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text丨xu shuang

editor: sydney wang

the presence of rock music on campus is orderly. the performance takes place in the lecture hall, with parents of students sitting in the audience.

almost all the seven band members wore glasses and neatly dressed in school uniforms. it was said that their academic performance was among the top 20 in their grade. the song they performed was beyond's "boundless oceans and vast skies". as the music started, the screen scrolled through photos of the students' daily lives.

the old wen who invited me to the show is a history teacher here. he prefers to be called "old wen" rather than his real name, which comes from his online name "vincent80". as a senior rock music lover, old wen has opened an elective course on rock music for 25 years. but in this key middle school in beijing, "students are the best", and things other than studying often seem inappropriate.

after the performance, i walked out of the lecture hall and said that the performance was a little different from the rock stage i imagined, "it was too good." lao wen turned on his phone and played a female cover of "bizarre love triangle" for me. unlike the noisy and roaring rock music in the stereotype, this melody was long and the singing was gentle. "you know, this is also rock." he smiled.

this summer, i went to lao wen's rock class. i was a little curious: in the context of exam-oriented education, where will a rock class lead these students? how will the same course content resonate with students of different generations? in the system, with limited answers, can education have more options? and how can we create more options?

here at lao wen, i tried to find the answer.

rock and roll

if you run into lao wen on campus, you may find it hard to associate him with "rock". he wears thick glasses on his nose and holds a large pot of pu'er tea, looking more like a good-tempered old scholar. people who know him describe him as a reserved person: he always wears t-shirts from various bands under his dark jacket, and his "very serious" black backpack is always filled with "disheveled" music cds.

the bell rang, the lights were turned off, the curtains were drawn, and the light and shadow brought the classroom into the caribbean islands in the early 20th century. the theme of this class was "passionate reggae", and the first song to appear was calypso, an improvisational satirical song with a strong sense of rhythm.

the music stopped, and old wen explained, "calypso has a nickname locally, called 'the people's newspaper'." local news events and political expressions are conveyed through obscure lyrics to circumvent official censorship.

like a movie reel, one disc after another flashes on the courseware: what kind of emotion is behind the strong melody? what is the creator rebelling against? what is the historical and social basis for such an era's emotion? lao wen will use anecdotes and gossip to lightly point out these issues.

some people in the audience listened attentively, while others shook their heads to the rhythm of the music. but not everyone came for rock music. the popularity of the course came more from the fact that it was a "pure and relaxing" elective course - not a disguised tutoring course, and there was no homework. in class, there were often students with tired faces, who would fall asleep to the loud drum beats of the band after finishing a whole set of math papers.

"in fact, the full name of my course is "shaking lights and rolling shadows - modern audiovisual culture." after class, lao wen corrected me that some media always called his course a rock course. in fact, as early as 2001, he submitted a request to the school to change the course name, reducing the proportion of rock music in the course, and incorporating richer artistic elements such as blues, jazz, folk, reggae, and punk.

the beginning of this course was a bit of luck.

lao wen has liked listening to rock music since junior high school.capital normal universityafter graduating from the history department, he became a history teacher at this key middle school. in 2000, without any precedent, the school tried to offer elective courses and mobilized teachers to actively submit elective course proposals. lao wen submitted "rock music culture". in lao wen's impression, most school leaders do not listen to rock music, but encourage new things. "i didn't expect the school to approve it, it was quite unexpected", after all, it is not easy to allow such a non-cultural course to exist in a public key high school with pressure to enter higher education. in this way, rock music became one of the three elective courses in the school at that time.

jian cui (pen name), who is now active in music media and behind-the-scenes production, is a student of lao wen.

he started listening to rock music in middle school. in chinese, math and english classes, he always rested his chin on his right hand, letting the earphone cord of his walkman stick out from his school uniform sleeve and secretly put it into his ears. in old wen's class, he could listen to rock music openly, and it became the only class he listened to seriously.

