:Cui Jian

Cui Jian grew up in a musical family in Beijing. His father, Cui Xiongji, who died in 2006,{{cite web|title=崔健痛失慈父选择坚强|url=https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/hqylss/2006-08/22/content_670842.htm|date=August 22, 2006|language=zh-cn|work=China Daily}} was ethnic Korean and a professional trumpet player, and his mother, Zhang Shunhua, who birth in Busan, South Korea,{{cite web|url=http://ent.sina.com.cn/x/p/2005-11-13/1012895245.html?from=wap|title=图文：第二届亚洲音乐节发布会--崔健|language=zh-cn|work=Sina Entertainment|date=November 13, 2005}} was a member of the China National Ethnic Song and Dance Ensemble.{{cite book|title=崔健：在一无所有中呐喊|isbn=9787303019618|author=Zhao Jianwei|language=zh-cn|publisher=Beijing Normal University Publisher|date=September 1992}}{{Rp|page=106}} He lived with his parents and younger brother Cui Dong in an old two-bedroom apartment within a apartment building near Yonghe Temple. Cui Jian spent his childhood at an air force boarding kindergarten due to his parents' demanding work schedules. Their limited proficiency in Chinese contributed to his stutter. Cui Xiongji described the young Cui Jian as possessing "an intense intellectual curiosity about incomprehensible subjects, often engaging in solitary observation and contemplation".{{Rp|page=106}} Cui Dong said that when Cui Jian was young, his essays were particularly strong, his other academic performance was also quite good, and he was a good student.{{cite web|url=http://ent.sina.com.cn/s/m/2002-08-24/115897154.html?from=wap|title=专访：弟弟崔东眼中的崔健--好学生凶哥哥(附图)|author=Chen Rong|language=zh-cn|date=August 24, 2002|work=Information Times}}

Cui Jian followed his father to start playing the trumpet at the age of fourteen. He joined the Beijing Symphony Orchestra in 1981, at the age of twenty,{{Cite book|last=Davis|first=Edward L.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2rLBvrlKI7QC|title=Encyclopedia of Contemporary Chinese Culture|publisher=Taylor & Francis|year=2009|isbn=978-0-415-77716-2|location=London|pages=118}} became a professional trumpet player of the Beijing Aihe Orchestra.{{Cite web |title=辉煌时刻；1986年5月9日崔健宣告了中国摇滚乐的诞生_小号 |url=https://www.sohu.com/a/www.sohu.com/a/498256625_121124390 |access-date=2024-06-25 |website=www.sohu.com}} Yang Leqiang, a former member of Qi He Ban, recalled that during symphony orchestra rehearsals at the time, while others wore crisp suits, Cui showed up in slim-fit pants.{{cite web|author=Han Xuan|url=https://wap.bjd.com.cn/news/2021/08/03/142839.shtml|title=中国摇滚第一人崔健都60岁了！看上去爱怼人，其实很羞涩|language=zh-cn|work=Beijing Daily|date=August 3, 2021}} Cui first heard rock and roll in the early 1980s when professional musician friends smuggled cassette tapes in from Hong Kong and Bangkok. He spent this period listening to Simon & Garfunkel, Bob Dylan, the Rolling Stones, the Beatles and the Talking Heads. He learned to play guitar and began writing music, which he played in cafés and dormitories.{{cite web|author=Rachel DeWoskin|date=January 13, 2010|url=https://wordswithoutborders.org/read/article/2010-01/power-of-the-powerless/|title=Power of the Powerless|work=Words Without Borders}} During that era, playing guitar was deemed "hooligan" and "bourgeois" behavior. In 1983, when Cui Jian went to Handan for a performance with his troupe, he played guitar one evening. He recalled "the audience was instantly stunned, and one girl immediately burst into tears". That same year, he wrote his first song "I Love My Guitar".{{cite web|url=https://www.gmw.cn/01wzb/2000-02/20/GB/2000%5E1722%5E0%5EWZ1-2027.htm|title=崔健：摇滚十三年|work=Guangming Daily|language=zh-cn|date=February 20, 2000}} Zhou Yaping, former timpanist of the orchestra, recalled that Cui could accurately imitate the singing styles of English-language vocalists, or artists like Liu Wen-cheng, which was quite rare at the time.

In 1984, Cui released his first album Contemporary European and American Popular Jazz Disco.{{cite web|date=May 10, 2016|url=https://www.jiemian.com/article/643865.html|title=30年前，摇滚首次登上正式舞台，他用刀子一样嗓音吓坏了所有人|work=Jiemian News|language=zh-cn}} Inspired by Simon & Garfunkel and John Denver,{{cite web|author=Jamie Merrill|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/china-s-rock-rebel-cui-jian-gets-the-party-startled-9069621.html|title=China's rock rebel Cui Jian gets the Party startled|work=The Independent|date=January 19, 2014}} at the same year Cui formed his first band, Qi He Ban (七合板, literally "Seven-Player Board," a double entendre reference to the seven-member band) with six other classically trained musicians, including the saxophonist/suona player Liu Yuan. The seminal band was heavily influenced by The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and Talking Heads. The band played Western pop music in small restaurants and bars in Beijing and was the first of its kind in China.{{Cite web |last=网易 |date=2023-12-28 |title=崔健，和他的“知交”们 |url=https://www.163.com/dy/article/IN101OLP05561KL9.html |access-date=2024-06-25 |website=www.163.com}} They performed their own works—mostly soft rock and love songs—in local hotels and bars. With his band, Cui released his first cassette Return of the Prodigal that same year. The album featured commercial, pop-oriented love songs but also showcased songs with progressive and folk-rock influences, which were fresh and innovative in China at the time.{{cite web|author=Scott Savitt|url=https://www.thewirechina.com/2024/02/11/cui-jian-on-the-power-of-rock-n-roll/|title=Cui Jian on the Power of Rock 'N' Roll|work=The Wire China|date=February 11, 2024}}

In 1985, the band released another album titled "Cui Jian and Seven-Player Band", which featured a combination of Western pop-rock as well as new original songs. That June, under pressure from the authorities, the Qi He Ban band was forced to disband. Soon afterwards, Cui wrote his first rock song "It's Not That I Don't Understand",{{Rp|page=106}} regarded as the earliest ancestor of Chinese rap rock.{{cite web|author=Zhang Yi|url=https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_1729930|title=嘻哈音乐在中国：刚刚上路，却未老先衰|date=July 12, 2017|language=zh-cn|work=The paper}} Over the next two years, Cui wrote thirteen songs. In late 1985, the cafeteria of the Beijing Film Academy hosted a music performance where Cui performed his original song "Rock 'n' Roll on the New Long March". Midway through the set, several CBS journalists arrived to film "China's rock 'n' roll". Yang Leqiang, member of Qi He Ban, rushed the stage, hoisted Cui onto his shoulders, and students, including future rock musician He Yong, chanted, "His name is Cui Jian!" He later participated in the "Peacock Cup" vocal competition, with judges including Wang Kun and Li Shuangjiang, but was eliminated in the preliminary round due to his singing style being deemed unacceptable at the time.{{cite web|author=Li Yi|url=https://ent.sina.cn/music/yneidi/2008-12-26/detail-icesifvx8599369.d.html?from=wap|title=黄小茂：崔健在内地 就是“独一份儿”(图)|work=Oriental Morning Post|language=zh-cn|date=December 26, 2008}}{{cite web|url=https://ent.ifeng.com/fcd/special/fulin/news/detail_2013_11/13/31216084_0.shtml|title=付林：崔健曾参加歌唱比赛 评委李双江不识摇滚乐|language=zh-cn|work=Ifeng.com|date=November 13, 2013}}

{{Listen|filename=YiWuSuoYou sample.ogg|title="Nothing to My Name"|description=Sample of "Nothing to My Name", which sharply contrasts with Chinese pop music of the time.}}

In early 1986, coinciding with the International Year of Peace, Chinese musician Guo Feng organized the recording of the charity song "Filling the World with Love" and planed to hold a concert of the same name convening 100 popular singers in Chinese Mainland to change the stereotypes of popular music.{{cite web|work=China Newsweek|url=http://www.zgxwzk.chinanews.com.cn/2/2016-12-12/3292.shtml|title=摇滚30年，不再坚定但依旧愤怒|language=zh-cn|author=Zhou Fengting|date=December 12, 2016}} Prompted by this recording, cultural authorities made their first exception for popular music by permitting the organization of the concert.{{cite thesis|title=改革开放三十年流行音乐发展与价值观变迁|language=zh-cn|date=June 2010|author=Zhang Jiawei|degree=MSc|publisher=Beijing Jiaotong University}} At the recommendation of popular singer Wang Di, Cui Jian participated in the concert and applied for a solo segment.{{cite web|url=https://www.jiemian.com/article/641103.html|language=zh-cn|title=被记住的不该只有崔健——也说摇滚三十年|date=May 8, 2016|work=Jiemian News}} With the permission of Wang Kun, Cui was able to sing his song "Nothing to My Name" at the concert.{{cite web|work=China News Service|language=zh-cn|author=Zhang Daozheng|url=https://www.chinanews.com.cn/yl/2015/01-29/7017414.shtml|title=崔健忆王昆:她是把中国摇滚乐推到台前的重要人物|date=January 29, 2015}} The concert took place at Beijing Workers' Gymnasium on May 9. That evening, the venue was packed to capacity, with "everyone wondering what was going to happen".{{cite web|date=May 10, 2016|language=zh-cn|url=https://www.jiemian.com/article/643865.html|title=30年前，摇滚首次登上正式舞台，他用刀子一样嗓音吓坏了所有人|work=Jiemian News}}

Two minutes before taking the stage, Cui felt his suit was "utterly stifling," so he switched to the dagua belonging to the father of Wang Di.{{cite web|author=Yin Luona|url=http://www.people.com.cn/24hour/n/2012/1118/c25408-19614131.html|title=崔健越摇滚.越平和|date=November 18, 2012|website=People's Daily Online|language=zh-cn}} Because of Cui's disheveled hair, cold look, and his apparel, which were different from the previous "gorgeously dressed" singers with "graceful singing", the audience became chaotic.{{cite magazine|title=学乖了的中国摇滚|language=zh-cn|pages=22–23|date=2000|issue=6|author=Xue Shan|magazine=Great Stage|publisher=Hebei Art Research Institute|location=Hebei}} However, the moment his "hoarse voice" rang out, the audience fell silent immediately.{{cite web|url=https://m.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_12590418|title=35年前的今天，一场演唱会影响了一代人！|date=May 9, 2021|language=zh-cn|work=The paper}} Then came applause and whistles, followed by continuous cheers. Keyboard player Liang Heping recalled that his hair "stood straight on end". After the concert, the young people sang his verses and played air guitar on the streets.{{cite news|language=de|title=China-Kracher|newspaper=Der Tagesspiegel|author=Tanja Buntrock|date=July 16, 2001}} Official personnel present displayed attitudes diametrically opposed to those of the young audience. An "old revolutionary," after watching Cui's performance, exclaimed angrily, "Now even cow demons and snake spirits are allowed to take the stage!" a member of Beijing’s Municipal Party Committee said, "How can a young person sing about having nothing to his name? That’s ridiculous! He has socialism!" Wang Kun recalled:{{cite thesis|author=Yingxue Huang|title=Yaogun, l'histoire de la musique rock Made in China : création, évolution et perspectives de la musique rock en Chine contemporaine (1980-2011)|url=http://www.theses.fr/2012LYO30056|publisher=Jean Moulin University Lyon 3|date=September 7, 2012|language=fr|degree=PhD}}

{{blockquote|Some old comrades from Yan'an left in the concert. Why? I think they were afraid to take responsibility. They asked me: how is it possible, how can such ugly things make a public show? They did not dare to judge, since they had seen that the audience was so enthusiastic, (they chose to leave) without signing me. Another old comrade, who died now, said to me: Wang Kun! Why did you allow that? What do these songs look like?}}

The sampling inspiration for "Nothing to My Name" draws from Northwestern China's "Xintianyou" folk music. Cui Jian incorporated traditional instruments like the suona, guzheng, dizi, and xiao, while blending elements and rhythms from punk, jazz, Afro-pop, and rap.{{cite web|url=https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_14883836|title=崔健消失，是年轻人的悲哀|date=October 14, 2021|language=zh-cn|work=The paper}} The song is about a failed love affair, but widely read as a metaphor for the growing estrangement of Chinese youth from the political climate of China. Compared with the first-person plural pronoun "we" in revolutionary songs, the word "I" appears in 28 times out of the song's 42 lines and becomes a liberating call for self-expression.{{cite web|date=September 13, 2018|work=Shanghai Daily|author=David Li|title=Enter the founding father of Chinese rock music|url=https://www.shine.cn/feature/entertainment/1809132030/}} BBC correspondent Henry Knight described the song as "individualism, experimentation and non-conformity".{{cite web|author=Henry Knight|url=https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20150602-how-to-be-a-rock-star-in-beijing|title=Inside Beijing's underground rock scene|date=June 2, 2015|work=BBC}} Hong Kong news website HK01 stated that this love song accurately and profoundly depicts the confusion experienced by China's younger generation amid the collapse of social values at the time, as well as their reflections on self-identity amidst dual material and spiritual hardships.{{cite web|url=https://www.hk01.com/%E6%B7%B1%E5%BA%A6%E5%A0%B1%E9%81%93/763752/%E4%B8%AD%E5%9C%8B%E6%90%96%E6%BB%BE%E4%B9%8B%E7%88%B6%E5%B4%94%E5%81%A5-%E5%A6%82%E4%BD%95%E6%88%90%E7%82%BA%E4%B8%80%E4%BB%A3%E4%BA%BA%E7%9A%84%E7%AC%A6%E8%99%9F?itm_source=universal_search&itm_campaign=hk01&itm_content=articles&itm_medium=web|title=中國搖滾之父崔健 如何成為一代人的符號|work=HK01|language=zh-hant|date=April 27, 2022}}

His performance has been seen as the moment heralding the birth of Chinese rock 'n' roll, marking a new era in Cui Jian's music career, as he uses this unique rock method to summon a new generation of young people.{{Cite journal |last=Guo |first=Weiqi |date=2019-05-31 |title=中学语文古典诗歌教学中“以乐写哀”手法例析 |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.32629/er.v2i5.1829 |journal=教育研究 |volume=2 |issue=5 |doi=10.32629/er.v2i5.1829 |issn=2630-4686|doi-access=free |language=zh-cn}} {{ill|Parangalan|zh|胡德夫}}, known as the Father of Taiwanese Folk Songs, thought "the younger generation in mainland China can now write their own songs" after hearing the song.{{cite web|author=Han Yuting|url=https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_23594038|title=“台湾民谣之父”胡德夫：用音乐力量促进两岸民间交流|date=June 24, 2023|work=The Paper|language=zh-cn}}

Two months after the concert, "Nothing to My Name" CDs and cassettes hit the market. Cui became China's rock icon.{{cite web|author=Zhao Xi|url=https://tech.ifeng.com/c/8FGaekNQ33F|title=时代与我们，谁更需要崔健？|website=Ifeng.com|date=April 16, 2022|language=zh-cn}} In China at that time, "Nothing to My Name" represented a departure in vocal style and alternative musical approach for most young listeners, while prompting profound self-reflection and ideological renewal among the older generation. Following the fashion style of Cui - long hair, jeans and boots - Chinese young fans cheered wildly and danced in the aisles when he performed this song.{{cite web|author=Chen Nan|url=https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/cndy/2019-09/30/content_37513277.htm|title=Everything to their names|date=September 30, 2019|work=China Daily}} Peking University established the "Peking University Cui Jian Backup Group", the first fan club in mainland China.{{cite web|url=https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_25227955|title=我们为什么仍然需要摇滚乐？|date=November 9, 2023|language=zh-cn|work=The paper}} Under the strong endorsement of writer-musician Liu Sola and scholar {{ill|Li Tuo|zh|李陀}}, Cui and his song "Nothing to My Name" quickly captured the attention of China's cultural circles, with the "Cui Jian phenomenon" becoming a fiercely debated topic in academia. From this time on, Chinese rock music transitioned from its initially controversial and less recognized "underground era" to a "mainstream era" with substantial youth support. Outside of China, Cui enjoyed international acclaim after a television appearance at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul.{{cite web|author=Ben Forrest|url=https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/cui-jian-china-first-rock-star/|title=Cui Jian: China's trailblazing first rock star|website=Far Out|date=February 5, 2024}}

{{blockquote|Ask any young person: "What's your favorite pop song?""Wouldn't it be Cui Jian's "Nothing to My Name"?" he replies sheepishly.

But why? "Because he voices what's in our hearts. Aren't we all just, nothing to our names?"|Ch'iao An, {{ill|Global Views Monthly|zh|遠見雜誌}} (June 15, 1988){{cite magazine|date=June 15, 1988|issue=7|magazine=Global Views Monthly|language=zh-tw|title=一無所有－流行歌王崔健|url=https://www.gvm.com.tw/article/882|author=Ch'iao An}}}}

Image:Liu Yuan saxophone.jpg, a Chinese jazz musician and former member of the bands Qi He Ban and ADO, served as the wind instrumentalist in Cui's band until his death in 2024.]]

