No doubt there are elements of “negative influence” in rap that alienate youth of a group from another, glorify violence and materialism, heighten anger and rebel on various levels, and further complicate mass media representations and definitions of men and women, etc.. But this is just one side. Some aspects of rap music demonstrate the distinctiveness, creativity, individuality, and resilience of a certain culture and insist

LI Kun-mei, lecturer, master, Department of International Studies, Nanfang College of Sun Yat-sen University. ANALYSIS OF ANTI-LANGUAGES IN CHINESE RAPS 277 that rap music is a valid musical art form that cannot be simply discarded or dismissed or disdained (de Kloet, 2008; Krims, 2000). This study could help readers grasp the meanings and social functions of language more accurately and accordingly have a better understanding of the functions of anti-languages and the minority social groups as well.

Anti-language and Anti-society The term “anti-language” is coined by Halliday (1976). It made its first appearance in his 1976 article “Anti-languages” published first in American Anthropologist. Later in 1978, it was collected in his book Language as Social Semiotic (1978). Anti-language nurtures anti-society; anti-society is a conscious alternative to the mainstream society (Halliday, 1976). The relationship between society and anti-society can be demonstrated as follows (see Figure 1):

Figure 1. Society and anti-society. Source: Adapted from Halliday (1976, p. 573).

An anti-society is a society that is set up within the mainstream society as a conscious alternative to it; it is a mode of resistance which may take the form either of passive symbiosis or of active hostility and even destruction; so anti-society is a society that is antithetical to the mainstream society (Halliday, 1976). Anti-society foregrounds certain elements that are of great significance to the construction or generation of anti-languages. Halliday (1976) said that though most of the evidence we have at our hands are unreliable, it is reasonable to suppose that an anti-language stands to an anti-society in much the same way as does a language to a society. Or in another word, distance between a society and its language is socio-linguistically equal between an anti-society and its anti-language. Halliday (1976) listed three examples in his article to prove that anti-language is generated by anti-society: (1) The “pelting speech” of the countercultural vagabonds or “curstiors”, which is a vast population of criminals living off the wealth of the established society; (2) The highly developed underworld language of the Calcutta underworld; and (3) The elaborated anti-language gryspserka used to describe the subculture of Polish prisons and reform schools. There is continuity between language and anti-language, society and anti-society. But there is also tension between the two pairs, reflecting that they are variants of one and the same underlying semiotics. They may express different social structures; but they are part and parcel of the same social system. For example, we know grypserka is an anti-language, but it is clearly a variant of Polish, not totally an alien language. Researches done by other scholars on anti-language include Burke and his “Language and Anti-languages in Early Modern Italy” (1981), Meek and his “Play and Paradox” (1985), Giblett and his “Childhood Language as Antilanguage” (1991), Butler and his “Exploring the Anti-languages of Ganster Rap” (1995), Tseng and his 278 ANALYSIS OF ANTI-LANGUAGES IN CHINESE RAPS

“Symbolic Discourse: Mystical Writing as Anti-language” (1997), Baker and his Polari: The Lost Language of Gay Man (2002), DING and his Critical Discourse Analysis of Narrative: From Social Semiotic Perspective (2007) and “Anti-language as Social Semiotic: The Social Interpretation of Marginalized Discourse” (2010), etc.

