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Saying Goodbye to Bowie

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David Bowie passed away at age of 69 after battling cancer, leaving his fans worldwide, including those in China, mourning for the loss of a visionary rock star. For many Chinese fans, David Bowie was a source of inspiration, leaving many unable to accept this “Starman” heading to space.

On Sina Weibo, one of China’s largest social networking sites, the “David Bowie died” hashtag garnered 10,000 netizens joining in a discussion, a page that has now been viewed over 10 million times.

One of his fans wrote, “David, tell us about the ‘Life on Mars’ when you come back”.

Tributes poured in from Chinese pop singers and celebrities. Taiwanese pop singer Wang Lee-hom and influential music producer and songwriter Gao Xiaosong expressed their condolences for David Bowie and their sentiments were reposted over 10,000 times.

David Bowie became known to his Chinese fans through his Ziggy Stardust album. “Space Oddity” and “Starman” were his most popular songs among Chinese. One of China’s best-known rockers, Hong Kong sensation Wong Ka-kui, who died in 1993, always said he was a big fan of David Bowie.

Although rock music isn’t exactly mainstream music in China that can be found at the big national galas, rock was an obscure genre before the 1980s, and modernization was accompanied by the strange, smooth song lyrics of David Bowie, along with Bon Jovi and Pink Floyd. The first rock band in China began performing in 1979 by four college students at Beijing International Studies University.

David Bowie’s rebel spirit and his courage to challenge traditional views on style, gender, and sexuality touched and inspired two generations. His songs and his innovative style and performances opened the eyes of the Chinese people who were, at the time, just learning of this new genre.

He never performed in mainland China but he had two concerts in Hong Kong in 1983 and 2004. He had also sang a Chinese song in 1997: Cha Na Tian Di (刹那天地), a mandarin version of his song “Seven Years in Tibet” from the album Earthling. Hong Kong lyric writer Lin Xi wrote the Chinese lyrics.

 

Cover image from Douban


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