Cui participated in a series of benefit concerts for the restoration of Beijing's Marco Polo Bridge after the 100-Singer Concert of Year of International Peace. In 1987, the Party launched an ideological campaign against "bourgeois liberalization". Cui was banned from performing for a year after a Beijing performance on 14 January enraged one Party official,{{cite magazine|author=Jeroen de Kloet|publisher=Taylor & Francis|title=Authenticating Geographies and Temporalities:Representations of Chinese Rock in China|magazine=Visual Anthropology|volume=18|pages=229–255|date=2005|doi=10.1080/08949460590914877}} forcing him to perform underground during this period.{{cite web|author=Jeroen de Kloet|date=January 2001|title=Red Sonic Trajectories - Popular Music and Youth in China|publisher=University of Amsterdam|url=https://pure.uva.nl/ws/files/3703731/19325_UBA002000519_06.pdf}} It is generally agreed that this was because he covered "Nanniwan" in a rock style on that day.{{Rp|page=130}} American journalist James Mann reported that Cui was resisted by old officials.{{cite web|author=James Mann|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-03-29-mn-1267-story.html|title=Rock Band No Big Hit With Chinese Officials|date=March 29, 1987|work=Los Angeles Times}} Some musicians with government background, such as {{ill|Chen Zhiang|zh|陈志昂}}, criticized Cui, even insinuating that he was an "instigator of riots".{{cite thesis|author=Tu Jinmei|language=zh-cn|date=April 2008|title=论当代中国摇滚乐反叛性的缺失|degree=MSc|publisher=Chinese National Academy of Arts}} Thus, Cui was forced to withdraw from the Beijing Symphony Orchestra.{{cite web|date=September 27, 2016|author=Guo Yanbing|url=https://ent.sina.cn/music/yneidi/2016-09-27/detail-ifxwevmf2376442.d.html?from=wap|title=崔健：如果要怀旧 我早就写出20张作品了|work=The Beijing News|language=zh-cn}} He began playing regularly with a band, ADO. With ADO, Cui managed to support himself by playing at private parties for foreigners, in restaurants, bars, small hotels and the after-hours club at Beijing Maxim's restaurant.{{cite web|date=November 15, 1992|author=Orville Schell|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-11-15-tm-660-story.html|title=Shake, Rattle, Roll : In Post Tian An Men China, Cui Jian and a Rock and Roll Underground Keep on Playing for Change|work=Los Angeles Times}} Cui made a guest appearance in the 1987 TV series Football Revelation, which depicts the 19 May Incident.{{cite web|author=Jin Shan|url=https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_1551149|title=巩俐崔健差点掺合中国足球，《红高粱》女主角险些泡汤|date=October 19, 2016|work=The Paper|language=zh-cn}} In January 1988, Cui successfully staged his debut solo concert with ADO at Beijing's Zhongshan Music Hall.{{cite web|work=china.org.cn|date=September 13, 2010|url=http://big5.china.com.cn/gate/big5/art.china.cn/music/2010-09/13/content_3713056.htm|title=中國搖滾教父崔健：有了他就不再“一無所有”|language=zh-hant}}

In February 1989, Cui and the ADO band released China's first original rock album Rock 'N' Roll on the New Long March, which was also China's first album recorded using electric instruments like electric bass, guitars, and drums. Taiwanese music critic {{ill|Ma Shih-fang|zh|馬世芳}} described the album as "a knife that sliced Chinese music history into 'before Cui Jian' and 'after Cui Jian'".{{cite web|author=Ji Yi|work=Sina|language=zh-cn|url=https://top.sina.cn/zx/2016-09-20/tnews-ifxvyqwa3578528.d.html|title=崔健“一无所有” 三十年|date=September 20, 2016}}{{cite web|url=https://www.lifeweek.com.cn/article/77479|title=31首歌|work=Sanlian Lifeweek|date=August 12, 2019|language=zh-cn}} Cui himself characterized the album's style as "rock with a touch of world music" and pop-rock. The album broke sales records and became the biggest selling album in China’s history at the time.{{cite web|work=The Beijinger|date=April 13, 2022|url=https://www.thebeijinger.com/blog/2022/04/13/rock-out-online-friday-chinas-godfather-rock-cui-jian|title=Rock Out Online This Friday with China's 'Godfather of Rock', Cui Jian|author=Vincent R. Vinci}} It was also certified double platinum in Taiwan and platinum in Hong Kong,{{cite web|url=https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/hqylss/2006-03/09/content_530245.htm|title=崔健艺术成就|work=China Daily|date=March 9, 2006|language=zh-cn}} and listed in The 200 Best Taiwanese Popular Music Albums, a compilation jointly published by {{ill|China Times Publishing|zh|時報文化}} and the {{ill|China Musicians Exchange Association|zh|中華音樂人交流協會}}.{{cite web|author=Li Ji|url=https://www.chinanews.com.cn/yl/kong/news/2009/02-09/1555575.shtml|title=中国摇滚教父崔健《一无所有》入选台湾最佳专辑|date=February 9, 2009|language=zh-cn|work=China News Service}} This album is considered to have sparked the golden age of Chinese rock.{{cite web|date=May 30, 2022|url=http://finance.ce.cn/stock/gsgdbd/202205/30/t20220530_37691446.shtml|title=不爱鲜肉爱老炮！豪掷千万请崔健罗大佑开唱，这位幕后金主想收割的不止70后|work=Economic Daily|language=zh-cn}}

In early 1989, Cui performed at the "Printemps de Bourges" International Rock Festival in Paris, France, and was received by former French Prime Minister Jacques Chirac. He also represented mainland China respectively in London at the Salem Music Awards Show in March.{{cite thesis|author=Sitong Li|title=Underground Rock Music in Inland Chinese Cities: An Ethnographic Study of the Music andIdeology of the Developing Zhengzhou Rock Music Scene, 2000-2023|date=2023|publisher=University of Alberta|degree=MSc}} In the same month, Cui held the Rock 'N' Roll on the New Long March Concert at the Beijing Exhibition Hall, attracting an audience of two thousand. During intermission, upon overhearing someone remark, "Isn't this just a bunch of hoodlums?" Cui took the microphone and addressed the crowd: "Someone just called us a bunch of hoodlums. If that person doesn't feel ashamed, then we take this as a great honor!" The venue erupted with cheers and thunderous applause.{{cite web|author=Feng Xiang|title=崔健和他的年代|url=https://www.chinawriter.com.cn/wxpl/2013/2013-01-22/152598.html|date=January 22, 2013|language=zh-cn|website=chinawriter.com.cn}}{{cite web|url=https://m.21jingji.com/article/20220416/herald/fba8b6c7e317826c4d4bb8f16ad9059d.html|title=崔健：“我没那么较劲了”|work=21st Century Business Herald|date=April 16, 2022|language=zh-cn}} EMI wanted to release a live video album of this concert, but Cui was dissatisfied with the filming and editing approach, feeling that "this is packaging me as a pop star". The collaboration, worth a million Hong Kong dollars, ultimately fell apart.{{cite web|author=Lun Bing|url=https://epaper.ynet.com/html/2015-05/25/content_134617.htm|title=这次我真的离开了你们这些乐坛大腕儿|work=Beijing Youth Daily|date=May 25, 2015|language=zh-cn}}

Cui reached the apex of his popularity during the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, when "Nothing to My Name" became an anthem to pro-democracy demonstrators.{{cite web|author=Mark Macdonald|url=https://archive.nytimes.com/rendezvous.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/08/27/in-chinese-rock-the-times-they-arent-a-changin/|title=Freedom Rock? Not In China|work=The New York Times|date=August 27, 2012}} Wu Wenjian, a witness to the 1989 Tiananmen protest, recalled that on the square at that time, the most commonly sung song by college students was "Nothing to My Name".{{cite web|work=Deutsche Welle|url=https://www.dw.com/zh/%E5%B4%94%E5%81%A5%E6%8B%92%E7%BB%9D%E6%8E%A5%E5%8F%97%E5%AE%A1%E6%9F%A5%E4%B8%8E%E6%98%A5%E6%99%9A%E8%AF%B4%E5%86%8D%E8%A7%81/a-17365937|title=崔健与春晚说再见|language=zh-hans|date=January 16, 2014}} Cui was affirmed by Wu'er Kaixi, one of the prominent leaders of the movement, as highly influential among young Chinese of the time.{{Cite book|title=China off center : mapping the margins of the middle kingdom|last=BLUM|first=SUSAN|date=2002|publisher=University of Hawai'i Press|others=Blum, Susan Debra,, Jensen, Lionel M.|isbn=0585464022|location=Honolulu|pages=[https://archive.org/details/chinaoffcenterma0000unse/page/291 291]|oclc=52763644|url=https://archive.org/details/chinaoffcenterma0000unse/page/291}} On May 20, Cui walked onto the makeshift stage at Tiananmen Square to give a performance for students on hunger strike.{{cite web|author=Max Fisher|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2013/06/04/this-is-the-song-of-tiananmen-blindfold-my-eyes-and-cover-the-sky/|title=This is the song of Tiananmen: 'Blindfold my eyes and cover the sky'|date=June 4, 2013|work=The Washington Post}}{{cite web|url=https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/Xinwen/7-02092014115947.html|title=崔健：只要毛像还挂天安门 时代就没有改变|work=Radio Free Asia|date=February 9, 2014|language=zh-hans}} The crowds at Tiananmen were thrilled to receive him, and Cui later described it "felt like a big party". Although he was "really clear about standing on the students' side", he heard someone asking him to "get out of the square" because the students were very weak. He impromptu performanced songs including "Start Over" and "Piece of Red Cloth" and received a warm welcome.{{cite web|url=https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/kejiaowen/hc-04152022101657.html|title=崔健线上演唱会爆棚 他还是从前的他？|work=Radio Free Asia|date=April 15, 2022|language=zh-hans}} Despite the students' lack of energy, Cui "made them pretty crazy".{{cite web|date=August 25, 2010|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-pacific-11067241|title=Chinese rock legend sings on|work=BBC|author=Michael Bristow}} The following government crackdown forced many rock musicians, Cui included, into hiding in the other provinces. Sanctions proved relatively temporary, and Cui was able to return to Beijing shortly afterward. There has been no further sanctions targeting him.{{cite web|work=UPI|url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1989/11/26/A-Chinese-business-executive-sporting-a-cashmere-sweater-and/4513628059600/|title=A Chinese business executive sporting a cashmere sweater and...|date=November 26, 1989|author=Ruth Youngblood}} Chinese rock music faced criticism by the authorities due to the movement. At an official music symposium convened in 1990, it was asserted that Rock 'N' Roll on the New Long March bore "practically no difference" from "Western Beatles-style 'protest songs or political songs'".{{cite thesis|title=20世纪80年代中国摇滚乐研究|language=zh-cn|degree=MSc|date=May 20, 2014|author=Sun Huihui|publisher=Shandong Normal University}} The Minister of Culture, Wang Meng, who had praised Cui's qualities and encouraged independent creation, resigned after the massacre.

In early 1990, Cui started his first rock tour entitled the "New Long March", to raise money for the 1990 Asian Games. Because of his admiration for Cui Jian, Zhang Baifa, Vice Mayor of Beijing, approved the tour. In Chengdu, Cui performed his song "Last Shot". The song was written in 1987, when Cui was inspired by the Sino-Vietnamese War.{{cite web|author=Elson Tong|url=https://hongkongfp.com/2016/06/04/the-last-gunshot-the-musical-legacy-of-the-1989-tiananmen-massacre/|title=The Last Gunshot: The musical legacy of the 1989 Tiananmen Massacre|date=June 4, 2016|work=Hong Kong Free Press}} After the performance concluded, he said, "We hope the gunfire heard last year was the last shot." The audience erupted in cheers.{{cite web|author=Li Chih-ming|url=https://opinion.udn.com/opinion/story/12369/3814696|title=那些被遺忘的，還有歌聲讓我們記住——追憶六四歌曲傷痕史|language=zh-tw|work=United Daily News|date=May 21, 2019}} Midway through the tour, the government terminated the performance and cancelled the remainder of the tour. Chinese photographer Xiao Quan stated that Cui's performance was reported as excessively incendiary, "clearly an attempt to incite revolution". David R. Schweisberg from UPI observed that Cui's performances routinely incite young Chinese to flash the V-for-victory sign, the emblem of Tiananmen Square Incident.{{cite web|work=UPI|author=David R. Schweisberg|date=June 2, 1990|url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1990/06/02/On-the-walk-up-third-floor-of-a-dilapidated-building/4092644299200/|title=On the walk-up third floor of a dilapidated building...}} Other possible causes include the crowds were getting too large and unruly.{{cite web|date=April 10, 2005|url=https://www.scmp.com/article/496083/free-radical|title=THE FREE RADICAL|author=Jon Campbell|work=South China Morning Post}} As a result, for much of the 1990s, he was unofficially banned from performing in Beijing and carefully monitored when he gave concerts elsewhere.{{Cite book |last=O'Dell |first=David |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bfL_T8VhKFsC |title=Inseparable, the Memoirs of an American and the Story of Chinese Punk Rock |date=2014-05-12 |publisher=David O'Dell |isbn=978-1-257-88003-4 |pages=28 |language=en}} Chinese music-lovers at that time considered seeing one of Cui's underground shows at venues around Beijing as a "badge of honor".{{cite web|author=Steven Schwankert|url=https://www.thebeijinger.com/blog/2016/05/23/godfather-rock-cui-jian-hold-30-year-retrospective-concert-september-30|title='Godfather of Rock' Cui Jian to Hold 30-Year Retrospective Concert, Sep 30|date=May 23, 2016|work=The Beijinger}}

After recording Rock 'N' Roll on the New Long March, Cui ceased working with Ado.{{Rp|page=154}} He formed his own band featuring Japanese guitarist Masaaki Amari, bassist Liu Junli, drummer Ma He, and keyboardist Wang Yong.{{cite web|date=January 17, 2013|url=https://www.infzm.com/wap/#/content/85283?source=131|title=【他，崔健】“一种是平均主义，一种是崔健模式” ——崔健恩怨篇|author=Feng Xiang|language=zh-cn|work=Southern Weekly}}

{{Listen|filename=Like A Knife Cui Jian.ogg|title="Like A Knife"|pos=right|description=Sample of "Like A Knife" from Solution (1991). The album brings elements of punk rock with aggressive lyrics and blurred enunciation.}}

In February 1991, Cui released his album Solution in mainland China, sparking intense public resonance.{{cite web|title=崔健：讓藝術照亮理性生活|url=http://big5.china.com.cn/fangtan/2017-05/09/content_40775525.htm|website=china.org.cn|language=zh-hant|date=May 9, 2017}} Almost all of the lyrics of "Last Shot" in the album were removed because of the censorship. Cui called the album featuring punk rock. Chinese music critic {{ill|Ding Taisheng|zh|丁太升}} thought that Cui had already consciously articulated the work concept of "liberating rhythm while abolishing melody" in Solution.{{cite web|date=November 11, 2016|url=https://www.jiemian.com/article/953491.html|title=曾经开辟中国摇滚根据地的崔健，如今真的老了吗？|work=Jiemian News|language=zh-cn}}

Due to the underdeveloped professionalism in China's rock scene at the time, tensions over Cui's employment-based management led to his band's breakup shortly after releasing Solution. Cui subsequently formed a new lineup consisting mostly of Ado members alongside keyboardist Zang Tianshuo. In 1992, Australian sinologist Geremie Barmé wrote that over the previous two years, as Cui was approaching middle-age, younger rockers had come to think it was time for him to "roll over" and make room, even calling to "exterminate Cui Jian".{{cite magazine|magazine=Human Rights Tribune|title=Official Bad Boys or True Rebels?|author=Geremie Barmé|volume=3|issue=4|date=1992|pages=17–20}} As reported by UPI, Cui has also been attacked by more traditional musicians and people, and state-run media.{{cite web|work=UPI|url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1992/11/26/Chinese-rock-star-to-sue-for-libel-and-illegal-pirating/4498722754000/|title=Chinese rock star to sue for libel and illegal pirating|date=November 26, 1992|author=John Leicester}}

The authorities rejected Cui's application to organize a charity performance for the 1991 Huadong floods. An official allegedly remarked: "The flood can pass through, but the beast can not come."{{cite web|author=Feng Xiang|language=zh-cn|work=Southern Weekly|url=https://www.infzm.com/wap/#/content/83338|title=【2012中国梦践行者】崔健：摇滚是洪水，不是猛兽}}{{cite web|url=https://www.storm.mg/article/22328|title=專家評析：盒子裡的崔健，還有你|language=zh-hant|author=Zhang Xiaozhou|work=The Storm Media}} Afterwards, In July, Cui traveled to Hong Kong to participate in the benefit concert, which aimed to raise money for the flood relief efforts. Since July 1992, authorities have let Cui stage several small shows in Beijing, and also permitted him to undertake a Japanese tour.{{cite web|work=UPI|author=David R. Schweisberg|date=September 25, 1992|url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1992/09/25/Lack-of-sponsors-forces-Chinese-rock-star-to-scrap-US-Canadian-tour/1176717393600/|title=Lack of sponsors forces Chinese rock star to scrap U.S., Canadian tour}} In late 1992, Cui was granted permission to hold a three-day large-scale concert at the Beijing Exhibition Center. The government permitted it due to his charity gesture, and all proceeds went to the {{ill|China Cancer Foundation|zh|中国癌症基金会}}.{{cite web|author=David Holley|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-12-30-ca-2419-story.html|title=China's Top Rocker Free to Rock Again : Politics: The lifting of Beijing's nearly three-year ban on concerts by Cui Jian is seen as a milestone.|work=Los Angeles Times|date=December 30, 1992}} After this, Cui could no longer obtain approval for large-scale

performances in Beijing and was barred from appearing on television.{{cite web|url=https://www.jiemian.com/article/888837.html|title=三十年过去了，我们究竟喜欢什么样的崔健？|language=zh-cn|date=October 9, 2016|work=Jiemian News|author=Qi Pengli}}

Cui scored and was cast in the 1993 film Beijing Bastards. That same year, he performed in Germany and Switzerland with Chinese rock bands such as Tang Dynasty and Cobra. Chinese media dubbed this year the "Year of Rock".

Balls Under the Red Flag was released in August 1994 but it was soon banned by the authorities, due to its explicit reference to various social issues. Both Solution and Balls Under the Red Flag were re-released in 2005. New York Times journalist Seth Faison estimated the album sold one million copies before removing from the shelves of music stores.{{cite web|author=Seth Faison|work=New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/08/19/arts/a-rock-star-china-allows-to-shine.html|title=A Rock Star China Allows to Shine|date=August 19, 1995}} Cui characterized the album as jazz punk.{{cite web|author=Li Dongran|url=https://www.lifeweek.com.cn/article/22314?from=information|title=崔健：“我深知自己不止于此”|work=Sanlian Lifeweek|date=August 20, 2012|language=zh-cn}} Critics have noted that starting with this album, he has incorporated elements of hard rock and hardcore rap. Hong Kong Inmedia noted that the album continues the approach from Solution that emphasizing rhythm and arrangements, and experiments with Chinese-style rapping, while infusing heavy doses of traditional folk instrumentation, dubbing this fusion the "Western Learning as Substance, Chinese Learning for Application".{{cite web|url=https://www.inmediahk.net/%E5%B4%94%E5%81%A5%EF%BC%9A%E7%B4%85%E6%97%97%E4%B8%8B%E7%9C%9F%E6%AD%A3%E7%9A%84%E3%80%8C%E8%9B%8B%E3%80%8D|date=January 2, 2016|language=zh-hant|title=崔健：紅旗下真正的「蛋」|work=Hong Kong Inmedia}} Chinese scholar Kang Ning believed that starting with the album, Cui began rejecting audience expectations, prioritizing the music's own expressive power and embracing rock's "inherent sociological significance" that "conveying social culture and the realities of marginalized communities".{{cite magazine|title=由崔健的摇滚浅析中国摇滚的主题性|magazine=Music Space|date=2013|issue=8|author=Kang Ning|publisher=Guizhou Federation of Literary and Art Circles|language=zh-cn|page=102}}

Upon its release, the album was received negative reviews from audience. This is because Cui directly attacked mainstream political ideology in the album. However, at that time, the rise of China's commodity economy had hit political ideology and intellectual culture, leading the audience to political apathy. In response, Cui said the album is not about politics but "more about the society we live in". Over time, the album gained acclaim. In 2000, {{ill|Shopping Guide|zh|精品购物指南}} listed the album and Solution among "China's Top 10 Classic Rock Albums".{{cite web|author=Wang Xiaofeng|url=http://ent.sina.com.cn/pop/old/8302.html?from=wap|title=细数中国摇滚十大经典唱片|language=zh-cn|work=Shopping Guide|date=March 31, 2000}} Matthew Corbin Clark of PBS said in 2003 that Balls Under the Red Flag is many considered Cui's best record up to that time and a masterwork of the genre he created. Ma Shih-fang described the album as "flawless on every level, from lyrics, composition, arrangement, performance, vocals, recording, to echo with that particular era".{{cite web|date=August 28, 2018|url=https://www.thenewslens.com/article/102669|title=馬世芳Ｘ陳德政：當音樂仍是危險的，談我們的「地下搖滾」年代|work=The News Lens|language=zh-tw}} {{ill|Hashizume Daizaburo|ja|橋爪大三郎}}, one of the most renowned Japanese scholars in contemporary Chinese cultural studies, wrote that "the attitude of young Chinese audiences towards this informative album will be an excellent indicator of China's future". The Aju Daily wrote:{{cite web|work=Aju Daily|url=https://www.ajudaily.com/view/20110929000067|date=September 29, 2011|language=zh-hans|title=崔健：一代人的心灵嘶吼与挣扎记忆}}