Analysis of Anti-language in Chinese Raps The new “GenY” generation displays quite a complex and paradoxical image. They are accused of being selfish and overtly materialistic; they are driven by pleasure and consume cultural products, brand-names, and current styles merely to highlight their unique identity or show their lifestyle choice which is labeled to be linglei (other species) yet continue to need approval and even encourage from society, parents, and teachers (Fung, 2008). However, ironically, they are in fact perceived to be easy to get furious, overtly nationalistic, patriotic, passionate, and strong-minded at heart; they value relationships with friends and want to be trusted by parents. They want to shed the yoke of parental control and think life should be Newbee or niubi (literally, a cow vagina, metaphorically referring to cool, colorful lifestyle). In one word, it consists of reflexive linglei youngsters who skillfully navigate through modernity and prosperity. Anti-language in rap is of course one kind of language departure from normal usage. Most linguists, sociologists, and psychologists believe that such divergent language development is often a kind of passive resistance to subjugation, oppression, or cultural aggression as rap is always used as an opening by the cool “GenY” generation to let out their steam of violence, anger, etc.. So anti-languages or semi-antilanguages in rap (in the form of slangs, dialects, vulgar words, etc.) become a means of self-differentiation and generating anti-social cohesiveness that help forge group identity, enhance solidarity, and strengthen ethnic pride. Anti-language With Chineseness in Chinese Raps Anti-languages in raps serve as vehicle to gather people of the like-mindedness (the “GenY” generation) and build their counter-cultural society. Rap in China has adopted a certain degree of Chineseness in terms of its non-standard expressions and spellings. It has a significant impact by the usage of slangs and dialects and fashionable expressions, etc., in the rap lyrics. Let us see expressions used frequently in raps meaning something rude, obscene, impolite: NB or Newbee (niubi, literally, a cow’s vagina, metaphorically standing for cool and exciting), jī (originally meaning chick or chicken, now meaning prostitute), kaǐ zi (from the word “kaiser”, now referring to sucker or men cheated of money by woman), yā zi (originally meaning duck, now referring to male prostitute), mǎ zi (mǎ means horse, now meaning girlfriend, only for sex purpose), xiāng chǎng (originally meaning sausage, now metaphoric of men’s genitals), and lǎo èr (used to mean the second eldest, sexually related, now referring to penis). Besides, expressions that are rude and disrespectful, creations of words that are “made-in-China” are also worth mentioning. For example, Yin Ts’ang (Yin Cang) sings in “Yellow Road” (2003b):

Tell you I am a Chinaese MC (告诉你我是一个 Chinaese MC) Chinaese MC Chinaese MC Chinaese MMMM… C ANALYSIS OF ANTI-LANGUAGES IN CHINESE RAPS 279

The rapper here replaced “Chinese” with “Chinaese”. Though the overtone behind this is controversial, it certainly successfully signifies innovation and unusuality. In another example, rapper Yin Ts’ang sings in his song “Welcome to Beijing” (2003a):

In Beijing, 2008 Olympic games (在北京，2008年的奥运会) In Beijing, (the city is) built more and more cei (在北京，建得越来越cei) In Beijing, beautiful village is close to smelly river (在北京，有村也有臭河) In Beijing, bicycle stealing is not uncommon (在北京，大多都丢自行车) In Beijing, (there is) the NB Great Wall (在北京，中国NB的长城)

In the above lines, we underline cei (in third tone in modern Mandarin) and NB. NB (Newbee, a combination of English and Chinese), means fucking greatness. But the word cei here may have mixed meanings. It may come from local dialect, probably meaning getting better and better superficially, but actually meaning worse, ugly, disgraceful, appalling, etc. In Chinese raps, code switching is also an apparent phenomenon. For example, rappers like Jay Chou, Lee Hom, Willber Pan, Shawn Seung, etc., all have music works that incorporate English and sometimes other languages. Local dialects and slangs are also widely used in Chinese raps. China, as a unified multi-ethnic country and a nation with diverse cultures, has many local dialects with special characteristics. So it is no surprise that with the evolution of rap, local dialects and cultures are infused. For example, raps in dialects (sometimes even combination of various dialects) like Cantonese, Sichuan dialect (a dialect of people living in China’s Sichuan province), Tianjin dialect (a dialect of people living in the municipality of Tianjin, China), Dongbei dialect (a dialect of the people living in the north-east part of China, or more exact, Liaoning, Jiling, and Heilongjiang province), etc., are quite dynamic on the rap arena. Take “The North-East China Is Not Underworld” (2004) as an example. The whole song is in Dongbei dialect. Vivid local dialect and slang make this song full of humorous, funny as well as critical flavor. Anti-languages With Reserved Attacking Power Pop rap (rap sometimes is inserted as a fashion element) is generally gentle or reserved in attacking social issues, bypassing hot issues or sensitive political issue, such as Taiwan independence. Chinese pop rap is a fusion of Sino-Western culture. It carries a “Chinese signature” by fusing traditional Chinese instruments and styles with R&B, blues or rock and has formed a new genre called “traditional Chinese” (Zhongguofeng), literally “China wind”. Representatives include Jay Chou (ZHOU Jie-lun), Lee Hom (WANG Li-hong), Willber Pan (PAN Wei-bo), etc. Take Jay Chou, who is viewed as an icon of the cool generation, as an example. As an icon of the cool generation, he is obliged to be skeptical and critical in his rap. Jay’s songs often address a wide range of social issues of great interests to the young people from macro issues, such as expressing anti-war sentiment (e.g., “The Last Battle”, 2002; “The Hymn of Anti-war”, 2004) or environmental protection (e.g., “Terrace Field”, 2003) to micro problems, such as domestic violence (e.g., “Baba, I Come Back”, 2001), the Bible (e.g., “Blue Storm”, 2005), sports (e.g., “Bullfight”, 2000), or the generation gap (e.g., “Grandma”, 2004). 280 ANALYSIS OF ANTI-LANGUAGES IN CHINESE RAPS