jiancui was already a "social person" in his second year of high school. he worked as a reporter for a magazine, wrote music reviews on online forums, and had two rock shows every month. he used a fashionable nokia mobile phone to make phone calls and discuss business at school every day. "my heart was not there at all. i lost interest in education itself. i couldn't stand every minute at school." jiancui hated political classes the most. he handed in a blank paper for a political exam.

not long after, jiancui wrote an application for withdrawal from school and posted it online. after lao wen saw it, he asked some of his friends in the cultural and music circles to persuade jiancui, including media person wang xiaofeng and music station dj zhang youdai. "everyone told me not to quit, think about it again, but everyone seemed to be a little insincere when they advised me." many years later, jiancui recalled, "they also understood my pain. the core of the traditional education system is opposite to rock. lao wen also tried many ways to balance it, but he failed in my case."

jian cui finally decided to drop out of school. on the day he left school, he was so emotional that he smashed a bunch of things in lao wen's office, ran out, and said he would never come back.

but he was soon invited back as a guest teacher in the yaoguang gunying class, teaching the latest electronic music to students one year younger than him. he started with an electronic music episode from a famous football game, which was both fresh and close to the daily life of middle school students. li yuan, a junior student sitting in the audience, was particularly excited.

in li yuan's impression, the emergence of the "shaking light and rolling shadow" class coincided with adolescence - he was originally a "good boy", but at that time, in addition to the changes in his physical development, he also had rebellious self-awareness. "at this time, listening to rock music made everything go smoothly."

old wen has a principle when teaching rock music, which is not to encourage students to indulge in it. he also often tells students that rebellion is not about doing wrong things, "real rebellion is to learn to fight against things you think are bad mentally. pure violence is the way of fools."

in an era of information scarcity, this course became a window for ordinary middle school students to touch the new world. looking back now, li yuan feels that it was this course that made him think about the current situation in china and find relevant books and documentaries to learn more about it. his undergraduate and graduate studies in media and political science were also related to this experience.

in class, lao wen does not shy away from mentioning drugs, swear words and sex in lyrics, "it is not that we can pretend they do not exist if we do not mention them". when he encounters emotional scenes in class screenings, he will quickly skip them, but after observing the students' reactions, he also realizes that "students actually understand it, so why not tell everyone generously, this is a way of expression of audio-visual art."

his deeper expectation is to fill in the gaps in textbook education through rock music, such as a deep understanding of human nature, the courage to challenge reality, and the motivation to innovate. "in the final analysis, i am trying to break people's prejudice against rock music culture, because prejudice often comes from ignorance."

“listen without prejudice”, lao wen wrote this sentence on the first page of every class’s courseware.

there is no correct answer in class

lao wen and students performed original class songs on stage

"other teachers are very positive and insist on sending us to 985 universities. you really don't understand lao wen. in his teaching, it seems that one can live a bright and sunny life without going to a 985 university. poor students may see an alternative path because of this." a classmate mentioned this in an interview with a magazine.

this, to some extent, echoes lao wen’s definition of “rock”, which is – not to be defined. “he inspired us to find our own possibilities to the maximum extent, to strive for freedom, and to be ourselves,” said student xiao meng.

confrontational stance

in 2019, lao wen went to guizhou to teach and taught reggae music to local children.

there are many people who listen to rock music in school. for most listeners, rock music is just a kind of music with strong rhythm.

the rock spirit is different and is rarely seen on campus or even in society. "there are always some students who fight against the system in their own way and try to find spiritual space outside of exam-oriented education." xiao an said that on campus, "rock" may take the form of reading philosophy or writing a short poem about one's own life.

at the school band's performance, i noticed that the lead guitarist was a silent boy. he always stood at the edge of the stage, half of his body hiding behind the bassist, playing with his head down and his eyes facing the ground. it was not until halfway through the song, when he started his solo, that his body seemed to relax a little and he began to nod vigorously to the rhythm.