{{blockquote|When rock music finally entered the era of grand fusion, when samplers and groove rhythms finally obtained the same right to speak as guitars, people finally discovered the colossal significance of the foresight and exploration displayed by this trailblazer as early as 1996 {{sic}}. As for the dismissiveness toward Balls Under the Red Flag, it had long since shattered like soap bubbles, vanishing without a trace.}}

To promote the release of his album, Cui toured four cities in Japan, generating significant responses from local media and audiences. The same year, he performed at Bumbershoot in Seattle, U.S.{{cite thesis|title=浅析崔健个人音乐发展历程|language=zh-cn|date=April 2010|author=Sun Ying|degree=MSc|publisher=Henan University}} He also founded Dongxi Art Production Co., Ltd., and served as its chairman.{{cite news|title=崔健的固收与宣泄|language=zh-cn|date=July 21, 2000|newspaper=China Acting News|publisher=Ministry of Culture of the People's Republic of China}} In August 1995, Cui launched his first U.S. tour, performing six solo concerts in Boston, San Francisco, and New York. This marked the first time a mainland Chinese singer had staged a personal concert tour in the United States. In 1996, Cui released a greatest hits compilation album, Best of Cui Jian:1986-1996.{{cite web|date=September 4, 2018|url=https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_2407738|title=霹雳舞与摇滚乐的青春记忆|work=The Paper|language=zh-cn}}

He was still being suppressed by the Chinese government. China's first Hard Rock Cafe rejected his performance to avoid angering the government. He criticized them for "kissing the government's butt".{{cite web|url=https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/19940515/1910668/beijing-hard-rocks-for-hard-liners----bb-king-entertains-others-left-with-blues|date=May 15, 1994|work=The Seattle Times|title=Beijing Hard Rock's For Hard-Liners -- B.B. King Entertains; Others Left With Blues|author=John Leicester}} When he performed in Shenzhen in 1995, local officials reportedly were particularly wary of him and forbade him from singing his song "Balls Under the Red Flag", but he performed it anyway. Chinese music critic Zhang Xiaozhou wrote that in the early 1990s, the leadership of a radio station explicitly instructed staff to "avoid playing certain Cui Jian songs", while a radio station in an autonomous region had refrained from airing any of his works prior to 2009.{{cite web|url=https://theinitium.com/article/20180110-culture-chinesehiphop|title=張曉舟：在中國，嘻哈連獻媚的機會都沒了|date=February 7, 2018|language=zh-hant|author=Zhang Xiaozhou|work=Initium Media}} According to Reuters, the Chinese government passed a law in September 1997 that forbids private establishments to make money from music performances that do not have official approval to strike a blow at "subversives" such as Cui Jian.{{cite web|url=https://www.economist.com/moreover/1997/09/04/chinas-new-cultural-revolution|title=China's new cultural revolution|work=The Economist|date=September 4, 1997}}

In 1996, Cui feuded with poet {{ill|Yi Sha|zh|伊沙}} and rock musician Zhang Chu after accusing Yi of ghostwriting lyrics for Zhang and penning excessively flattering reviews of Zhang's music. Eventually, in 1998, Yi publicly severed ties with Zhang due to dissatisfaction over his attitude during the conflict, triggering an uproar in China's cultural and rock scenes.{{cite web|language=zh-hant|url=http://big5.china.com.cn/gate/big5/art.china.cn/music/2011-01/12/content_3955249.htm|title=張楚和昔日朋友伊沙和好 曾經絕交十二年|date=January 12, 2011|website=china.org.cn|author=Wu Chenggui}}{{cite web|title=他和窦唯齐名，比朴树更忧郁，如今孤独对他来说不再可耻|url=https://www.jiemian.com/article/872599.html|work=Jiemian News|language=zh-cn|date=September 27, 2016}}

file:2022崔健长沙 (3).jpg

In 1997, Cui released hit single "Get Over That Day".{{cite web|url=http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/bjweekend/2006-04/21/content_573181.htm|title=Cui Jian biography|work=China Daily|date=April 21, 2006}} The song is about someone hearing he is getting a new sister who is smart, sexy and wealthy, and wondering if he will fall in love with her, indicating the handover of Hong Kong.{{cite web|date=May 17, 2016|url=https://www.jiemian.com/article/652313.html|title=六年前，曾有一场中国摇滚的集体谢幕|work=Jiemian News|language=zh-cn}} The song is also believed to foresaw the Hong Kong–Mainland China conflict. In the same year, Cui served as the producer for Zi Yue Band's debut album The First Volume.{{cite web|author=Wang Xiaofeng|url=http://old.lifeweek.com.cn//2002/1010/1424.shtml|title=子曰:一点正经没有|work=Sanlian Lifeweek|date=October 10, 2002|language=zh-cn}}{{cite web|url=http://yue.ifeng.com/a/20150630/39746918_0.shtml#p=1|title=子曰秋野签约树音乐：崔健、谢天笑是武摇 我是文摇|website=Ifeng.com|date=June 30, 2015|language=zh-cn}} Once, Cui played a summer concert on the grounds of the French Embassy School. Chinese fans climbed the walls to get in.{{cite web|author=Jonathan Landreth|work=The Hollywood Reporter|date=March 22, 2011|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/chinas-top-rocker-cui-jian-170032/|title=China’s Top Rocker Cui Jian Set to Get 3D Concert Film}} He was awarded the title of "Supreme Male Singer" at the 1997 {{ill|Youth Music Channel|lt=YMC|zh|有線YMC台}} Supreme Chart Grand Election's China Recommendation Chart.{{cite web|url=https://ent.cctv.com/20070626/105116.shtml|title=九洲巨室呈现2007流行音乐季--崔健简介|language=zh-cn|work=China Central Television|date=June 26, 2007}}

In May 1998, Cui released the album The Power of the Powerless and held a large-scale performance in Shijiazhuang.{{cite news|title=崔健"聚变"长沙|date=August 15, 2000|language=zh-cn|author1=Sheng Weishan|author2=Xiao Xin|author3=Zhao Yushan|newspaper=Sanxiang City News}}{{cite web|work=The Beijing News|url=https://m.bjnews.com.cn/detail/155143583214258.html|title=中国摇滚三十年|language=zh-cn|date=August 20, 2010}} The album's style was considered avant-garde at the time in China, featuring digital rock with incorporated elements of electronic rock. Cui utilized the expressive semantics and aesthetics of rap music to depict the changing society in China during the late 20th century. Chinese scholar Wang Zhenyu stated that in this album, rhythm takes priority, with the melody pared down to a few simple, sustained notes forming a string-based backdrop, electronic elements are heightened, containing strong experimental qualities.{{cite magazine|title=四面触歌──崔健·《无能的力量》|magazine=Oriental Art|date=1998|issue=4|author=Wang Zhenyu|publisher=Henan Provincial Institute of Culture and Arts|language=zh-cn|pages=54–56}}

Starting July 31, 1999, Cui Jian embarked on his second U. S.-wide tour, with "igniting a wave of Chinese rock fervor at every stop".{{cite magazine|title=崔健——摇滚美利坚|language=zh-cn|date=1999|issue=9|page=29|magazine=Digital Entertainment|publisher=Liaoning Information Center|location=Liaoning}}{{cite news|author=Li Wei|title=摇滚之父崔健：感谢你还记得我|language=zh-cn|date=January 7, 2002|newspaper=New Evening Post|location=Harbin}} On 8 September 2000, Cui and his band performed at the Ministry of Culture-sponsored "Oppose Piracy, Support Copyright" concert held at Workers' Stadium in Beijing.{{Cite thesis |title=Red Sonic Trajectories - Popular Music and Youth in China |last=de Kloet |first=Jeroen |date=2001-05-30 |access-date=2024-04-05 |publisher=Amsterdam Institute for Social Science Research (AISSR) |url=https://pure.uva.nl/ws/files/3703741/19330_UBA002000519_11.pdf |isbn=9789090148021 |page=212}} He was also invited to attend the 2000 Cannes Film Festival. On December 12, the Netherlands honoured him with the Prince Claus Award,{{cite web|work=Luoyang Daily|language=zh-cn|date=October 19, 2011|url=https://lyrb.lyd.com.cn/html/2011-10/19/content_785546.htm|title=崔健 奔跑在中国摇滚的 新长征路上}} making him the first Chinese musician to win the award.{{cite web|url=https://www.jiemian.com/article/470906.html|title=帕尔哈提获荷兰克劳斯亲王奖|language=zh-cn|work=Jiemian News|date=December 11, 2015}} Later, he announced a European tour in the following January.{{cite news|author=Gao Wenning|title=崔健近来“动静”不小|language=zh-cn|date=December 13, 2000|newspaper=Beijing Morning Post}}

Cui was cast in the 2001 film Roots and Branches. and scored Jiang Wen's film Devils on the Doorstep.{{cite news|title=“摇滚乐大师”崔健出演电影 《我的兄弟姐妹》广州上映|newspaper=Nanfang Daily|language=zh-cn|author=Fang Zheng|date=May 30, 2001}}{{cite web|url=http://ent.sina.com.cn/y/o/2005-09-15/0921841014.html?from=wap|title=崔健北京个唱嘉宾确定 姜文王小帅田震来捧场|language=zh-cn|author=Ding Bo|work=TheFirst|date=September 15, 2005}} In February 2001, He collaborated with Cao Chengyuan, artistic director of the Hong Kong City Contemporary Dance Company and Beijing Modern Dance Company, on the experimental stage play Show You Colour, which premiered in Hong Kong. He was also invited to attend the Grammy Awards ceremony of the year.{{cite web|url=https://www.chinanews.com.cn/2000-12-05/26/59692.html|date=December 5, 2000|language=zh-cn|title=图文：崔健要“给你一点儿颜色”|work=China News Service}}{{cite magazine|magazine=Sanlian Lifeweek|language=zh-cn|date=2001|title=《给你一点颜色》Q&A|author=Shi Wu|pages=102–103|issue=3}} In October, the book Free Style, co-authored by Cui and philosopher Zhou Guoping, was released.{{cite magazine|author=Sun Yiwei|url=http://ent.sina.com.cn/p/i/2004-03-15/1012331807.html?from=wap|title=与哲学家周国平谈摇滚：崔健与摇滚是两回事|language=zh-cn|date=March 15, 2004|magazine=Oriental Outlook|publisher=Xinhua News Agency}} He was awarded the 2001 Intel Creative Special Achievement Award.

{{quote box

| quote =The "Live Vocals Movement" has transcended the scope of protecting citizens' economic rights; it implicitly carries the awakening of citizens' awareness of personal rights. We call for ultimately establishing in the form of legislation to grant more fairness and opportunities to conscientious and capable artists.

| source = — "Live Vocals Movement Proclamation"{{cite web|url=https://zqb.cyol.com/content/2003-08/09/content_712236.htm|title=崔健乐坛打假再添一把火 “真唱运动”拿起法律武器|language=zh-cn|author=Wu Xiaodong|date=August 9, 2003|work=China Youth Daily}}

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Cui has long criticized Chinese musicians for the common practice of lip-synching at live shows.{{cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/mtv-motorola-get-china-concerts-142666/|title=MTV, Motorola get into China concerts|author=Jonathan Landreth|work=The Hollywood Reporter|date=July 11, 2007}} As early as March 1999, Cui Jian teamed up with Tian Zhen, Han Lei, and others in Beijing to launch a signature campaign opposing lip-syncing.{{cite web|url=http://news.2008.sina.com.cn/richtalk/news/movie/9903/032401.html?from=wap|author=Du Enhu|title=崔健领头反对假唱|language=zh-cn|date=March 24, 1999|work=West China City Daily}} He called it the music industry's third greatest enemy in China alongside the system and piracy, describing it as "falling", "a malignant tumour", "a nest of crime", "the Emperor's New Clothes", and "an aggression against music and art".{{cite web|work=China News Service|url=https://www.chinanews.com.cn/2002-12-09/26/251598.html|date=December 9, 2002|title=崔健：现场演出五成假唱 中国音乐四面楚歌（图）|language=zh-cn}}{{cite web|work=Sanlian Lifeweek|language=zh-cn|url=http://old.lifeweek.com.cn//2002/1230/4339.shtml|title=崔健:打假归来|date=December 30, 2002|author=Wang Xiaofeng}} He also criticized the performances at the 2001 Summer Universiade's opening and closing ceremonies as a disgrace for Chinese musicians, because "their performances were entirely lip-synced, and even the lip-syncing production was extremely poor".{{cite web|work=China News Service|url=https://www.chinanews.com.cn/2002-08-09/26/210703.html|date=August 9, 2002|title=崔健要做乐坛"王海" 妙语点评"那英老假唱"|language=zh-cn|author=Li Hongyu}} On August 1, 2002, he revealed to the Beijing Youth Daily that he would launch the "Live Vocals Movement" to combat the widespread practice of lip-syncing.{{cite web|author1=Hang Cheng|author2=Lu Beifeng|url=https://ent.sina.com.cn/p/i/2002-08-02/083493973.html?from=wap|title=崔健面对假唱泛滥忍无可忍发起真唱运动(附图)|language=zh-cn|work=Beijing Youth Daily|date=August 2, 2002}} On August 7 at 4:00 PM, Cui held the "Live Vocals Signature Campaign" at CD Bar. After reading aloud the "Live Vocals Movement Proclamation" co-drafted by him and others, over 200 people signed their names on a red cloth pledging to perform live.{{cite web|website=china.org.cn|url=https://3g.china.com/act/ent/11042509/20241122/47633089.html|title=摇滚四十年，继续撒点野！崔健2024-2025巡演即将开启|date=November 22, 2024|language=zh-cn}} Among them, Taiwanese musician Lo Ta-yu raised his hand in salute to Cui to show support.{{cite web|author1=Hang Cheng|author2=Lu Beifeng|url=https://ent.sina.com.cn/p/i/2002-08-08/072794772.html?from=wap|title=崔健发起真唱运动 罗大佑专程赶来表示支持(图)|language=zh-cn|work=Beijing Youth Daily|date=August 8, 2002}} Afterwards, he began promoting the movement through a nationwide tour.

{{blockquote|I felt obliged to call people's attention to the poor working environment of Chinese musicians. In China, genuine singing is hardly heard in concerts, gala spectaculars and TV shows.{{cite web|website=china.org.cn|url=http://www.china.org.cn/arts/2009-12/29/content_19150177.htm|title=Cui Jian rocks again in Beijing|date=December 29, 2009}}}}

The "Live Vocals Movement" has sparked controversy within the music industry, as exemplified by Chinese singer Na Ying's famous remark that the movement "is damaging to the entire pop music industry".{{cite web|language=zh-hant|work=Jornal San Wa Ou|url=https://www.waou.com.mo/2019/02/21/%E8%8F%AF%E8%AA%9E%E6%B5%81%E8%A1%8C%E6%A8%82%E5%A3%87%E7%9A%84%E5%81%87%E5%94%B1%E7%B0%A1%E5%8F%B2/|title=華語流行樂壇的假唱簡史|date=February 21, 2019}} On January 13, 2003, the Ministry of Culture declared its opposition to lip-syncing. Cui stated the "Live Vocals Movement" had "achieved a phased victory".{{cite web|author1=Yang Wenjie|author2=Hang Cheng|url=https://ent.sina.com.cn/p/i/2003-01-16/0750126053.html?from=wap|title=崔健“真唱运动”得到文化部关注 备受鼓舞(图)|language=zh-cn|work=Beijing Youth Daily|date=January 16, 2003}} On August 1, 2005, Cui Jian announced that the "Live Vocals Movement" had "victoriously concluded", as the newly enacted national "Regulations on Administration of Commercial Performances" explicitly prohibited lip-syncing.{{cite web|author=Liu Xiaobo|language=zh-cn|url=http://ent.sina.com.cn/y/o/2005-08-01/2258798174.html?from=wap|title=草原摇滚节落幕 崔健宣布“真唱运动”胜利结束|date=August 1, 2005|work=Inner Mongolia Morning Post}} At the 2010 Top Chinese Music Awards 10th Anniversary Ceremony, the Live Vocals Movement was listed among the "Top Ten Music Events of the Decade", and Cui was included in the "Most Influential Music Figures".{{cite web|url=https://ent.sina.cn/music/yneidi/2010-04-11/detail-icesifvx6954565.d.html?from=wap|title=音乐风云榜十年盛典完全获奖名单|language=zh-cn|work=Sina Entertainment|date=April 11, 2010}}

In August 2002, Cui participated in organizing the Lijiang Snow Mountain Music Festival, known as the "Chinese Woodstock", attracting at least 10,000 fans. Zhang Hongping, vice commissioner of the Lijiang regional government, expressed thanks to Cui.{{cite web|url=https://www.theage.com.au/entertainment/music/chinas-woodstock-attracts-thousands-20020820-gduicu.html|title="China's Woodstock" attracts thousands|date=August 20, 2002|work=The Age}} In early 2003, Cui was authorized to open for the Rolling Stones' concert in Beijing.{{cite news |url=http://www.china.org.cn/english/culture/59891.htm |website=china.org.cn |title=Stones Roll in for Historic Tour|date=March 27, 2003}} Due to the SARS outbreak, however, the concert was cancelled.{{cite web|work=The Globe and Mail|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/sars-stops-stones-rolling-into-china/article25281991/|title=SARS stops Stones rolling into China|date=March 29, 2003}} In February and March 2004, Cui was invited to be the guest singer in Udo Lindenberg's touring musical Atlantic Affairs in Shanghai and Beijing.{{cite web|url=https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2004-02/19/content_307373.htm|title='Atlantic Affairs' to rock China's musical boat|work=China Daily|date=February 19, 2004}} In March, when Cui opened for Deep Purple on their mainland tour, it was his first official performance in Beijing in more than a decade.{{cite web|url=http://www.china.org.cn/english/culture/92045.htm|title=Cui Jian, Deep Purple Rock Beijing|website=china.org.cn|date=April 3, 2004}}{{cite web|date=January 9, 2014|title=Rocker Cui Jian to Perform on CCTV Spring Festival Gala|url=https://www.thebeijinger.com/blog/2014/01/09/rocker-cui-jian-perform-cctv-spring-festival-gala|author=Steven Schwankert|work=The Beijinger}} On August 24, 2005, he was allowed to headline a concert entitled "Dream in the Sunshine" at Beijing's Capital Indoor Stadium, which was his first concert in Beijing for 12 years.{{cite web|date=August 24, 2005|title=Cui Jian: Real, Live and Coming to Beijing|url=https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-08/24/content_471784.htm|work=China Daily}}

He was honored with the "Rock Music Contribution Award" at the 1st China Light Music Association ceremony in 2003.{{cite web|language=ko|url=https://www.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2012/05/14/2012051400001.html|title='中 록음악 대부' 조선족 崔健(추이젠·최건) 일생, 영화로|date=May 14, 2012|work=The Chosun Ilbo}} On September 26, 2004, he received the World Peace Music Award in San Francisco, from the United Nations.{{cite web|url=https://www.qingdaonews.com/content/2004-10/14/content_3760126.htm|title=数年没发唱片活跃依旧 崔健连获两大奖|author1=Li Zhiming|author2=Wang Hao|date=October 14, 2004|language=zh-cn|work=Qingdao News}} On October 10 of the same year, at the inaugural "The Sound of Asia – The Cultural Festival of Science and Technology in Sound Recording" organized by Guangzhou Municipal Government, his work "Little Town Story" earned him the Grand Jury Prize titled "Best Rock Music Recording Award".{{cite web|author=Yang Xinxin|language=zh-cn|url=http://ent.sina.com.cn/2004-10-13/0242530657.html?from=wap|title=崔健喜获联合国和平音乐大奖 音乐风格得到肯定|date=October 13, 2004|work=Beijing Morning Post}}

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| filename =Village Attacks City Cui Jian.ogg

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| description =A sample of "Village Attacks City" (from Show You Colour), an experimental hip-hop track that uses electronic and digital music technology such as distorting and looping.

