"THE SCREAMING SUCCESSOR": EXPLORING THE CHINESE METAL SCENE IN CONTEMPORARY CHINESE SOCIETY (1996-2015) Yu Zheng A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate College of Bowling Green State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS December 2016 Committee: Jeremy Wallach, Advisor Esther Clinton Kristen Rudisill © 2016 Yu Zheng All Rights Reserved iii ABSTRACT Jeremy Wallach, Advisor This research project explores the characteristics and the trajectory of metal development in China and examines how various factors have influenced the localization of this music scene. I examine three significant roles – musicians, audiences, and mediators, and focus on the interaction between the localized Chinese metal scene and metal globalization. This thesis project uses multiple methods, including textual analysis, observation, surveys, and in-depth interviews. In this thesis, I illustrate an image of the Chinese metal scene, present the characteristics and the development of metal musicians, fans, and mediators in China, discuss their contributions to scene’s construction, and analyze various internal and external factors that influence the localization of metal in China. After that, I argue that the development and the localization of the metal scene in China goes through three stages, the emerging stage (1988-1996), the underground stage (1997-2005), the indie stage (2006-present), with Chinese characteristics. And, this localized trajectory is influenced by the accessibility of metal resources, the rapid economic growth, urbanization, and the progress of modernization in China, and the overall development of cultural industry and international cultural communication. iv For Yisheng and our unborn baby! v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS First of all, I would like to show my deepest gratitude to my advisor, Dr. Jeremy Wallach, and Dr. Esther Clinton for their patience, constant encouragement, and professional suggestions throughout the entire process of research and writing. I don’t think I could finish such a huge project without their kind support and help in the last three years. I would like to thank Dr. Kristen Rudisill for her rapid response and insightful comments, even though she is on her trip in Asia. I would also like to express my appreciation to Dr. Mathew Donahue. It is him who brought me to the world of metal and inspired me to study the metal subculture in China. My sincere appreciation also goes to Dr. Marilyn Motz for her kind help to go through all the processes for the degree since I first came to the department of Popular Culture four years ago. I owe my great gratitude to the sponsorship form the Stoddard & O'Neill Fund, which financially support my fieldwork trip to China. I want to thank Jason Wells-Jensen for his careful language editing, which really help me improve the writing quality of this thesis. Furthermore, I must express my special appreciation to all the informants in China. Without their support of this study and their devotion of Chinese metal, the research could not even happen. I am grateful to Han Ning, the chief editor of Painkiller magazine who not only provide a lot of information but also help me distribute the on-line survey on their social media. I would like to thank Jiang Wei who gave me a valuable chance to do the interview when he was busy preparing Arch Enemy’s China Tour. I also want to thank Liu Zheng and Ashan who shared their experiences and stories about the growth of the Chinese metal band with me. My sincere gratitude should also go to all 746 Chinese metal fans who voluntarily participated the on-line survey and 32 of them who also took time to respond the e-mail interviews. Because of their support, I got a really good sample size and meaningful data of the Chinese metal fanbase. vi Finally, I want to say thank you to my family for their understandings and support of my decision to devote to such a tiny field of study. Thanks to my husband Yisheng for his love, patience, support, and all various debates during the process of this project. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………………………..... 1 Framework ............................................................................................................ 5 Methods ............................................................................................................ 8 Textual Analysis ...........……………………………………………………. 8 Participatory Observation ………………………………………………….. 8 Survey ..............................………………………………………………….. 9 In-Depth Interview ......................................................................................... 10 Background: Tang Dynasty and the Early Metal Scene in China ............................. 11 Rock Elite ......................……………………………………………………. 