Lyrics in his raps may make audiences’ imagination run wild. The fragmented parts combined with the vagueness in the lyrics connect to form a consistent artistic appeal and give a unique sense of feeling. Generally speaking, his lyrics (quite a lot contributed by Vicent Fang, some by other famous lyricists, a few by himself) paired with his fusion of styles (rap, rock, or others), wows him a great swarm of Chinese audiences. For example, in “The Last Battle”, the lyrics describing the melancholy of a soldier embracing the dead body of a fellow combatant is particularly touching. In another song “Baba, I Come Back”, on the other hand, unfolds vividly a classic generational conflict by presenting a horrible scene of a drunken father beating his wife as in the following:

不要再这样打我妈妈 (Don’t beat my mum like this anymore) 我说的话，你不会听 (But you don’t listen to me) 不要再这样打我妈妈 (Don’t beat my mum like this anymore) 难道你手不会痛吗？(Don’t you feel pain in your hand?) 我叫你爸爸，你打我妈这样对吗？(I call you dad, but why do you beat my mum) 干嘛这样？何必让酒牵着鼻子走？(Are you blind? Why do you follow your drunken nose?) 咋说都说不听 (Why don’t you listen to me?) (lyrics by Jay Chou, 2001)

Jay’s songs are utterly representative of youth defiance, insolence, and non-compliance. Challenging social problems is a crucial component of his stardom, but his challenging is weak, for all the targets of attack in his songs are channeled socially rather than politically—he chose not to blame the authorities, question the legitimacy of the state, or publicly censure them over social injustice, or in another word, he only soothes opposition and the people’s sense of relative deprivation in the process of rapid economic development and broadening social inequality amidst the tides of adversity and chaos. Most accounts of Chinese rap treat the music and the lifestyle behind it as reflecting the zeitgeist of the new “GenY” generation. It is an appealing idea to interpret rap as a mirror to a society. In his “Second Class of Year 3” (2003b), Jay sings:

这第一名到底有多强 (How strong is the champion?) 不用问，一定有人向你挑战 (No doubt, you are being challenged by someone) 到底还要过多少关 (How many stages I have to go through?) 不用怕，告诉他们谁是男子汉 (Don’t be afraid, tell them who is the real man) 可不可以不要这个奖 (Can’t I let go this award?) 不想问，我只想要留一点汗 (Don’t want to ask anymore. Just want to save my sweat.) 我当我自己的裁判 (I want to be my own judge) 不想说，选择对手跟要打的仗 (Don’t want to say anything about my opponent and my battle) (lyrics by Vincent Fang)

In this song, a youngster faces enormous pressure in the competitive environment of public examinations, sports, and even games. From the lines, we can see it is full of defiance and disdain for such glorious appealing as championship and award winning. The young generation’s reluctance to fulfill the expectations of their parents who want them to win awards and become champions is apparent, but for them, awards and champions are only “void of pride”. ANALYSIS OF ANTI-LANGUAGES IN CHINESE RAPS 281