}}

On March 23, 2005, Cui released the album Show You Colour.{{cite web|work=The Beijing News|url=http://ent.sina.com.cn/x/2005-03-09/0851672606.html?from=wap|title=新专辑3月上市 崔健有望同台竞技音速青年(图)|date=March 9, 2005|language=zh-cn}} He stated that this album is "more diverse, more independent, more cohesive... containing pop, rock, electronic, and hip-hop music",{{cite web|url=http://ent.sina.com.cn/x/2005-03-12/0150675019.html?from=wap|title=《给你一点颜色》月底出 崔健：一般听众受不了|language=zh-cn|work=Sina Entertainment|date=March 12, 2005}} attempting the "maximalism" of music.{{cite web|author=Zeng Suichun|url=http://ent.sina.com.cn/y/o/2005-03-30/1046689699.html?from=wap|title=崔健《给你一点颜色》上市 演出农村包围城市|work=Southern Metropolis Daily|language=zh-cn|date=March 30, 2005}} China Daily described it as distinguished from "all of Cui's previous albums, and probably from any other rock album in China".{{cite web|url=https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-04/07/content_432142.htm|title=China's rock father Cui Jian tunes colour music|work=China Daily|date=April 7, 2005}} Chinese scholar Ma Shang wrote that the album continues the musical style of The Power of the Powerless, incorporating genres including folk, hip-hop, funk, big beat, drum and bass, and digital hardcore, and is described as a "concept album".{{cite magazine|title=该是给点颜色的时候了——浅评崔健及《给你一点颜色》|magazine=Art Criticism|date=2005|issue=7|author=Ma Shang|publisher=Chinese National Academy of Arts|language=zh-cn|pages=48–51|doi=10.16364/j.cnki.cn11-4907/j.2005.07.01}} The album was well-received by media and critics. The Beijing Star Daily gave this album a score of 95/100, stating that the album signifies Cui's "official transition from a great rock singer to a great musician".{{cite web|work=Beijing Star Daily|date=April 9, 2005|url=http://ent.sina.com.cn/x/2005-04-09/0107698102.html?from=wap|title=崔健《给你一点颜色》 摇滚歌手转正做音乐家|language=zh-cn}} Cui won Best Rock Singer at the 6th Top Chinese Music Awards for the alubm.{{cite web|url=https://ent.sina.cn/music/yneidi/2006-04-02/detail-iavxeafr9152707.d.html|title=第六届百事音乐风云榜颁奖典礼完全获奖名单|language=zh-cn|work=Sina Entertainment|date=April 2, 2006}}

You You, Cui Jian's manager, said that the problems of his performance permits sometimes being refused by local authorities had "gradually gone with time".{{cite web|url=https://toronto.citynews.ca/2014/01/07/chinese-rocker-cui-jian-who-sided-with-1989-protesters-invited-to-sing-on-state-broadcaster/|title=Chinese rocker Cui Jian, who sided with 1989 protesters, invited to sing on state television|date=January 7, 2014|work=CityNews|author=Louise Watt}} Cui did finally play with the Rolling Stones at the Shanghai Grand Stage on 8 April 2006, singing and playing "Wild Horses".{{cite news |url=http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06069/668419.stm |work=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette |title=Rolling Stones tests China's waters |access-date=10 April 2007}}{{cite web |url=http://www.pollstar.com/news/viewphoto.pl?PhotoID=ROLSTO&Mode=Thumb |work=Pollstar |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927195736/http://www.pollstar.com/news/viewphoto.pl?PhotoID=ROLSTO&Mode=Thumb |archive-date=2007-09-27 |title=The Rolling Stones Concert Hotwire |access-date=10 April 2007}} He performed his first English song "Outside Girl" and played with Public Enemy at the 2007 Beijing Pop Festival.{{cite web|website=china.org.cn|url=http://www.china.org.cn/english/popfestival/223822.htm|title=Rocker Cui Jian Sings His First English Song|date=September 10, 2007}}{{cite news |last=Freeman |first=Will |date=2007-01-27 |title=Want To Crack China? Get Sponsored. Insiders Say Ticket Revenue Alone Isn't Enough |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hBIEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA13 |magazine=Billboard |via=Google Books |page=13 |accessdate=2023-10-01 }} Cui performed at the Hohaiyan Rock Festival in Taiwan on July 8, 2007, after numerous previous attempts to perform there were derailed by the Chinese government. The head Zhang 43 called Cui "the most important rock star in Asia".{{cite web|work=Taipei Times|url=https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/archives/2007/07/06/2003368390|title=Long time coming|date=July 6, 2007|author=Ron Brownlow}}{{cite web|url=https://news.cctv.com/performance/20070709/103429.shtml|title=崔健摇滚震撼台湾歌迷 压轴登场疯喊"凑和"(图)|language=zh-cn|work=China Central Television|date=July 9, 2007}} After the 2008 Sichuan earthquake, Cui donated 51,200 RMB and organized a charity concert titled "Get Over That Day" with China's rock music community on May 22, raising over 400,000 yuan in disaster relief funds.{{cite web|url=https://www.chinanews.com.cn/yl/ytcf/news/2008/05-19/1255128.shtml|author=Tang Xuewei|title=崔健牵头 摇滚众星举行"超越那一天"赈灾义演|language=zh-cn|work=Beijing Star Daily|date=May 19, 2008}}{{cite web|language=zh-cn|url=https://www.infzm.com/wap/#/content/85320?source=131|title=【他，崔健】改变了世界，还是世界改变了你我？ ——崔健商业篇|author=Feng Xiang|date=January 17, 2013|work=Southern Weekly}} At the December 2009 Beijing Exhibition Center concert, "Rock 'N' Roll on the New Long March V21", Cui tied a red ribbon to call for attention to AIDS awareness.{{cite web|author=Zhu Yaqing|url=https://www.chinanews.com.cn/yl/yl-ytcf/news/2009/12-11/2013749.shtml|title=为纪念20年摇滚长征路 崔健将发纪念明信片|language=zh-cn|work=Beijing Times|date=September 11, 2009}}

From December 31, 2010 to January 1, 2011, Cui Jian collaborated with the Beijing Symphony Orchestra to stage the "Rock Symphony Live Concert" at Beijing Workers' Gymnasium, marking Asia's first integration of rock music with a symphonic orchestra performance.{{cite web|url=https://ent.chinadaily.com.cn/2017-08/24/content_31053694.htm|title=全亚洲首尝试！崔健《摇滚交响》专辑酷狗首发|language=zh-cn|work=China Daily|date=August 24, 2017}} At the concert, he unexpectedly performed the banned anti-war song "Last Shot".{{cite web

|url=http://ent.sina.com.cn/y/2011-01-07/17113201188.shtml|title=崔健个唱玩跨界：锥子裤和殿堂感的融合|date=January 7, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210512080046/http://ent.sina.com.cn/y/2011-01-07/17113201188.shtml|archive-date=May 12, 2021|url-status=dead|work=Southern Weekly|language=zh-cn|author=Ping Ke}} October: The Rite of Spring, the first dance drama under Cui's full directorship, premiered in Tianjin in 2014.{{cite web|work=China News Service|url=https://www.chinanews.com.cn/cul/2014/11-07/6761382.shtml|title=中国“摇滚教父”崔健“跨界”执导现代舞|date=November 7, 2014|author=Zhang Daozheng|language=zh-cn}}

File:PIFF China VI.jpg]]

In 2006, Cui directed the short film The Age of Repairing Virginity,{{cite web|url=https://www.chinatimes.com/newspapers/20091009000858-260301|title=電影成都，我愛你崔健搖滾新創作|language=zh-tw|date=October 9, 2009|work=China Times}} which was selected for the feature and short film competition categories at that year’s Vladivostok International Film Festival.{{cite web|url=https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/hqylss/2006-08/28/content_675624.htm|date=August 28, 2006|title=俄罗斯电影节开幕 张元崔健代表中国出征(组图)|language=zh-cn|work=China Daily}} He made a cameo appearance in Jiang Wen's film The Sun Also Rises.{{cite web|author=Ren Fengtao|url=https://ent.sina.cn/music/yneidi/2007-12-28/detail-iawzunex7730009.d.html?from=wap|title=崔健彩排姜文带女儿探班 感言做音乐先学会生存|work=Beijing Timeslanguage=zh-cn|date=December 18, 2007}} He also directed the "future" segment of the 2009 film Chengdu, I Love You.{{cite web|url=https://www.chinanews.com.cn/yl/dyzx/news/2009/05-05/1677505.shtml|title=崔健《成都我爱你》首曝光 谭维维鼓手造型夸张|work=Nanfang Daily|language=zh-cn|date=May 5, 2009}} In October, he attended the Busan International Film Festival to promote the film.{{cite web|work=Sina Entertainment|url=https://ent.sina.cn/film/foreign/2009-10-12/detail-iavxeafr7880029.d.html?from=wap|date=October 12, 2009|title=导演新手崔健亮相釜山 未来视角看汶川地震(图)|language=zh-cn}} Following his attendance at the premiere of Chengdu, I Love You in Venice, Cui proceeded to Madrid to hold his debut solo concert in Spain.{{cite web|work=Sina Entertainment|language=zh-cn|url=https://ent.sina.cn/music/rock/2009-09-22/detail-icczmvun3023834.d.html?from=wap|title=崔健西班牙开唱 《一无所有》唱响伊比利亚(图)|date=September 22, 2009}} Bai Qiang produced a 3D concert film and documentary titled Transcendence about Cui Jian, which was screened in Beijing in May 2012 for an enthusiastic fan audience, though its prospects for mainstream release in China remain doubtful.{{cite web | url = http://asiapacificarts.usc.edu/article@apa?cui_jian_gets_a_3d_concert_film_and_documentary_16551.aspx | title = Cui Jian Gets a 3D concert film and documentary | publisher = Asia Pacific Arts | date = 24 March 2011 | access-date = 31 March 2011 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140201203657/http://asiapacificarts.usc.edu/article@apa?cui_jian_gets_a_3d_concert_film_and_documentary_16551.aspx | archive-date = 1 February 2014 | url-status = dead }}{{cite news|title=Echoes of Tiananmen, on Film, Face Hurdles in China|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/18/world/asia/echoes-of-tiananmen-on-film.html|newspaper=The New York Times|date=17 May 2012|author=Jonathan Landreth}} The film ultimately grossed 370,000 yuan at the box office.{{cite web|author=Bi Yuanyuan|work=National Business Daily|language=zh-cn|title=“抢不到”演唱会票，电影成贺岁档新宠？歌手张杰演唱会电影票房4天超4000万元|url=https://www.nbd.com.cn/articles/2024-12-23/3696271.html|date=December 23, 2024}}

On October 17, 2014, Cui's feature film Blue Sky Bones was released.{{cite web|url=https://culture.ifeng.com/a/20140917/42006755_0.shtml|title=崔健电影《蓝色骨头》将公映 自称是“为青春疗伤”|work=Beijing Youth Daily|language=zh-cn|date=September 17, 2014}} Xie Fei stated that the film was submitted to Chinese Film Bureau for review as early as August 20, 2012. However, due to its content touching on "Lin Liguo selecting concubines" and homosexual themes, the project has yet to receive approval. The film, a nonlinear tale with a musical theme, tells the story of a young rocker who moonlights as a hacker.{{cite web|url=http://www.china.org.cn/arts/2014-06/20/content_32722563.htm|title=Cui Jian's movie hits right note|date=June 20, 2014|work=Shanghai Daily}}{{cite web|author=Chen Chen|url=https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_1271818|title=崔健拍了部电影，《蓝色骨头》面临“曲高和寡”考验|date=October 19, 2014|language=zh-cn|work=The paper}} It won the Special Mention at the 8th Rome Film Festival and the Special Jury Prize at the 10th Jecheon International Music & Film Festival,{{cite web|url=https://www.chinanews.com.cn/yl/2013/11-18/5515356.shtml|title=崔健《蓝色骨头》获罗马电影节“特别推荐奖”|language=zh-cn|date=November 18, 2013|work=China News Service}}{{cite web|url=https://www.chinanews.com.cn/yl/2014/08-20/6512737.shtml|title=崔健导演处女《蓝色骨头》获韩电影节大奖|language=zh-cn|date=August 20, 2014|work=China News Service}} earning Cui Best New Director at the 2015 Chinese Film Media Awards.{{cite web|url=https://www.chinanews.com.cn/m/yl/2015/11-01/7599493.shtml|title=第15届华语电影传媒大奖揭晓 赵薇封“影后”|language=zh-cn|date=November 1, 2015|work=China News Service}} Receiving mixed reviews,{{cite web|author=Steven Schwankert|date=November 18, 2013|url=https://www.thebeijinger.com/blog/2013/11/18/rocker-cui-jians-film-directorial-debut-wins-special-mention-rome-film-festival|title=Rocker Cui Jian's Film Directorial Debut Wins Special Mention at Rome Film Festival|work=The Beijinger}} the film grossed 4.14 million yuan at the box office.

On May 18, 2006, Cui issued a statement addressing the Dou Wei incident, calling for sound legislation on news reporting and strong protection of artists' privacy.{{cite web|date=May 19, 2006|url=http://www.ce.cn/culture/main/right/sdjj/200605/19/t20060519_7020879.shtml|title="摇滚教父"崔健:首度就"窦唯事件"发表声明(附文)|language=zh-cn|author=Gao Lei|website=Economic Daily}} He submitted a bid proposal to design the 2008 Summer Olympics opening ceremony to the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games, but was eliminated after the first round of presentations.{{cite web|url=http://www.chinanews.com.cn/cul/2010/08-06/2450974.shtml|title=北京奥运记忆:开幕式方案集13家团队方案之大成|date=August 6, 2010|language=zh-cn|work=Beijing Daily}} In November 2012, Cui announced plans to open a security guard company, citing dissatisfaction with the behavior of security guards at rock concerts in China.{{cite web|url=https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/entertainment/2012-11/29/content_15970704.htm|title=Strong like a rock|author=Chen Nan|work=China Daily|date=November 29, 2012}} On April 17, 2013, Cui unveiled a custom "Blue Bone" smartphone to interact better with his fans.{{cite web|author=Nick Richards|work=The Beijinger|url=https://www.thebeijinger.com/blog/2013/04/20/cui-jians-new-calling-rock-god-releases-own-smartphone|title=Cui Jian's New Calling? Rock God Releases Own Smartphone|date=April 20, 2013}}{{cite web|url=https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/business/tech/2015-04/22/content_20506890_4.htm|date=April 22, 2015|work=China Daily|title=Outsiders challenge traditional smartphone makers}} He is first artist to launch his own custom smartphone in China.{{cite web|url=http://v.china.com.cn/finance/2013-04/19/content_28593508.htm|title=崔健跨界做手机 “蓝色骨头”定价3999元|website=china.org.cn|date=April 19, 2013|language=zh-cn}} Cui was invited to perform on the 2014 CMG New Year's Gala.{{cite web|author=Luo Tian|url=https://archive.nytimes.com/sinosphere.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/01/15/spring-gala-performance-by-chinese-rock-icon-in-doubt/|title=Spring Festival Gala Performance by Chinese Rock Icon in Doubt|date=January 15, 2014|work=The New York Times}} It has been seen as the final stage of Cui’s political rehabilitation. However, he eventually withdrew the show after organisers tried to censor his performance.{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-25791682|title=China protest singer Cui Jian pulls out of TV gala|work=BBC|date=January 18, 2014}} In September, Cui and fellow songwriters co-founded "Huale Chengmeng", China’s first musician-initiated copyright agency, which reportedly brought together "the nation’s best intellectual property lawyers".{{cite web|author=Mian Mian|url=https://en.jiemian.com/wap/article/832395.html|title=深扒刘欢诉好声音撕破脸皮内幕|date=September 11, 2016|language=zh-cn|work=Jiemian News}}

On July 18, 2006, Cui was awarded the "Hall of Fame Musician" accolade at the {{Ill|Chinese Music Media Awards|zh|南方音乐盛典}}.{{cite web|work=Sina Entertainment|url=https://ent.sina.cn/music/yneidi/2006-07-18/detail-iavxeafr9077572.d.html?from=wap|author=Hu Wen|language=zh-cn|title=陈绮贞胡德夫音乐受肯定 李宇春撑场崔健压轴|date=July 18, 2006}} He was invited to present himself at the 20th anniversary of the Goethe-Institut on November 1, 2008, where he was awarded the title of "Goethe Cultural Ambassador".{{cite web|url=https://www.chinanews.com.cn/cul/news/2008/11-04/1436602.shtml|title=崔健莫言张艺谋等20人获授“歌德文化大使”|language=zh-cn|date=November 4, 2008|work=China Youth Daily}} Southern Weekly named him the "2012 Chinese Dream Torchbearer". In 2013, Cui was honored with the Tenco Cultural Operator Award at the Premio Tenco ceremony in Italy, and collaborated with Francesco Baccini in a joint performance.{{cite web|work=il Fatto Quotidiano|url=https://www.ilfattoquotidiano.it/2013/09/25/cui-jian-premio-tenco-fuori-dal-tempo/722699/|title=Cui Jian, premio Tenco fuori dal tempo|language=it|date=September 25, 2013|author=Cecilia Attanasio Ghezzi}}{{cite web|date=October 3, 2013|language=it|url=https://www.lastampa.it/spettacoli/musica/2013/10/03/news/francesco-baccini-duetto-con-cui-jian-1.35963539/|title=Francesco Baccini “Duetto con Cui Jian|author=Piero Negri|work=La Stampa}}{{cite web|work=il manifesto|date=January 19, 2014|url=https://ilmanifesto.it/la-canzone-maledetta-di-cui-jian|title=La canzone maledetta di Cui Jian|author=Simone Pieranni|language=it}}

File:Cui Jian on set of Outside Girl.jpg

In 2015, Cui was asked to act as one of the three judges on {{ill|China Star (TV series)|lt=China Star|zh|中国之星}}, a singing talent show broadcast on Dragon Television.{{cite web|url=https://ent.sina.cn/music/2015-11-04/detail-ifxkhcfq1126133.d.html|title=崔健首次露脸综艺 不懂“小鲜肉”的世界|language=zh-cn|work=Sina Entertainment|date=November 4, 2015}} On the show, Cui criticized Hong Kong singer Andy Hui for performing a Cantonese oldie, and expressed dissatisfaction that "no more modern or younger Hong Kong artists had appeared on mainland stages to showcase their voices". Initium Media commentator Zhang Miao stated that several Hong Kong media outlets had published false reporting and defamed Cui in their coverage of the incident.{{cite web|url=https://theinitium.com/opinion/20151204-opinion-hkmusic|title=評論｜張淼：被虛構的崔健，被建構的香港音樂|language=zh-hant|work=Initium Media|date=December 3, 2015|author=Zhang Miao}} On December 4, the China Star program team issued a statement demanding that Hong Kong columnist Chip Tsao and Apple Daily publicly apologize for the false reporting about Cui.{{Cite news|author=Zhang Yi|title=崔健点评粤语歌曲被“歪曲” 节目组要求《苹果日报》道歉|url=http://epaper.yzwb.net/html_t/2015-12/05/content_266043.htm|date=December 5, 2015|newspaper=Yangtse Evening Post|pages=A15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200203095133/http://epaper.yzwb.net/html_t/2015-12/05/content_266043.htm|archive-date=February 3, 2020|url-status=dead}}

