How China is changed by Deng Lijun and her songs

Abstract

This chapter examines Taiwan’s impact on China through the songs of Deng Lijun (1953–1995), a legendary Taiwanese pop singer whose sweet voice and versatile style have left a deep impression on the Chinese people. Lin explains the context in which Deng’s songs were introduced into China, arguing that Deng was well loved because her music activated personal freedom, igniting a yearning for democracy, and eliciting individual emotions and pre-1949 cultural memories. In addition, Lin analyses Deng’s stylistic impact on today’s singers. It concludes that despite the Nationalist Party’s coining her as an envoy for the democratic Taiwan, Deng exerted a more lasting influence on Chinese listeners in nonpolitical aspects. Likewise, Deng’s popularity was more accountable to the market demand than to Chinese government’s party-state control.