"he is a rock star." old wen firmly believes. he judges "rock star" by looking at the technique and the person. he has warned students that the career prospects of studying history may not be very good, but in the recent course project, this skinny and shy boy insisted on studying history.

little tiger zhao hong is now a rapper. as a 2002 graduate, he still remembers a scene in lao wen's class: the teacher was playing neil young's "sleeping with angels", a sad tune. at that time, little tiger, who was troubled by a broken heart, suddenly stood up and walked out. "lao wen came to ask me what was wrong, and i said i was not feeling well, and then i left. he didn't say anything."

it was only many years later that the little tiger realized that lao wen’s reaction was "simply unbelievable" in domestic high schools.

when faced with fragility and sensitivity, the typical educational logic is to question, "everyone can do it, why can't you?" and always emphasize the importance of learning and order. but lao wen's attitude is, "what's wrong?", "understand", and "let's see how to resolve it."

if we go further into the value, xiao lao hu believes that lao wen's educational philosophy has a deeper meaning - allowing negativity. "some people may say that venting is also a kind of creation, and there is poetry in your venting. but venting can also be just venting. many of our things seem to always have to be linked to the transformation and motivation of people to exist, but lao wen said, 'breaking a bottle is just breaking a bottle, there is no need to break it to have any meaning'."

the little tiger freestyled a verse about his mentor in his usual rap tone:

lao wen is on a noisy, wide road in beijing, which is not suitable for walking. among the low bushes on both sides, there is a plant and weed that can only be distinguished by ears.

a public expression

after visiting many of lao wen’s students, i found that the yaoguang rolling shadow class influenced their unique public expressions in their respective industries in different ways many years later.

xiao lao hu sees this course as a starting point for reflection. “i didn’t know anyone could talk like this before, and that such content existed in the world.” since then, he feels that he has been in a state of flux and change. he has done a lot of music experiments, such as freestyling with amateurs, with almost no swear words in the lyrics, no singing about brothers or gold chains, and paying close attention to social issues.

in xiao lao hu’s opinion, education or class is not a barrier to making music; high school students and migrant workers can all rap.

when asked about the most rock-and-roll thing she has done recently, xiao mo, who is currently studying at the chinese opera academy, paused and gave an answer that surprised me a little. she is writing a script, combining waiting for godot and peony pavilion together. "people often think that opera and modern drama are two different things, but peony pavilion is actually rock-and-roll music from the ming and qing dynasties."

a photo of mr. wen with his students, little tigers zhao hong and li yuan

music critic and dj li yuan has applied wen’s teaching philosophy to his work. in the fall of 2018, during the preparation stage for the first season of the variety show “summer of the band”, the program team invited li yuan to teach all directors. when designing the course, li yuan first thought of introducing wen’s teaching logic - when talking about music, you can’t just talk about the appearance, but also explain “why”, why did black people sing blues back then, how did jazz come about... so he talked about the origin of rock music in the 1950s, and talked about major styles and genres, classic bands, and the development status at home and abroad. the course lasted a whole month.

xiao meng started independent publishing seven years ago, focusing on knowledge production outside the mainstream. she also collaborated with her senior xiao lao hu to promote content and discuss various aspects of creation. "independent publishing has many things in common with rock, such as diy (do it yourself), free expression, maintaining independence, and revolutionary spirit."

"old editor" is how chen xingnuo summed up lao wen and his students. he works in an internet company, and the thing he comes into contact with most on a daily basis is algorithms. "algorithms solve the problem of how to make business better satisfy you at your current level." old editors can help audiences break through existing cognitive limitations - stick to the humanistic perspective in a technology-driven society, and use their professional knowledge and judgment to filter and provide richer and more in-depth content.

chen xingnuo feels that there are too few "old editors" in this era, and most people are trapped in the cocoon of algorithms. "but people like lao wen always insist on being 'old editors' in different industries."

jian cui summed up the similarities between lao wen and his students as elitism in their creative methods. "xiao lao hu's rap is more ideological, and li yuan is still working on radio and blogging. we all hope to develop some methods and methods that can be used by others. we are very rigorous and serious about our work and do what we think needs to be done, but this is actually a disadvantage in china."