On December 25 of the same year, Cui collaborated with Sony Music to release the album Frozen Light,{{cite web|url=https://ent.sina.cn/music/yneidi/2015-12-25/detail-ifxmykrf2308059.d.html|title=崔健睽违10年献专辑《光冻》 12月25面世|language=zh-cn|work=Sina Entertainment|date=December 25, 2015}} regarded as his musical comeback.{{cite web|author=Chen Nan|work=China Daily|url=https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/201811/24/WS5bf8c56fa310eff30328acf2_1.html|title=Rock steady beat|date=November 24, 2018}} The single "Outside Girl" featured in the album, along with its same-titled music micro-film, premiered on YouTube on December 24. Pre-orders for the album's digital version surpassed one million copies.{{cite web|url=https://yue.ifeng.com/a/20151225/39753856_0.shtml|title=崔健睽违10年再献创作大碟 摇滚教父影响力超脱时代枷锁|website=Ifeng.com|date=December 25, 2015|language=zh-cn}} It received mixed reviews from critics.{{cite web|author=Zhang Yi|url=https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_1413232|title=这张新专辑，是对崔健诸多矛盾的一次总结|date=December 25, 2015|language=zh-cn|work=The paper}}{{cite web|work=Jiemian News|language=zh-cn|date=January 18, 2016|url=https://m.jiemian.com/article/511892.html|title=不管多少人批评老崔新专辑，也无法妨碍它成为2015华语最佳}}{{cite web|author=Liu Waitong|url=https://theinitium.com/article/20160603-culture-music-frozenlight|title=尷尬症與假高潮：崔健一代的餘勇|language=zh-hant|work=Initium Media|date=June 3, 2016}}{{cite web|title=60岁出了新专辑《飞狗》“老子根本没变！”|url=http://music.china.com.cn/2021-09/03/content_41663306.htm|website=china.org.cn|language=zh-cn|date=September 3, 2021}} For the album, Cui received Best Arranger, Best Rock Artist, Best Mandarin Album, Best Recording, and Top 10 Mandarin Albums at the 2016 Chinese Music Awards; Annual Mandarin Album, Best Mandarin Male Artist, and Best Rock Artist at the 17th Chinese Music Media Awards;{{cite web|date=August 31, 2017|url=https://ent.chinadaily.com.cn/2017-08/31/content_31362566.htm|title=崔健首次获“摇滚艺人”奖|work=China Daily|language=zh-cn}}{{cite web|url=https://m.ql1d.com/new/general/22152026|title=崔健来啦！9月23日来泰山大剧院现场观看的崔健演唱会→|work=Qilu Evening News|language=zh-cn|date=September 12, 2023}} Outstanding Contribution Singer and Best Mandarin Album (Mainland China) at the 2016 QQ Music Awards;{{cite web|work=Jiemian News|date=March 24, 2016|language=zh-cn|url=https://www.jiemian.com/article/585386.html|title=QQ音乐巅峰盛典：周董鼓励偶像歌手 李宇春颁奖闹“男歌手”乌龙}} and Best Vocal Recording Album at the 27th Golden Melody Awards.{{cite web|title=金曲獎／陸歌手崔健打敗阿密特　奪最佳演唱專輯！|url=https://star.ettoday.net/news/723255|date=June 25, 2016|language=zh-tw|work=ETtoday}}

On September 26, 2016, Cui led a 953-person rock band from the Beijing Contemporary Music Academy to perform at a venue in Tianjin, earning certification from Guinness World Records as the largest performing rock band.{{cite web|author=Kyle Mullin|work=The Beijinger|date=September 28, 2016|url=https://www.thebeijinger.com/blog/2016/09/28/godfather-chinese-rock-breaks-guinness-world-record-playing-largest-ever-band|title=Godfather of Chinese Rock Previews Sep 30 Beijing Concert By Breaking World Record}} On September 30, Cui held the "Rolling 30" concert at Beijing Workers' Gymnasium to mark the 30th anniversary of his career. Chinese avant-garde architect Ma Yansong designed the stage.{{cite web|url=http://www.xinhuanet.com/politics/2016-08/18/c_129237471.htm|title=从工体馆唱到工体场 崔健用了30年|work=Xinhuanet|language=zh-cn|date=August 18, 2016}} During the performance, Cui performed a Mandarin cover of Message in a Bottle, while Stewart Copeland, drummer of The Police, joined the show as a guest performer.{{cite web|date=October 1, 2016|url=https://www.jiemian.com/article/881785.html|title=【腾讯娱乐】“滚动三十” 崔健让人重新爱上中国摇滚乐|work=Jiemian News|language=zh-cn}}{{cite web|url=https://theinitium.com/zh-hans/article/20161016-culture-column-liuzijie|title=崔健与倪重华：三十年的摇滚路途，现在思考出创作的意义了吗？|language=zh-hant|work=Initium Media|date=October 16, 2016}} Concurrently, he commenced the "Rolling 30" tour.{{cite web|author=Guan Yu|url=http://ent.ycwb.com/2018-05/23/content_30017241.htm|work=Yangcheng Evening News|title=“滚动三十”再度启程 广州,崔健来了!|date=May 23, 2018|language=zh-cn}} Cui served as the ambassador for the 2017 Croisements Festival, a cross-cultural event between China and France.{{cite web|url=https://global.chinadaily.com.cn/a/201704/19/WS59bb7f84a310d4d9ab7e9009.html|title=2017 Croisements festival kicks off in Beijing|date=April 19, 2017|work=China Daily}} On August 23, 2017, Cui released Rock Symphony Live Concert , containing the full recordings of the Rock Symphony Live Concert.{{cite web|url=https://ent.sina.cn/music/yneidi/2017-08-23/detail-ifykcppy0742499.d.html|title=崔健《摇滚交响音乐会》数字版实体版同步发行|language=zh-cn|work=Sina Entertainment|date=August 23, 2017}}{{cite web|author=Wang Lin|work=Beijing Evening News|url=http://www.takefoto.cn/viewnews-1277225.html|title=崔健新专辑《摇滚交响音乐会》 跨界尝试“摇滚乐+交响乐”|date=September 22, 2017|language=zh-cn}}{{cite web|url=https://www.chinanews.com.cn/m/yl/2018/08-01/8586128.shtml|title=重返武汉开唱 崔健不打“怀旧牌”|date=August 1, 2018|language=zh-cn|work=China News Service}} On November 4 of the same year, Cui performed an electronic music concert as a DJ for the first time at the Chishui Valley Music Festival. He stated that this performance was a tribute to Igor Stravinsky, the original composer of The Rite of Spring.{{cite web|date=November 8, 2017|language=zh-cn|url=https://www.jiemian.com/article/1735653.html|title=“电子”崔健的自我革新|author1=An Xixi|author2=Li Xiaoying|work=Jiemian News}}{{cite web|date=November 13, 2017|language=zh-cn|url=https://ent.sina.cn/music/yneidi/2017-11-13/detail-ifynstfh6785025.d.html?from=wap|title=崔健音乐节不唱歌改玩电子乐：感谢留下来的人|work=Southern Metropolis Daily}}

File:2022崔健长沙 (4).jpg]]

On August 27, 2021, Cui released the album A Flying Dog.{{cite web|date=September 17, 2021|url=https://www.jiemian.com/article/6606308.html|title=数字专辑：限购后还等不到春天|work=Jiemian News|language=zh-cn}} The public interpretd the album as the resurgence of his critical feature, although Cui noted he has never ceased being critical.{{cite web|author=Wei Yanzhang|url=https://finance.sina.cn/chanjing/gsxw/2021-09-10/detail-iktzqtyt5108936.d.html?oid=3817343073817579&vt=4&wm=5&cid=76478&node_id=76478|title=对话崔健：如果说时尚是被操纵出来的，我还是过时为好|date=September 10, 2021|language=zh-cn|work=China Newsweek}} Cui was nominated for Best Producer at the 2021 Asian Pop Music Awards for the album.{{cite web|author=Shou Penghuan|url=https://app.bjtitle.com/8816/newshow.php?newsid=6183040&typeid=3&uid=399513&did=2d433fc0dd074de596d39f8f698e2e08&mood=wx|title=崔健《飞狗》黑胶专辑限量首发|date=June 25, 2022|language=zh-cn|work=Beijing Youth Daily}} It was also listed among the Top 20 Albums of the Year by the jury.{{cite web|url=https://i.ifeng.com/c/8CLTehIDDTz|title=亚洲流行音乐大奖2021年度获奖名单揭晓|website=Ifeng.com|date=December 28, 2021|language=zh-cn}} The single "The B-Side of Time" became the highest-scoring rock song of the year on the 2021 TME Chart.{{cite web|work=China Daily|url=https://cn.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202201/20/WS61e92c26a3107be497a032b1.html|title=2021腾讯音乐榜年度盘点浪潮榜篇：见证华语乐坛专业与品质的新浪潮|date=January 20, 2022|language=zh-cn}} Critic Li Wan believed the album represents a return to form for Chinese rock.

At the 33rd Golden Melody Awards, A Flying Dog received four nominations — Best Mandarin Male Singer, Best Vocal Recording Album, Best Mandarin Album, and Album of the Year. Ultimately, Cui won the Best Mandarin Male Singer award, making him the first mainland Chinese musician to receive this honor.{{cite web|author=Huang Pao-hui|date=July 3, 2022|url=https://style.udn.com/style/story/8065/6432557|title=金曲33／大陸第1人！「中國搖滾之父」崔健封歌王|work=United Daily News|language=zh-tw}} Taiwanese audiences were generally surprised by this result.{{cite web|author=Chu Jun-lin|url=https://www.chinatimes.com/cn/realtimenews/20220703000081-261101|title=金曲33／最佳男歌手崔健大爆冷门 他的《飞狗》在唱什么？|work=China Times|language=zh-tw|date=July 3, 2022}} Chinese-language news magazine WHYNOT praised this decision reflects the confidence and courage of the jury.{{cite web|work=WHYNOT|url=https://www.wainao.me/wainao-reads/taiwanese-elements-mandopop-07142022/|date=July 15, 2022|language=zh-hans|title=从崔健到王心凌：“台湾元素”在华语流行音乐文化的起伏声线}}

An online "Keep Going Wild" concert held by Cui on April 15, 2022 drew 46 million views and 120 million likes, breaking the viewership record for online concerts.{{cite web|author=Ge Yiting|url=https://www.yicai.com/news/101382375.html|title=崔健线上演唱会刷屏，4400万人重温摇滚情怀|date=April 16, 2022|language=zh-cn|work=Yicai}}{{cite web|author=Yuan Lu|url=http://www.news.cn/ent/20220418/a5b2562165194b61a07c80ae2d0f720b/c.html|title=4600万人观看崔健线上演唱会 音乐成视频号“破圈”路径 崔健用了30年|work=Xinhuanet|language=zh-cn|date=April 18, 2022}}{{cite web|url=https://english.cw.com.tw/article/article.action?id=3258|title=Cui Jian: China's rock 'n' roll legend still on his game|author=Jing Wen Zheng|date=July 8, 2022|work=CommonWealth Magazine}} In August 2022, Cui published Poetry Collection of Cui Jian: 1986-2021, compiling 56 lyrics written over 35 years.{{cite web|author=Sun Limei|url=http://static.zhoudaosh.com/files/cnews/2022/20220803/D893682FB9FC2E5968B7DC1DDFBB13A8FDA026827AF5906E68C202BCCBAF06D9/1.html|title=35年创作，56首歌词，《崔健诗歌集》来了|date=August 3, 2022|language=zh-cn|work=Shanghai Morning Post}}{{cite web|url=https://www.hi.chinanews.com.cn/hnnew/2022-08-04/648863.html|title=崔健35年歌词创作结集出版 姜文作序《如是我闻》|date=August 4, 2022|language=zh-cn|work=China News Service}} On the 2023 world music collaborative album Police Beyond Borders by Stewart Copeland and Ricky Kej, Cui covered The Police's single "Tea in the Sahara".{{cite web|date=August 7, 2023|url=https://shorefire.com/releases/entry/stewart-copeland-announces-new-album-police-beyond-borders-the-polices-greatest-hits-with-musicians-from-around-the-world|title=Stewart Copeland Announces New Album Police Beyond Borders— The Police's Greatest Hits With Musicians From Around The World|work=Shore Fire}} Cui staged the "Rolling Power" Snow Mountain Zhijiao Concert on December 22, 2023, drawing 36 million online viewers. Subsequently, the documentary Snow Mountain Music Revelation, which chronicles the 2002 Snow Mountain Music Festival, was released. On December 21, 2024, Cui kicked off the "Keep Going Wild" tour in Chengdu.{{cite web|author=Xu Yuyang|work=Jimu News|title=摇滚四十年，继续撒点野！崔健最新巡演从成都开启|url=https://www.ctdsb.net/c1742_202412/2321407.html|language=zh-cn|date=December 5, 2024}}

{{Listen|filename=The Last Complaint Cui Jian.ogg|title="The Last Complaint"|pos=right|description=Cui combines traditional Chinese instruments and Western rock elements. Sample of "The Last Complaint" from Balls Under the Red Flag (1994) show the use of guzheng.}}

Cui resists the mainstream music industry's tendency towards a division of labor thatseparates performers, composers, lyricists, and producers.{{cite thesis|title=Modernization and Music in Contemporary China: Crisis, Identity, and the Politics of Style|author=Timothy Lane Brace|url=https://magnoliaarts.com/brace.pdf|date=1992|degree=PhD|publisher=University of Texas at Austin}} The vast majority of his music was arranged by himself alone. As a result, his arrangements are infused with many of his personal ideas. He incorporates elements of pop, reggae, blues, funk, ska, hip-hop, jazz, folk, country, Qinqiang, Northwest Wind, new wave, hard rock, punk, hardcore, electronic music and EDM into his works.{{efn|Attributed to multiple references:{{Cite book |last1=Zhang |first1=Xudong |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AbdXAX-xIeUC |title=Postmodernism and China |last2=Dirlik |first2=Arif |date=2000-10-27 |publisher=Duke University Press |isbn=978-0-8223-8022-1 |pages=241 |language=en}}{{cite web|work=Chicago Tribune|date=April 16, 2004|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2004/04/16/cui-jians-call-of-the-wild-hails-from-china/|title=Cui Jian's call of the wild hails from China}}{{cite web|author=Sheila Melvin|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/31/arts/31iht-melvin.1.9608490.html|title=Cui Jian: China's rock rebel updates his appeal|work=The New York Times|date=January 31, 2008}}{{cite magazine|author=Shigeharu Aono|title=中国ロックに見るワールドインパクト|magazine=OUFC booklet|publisher=University of Osaka|language=ja|date=2013|issue=1|pages=111–126}}{{cite magazine|author=Ai Weilai|title=崔健、摇滚神话与历史的隐秘脉络|magazine=Dushu|publisher=Joint Publishing|language=zh-cn|date=2013|issue=4|pages=131–138}}{{cite magazine|language=zh-cn|magazine=Music Communication|author=Huang Guiyu|pages=90–95|title=对崔健的摇滚乐创作的思考|date=2016|issue=4|publisher=Communication University of China}}{{cite web|author=Wu Yang|date=June 18, 2018|url=https://m.jiemian.com/article/2234521.html|title=崔健，你给中国摇滚开了个头，但现在却烂尾了|work=Jiemian News|language=zh-cn}}{{Cite book |last=Gong |first=Qian |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pkMjEAAAQBAJ |title=Remaking Red Classics in Post-Mao China: TV Drama as Popular Media |date=2021-03-22 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-1-78660-926-7 |pages=24–25 |language=en}}{{cite web|author=Kai Yin|website=021east.com|url=https://j.021east.com/m/1650092821034928|title=竟然还是崔健，看来一切都没变|date=April 16, 2022|language=zh-cn}}}} Chicago Tribune called it an "almost anarchic eclecticism". He is considered to have drawn inspiration from jazz fusion in his creative approach. He also incorporated traditional Chinese instruments into his music compositions, which led Chinese mainland rock music to break away from its earlier phase of pure imitation and develop an original style.{{cite thesis|author=Fu Boyi|title=宣泄的仪式——中国大陆摇滚乐的音乐人类学研究|date=March 2008|language=zh-cn|publisher=Chinese National Academy of Arts|degree=PhD}} Cui explained that it isn't because he wants to broadcast or promote Chinese traditional art, but rather because when he uses those instruments, they help him express his true emotions. The Independent described his music as "a sometimes bewildering mix of styles that reflects his two biggest influences, Miles Davis and The Clash, and his classical background." Xu Ning of Shanghai Morning Post wrote in 2021 that Cui's rock music which sounded avant-garde in the past remains pioneering today.{{cite web|date=April 24, 2021|url=http://static.zhoudaosh.com/8018F10B39B423A25200F6844FD7D47633C3BD3976026C15DF19F75676D5014E|title=崔健在“一个空间”唱响摇滚，安可曲《一无所有》《花房姑娘》让观众疯狂|author=Xu Ning|language=zh-cn|work=Shanghai Morning Post}}

Cui pioneered the use of rap in the Chinese music scene, which sharply contrasted with the mainstream Hong Kong-Taiwan pop and campus folk songs of the time, striking listeners as fresh and shake.{{cite magazine|author=Liu Lipeng|title=论崔健摇滚音乐作品的艺术特色|language=zh-cn|magazine=Musical Works|date=2016|issue=9|publisher=Chinese Musicians' Association|pages=105–106}} He combined rap and hip-hop with northern folk music, free jazz, and reggae.{{cite magazine|magazine=GQ|title=Red Scare|author=Charles Foran|pages=123–124|date=June 2000|issue=6}}{{cite web|url=https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_14272451|title=崔健《飞狗》：呼风唤雨，但风雨不至|date=August 30, 2021|language=zh-cn|work=The paper}} In the late 90s Cui began to experiment on digital avant-rock with elements of rap music.{{cite web |title=Cui Jian |website=Rose Goldsen Archive of New Media Art |publisher=Cornell University Library |url=https://goldsen.library.cornell.edu/wen/cui_jian.php |hdl=1813.001/8946249 |hdl-access=free}} In the album Show You Colour, Cui employed dialect rapping to address Mandarin's rhythmic limitations, with its "top speed capped at shulaibao and kuaibanshu".{{cite magazine|author=Zhang Xiaozhou|title=全球化时代的中国“杂”种|date=2005|issue=5|language=zh-cn|pages=64–66|publisher=Shanghai United Media Group|magazine=Book Town}} He also uses delay in some of his hip-hop works to make these tracks listen "less hip-hop".{{cite news|title=中国摇滚乐教父崔健独家专访：做严肃的音乐|language=zh-cn|newspaper=Shopping Guide|date=September 2, 2005|url=https://ent.sina.com.cn/r/m/2005-09-02/1636829035.html?from=wap}}