11 Dakou Culture .................………………………………………………….. 14 A Flash in the Pan: Chinese Mainstream Metal…………………………….. 16 CHAPTER ONE “WE ARE FROM THE UNDERGROUND”: THE DEVELOPMENT OF METAL BANDS IN CHINA ................................................................................................ 20 The Expansion of Metal Bands in China ................................................................... 21 Quantity ........................……………………………………………………. 22 Location ..........................………………………………………………….. 26 Subgenre .........................………………………………………………….. 28 An Interpretation .............………………………………………………….. 30 Suffocated: From Underground to the Globe ...............................………………… 32 CHAPTER TWO “STAND UP, STAND UP, YOU ARE CHINESE”: THE REPRESENTATION OF NATIONAL IDENTITY IN CHINES METAL .......................... 47 viii Music ...........................................…………………………………………. 49 Performance ............................................................................................................ 52 Language ...............................................................................………………… 54 Content ...............................................................................………………… 57 CHAPTER THREE “WE STILL STAND HERE”: METAL FANS IN CHINA AND THEIR INTERPRETATIONS OF CHINESE METAL MUSIC ..................………………………. 65 Demographic Position of the Metal Audience in China ..............................……….. 67 Gender ...........................……………………………………………………. 67 Age ..............................………………………………………………….. 68 Region ..............................………………………………………………….. 69 Social Strata .....................………………………………………………….. 70 The Expansion of the Metal Audience in China ...…………………………………. 73 The Practice of Metal Fans in the Scene ...............…………………………………. 75 Metal Fans’ Behavior and Generational Differences ..................................... 76 Metal Fans, Active Audience ......................................................................... 82 The Interpretation of Chinese Metal Music ..........…………………………………. 85 CHAPTER FOUR “PERILOUS JOURNEY”: METAL MEDIATORS IN CHINA AND THEIR NEGOTIATIONS IN THE SCENE .........................................……………………………. 91 The Development of Metal Mediators .............…………………………………….. 93 Indie Labels ...................……………………………………………………. 94 Magazines ........................………………………………………………….. 97 Live Performances ...........………………………………………………….. 99 External Elements Affecting the Development of the Scene ...…………………….. 103 ix Infrastructure .................……………………………………………………. 104 Market ..............................………………………………………………….. 107 Policy and Censorship .....………………………………………………….. 110 CHAPTER FIVE CHINESE METAL INTO THE GLOBAL SCENE: A CASE STUDY OF PAINKILLER MAGAZINE .......…………………………………………………………… 114 “Zhongxing Yinyue”: The Creation of Chinese Metal Magazine ............................... 115 Global Metal Comes to China ...............................…………………………………. 119 Chinese Metal Goes Global ..................................…………………………………. 124 Challenges and Future ..........................................…………………………………. 126 CONCLUSION ………………………………………………………………………..... .... 128 REFERENCES……………………………………………………………………………… 134 CHINESE GLOSSARY………………………………………… .………………………… 141 APPENDIX A: SURVEY FOR THE CHINESE METAL FANS ………………………… 146 APPENDIX B: LIST OF CHINESE METAL BANDS …………………………………… 151 APPENDIX C: LIST OF CHINESE METAL INDIE LABELS …………………………… 161 APPENDIX D: LIST OF FOREIGN METAL BANDS PERFORMING IN CHINA............ 164 APPENDIX E: HSRB APPROVAL LETTER ..........................…………………………… 171 x LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page 1 The Number of New Bands Formed Each Year ........................................................ 23 2 The Number of Newly-Formed Beijing and No-Beijing Bands Each Year .............. 24 3 The Number of Newly-Formed Northern and Southern Bands Each Year ............... 26 4 The Age Distribution of the Metal Audience ............................................................ 68 5 The Geographical Distribution of the Chinese Metal Audience ................................ 69 6 The Distribution of Metal Audience in Various Levels of Cities .............................. 70 7 Correlation between Bands and Fans Increase .......................................................... 75 8 The Number of Foreign Bands Performing in China Each Year ............................... 100 9 The Number of Bands from Each Country Interviewed by Painkiller ...................... 120 10 The Number of Concerts / Gigs Organized by Painkiller Each Year ........................ 121 xi LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1 Appearance of First Metal Band, by