when they were in high school, jian cui and lao wen often met after school and took a two-hour bus ride to haidian book city to buy "pirated cds". those unsold records in the united states were treated as plastic waste and destroyed, and placed in boxes in audio-visual stores, like a mountain of gold that could never be turned over - more than 20 years ago, when media was not well developed, cds and tapes were rare private resources that needed to be found and rushed to buy.

jian cui considers himself to be a member of the generation that benefited from pirated music culture. based on this idea, in 2020, he opened a record store in shanghai and launched a "free exchange" plan for records, which is open to students for free. each person can receive two cds at a time with a student id.

on the window of the record listening area, he wrote "gong", "gong", "yin" and "yuan". there is no correct reading order for the four words. everyone can read them according to their own understanding. in jian cui's view, music is public, shared, and can bring people together.

"a record store should be a space that provides more possibilities. i hope every pair of young ears can open a new window of sound here." jian cui wrote in the store opening plan.

the past era

having taught for more than 20 years, lao wen claims that he has long been "indifferent to fame and fortune" and is calm in facing the ups and downs in the number of students in the classroom - at the least, there were only three students in the class; at the most, there were more than 200 people signed up. lao wen asked the teacher in the academic affairs office to help retrieve the previous final exam results, and selected 40 students from the first to the last according to the ranking.

around 2010, there was a "small peak" in the number of students. the classrooms of dozens of square meters were packed with students who came to listen to the lectures. everyone sat on the floor, and some even leaned on the windows. at that time, education reform was prevalent in beijing's middle schools, and many schools were exploring innovative models other than exam-oriented education. in some schools, students in the first and second year of high school even attended classes in a "wandering class" format. there was no concept of a class teacher or class, and there were no designated textbooks or syllabus. students sat in a circle and read only one novel or a play in a semester. it was not until the third year of high school that they returned to the traditional model and prepared for the college entrance examination - this was the "bottom line" of the school.

under the wave of education reform, many interesting and thoughtful teachers emerged, which made lao wen feel that his class was nothing special. but in recent years, fewer and fewer people have taken this path. or is it because "the competition is too fierce", lao wen analyzed, "in the current overall cramped environment, my existence seems to be unique."

initially, the yaoguang gunying course was offered to high school sophomores - high school seniors were too busy, and high school freshmen were not cognitively advanced enough. after research, lao wen found that high school sophomores were the most suitable stage for teaching. but starting in 2023, this course was moved to high school freshmen. the main reason is that high school sophomores also have to start "focusing on learning," and scores have trumped quality education. however, lao wen also discovered that with the development of the internet, students' horizons have become much broader than before, and high school freshmen also "know a lot," and their cognitive level can accept such courses.

students' preferences for music are also changing. wen observed that students in the millennial generation preferred classic rock music such as "stairway to heaven", "bohemian rhapsody" and "hotel california", and preferred long, grand and epic music styles. now students prefer to listen to small works such as pop punk, non-mainstream and "post-rock".

talking about the present and popular will get the most positive feedback - having stood on the podium for so many years, lao wen understands this truth very well, but he still chooses "no". many people have asked him if he wants to include some of the current domestic music works. "i want to, but what if there is no music?" lao wen spread his hands.

he lamented that every era has its own rock classics, but in the current turbulent and rapidly changing era, there are very few musical works that can reflect the times. "most works are either kitsch or put anger before narrative, and there is not enough support for expression under the attitude."

in the 25 years since the course was launched, rock music has gone from being an alternative and trendy imported product to an “oldie”. the pioneers of rock music in the chinese world have almost disappeared from the mainstream market, and rock singles that criticized business have suddenly appeared on variety shows with new lyrics.

but lao wen did not make any major adjustments to the course framework, and even the courseware still uses the earliest templates and color schemes. this is played in the classroom in 2024, and with that old winamp player, it often has a retro aesthetic. however, more and more songs are "unplayable" on the platform, and the playback hyperlinks are forgotten deep in the courseware. because it has been too long since i visited it, sometimes even lao wen himself can't remember the specific location.