Cui considers electronic music "connected to the times, creative, belongs to the young".{{cite news|title=跟崔健谈"崔健"和"中国摇滚"|date=May 28, 2000|language=zh-cn|author=Zheng Jie|newspaper=Modern Express Post}} Influenced by The Chemical Brothers,{{cite web|url=http://ent.sina.com.cn/2003-12-19/1148257332.html?from=wap|language=zh-cn|title=解放语言，用Hip-Hop抒情(图)|work=Southern Metropolis Daily|date=December 19, 2003}} starting with the album The Power of the Powerless, Cui incorporated electronic and MIDI elements into his music, independently producing the work at home using digital music technology. He frequently uses electronic techniques such as programming, sampling and looping, and distortion effects.{{cite magazine|publisher=Hebei Art Research Institute|author=Song Linbo|language=zh-cn|magazine=Popular Songs|title=不是你不明白 这世界变化快|date=January 2001|issue=1|page=14|location=Hebei}}{{cite web|url=https://www.guitarschina.com/news/gc/gc02/20040628/211429.htm|title=吉他中国专访中国摇滚教父——崔健（崔健谈吉他）|website=guitarchina.com|date=June 28, 2004|language=zh-cn}}{{cite web|date=April 19, 2022|language=zh-cn|url=https://static.nfapp.southcn.com/content/202204/17/c6408817.html|title=崔健：我享受一个人翻江倒海的孤独 {{!}} 着调专访|work=Nanfang Daily}} He also incorporates techno beats into his songs.{{cite magazine|publisher=Hebei Art Research Institute|author=Chen Peili|language=zh-cn|magazine=Popular Songs|title=曾经是一面旗帜|date=January 2001|issue=1|page=14|location=Hebei}} To add Chinese timbres into his work, he connected guqin and pipa to effects units, transforming them into electronic versions. Taipei Times dubbed him "China's godfather of electric rock".{{cite web|date=September 26, 2005|url=https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/archives/2005/09/26/2003273337|title=Plant Pop|work=Taipei Times}} In 2007, Cui collaborated with DJ Hyper, Hybrid and Sugar Daddy to remix some of his classic tracks from the '80s.{{cite web|date=August 4, 2007|url=https://www.thebeijinger.com/blog/2007/08/04/cui-jian-perform-beijing-pop-festival|title=Cui Jian to Perform at Beijing Pop Festival|author=Paul Pennay|work=The Beijinger}}

File:CuiJian1 2007 Hohaiyan.jpg

Cui's music idea mainly revolves around rebellious and resistance, making introspection and irony to the tradition while exploring people's living condition. His works convey his reflections on the history of the motherland, introspection of the state of life,and longing for a "utopian" beautiful future.{{Cite journal |last=Li |first=Xiaodong |last2=Li |first2=Tianjiao |date=2019-05-31 |title=摇摆的芦苇——新时代女性“不婚”的现状浅析 |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.32629/er.v2i5.1841 |journal=Educational Research |volume=2 |issue=5 |doi=10.32629/er.v2i5.1841 |issn=2630-4686|doi-access=free|language=zh-cn }} According to CNN correspondent Jaime FlorCruz, Cui's songs are "sometimes amusing, sometimes plaintive but often overtly political" and challenge "conventional Chinese ideas and attitudes".{{cite web|author=Jaime FlorCruz|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2012/05/11/world/asia/china-cui-jian-florcruz/index.html|title=China's Bob Dylan-inspired pioneer still rocking|date=May 11, 2012|work=CNN}} The albums Rock 'n' Roll on the New Long March and Solution were centered on the themes of "freedom, authenticity, and sexuality".{{Rp|page=287}} Balls Under the Red Flag documented "the chaotic sounds of that era". The Power of the Powerless depicts the changing social and economic conditions in China at the end of the 20th century.{{cite thesis|author=Wang Xiang|title=中国“民谣—摇滚”中“青年主体”的流变（1986-2013）|date=September 2014|language=zh-cn|publisher=Shanghai University|degree=PhD}} Show You Colour depicts China's different generations of revolution, pragmatism and the Digital Age.{{cite web|url=https://www.inmediahk.net/%E6%96%87%E8%97%9D/%E5%B4%94%E5%81%A5%E7%A9%B6%E7%AB%9F%E5%88%BA%E7%97%9B%E4%BA%86%E8%AA%B0%EF%BC%9F%E5%88%BA%E7%97%9B%E4%BA%86%E4%BB%80%E9%BA%BC%EF%BC%9F|date=December 4, 2015|language=zh-hant|title=崔健究竟刺痛了誰？刺痛了什麼？|work=Hong Kong Inmedia}} Frozen Light and A Flying Dog revolve around the theme of "inheritance and continuity".{{cite web|url=http://www.xinhuanet.com/ent/20210910/8ec3aac36a14410aaa0823758706922b/c.html|title=新专辑《飞狗》出炉 60岁崔健 音乐不曾止步|work=Xinhuanet|language=zh-cn|date=September 10, 2021}}

Cui said that the ratio of time he spends composing music versus writing lyrics is 20:1.{{cite magazine|author1=Tian Suping|author2=Li Jinhua|title=崔健制造革命|language=zh-cn|date=1998|issue=1|pages=10–14|magazine=Talents|publisher=Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries}} His lyrics embody postmodernism characteristics, which represent as uncleamness, negativity, uncertainty and metaphor,{{cite thesis|author=Yang Qing|title=崔健歌词的文学阅读|date=November 2005|language=zh-cn|publisher=Huazhong University of Science and Technology|degree=MSc}} reflecting the pursuit of idealism and identity, alienation, and the craving for personal freedom and sexual desire.{{cite web|author=Linda Jaivin|url=https://www.sbs.com.au/news/creative/the-long-march-of-cui-jian/vt8kzov43|title=The Long March of Cui Jian|work=SBS|date=May 27, 2022}} Conceptual metaphors are widely present in the lyrics of Cui's albums.{{cite magazine|date=July 2015|language=zh-cn|title=基于文化语境的崔健歌词概念隐喻使用研究|magazine=Overseas English|issn=1009-5039|publisher=Anhui Science and Technology Publishing House}} According to Junru Huang of The Times, largely by writing ambiguous lyrics, Cui has skilfully become a symbol of freedom to many without becoming an Ai Weiwei-esque martyr of the arts.{{cite web|author=Junru Huang|work=The Times|date=August 8, 2016|url=https://www.thetimes.com/life-style/article/before-the-massacre-tiananmen-square-was-like-a-huge-party-9r6rglzxx|title='Before the massacre, Tiananmen Square was like a huge party'}} His lyrics are often "interpreted as politically oppositional" by the audience, while Cui himself dismissed political uses of his music by audiences as "their own business". Italian rock musician Francesco Baccini believed that Cui's lyrics largely focus on marginalized communities and touch on politically sensitive topics.{{cite web|author=Zhang Changxiao|url=https://ent.sina.cn/zl/2014-09-09/zl-icesifvw9366116.d.html|title=崔健：中国摇滚音乐标杆人物|language=zh-cn|work=Sina Entertainment|date=September 9, 2014}} Critics also point out that Cui's lyrics are filled with "seeing and being seen", "authentically" narrating what he observes.{{cite magazine|title=麦地里的孩子——评崔健歌词|doi=10.16583/j.cnki.52-1014/j.2009.18.01|language=zh-cn|author=Zhi Yuan|magazine=Movie Review|volume=18|date=2019|publisher=Guizhou Daily Contemporary Integrated Media Group}}

Cui's lyrics draw on the expressive techniques of modern Chinese poetry, giving them a poetic quality.{{cite web|author=Cui Liqiu|title=现代诗与流行音乐|url=http://www.chinawriter.com.cn/n1/2016/1019/c404033-28790464.html|date=October 19, 2016|language=zh-cn|website=chinawriter.com.cn}} Some of his works feature frequent use of short sentence and simple sentence structures, while others employ a more colloquial style to depict the "laughable and helplessness" of reality.{{cite magazine|volume=18|issue=2|date=April 2013|language=zh-cn|author=Zhao Ling|magazine=Journal of Xinyu University|title=叛逆的艺术——小议崔健、摇滚乐兼先锋诗|publisher=Xinyu University|pages=54–56}} {{ill|Chen Sihe|zh|陈思和}}, a Fudan University professor, described Cui as "contemporary chief rock poet".{{cite web}} Taiwanese poet Yu Kwang-chung called him China's "great poet like Lennon".{{cite web|url=https://m.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_18312283|title="遇见"VS"童年"，超1.8亿人围观！|date=May 28, 2022|language=zh-cn|work=The paper}}{{cite web|url=https://www.hk01.com/%E8%97%9D%E6%96%87/133868/%E5%91%A8%E8%80%80%E8%BC%9D%E8%88%87%E5%91%A8%E9%9B%B2%E8%93%AC%E5%9D%90%E9%8E%AE%E5%9C%8B%E9%9A%9B%E8%A9%A9%E6%AD%8C%E5%A4%9C-%E5%B4%94%E5%81%A5%E9%99%A4%E4%BA%86%E5%94%B1-%E9%82%84%E7%8F%BE%E5%A0%B4%E6%9C%97%E8%AA%A6%E8%A9%A9%E6%AD%8C#google_vignette|title=周耀輝與周雲蓬坐鎮國際詩歌夜　崔健除了唱　還現場朗誦詩歌|work=HK01|language=zh-hant|date=November 16, 2017}} Chinese writer Wang Shuo called Cui "China's greatest bard".

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Cui's works saturate political symbols like red flags, color red, (political) movements, the Long March, revolution, which he deconstructively parodies and ridicules from a personalized perspective.{{cite magazine|title=矛盾与焦虑——歌词中的崔健与时代中的崔健|author=Zhou Xianbo|date=April 2007|volume=28|issue=4|language=zh-cn|publisher=Lanzhou University|magazine=Journal of Harbin University|pages=100–103}} Such subversive "political parody" was often seen as disrespectful at the time. Scholar Xin Da observed that Cui uses these political symbols to express a lighthearted attitude, thereby dissolving their serious nature. Dai Jinhua said that through parody, Cui accomplished both a burial of an era and a reconfiguration of the memory of the times, constituting an "astonishingly destructive rearticulation or replication". Author Xiao Yi wrote that Cui's irony and imitation of red symbols stem from the molding of red aesthetics on his musical thinking.{{cite web|work=China News Digest|date=January 24, 2014|url=http://hx.cnd.org/2014/01/24/%E5%B4%94%E5%81%A5%EF%BC%9A%E5%9C%A8%E9%9B%86%E4%BD%93%E7%8B%82%E6%AC%A2%E4%B8%8E%E4%B8%AA%E4%BD%93%E8%87%AA%E7%94%B1%E4%B9%8B%E9%97%B4%E6%8C%A3%E6%89%8E%E7%9A%84%E6%97%B6%E4%BB%A3%E7%AC%A6%E5%8F%B7/|title=崔健：在集体狂欢与个体自由之间挣扎的时代符号|language=zh-cn|author=Xiao Yi}} Cui called himself a little red guard.{{cite news|title=真实崔健|language=zh-cn|author=Wei Xia|date=March 30, 2002|newspaper=Chongqing Economy|location=Chongqing}}

The term "guniang" (girl) is frequently used in Cui's texts, signifying varied personas. This imagery has often been interpreted as an eroticization of political themes. Taiwanese lyric scholar Hu Yu-tien thought that Cui's lyrics carry on the tradition originating from Chu Ci of using "beauty" as a metaphor for the ruler, while interweaving romantic love with patriotic sentiment.{{cite web|title=崔健：摇滚歌手、中法文化之春形象大使|url=http://www.msweekly.com/mobile/show.html?id=92059|website=china.org.cn|language=zh-cn|date=August 3, 2017}} Rachel DeWoskin of Words Without Borders also noted that Cui's songs inherit the "tried and true manner" of court poets and essayists from China's imperial past, appering to be about love but actually about history and contemporary China. Malaysian columnist Tan Wei Guang described Cui as "writing about the nation like a lover and transforming political awakening into love songs".{{cite web|author=Tan Wei Guang|language=zh-hans|url=https://theinterview.asia/column/%E7%94%B5%E5%BD%B1%E8%AE%B0%E4%BA%8B/77678/|title=当崔健的歌曲出现在电影里|date=July 7, 2022|work=The Interview}} Music journalist Zhou Jian called it a "Spring and Autumn brushwork".

Cui sings in a hoarse voice,{{cite web|author=Chu Jun-lin|url=https://www.chinatimes.com/realtimenews/20220702002939-260404|title=金曲33／搖滾教父崔健入圍4獎項 60歲創作能量老而彌堅|work=China Times|language=zh-tw|date=July 2, 2022}} with "guttural yet passionate" vocals.{{cite thesis|doi=10.7275/35077308|title=Voices Against an Era: Alternative Voices, Cultural Heroics, and the Impact of He Yong and Zhang Chu on Chinese Rock Music|date=May 2023|author=Peter J. Moncur|publisher=University of Massachusetts Amherst|url=https://scholarworks.umass.edu/server/api/core/bitstreams/9f419610-650f-4e6a-b072-3f944c592216/content|format=pdf}} His raw, shouting vocal style blended the folk singing techniques represented by Li Guyi with bel canto, carrying an aspect of asserting masculinity.{{cite magazine|title=「俺」から「俺たち」へ―中国ロックの起点から|date=June 1996|volume=50|issue=6|pages=24–32|language=ja|author=Tamako Akiyama|magazine=Monthly Journal of Chinese Affairs|publisher=Institute of Chinese Affairs}} Believing that language should not overshadow music, Cui deliberately obscures the accuracy of pronunciation in lyrics by omitting vowels, forcefully articulating labiodental affricates, and employing rapid, consecutive same-pitch note patterns in melodies, making the lyrics difficult to recognize.{{cite news|title=崔健抗拒「融合民族特性於摇滚乐」的大帽子 因为语言不能替音乐说话|language=zh-tw|newspaper=China Times|date=April 7, 1991}} Besides, he often uses non-lexical vocables such as ooh.{{cite magazine|magazine=Read and Write Periodical|volume=10|issue=1|date=January 2013|language=zh-cn|title=论崔健创作歌曲的音乐特征|doi=10.16071/j.cnki.cn51-1650/g4.2013.01.05|page=42|author=Yang Huijun|publisher=Sichuan Federation of Literary and Art Circles}} His blurred enunciation marks a deliberate departure from 1990s pop music, which emphasized "precise articulation and polished vocals".{{cite magazine|title=“软弱的力量”与“主体的弥散”——从崔健《无能的力量》到《给你一点颜色》|magazine=Art Panorama|date=March 2014|issue=3|author=Wang Xiang|publisher=Liaoning Federation of Literary and Art Circles|language=zh-cn|pages=68–76}} Daniel Southerland from The Washington Post described Cui's voice "sounds like a cross between Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen and Joe Strummer of the Clash". Chinese music critic Li Wan described it as "strained, high-pitched, piercing, unpleasant, yet compelling".{{cite web|work=Banyuetan Magazine|url=http://www.banyuetan.org/chcontent/gd/sdrw/20121017/77013_2.shtml|title=崔健 顺流而下，逆流而上|language=zh-cn|date=October 17, 2012}} Scholar Yin Lixin claimed that Cui is the only pop singer in contemporary China who has "mastered the unique rhythmic and tonal patterns of the Chinese language".{{cite magazine|title=可惜中国只有一个崔健!——点击当代流行歌坛|magazine=Art Criticism|date=2006|issue=5|author=Yin Lixin|publisher=Chinese National Academy of Arts|language=zh-cn|pages=19–21}} Chinese record producer Zhang Yadong stated that Cui's enunciation style and vocal placement create a "unique feeling".{{cite magazine|author=Hei Mai|url=https://www.lifeweek.com.cn/article/58662|title=张亚东：流行音乐是一种情绪|magazine=Sanlian Lifeweek|volume=40|date=2018|language=zh-cn}} Taiwanese musician Li Pai-kang praised Cui for his "highly individualistic vocals and articulation" and his reinvention of vocal expression within Chinese rock music.{{cite web|url=https://www.chinatimes.com/newspapers/20220625000574-260112|title=黃宣歌聲戳心搶歌王|work=China Times|language=zh-tw|date=June 25, 2022}}

{{blockquote|Cui Jian's hoarse voice that is roared out, in stark contrast to the "erosive quality" of Teresa Teng's sweet and tender vocal timbre, manifests immense resistance and destructive power... His shouts articulate the voice of the underclass, granting the right to public expression to the loneliness, anguish, repression, tedium and even despair experienced by countless individuals in social reality. Through this public articulation, such emotional experiences attain a certain kind of significance.|Zhejiang Gongshang University professor Guo Jianmin{{cite magazine|author=Guo Jianmin|magazine=Contention in Literature and Art|title=声音政治:八十年代流行乐坛的邓丽君、崔健及费翔|date=2015|issue=10|language=zh-cn|pages=121–126|publisher=Jilin Provincial Federation of Literary and Art Circles}}}}

Chinese Sixth Generation filmmaker Zhang Yuan directed the music videos for "Piece of Red Cloth", "Wild on the Snow", "Last Shot", and "Fly Away".{{cite web|work=Caixin|url=https://wangxinjiang.blog.caixin.com/archives/6355|title=脱光，镜鉴美丑——感悟崔健的歌|language=zh-cn|author=Wang Xinjiang|date=July 15, 2010}}{{cite web|url=https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_2592754|title=我拍崔健十三年|date=November 2, 2018|language=zh-cn|work=The paper}} Zhang stated that he always filmed Cui as a hero, because in his perception, Cui was "a hero imbued with power". The video for "Piece of Red Cloth" won special mention at the Golden Gate Viewers awards ceremonies at the 1992 San Francisco Film Festival.{{cite magazine|magazine=Popular Music|title=The Political Meaning of Hong Kong Popular Music: A Review of Sociopolitical Relations between Hong Kong and the People's Republic of China Since the 1980s|author=Wai-Chung Ho|volume=19|issue=3|date=October 2000|pages=341–353|publisher=Cambridge University Press}} The "Wild on the Snow" video won the International Viewer's Choice Award for MTV Asia in 1991.{{cite web|author1=Jawahir Gustav Rizal|author2=Bayu Galih|url=https://www.kompas.com/cekfakta/read/2023/08/01/171700482/kilas-balik-siaran-perdana-mtv-1-agustus-1981?page=all|title=Kilas Balik Siaran Perdana MTV, 1 Agustus 1981|work=Kompas|date=August 1, 2023}} In 2005, Cui teamed up with Flash artist Lao Jiang to release the animated video for his song "Mr. Red".{{cite web|author=Jia Wei|url=http://ent.sina.com.cn/x/2005-03-11/1009674419.html?from=wap|title=崔健专辑未发动画先行 化身超级玛丽解析爱情|work=The Beijing News|language=zh-cn|date=March 11, 2005}}

In his later career, Cui held a negative view toward music videos. He stated that MVs were "not a medium for musicians to express themselves, but more like something for directors and dancers",{{cite web|author=Wang Run|url=https://ent.sina.cn/music/yneidi/2009-12-25/detail-iavxeafr7779038.d.html?from=wap|title=崔健个唱依然给劲 全场观众站着听完|language=zh-cn|date=December 25, 2009|work=Beijing Evening News}} referred to them as "lip-syncing performances", criticized them for "digging a grave for musicians",{{cite web|date=December 22, 2009|url=http://eladies.sina.com.cn/news/2009/1222/1054951330.shtml?from=wap|title=崔健：应关闭MV音乐台 娱乐是集体行骗行业|work=Chongqing Economic Timeslanguage=zh-cn}} declared "If we keep selling music through the MV model, music will inevitably die", and openly called for the shutdown of MTV.{{cite web|author=Li Li|url=https://www.chinanews.com.cn/cul/news/2009/12-22/2031719.shtml|title=崔健称娱乐业"集体行骗" 炮轰MTV台"在挖坟墓"|work=Yangcheng Evening News|language=zh-cn|date=December 22, 2009}}{{cite web|language=zh-cn|work=Yangtse Evening Post|date=December 22, 2009|url=https://www.chinanews.com.cn/yl/yl-ytcf/news/2009/12-22/2031405.shtml|title=崔健不满明星包装炒作 呼吁MTV音乐台尽快倒闭}} For his 2021 songs "A Flying Dog" and "The B-Side of Time", he filmed live-performance music videos blending genuine onstage performances with visual elements, aiming to "defend the inherent qualities of live music".