In another song “Bullfight”, Jay also expresses the kind of dissatisfaction and anger that youth feel and presents us the violent side of youngsters:

说，你怎么面对我，甩开球，我满腔的怒火 (Say, how can you face me, the ball (is) off, I am full of anger) 我想揍你已经很久，别想走 (I want to punch you for long, (so) give up leaving) 说，你眼睛看着我，别发抖，你给我抬起头 (Say, look me in you eyes, don’t shake, (and) lift up your head) 有话去对医药箱说，别怪我 ((you can) argue with the medicine box, I’m not to blame). (lyrics by Vincent Fang)

People of the like-minded gather together. “Bullfight” sings in a belligerent tone, and shows us some features of the “GenY” youngsters like impatience. While in the chorus of another song “In the Name of Father” (2003a), Jay sings:

仁慈的父我已坠入，看不见罪的国度 (The Merciful Father, I have already fallen in the abyss of sin) 请原谅我的自负 (Please forgive my obstinacy) 刻着一道孤独 (That designates my loneliness) 仁慈的父我已坠入，看不见醉的国度 (The Merciful Father, I have already fallen in the abyss of sin) 请原谅我的自负 (Please forgive my obstinacy) 没人能说没人可说，好难承受 (Have no one to talk to. Utterly unbearable.) 荣耀的背后刻着一道孤独 (Loneliness stands in line with glory) (lyrics by Hang Junliang)

As shown in this song, the cool generation realizes that their stubbornness and refusal to abide by rules or codes of traditions will finally result in their isolation, rejection, and loneliness. They give up direct and sturdy resistance and challenge to the traditional Chinese “authoritative” adulthood as they used to. So this is a song showing their calls for trust and forgiveness of their “merciful father” or their parents, for their independent actions or behaviors. This song also hints, on a deeper level, to young people’s hidden desire to maintain good relationships with their parents and develop intimacy in friendships. On the whole, Jay’s persona—not remote enough to alienate parents outright, but distinct enough to be independent and defiant to young people—serves as an exemplary model of cool image and symbolize the desires and individualistic pursuits of the new “GenY” generation in China. For the audiences, his unique combination of rap music and Chinese folk culture has attracted many rap fans, especially young people, who are interested in traditional folk culture. The consumption of such music products in turn enhances the formation and even integrity of their own communities (e.g., fan clubs) across China. For example, jaycn.com and jay family are Jay’s two biggest fan clubs in China. Anti-languages With Strong Attacking Power Professional rap is more critical and skeptical than pop rap. It covers a wide range of topics (e.g., romance, personal experiences, environmental protection, generation gap, money worship, income gap, social injustice, war, education, and politics), rich in vulgar, rude, and obscene expressions. Representative songs include “Beijing Bad Boy” (2003) (By Yin Ts’ang); “CMCB” (2001) (by Kung Fu); “0231” (2006) by Sha Zhou; “Daddy 95” (2003) (by Andrew Chow); “1030” (2001) (by MC Hot Dog), etc. Rap from rap followers or enthusiasts is even more critical and skeptical than professional rap, because it is not commercialized in general. It is quite sarcastic in exposing and attacking social evils. The lyrics may include 282 ANALYSIS OF ANTI-LANGUAGES IN CHINESE RAPS expressions like swearing, cursing, foul speech, and cussing. It may attack sensitive issues like state policy and corruption, delimit and sway social values and behaviors, e.g., sex, violence. Representatives are YIN San, Shawn Seung (SONG Yue-ting), HUANG Zhong-xu, HAO Shuang, etc. We may see raps playing a get-together of people sharing broad-reaching concerns and anti-social behaviors. These anti-social behaviors may blight people’s lives, destroy families and ruin communities. They hold back the regeneration of our society and create the environment in which degeneration can take hold. Take Shawn Seung’s representative “Life is a Struggle” (2003) as an example:

这让我恐惧 在我的眼里每个人都戴着面具 (It fears me a lot, for in my eyes everyone hides a mask) 回想过去 难道生命就是这样延续？(Looking back to the past, is life perpetuated like this?) 我抽烟抽得我的肺都黑了 (I smoke cigarette until my lungs are black) 就像整个社会被人心笼罩着 它也是黑的 (As black as the society covered by people’s motives, all black) 我背着宿命的十字架 (I carry the cross of life) 也渴望 Power, money and respect (Also desire power, money and respect) 我想这大概就是 human nature (I think this is probably human nature) 佛家说 烦恼即是菩提 我暂且不提 (Buddhists say worries should be brought up by Buddha, which I won’t bring up for now) 我倒是希望能够回到母体 (Instead I wish to return to mother’s body) 老妈对不起 我时常把你气得跺脚 (Sorry, Mom, for I always make you mad enough to stamp feet) 你说你后悔当初没有把我堕掉 (You say you regret not having aborted me) 每当我放学回家 放下那沉重的背包 (Every time I return home after school, putting down that heavy shoulder-bag) 家里空无一人 只残留着你香水的味道 (Home empty without a single person, remains only your perfume’s smell) 那时我知道 你那天晚上又要加班 (Then I know you are to work overtime that night again) 我打开冰箱 拿出微波炉吃冰的晚餐 (I open the refrige, take out microwave and eat frozen dinner) 老爸在凌晨两点钟醉醺醺地回家 (Dad comes home stinking drunk at 2 am) 我从睡梦中醒来 只听到你们在吵架 (I wake up from dreams, only to hear you guys arguing) 我没有办法专心面对第二天的考试 (I can not focus attention on my test the next day) 老师他不喜欢我 我也不喜欢老师 (The teacher he does not like me, I don’t like him either) 我讨厌穿制服 我讨厌学校的制度 (I hate school uniforms , I hate the rules of school) 我讨厌训导主任的嘴脸 讨厌被束缚 (I hate discipliner, I hate being restricted) That’s true 很多人不屑我的态度 他们说我太cool (Many people can’t take my attitude, they say I am too cool ) 警察不爽我都曾将我逮捕 (The police dislikes me and once arrested me) I don’t give a FCK about 人家说什么 (I don’t give a FCK about what they say) 他们想说什么就说什么 但是他们算什么 (They say whatever they want, but what are they anyway) 没有谁有权利拿他的标准衡量我 (No one has right to use their standard to measure me)

Raps fiercely attacking things like education policies, intense competition, inequality, high housing prices, etc., are widely welcome among young people. For example, songs attacking education like “Good Teacher” (2008) by In-3 (Yin San) and “0231” (2006) by Sha Zhou enjoy high popularity among students. Raps of strong attacking power are always with swearing or cursing words and expressions: shǎ bī, hú bī, dàn bī, mā bī, ANALYSIS OF ANTI-LANGUAGES IN CHINESE RAPS 283 zhuāng bī, cāo, wǒ cāo, kào, wà kào, cāo dàn, nǐ yā, TM (tā mā), TMD (tā mā de), j8 (ji bā), 250 (ér bǎi wǔ), cāo nǐ mā gè bī, etc. Rap is more than a way of passing the time. It glues the cool “GenY” generation and serves to maintain their social and interpersonal network. The cool generation embraces new technology and fashion, not only because psychologically they are curious, active or even pro-active, creative, strong-minded and independent, but also because they need to build communities around these products and socialize with their peers.

Conclusions Consumers of rap music in China are mostly the new “GenY” generation, which is a group of youngsters consuming cultural products, brand-names, and current styles to highlight their unique identity yet continuing to need approval from society, parents, and teachers. Though they are passionate and strong-willed at heart and value relationships with friends and want to be trusted by parents, they desperately calls for a space of their own to escape parental control and supervision. Rap provides a means for the cool generation to seek identification in their struggle for identity and serves to maintain their social and interpersonal network. Anti-language in raps make this music a vehicle to create and maintain a distinct society.

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