for a long time, his main principle was to keep a low profile - this was his survival rule, and also the survival rule of "rock" on campus.

but this rule is not unbreakable. some time ago, lao wen and xiao lao hu were chatting online by chance and found that each other was interested in shadow puppet art recently. they hit it off and decided to record a podcast.

the broadcast of the program unexpectedly brought up a bunch of old friends who had lost contact with them - they were all people who had met online because of rock music in their early years. after the bbs, msn, campus network (renren) and other platforms gradually disappeared, these old friends were scattered all over the world.

friends who used to chat about rock music have updated their current situation. wang xiaofeng, former editor of sanlian life weekly, now makes and sells t-shirts in thailand, and his public account is mostly about medical and health science. zhang lei, who wrote a book about rock music, was boating in west lake when he was last contacted. dayong, the editor of i love rock music, who interviewed lao wen, now makes a living by fortune-telling and writing, and drinks at least one pound of liquor every day.

"everyone has basically disappeared from the scene, or to put it more simply, they have compromised with reality." lao wen mentioned that most of the print media that have interviewed him have gone bankrupt: two rock magazines, "i love rock and roll" and "popular songs·rock and roll", and "music weekly", which had long owed him royalties, have all suffered the same fate.

photo of lao wen being interviewed by "i love rock music" magazine in 2004

the rock and roll past has dissipated in the wind, only old wen is still here. his temples are a little gray, and he always squints when looking at his phone. when talking about the past, his tone is calm, but he can't help singing when he gets excited. he misses campus folk songs and the era of white clothes fluttering.

the new generation of students have a generation gap with this excitement. even if they listen carefully to the lectures, they only feel that they can "understand it, but it is difficult to empathize with it." "it's like listening to grandparents telling stories about the pre-liberation era," a young student described.

2019 was the last year that lao wen served as a class teacher. he said that was the first time he truly felt that his era might have passed.

"rock has changed the times in history, but it is unlikely to do so now. as the times change, music no longer has such a strong influence. a large part of students' spare time is divided up by video games and social networks, and their hobbies have become more diverse and no longer as single as in the era of material scarcity." old wen no longer talks about the mission and future of the course with great ambition as he did when he was interviewed by a rock magazine 20 years ago. his biggest hope now is that this course can survive until one day he doesn't want to teach it anymore.

the new semester's yaoguang gunying course started on september 12. a student came to tell lao wen that the course was sold out within two minutes. lao wen was somewhat relieved, "it turns out that this course still has some value."

li yuan met a high school class teacher some time ago and heard him talk about the current generation of children. "they seem to be getting better and better," he said. "they are well disciplined. although there are some naughty ones, they are far from what you did back then."

these descriptions are not recognized by the "new generation". xiao mo, who graduated from high school last year, believes that the "silly obedient" type does not really exist. "some of my classmates are smart but obedient. to make an inappropriate analogy, even if our education is anti-human, they will still obediently participate, compete, and be willing to kill each other."

during the interview, i asked jian cui, if you were in middle school in this era, would you still drop out?

“then i might drop out in junior high school,” he replied.

after the interview, old wen sent me a file that selected the feedback from students in the past ten years. one student mentioned that among all the music played in the class, the one that impressed him the most was the opening song of the class, don mclean's "vincent". he said it was old wen's song, "everything in this song is old wen's story, and what old wen and his course mean to our generation."

its lyrics are:

Starry starry night，

in the starry night,

paint your palette blue and grey，

draw the blue and gray from your palette,

look out on a summer's day，

going out to visit in the summer,

with eyes that know the darkness in my soul.

with your eyes that see into the darkness of my soul,

And now I understand，

now i understand,

what you tried to say to me，

what do you want to say?

and how you suffered for your sanity，

how miserable you are when you are awake,

and how you tried to set them free.

you try hard to free them.

They would not listen they did not know how，

but people ignored it and didn't know what to do.

perhaps they'll listen now.

maybe, people will learn to listen.

(all pictures in this article are provided by the interviewees)

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