File:Cui Jian concert Jan 08.jpg|url=https://ent.ifeng.com/music/mainland/200712/1211_1838_327802.shtml|title=崔健2008首唱工人体育馆 时代的晚上回顾经典|language=zh-cn}}]]

Cui Jian is described as frequently engaging in "intricate and dazzling experiments in musical craftsmanship" during his live performances.{{cite web|url=https://zqb.cyol.com/content/2007-10/31/content_1938441.htm|title=崔健：一把装进鞘里的刀|work=China Youth Daily|date=October 31, 2017|language=zh-cn|author=Xia Yu}} Kaiser Kuo, a former member of Tang Dynasty, believed that "there is nobody in Chinese rock music as concerned with innovation as Cui Jian", and he thought Cui's stage shows were "certainly going to be a new experiene for the audience.{{cite magazine|author=Maria Cheng|magazine=Asiaweek|title=Rock Icon's New Colors|date=February 23, 2001|pages=52–53|volume=27|issue=3}} Cui repeatedly invited Nakhi folk singer Xiao Rulian to perform as a guest at his solo concerts.{{cite web|url=https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_29415761|title=探访最美家 | 根深树不倒，林茂水长流|date=November 21, 2024|language=zh-cn|work=The paper}} He also often invites various rappers to share the stage with him.{{cite web|url=https://theinitium.com/zh-hans/article/20161016-culture-column-liuzijie|title=崔健與倪重華：三十年的搖滾路途，現在思考出創作的意義了嗎？|language=zh-hant|work=Initium Media|date=October 16, 2016}}{{cite web|work=Qingdao News|url=https://news.qingdaonews.com/wap/2020-07/30/content_22093648.htm|title=玩说唱的厨师你敢信？青岛小伙受邀跟崔健一块开演唱会|language=zh-cn|date=July 30, 2020}} At his 2008 Chengdu concert, Cui invited Chinese gymnast Li Donghua as a special guest, who appearing on stage with a pommel horse.{{cite web|work=NPR|date=April 27, 2008|url=https://www.npr.org/sections/chengdu/2008/04/_cui_jian_often_referred.html|author=Andrea Hsu|title=Rock Star Cui Jian Performs in Chengdu}} In 2017, Cui made his debut as a DJ for a solo electronic live performance at the Chishui Valley Music Festival, without singing throughout the entire performance. For the Chengdu concert of the "Keep Going Wild" tour (2024), Cui collaborated with local choir groups and experimented with "de-staging" for the first time.{{cite web|author1=Cong Yumeng|author2=Zheng Zhijie|work=Sichuan Daily|language=zh-cn|date=December 6, 2024|url=https://sichuan.scol.com.cn/m/ggxw/202412/82855865.html|title=成都演唱会在即 崔健：谁让我退休我跟谁急}}

Cui regards live performance as the singing method he endorses, considering it "the purest and most moving".{{citation|website=Ifeng.com|url=http://ient.ifeng.com/42694102/news.shtml?srctag=zbs_slide_next|title=今夜我不关心人类我只想你——崔健滚动三十演唱会|language=zh-cn|date=September 30, 2016}} He emphasizes that he "will never leave live performances",{{cite news|title=一顆狂熱的心 崔健|language=zh-hant|date=February 15, 2001|newspaper=Oriental Daily Newsauthor=Yu Lip'ing}} expressing his wish to "sing until his last breath or die on stage".{{cite news|title=崔健唱到生命最后一刻|language=zh-cn|newspaper=Shopping Guide|date=May 17, 2002|author=A Lai}} Cui stated clearly in 2024 that he will not retire. In 2010, Cui became the first mainland Chinese musician to tour across China and stage over 1000 live performances.

File:崔健 2025 南丹音乐节.jpg]]

Cui often appears wearing a white baseball cap with a bright red star. He chose the red star because he once wore it as a child and it is a clear reference to the revolution.{{cite magazine|author=Zhaoxi Liu|url=https://digitalcommons.trinity.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1004&context=comm_faculty|title=Cui Jian: Extolling Idealism Yet Advocating for Freedom Through Rock Music in China|format=pdf|date=2016|publisher=Trinity University|magazine=International Communication Research Journal|volume=51|issue=1|pages=3–20}} Cui said he initially wore the hat because he wanted to control his exposure, and he can lower his head and no one can tell who him is. He intentionally distressed the hat to look worn-out because that's "interesting".{{cite web|url=https://ent.sina.cn/music/rock/2009-12-14/detail-icesifvx7265827.d.html|title=实录：崔健聊北展个唱 摇滚永远有青春荷尔蒙|language=zh-cn|work=Sina Entertainment|date=December 14, 2009}} German journalist {{ill|Christof Siemes|de|Christof Siemes}} believed Cui reverses the colors of the Chinese flag, where the big yellow star on a red background stands for the Communist Party, appropriating and deconstructing the state symbol.{{cite web|date=August 28, 2008|url=https://www.zeit.de/2008/36/Was-mache-ich-hier|title=Revolution mit Bier|author=Christof Siemes|work=Die Zeit|language=de}}

Cui usually blindfolded himself with a piece of red cloth when performing his song "Piece of Red Cloth".{{cite magazine|pages=42–45|magazine=The Wire|title=Beijing Rocks: Rockin' in the Not-So-Free World|author=Steven Schwankert|date=September 1995|issue=139}} Near the end of his performances, Cui would forcefully tear off the red cloth and hurl it violently to the ground. This imagery also appears on the cover of "Nothing to My Name", reflecting the populace's pervasive sense of disorientation about the future during that era.{{cite magazine|doi=10.13556/j.cnki.dncb.cn35-1274/j.2014.07.03|title=选秀节目中摇滚元素的隐喻学初探|language=zh-cn|date=2014|volume=119|issue=7|author1=Wang Nana|author2=Ji Wei|pages=96–98|magazine=Southeast Communication|publisher=Fujian Radio Film and TV Group}} Communication scholar Wang Na pointed out that Cui's "red cloth" creates a visual darkness through its ironic act of blinding the eyes, manifesting dual blindness in both identity and soul, carrying distinct symbolic significance.{{cite magazine|doi=10.13556/j.cnki.dncb.cn35-1274/j.2014.03.01|title=以“崔健的一块红布”论图像的舆论建构|language=zh-cn|date=2014|volume=115|issue=3|author=Wang Na|pages=60–62|magazine=Southeast Communication|publisher=Fujian Radio Film and TV Group}}

He used to wear a green People's Liberation Army uniform jacket at live performances and in music videos. Some scholars like Jonathan Matusitz and Andrew F. Jones interpreted it as an expression of "his hatred toward Mao" or "a subversive sartorial recontexutalization", while others saw it as an expression of nostalgia. In his 21st-century live performances, he has sometimes worn retro and introspective stage costumes, such as floral shirts and traditional Nakhi ethnic clothing, to create stark contrasts with the trendy electronic music he performed.{{cite web|author=Zhai Yi|language=zh-cn|url=http://ent.sina.com.cn/r/m/2002-02-23/73563.html?from=wap|title=评论：从演出服的变迁看崔健的心灵之旅(图)|date=February 23, 2002|work=Morning Post}}

File:2014秦皇岛6789音乐节 金属礼.jpg giving the sign of the horns to Cui during his performance, Qinhuangdao, 2014]]

Cui is credited with popularizing rock throughout China.{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/transcripts/103614247|title=Rock 'N' Roll At The Top Of The World|work=NPR|date=May 5, 2009}} He's been called the "Father of Chinese Rock", "Grandfather of Chinese Rock", "Godfather of Chinese Rock", "Chinese King of Rock", and "China's God of Rock".Gunde, Richard. [2002] (2002) Culture and Customs of China. Greenwood Press. {{ISBN|0-313-30876-4}}{{cite web|title=A fascinating interview with China's biggest rock star|author=Max Fisher|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2013/01/03/a-fascinating-interview-with-chinas-biggest-rock-star/|date=January 3, 2013|work=The Washington Post}}{{cite magazine|author=Shigeharu Aono|title=進化するロック専門誌『通俗歌曲』|magazine=OUFC booklet|publisher=University of Osaka|language=ja|date=2011|issue=10|url=https://www.law.osaka-u.ac.jp/c-forum/box2/dp2011-10aono.pdf}}{{cite web|url=https://www.scmp.com/video/hong-kong/1606744/godfather-chinese-rock-cui-jian-asks-why-hong-kong-doesnt-get-good-music|title=Godfather of Chinese rock, Cui Jian, asks why Hong Kong doesn't 'get' good music|date=December 1, 2013|work=South China Morning Post}} He is sometimes hailed as the "coordinates of Asian rock music".{{cite web|author1=Chen Pingshu|author2=Wen Jing|url=https://zqb.cyol.com/content/2006-09/28/content_1525201.htm|title=崔健：贴在我身上的标签对我来说是麻木是不痛不痒|work=Beijing Youth Daily|date=September 28, 2006|language=zh-cn}} According to Southern Weekly, Cui was China's first rock artist to gain worldwide reputation.{{cite web|date=January 3, 2017|url=https://www.jiemian.com/article/1048905.html|title=崔健要上《我是歌手2017》？姜文、冯小刚、于谦有话说|work=Jiemian News|language=zh-cn}} In China, his name is the synonym for rock music. In Western countries, Cui is often compared as the Chinese equivalent of John Lennon, Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, Kurt Cobain, Bruce Springsteen, Johnny Hallyday, and Rolling Stone.{{cite web|website=international.ucla.edu|url=https://international.ucla.edu/institute/article/11612|title=Cui Jian: Father of Chinese Rock 'N' Roll|date=June 3, 2005}}{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/cui-jian-the-man-who-rocks-china-515208.html|title=Cui Jian: The man who rocks China|work=The Independent|date=November 14, 2005}}{{cite web

|author=Cancan Chu|url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2006-04-06-rolling-stones-shanghai_x.htm

|title=Rolling Stones tour brings hot rocks to Shanghai|date=April 6, 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060408223504/https://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2006-04-06-rolling-stones-shanghai_x.htm|archive-date=April 8, 2006|url-status=dead|work=USA Today}}{{cite web|title=Cui Jian|url=http://www.china.org.cn/popfestival/2007-09/05/content_1223358.htm|website=china.org.cn|date=September 5, 2007}}{{cite web|author=Pierre Haski|title=Le rocker chinois Cui Jian refuse la censure et reste privé de télé|url=http://rue89.nouvelobs.com/2014/01/17/rocker-chinois-cui-jian-refuse-censure-reste-prive-tele-249136|date=January 17, 2014|work=Rue89|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140120162507/http://rue89.nouvelobs.com/2014/01/17/rocker-chinois-cui-jian-refuse-censure-reste-prive-tele-249136|archive-date=January 20, 2014|url-status=dead|language=fr}} British journalist Jasper Becker wrote in 1995 that Cui is usually known as China's greatest rock star.{{cite web|author=Jasper Becker|date=December 10, 1995|title=The last rock star in China|url=https://www.scmp.com/article/142245/last-rock-star-china|work=South China Morning Post}} Matthew Corbin Clark of PBS described Cui as "a bizarre concoction of post-Communist celebrity, cross-cultural artistic transfer, David & Goliath political dynamics, and inspired musicianship".{{cite web|author=Matthew Corbin Clark|url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/red/sonic/|title=Birth Of A Beijing Music Scene|date=February 13, 2003|work=PBS Frontline}}

Cui is widely regarded as a cultural icon and one of the most famous iconic figures in contemporary Chinese art by Chinese public.{{cite web|author=Matthew Carney|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-02-10/cui-jian-and-chui-wan-the-changing-voice-of-chinese-rock-music/8261330|title=Cui Jian and Chui Wan: the changing sound of Chinese rock music|date=February 10, 2017|work=ABC New}}{{cite web|author=Chen Jing|url=https://news.cyol.com/yuanchuang/2017-05/02/content_16013845.htm|title=崔健：我不希望说得越来越多，做得越来越少|work=China Youth Daily|date=May 2, 2017|language=zh-cn}} He is seen as one of the most popular critical voices in the nation.{{cite web|date=December 2, 2013|url=https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1370299/chinas-youth-has-forgotten-about-politics-laments-cui-jian-he-plays|title=China's youth has forgotten about politics, laments Cui Jian as he plays Clockenflap|work=South China Morning Post|author=Patrick Boehler}} Unlike Teresa Teng who occupied a liberated position after the Reform and opening up, Cui took on the role of a "rebel" in the 1980s. He and his music were regarded as symbols of rebellious youth and an oppositional educated class. Xue Manzi stated that Cui brought "the most sincere and rebellious voice".{{cite web|author=Han Songluo|url=https://ent.ifeng.com/cuijian/|title=现场直击：崔健《一无所有》唱响26周年活动[高清大图]|language=zh-cn|work=Ifeng.com|date=May 9, 2012}} In 1990, The Washington Post said Cui is an "unauthorized hero" or "antihero" for many youths in China.{{cite web|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1990/01/29/return-of-a-rock-antihero/ebb5c67e-582d-409a-8434-51a38190a66e/|title=RETURN OF A ROCK ANTIHERO|work=The Washington Post|date=January 29, 1990|author=Daniel Southerland}} Chinese cultural critic Han Songluo described the public image of Cui as "a pioneer, an antenna and volcanic vent of the era... a heretic, an undercurrent, another force beyond the jubilant mainstream world... He also embodies armor and holy garment symbolizing masculinity". Shishang Xiansheng categorized Cui as a classic example of what sociologist Max Weber termed "charismatic authority".{{cite web|url=https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_14014715|title=崔健：冰与火的较量|date=August 17, 2021|language=zh-cn|work=The paper}}

{{blockquote|For many people, this undisputed pioneer of Chinese rock remains their sole hero. Meanwhile, as the embodiment of an era's cultural revolution, Cui Jian demonstrates a distinct self-awareness of his own and that of his generation's historical position... Regardless, for more than one generation of Chinese people, Cui Jian himself constitutes an action sketch map for cultural rebellion.|Li Dawei of Caixin Weekly{{cite web|author=Li Dawei|work=Caixin Weekly|title=崔健时代的最后一枪？|date=March 16, 2011|language=zh-cn|url=https://lidawei.blog.caixin.com/archives/16264?originReferrer=caixinsearch_wap}}}}

Due to his opposition to cult of personality and idolization, Cui limited his interactions with the public.{{cite web|language=zh-cn|url=https://www.infzm.com/wap/#/content/85321?source=131|title=【他，崔健】“这孩子从小就撒不了谎”——崔健真唱篇|author=Feng Xiang|date=January 17, 2013|work=Southern Weekly}} Chinese news website Yicai reported that Cui is actively trying to shed his symbolization while exploring new opportunities.{{cite web|author=Lu Yunfei|url=https://finance.sina.cn/2016-10-02/detail-ifxwkvys2529101.d.html?from=wap|title=《一无所有》唱了30年了，崔健有些着急{{!}} CBNweekly|date=October 2, 2016|language=zh-cn|work=Yicai}} Initium Media commentator Liu Waitong also believed that Cui has attempted to resist his own heroic image Music critic Zhang Xiaozhou stated that many people's attitudes towards Cui stem from first placing him on a pedestal to worship, then seeking to knock him off that pedestal.{{cite web|author=Liu Muyang|url=https://ent.sina.cn/music/yneidi/2012-12-03/detail-iavxeafr6825837.d.html?from=wap|title=崔健：没有人可以说自己活在坏时代（组图）|language=zh-cn|date=December 3, 2012|work=The Bund}} In a 2015 interview with Shanghai Observer, Cui remarked that "some enshrine me on a pedestal; others claim I’m stepping down from it. But in reality, I’m stepping onto the ground".{{cite web|author=Xu Ning|url=https://web.shobserver.com/wx/detail.do?id=8274|title=崔健：真人秀不值得信任|work=Shanghai Observer|language=zh-cn|date=December 22, 2015}}

Since 2000, Cui has been perceived more as a nostalgic symbol and spiritual icon representing "marginalization, rebellion, and critical consciousness", rather than a commercial star with mainstream influence.{{cite web|author=Luo Tian|url=https://cn.nytimes.com/culture/20140116/tc16cuijian/|title=上春晚？崔健不愿接受审查|language=zh-cn|website=cn.nytimes.com|date=January 16, 2014}} In 2015, Cui said people view him more as "an old man" than a rebel, a familiar face on television but no longer influential.{{cite web|author=Louise Watt|url=https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/12/30/rocker-cui-jian-says-his-music-hasnt-changed-china-has.html|title=Rocker Cui Jian says his music hasn't changed but China has|date=December 30, 2015|work=The Jakarta Post}} However, The Wall Street Journal said Cui "continues to be an inspiration for China's disenchanted youth".{{cite web|author=Bob Boilen|url=https://www.npr.org/2023/01/28/1151698876/cui-jian-tiny-desk-meets-globalfest-2023|title=Cui Jian: Tiny Desk Meets globalFEST 2023|date=January 28, 2023|work=NPR}} The Washington Post stated that his anthems are "both remembered and forgotten, too significant to ignore but increasingly repressed by a government eager to move on and youth who have other, more present concerns". Japanese scholar {{ill|Akio Yaita|zh|矢板明夫}} believed that since the Xi Jinping era began, most singers and musicians have abandoned the pursuit of individuality and freedom to maintain their presence in the Chinese market, while Cui Jian, known for his "free-spirited" style, has regained prominence.{{cite web|url=https://news.ltn.com.tw/news/politics/breakingnews/3980239|work=Liberty Times|title=獎落崔健「體現格局與高度」 矢板明夫：金曲應走向世界|language=zh-tw|date=July 3, 2022}} A New York Times editorial pointed:

{{blockquote|But to his fans - and detractors - he remains the same unrepentant rebel and cynical idealist that he was at 25, tirelessly battling myopic censors, greedy promoters, lip-synching pop stars and anyone else who stands in the way of an artist's right to make good music and an audience's right to enjoy it.}}

{{main|New Enlightenment (China)}}

With regard to the anti-tradition, anti-dominance, and anti-consumerism, Cui's songs have certain enlightenment significance among the public.{{cite magazine|author=Zhou Xiaoyan|title=Rock Music in Contemporary China: An Ideological Arena|publisher=Shanghai Jiao Tong University|magazine=Journal of Literature and Art Studies|date=December 2015|volume=5|issue=12|pages=1146–1151|doi=10.17265/2159-5836/2015.12.006}} Influenced by the Misty Poetry movement, His works often addressed Enlightenment ideals, including the pursuit of freedom, resistance to hypocrisy, assumption of responsibility, and doubt and rejection of established values. Aesthetician Gao Ertai stated in 1990 that Cui and his rock music were "the only art form in China capable of undertaking the Enlightenment".{{Rp|page=256}} Wang Shuo wrote that for those who growing up during the Cultural Revolution like him, Cui "shattered illusions, exposed some truths, and most crucially, made me hear a person's soul".{{cite web|url=https://www.chinanews.com.cn/cul/news/2009/09-22/1878324.shtml|title=一声呐喊　让乐坛不再一无所有|date=September 22, 2009|language=zh-cn|work=China News Service}} Author Jie Ziping described him as "a philosophical enlightener, a literary enlightener, and also a musical enlightener" of "a specific era".{{cite web|date=April 22, 2022|url=http://www.jzxww.com.cn/conn/2022-04/22/content_77763.htm|title=崔健的八十年代|author=Jie Ziping|language=zh-cn|work=Jinzhong Daily|location=Jinzhong}}

Feminist scholar Liu Chang pointed out that the male characters in Cui's "Nothing to My Name" occupy the dominant position and transform women into objects and targets of male sexual desire, facilitating the resurgence of traditional femininity and women's liberation from sexual repression against the backdrop of the post-revolutionary era.{{cite magazine|title=西方视角及中国摇滚乐中男性气质和女性气质的构建|author=Liu Chang|date=2014|issue=S1|magazine=Journalism & Communication|publisher=Academy of Social Sciences|language=zh-cn|pages=110–123}}

Cui's success marked the rise of subculture in China, leading to a social landscape where mainstream culture coexisted with subcultures, and orthodox culture paralleled popular culture.{{cite thesis|title=中国大陆流行歌曲的文化轨迹与审美流变（1978-2014）|author=Cao Hua|date=April 27, 2015|language=zh-cn|degree=PhD|publisher=Jinan University}} In Taiwan, although his album was censored by the Government Information Office shortly after its release for "being incompatible with current politics", he still exerted a profound influence on Taiwanese underground rock scene.{{cite thesis|author=Chen Chung-yi|language=zh-tw|title=個人音樂工作室形象設計之研究~以音思拜耳音樂工作室海報設計為例|date=2004|degree=MSc|publisher=National Taiwan Normal University}}{{cite web|work=Initium Media|url=https://theinitium.com/zh-hans/article/20211010-culture-cuijian-rocker-in-china-nowadays|title=身体站起来，要带脑袋出去："飞狗"老崔与他的邀请|language=zh-hans|date=October 10, 2021|author=Lin I-ch'êng}}

Music critic Huang Liaoyuan wrote that Cui was "the first person in contemporary China to modernize the subject matter of popular music". Chinese singer Cheng Lin stated that Cui is "a banner in the history of music". Gong Linna remarked that Cui pioneered a form of "Chinese rock" that "dug into the roots of Chinese culture".{{cite web|date=September 27, 2016|url=https://ent.sina.cn/music/yneidi/2016-09-27/detail-ifxwevmc5626904.d.html|title=姜文龚琳娜张一白等文艺咖畅谈心中的崔健|work=Youth Film Handbook|language=zh-cn}} Mongolian singer Daichin Tana called him the "backbone and gall of this land", and described his music as the "hope and despair of this country".{{cite web|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/chinese-singer-cui-jian-drops-concert-after-tiananmen-song-banned-1.2501887#:~:text=CBC%20ARCHIVES:%20The%201989%20massacre%20at%20Tiananmen,permission%20for%20concerts%20and%20censored%20his%20lyrics.|title=Chinese singer Cui Jian drops concert after Tiananmen song banned|date=January 18, 2014|work=CBC}} Music critic Jin Zhaojun believed that the immense cultural impact generated by Cui stemmed from his "fundamental questioning" of the Chinese people's way of existence. A scholar of Chinese pop music, Jonathan Campbell, explained of Cui:

{{blockquote|He's Woody Guthrie or Bruce Springsteen, whose songs made people suddenly realize that there are things going on about which we don't know and ought to, and singing with the voice of the people not often represented in popular culture.}}

Cui exerted a lasting influence on the creative production of rock music

in mainland China. Since Northwest Wind and Cui's rock, the experimental use of traditional musical components in the creation of popular music has formed a striking trend.{{cite thesis|degree=PhD|author=Zhao Yue|title=The musicality of C-pop : a study of Chinese popular music from 1985-2010|date=December 2010|publisher=University of Sheffield|url=https://etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/id/eprint/14987/1/538022.pdf}} The Beijing News and Sixth Tone have noted that in the 1980s, Cui represented elite culture's resistance against mainstream culture. However, beginning in the 1990s, when the Chinese government intensified regulatory control over the arts and Mandopop music became commercialized, this elite cultural production model led to the successors of Chinese rock music retreating into increasingly marginalized subcultural circles.{{cite web|date=May 9, 2008|author=Yang Bo|url=https://ent.sina.cn/review/media/2008-05-09/detail-iavxeafr8466386.d.html?from=wap|title=崔健给了中国一种声音|work=The Beijing News|language=zh-cn}}{{cite web|author=Cai Yineng|url=https://www.sixthtone.com/news/1010953|title=Did 'God Songs' Kill China's God of Rock?|date=August 10, 2022|work=Sixth Tone}}

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Until 1994, Cui was the biggest Chinese rock act.{{cite web|author=Cai Yineng|url=https://www.sixthtone.com/news/1015675|title=Chinese Rock Isn't Dead (For Now)|date=August 12, 2024|work=Sixth Tone}} Many musicians were influenced by him, such as Chang Chen-yue,{{cite web|url=https://www.chinanews.com.cn/yl/mxzz/news/2007/07-04/971226.shtml|title=崔健本周5抵台将献上处女秀 张震岳自告奋勇接机|date=July 4, 2007|language=zh-cn|work=China News Service}}{{cite web|url=http://www.nbd.com.cn/rss/toutiao/articles/2222758.html|title=摇滚教父崔健“根本没变”，演唱会行业却正在改变|work=National Business Daily|language=zh-cn|date=April 16, 2022}} Xu Wei,{{cite web|author=Chen Nan|url=https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202204/21/WS6260a4c7a310fd2b29e58379.html|title=Veteran rocks online audience|work=China Daily|date=April 21, 2022}} Liang Long,{{cite web|author=Guo Xiaohan|url=https://www.jiemian.com/article/7427732.html|title=“教母”梁龙的东北往事|work=Jiemian News|language=zh-cn|date=May 7, 2022}} Pu Shu,{{cite web|author=Wang Xiaofeng|url=http://old.lifeweek.com.cn//2013/0412/40555.shtml|title=朴树，一棵长不大的树|work=Sanlian Lifeweek|date=April 12, 2013|language=zh-cn}} Wowkie Zhang,{{cite web|date=September 12, 2017|url=https://www.jiemian.com/article/1617593.html|title=我本想和100万人听大张伟讲段子，却被他唱的4首歌惹哭了|work=Jiemian News|language=zh-cn}} Tang Dynasty,{{cite web|author=Yang Shiyang|url=https://finance.sina.cn/sa/2005-09-17/detail-ikkntiak9539187.d.html?from=wap|title=崔健：被神化后的神话|work=Business Times|language=zh-cn|date=September 17, 2005}} Black Panther, Wang Feng,{{cite web|author=Wang Xiaofeng|url=http://old.lifeweek.com.cn//2011/1130/35928.shtml|title=汪峰：摇滚幸存者|work=Sanlian Lifeweek|date=November 30, 2011|language=zh-cn}} Wang Leehom,{{cite web|author=Han Songluo|url=https://ent.ifeng.com/idolnews/yuledaoxiang/special/cuijian/|title=[娱论导向]崔健对于中国摇滚的时代意义究竟是什么？|language=zh-cn|work=Ifeng.com|date=September 29, 2016}} Tan Weiwei,{{cite web|date=September 14, 2016|url=https://ent.cnr.cn/gd/20160914/t20160914_523137072.shtml|title=崔健演唱会嘉宾曝光 谭维维登台致敬偶像|work=China National Radio|language=zh-cn}} Liang Bo,{{cite web|url=https://www.chinanews.com.cn/yl/2012/09-29/4223276.shtml|title="好声音"梁博小学学习差爱吉他 被那英领去见崔健|date=September 29, 2012|language=zh-cn|work=China News Service}} Gao Xiaosong,{{cite web|author=Wang Run|url=http://ent.sina.com.cn/m/c/2005-12-02/1606915423.html?from=wap|title=崔健高晓松联手触电 携手压岁短片《故事无双》|work=Beijing Evening News|date=December 2, 2005|language=zh-cn}} Deserts Chang,{{cite web|url=https://ent.sina.cn/music/2007-10-22/detail-icesifvx9718058.d.html?from=wap|title=图文：张悬独家做客聊天--受崔健张楚影响大|language=zh-cn|work=Sina Entertainment|date=October 22, 2007}} Lin Sheng Xiang,{{cite web|date=January 15, 2017|url=https://www.jiemian.com/article/1071673.html|title=他是17年来第一个拒绝金曲奖的人，只为在时代中为土地歌唱|work=Jiemian News|language=zh-cn}} Khalil Fong,{{cite news|title=凱琪助陣方大同北京開唱|url=https://dw-media.tkww.hk/epaper/tkp/20111024/C3_Screen.pdf|date=October 24, 2011|work=Ta Kung Pao|language=zh-hant}} Yaksa,{{cite magazine|publisher=Hebei Art Research Institute|author1=Suan Sanse|author2=Zhu Shan|language=zh-cn|magazine=Popular Songs|title=关于崔健|date=January 2001|issue=1|pages=16–17|location=Hebei}} Li Zhi,{{cite web|url=https://ent.ifeng.com/fcd/special/lizhihaowai/|title=李志：一个不合时宜者的逆袭|language=zh-cn|work=Ifeng.com|date=May 7, 2015}} Tengger,{{cite web|website=china.org.cn|date=March 19, 2018|language=zh-cn|url=http://music.china.com.cn/2018-03/19/content_40256454.htm|title=《歌手》腾格尔长褂墨镜玩摇滚 自称“老炮”}} Qiu Ye,{{cite web|author=Huang Xiaohe|url=https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_1403844|title=给我们洗脑多年的脑白金神曲原来是摇滚乐！|date=December 2, 2015|language=zh-cn|work=The paper}} Mao Amin,{{cite web|url=https://ku.m.chinanews.com/wapapp/cns/null/zw/6593347.shtml?target=_self|work=China News Service|title=毛阿敏捧场崔健新片：他是一个人战斗的战士(组图)|language=zh-cn|date=September 15, 2014}} and Gao Qi.{{cite web|work=Southern Metropolis Daily|language=zh-cn|date=October 12, 2017|url=https://ent.sina.cn/music/yneidi/2017-10-12/detail-ifymrqmq4899193.d.html|title=高旗:可以说老摇滚乐手不行 但我们不代表行业|author=Ding Huifeng}} Chinese newspaper National Business Daily reported that in numerous variety talent shows, contestants paying tribute by performing Cui Jian's songs has become a common occurrence. His song "The Lost Season" inspired Ning Hao's film Guns and Roses.{{cite web|date=May 10, 2012|url=https://www.chinanews.com.cn/yl/2012/05-10/3877892.shtml|title=崔健唱"一无所有"聊26年变化 谭维维听后激动发抖|work=China News Service|language=zh-cn}}

A tribute album Who Is Cui Jian!? was released in 2005 by Scream Records, featuring 11 bands covering Cui's songs.{{cite web|author=Zhai Yi|url=http://ent.sina.com.cn/x/2005-06-23/1511760612.html?from=wap|title=《谁是崔健？！》翻唱专辑致敬老崔|work=Daily News|date=June 23, 2005|language=zh-cn}} Jon Campbell from South China Morning Post reviewed that the album "leaving much mediocrity", although he thought Reflector's pop-punk take on "Rock 'N' Roll on the New Long March" and Pao Pao Tang's reinvention of "Piece of Red Cloth" are highlights.{{cite web|date=July 31, 2005|url=https://www.scmp.com/article/510364/who-cui-jian?module=perpetual_scroll_0&pgtype=article|title=Who Is Cui Jian!?|work=South China Morning Post|author=Jon Campbell}}

Cui ranked 51rd on Forbes China Celebrity 100 list in 2004.{{cite web|author=Lun Bing|url=https://news.sina.cn/sa/2004-02-23/detail-ikkntiak9594122.d.html?from=wap|title=崔健澄清：从没说过“只给滚石和伍佰当嘉宾”|date=February 23, 2004|language=zh-cn|work=Beijing Youth Daily}} He graced the cover of the first Chinese edition of Rolling Stone in March 2006.{{cite web|work=Los Angeles Times|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2006-mar-30-fg-stone30-story.html|title=Rolling Stone Silenced in China|date=March 30, 2006|author=Mark Magnier}} In 2007, Cui was included in the China Power List by openDemocracy and Chatham House.{{cite web|date=June 5, 2007|title=China Power List 2007|url=https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/chinajsp/|work=openDemocracy}} In 2009, in an online poll by China Internet Information Center, Cui ranked as the 6th most influential singer in China since 1949 and the 12th most influential celebrity overall, with 160,000 votes.{{cite web|url=https://news.cntv.cn/2015/11/19/ARTI1447863194724155.shtml#|title=中国摇滚歌手崔健时隔9年“回归” 发新专辑(图)|website=news.cntv.cn|date=November 19, 2015|language=zh-cn}} In a 2010 survey of Chinese university students, Cui ranked second among the symbolic figures in the Chinese entertainment world.{{cite web|author=Choi Hyun-Joon|url=https://www.hani.co.kr/arti/international/international_general/1049532.html|title=중국 '록 대부' 조선족 추이젠, 대만 최고남자가수상|work=The Hankyoreh|date=July 4, 2022|language=ko}} A wax figure of Cui has been unveiled at Madame Tussauds Beijing in May 2013.{{cite web|author=Chen Nan|url=https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/culture/2014-03/04/content_17319758.htm|title=Tussauds Beijing to honor Cui Jian|work=China Daily|date=March 4, 2014}} In the same year, according to a market survey by {{ill|Xi'an Concert Hall|zh|西安音乐厅}}, 60-70% of middle-class and above males had varying degrees of complex to him. He has been recognized by the media outlet Cultural Tourism China under China's Ministry of Culture and Tourism as "a musical genius born for Chinese rock and roll, the founder of Chinese rock, and a pioneer and thinker of China's new music".{{cite web|website=People's Daily|language=zh-cn|url=https://www.peopleapp.com/rmharticle/30021997019|title=崔健携手《乐队的夏天》多个乐团现身常州广电·新龙森林音乐节|date=April 27, 2021}}

• Return of the Prodigal (1984)
• Rock 'N' Roll on the New Long March (1989)
• Solution (1991)
• Balls Under the Red Flag (1994)
• The Power of the Powerless (1998)
• Show You Colour (2005)
• Frozen Light (2015)
• A Flying Dog (2021)

• 1993 – Beijing Bastards (北京杂种; Beijing Zazhong), directed by Zhang Yuan, as himself
• 2003 – Roots and Branches (我的兄弟姐妹; Wo de xiongdi jiemei), directed by Yu Chung, as the father/music teacher
• 2007 – The Sun Also Rises (太阳照常升起; Taiyang zhaochang shengqi), directed by Jiang Wen, as Tang's friend in Beijing
• 2010 – Dooman River (두만강), directed by Zhang Lu, as Chang-ho
• 2012 – Transcendence 3-D concert, directed by Bai Qiang
• 2013 – Promise, directed and written by himself
• 2013 – Blue Sky Bones

• Rock 'N' Roll on the New Long March Tour (1990)
• 1995 US tour (1995)
• 1999 US tour (1999)
• 2001 European tour (2001)
• Live Vocals Movement Tour (2002–2005)
• 2009 Concert Tour (2009){{cite web|work=Sina Entertainment|language=zh-cn|url=https://ent.sina.cn/music/rock/2009-09-04/detail-iawzunex7090161.d.html|title=崔健全国巡演启动 再次踏上新长征路上的摇滚|date=September 4, 2009}}
• The Blue Bones Tour (2012–2015){{cite web|url=https://ent.chinadaily.com.cn/2012-12/25/content_16054180.htm|title=崔健“蓝色骨头”巡演上海落幕 谭维维助阵|language=zh-cn|work=China Daily|date=December 25, 2012}}{{cite web|author=Zhang Daozheng|url=https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_1298962|title=崔健：过多关注春晚是落后，春晚的舞台早晚会有摇滚|date=January 29, 2015|language=zh-cn|work=The paper}}
• Rolling 30 Tour (2016–2018)
• 2019 Australian tour (2019)
• A Flying Dog Tour (2021–2023)
• Keep Going Wild Tour (2024–2025)

{{Notelist}}

{{reflist}}

{{sister project links|d=Q540516|c=Category:Cui Jian|q=Cui Jian|n=no|b=no|v=no|voy=no|m=no|mw=no|wikt=no|s=no|species=no}}

• [http://www.cuijian.com/ Official website]
• [https://www.douyin.com/user/MS4wLjABAAAA11niyh8HIUP6raaag1ZGw-HkpaySQlYOwvLPrv3AqUTRqOPTF7KchhaPgOkaFU72 Cui Jian] on Douyin
• Cui Jian's agent [https://weibo.com/u/1573507563 You You] on Sina Weibo
• {{IMDb name|0191277|Cui Jian}}
• [https://www.allmusic.com/artist/cui-jian-mn0000139728 Cui Jian] on AllMusic
• [https://www.yaogun.com/wiki/%E5%B4%94%E5%81%A5 Cui Jian] on Chinese Rock Database (in Japanese)
• [https://8964museum.com/time/en/t-f06-007/ Cui Jian Sings for the Students] on June 4 Memory & Human Rights Museum
• {{cite web|author=Milene Larsson|date=February 29, 2008|url=https://www.vice.com/sv/article/fuck-confucious-v15n3/|title=Fuck Confucius|work=Vice}}
• Wei, S. Louisa (2006). "{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20090627094542/http://www.bqcc.com/rockingchina_e.htm Cui Jian: Rocking China]}}" (DV). Music documentary.

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{{Golden Melody Award for Best Male Mandarin Singer}}

{{1989 Tiananmen Square protests}}

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Category:1961 births

Category:Living people

Category:Chinese guitarists

Category:Chinese male singer-songwriters

Category:Chinese people of Korean descent

Category:Chinese rock singers

Category:Chinese political music artists

Category:Chinese Mandopop singers

Category:Chinese electronic musicians

Category:Chinese male rappers

Category:Chinese DJs

Category:Chinese male film actors

Category:Chinese male screenwriters

Category:Chinese philanthropists

Category:English-language singers from China

Category:Male trumpeters

Category:Punk rock guitarists

Category:Jazz-rock guitarists

Category:Folk rock musicians

Category:Rap rock musicians

Category:Experimental rock musicians

Category:Alternative hip-hop musicians

Category:Electronic dance music musicians

Category:Musicians from Beijing

Category:Singers from Beijing

Category:Poets from Beijing

Category:Film directors from Beijing

Category:Counterculture of the 1980s

Category:Counterculture of the 1990s