{"id":34055,"date":"2013-05-22T22:17:00","date_gmt":"2013-05-22T22:17:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/127.0.0.1:10081\/?p=34055 "},"modified":"2013-05-22T22:17:00","modified_gmt":"2013-05-22T22:17:00","slug":"34055-revision-v1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/minzhuzhongguo.org\/?p=34055","title":{"rendered":"Ai Weiwei rages against state abuses in song, Dumbass"},"content":{"rendered":"<div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/mzzg.org\/UploadCenter\/ArticlePics\/2013\/20\/2013522_67757137_67757136.jpg\" alt=\"2013522_67757137_67757136.jpg (640&#215;360)\" \/><\/div>\n<div>&nbsp;<\/div><div>&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Ai Weiwei&#8217;s single has been blocked in China<\/div><div>&nbsp;<\/div><div>&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/4ACj86DKfWs\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<div>&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div>Chinese artist and dissident Ai Weiwei has released an expletive-ridden heavy metal music video criticising abuses of state power in China.<\/div>\n<div>&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>The track, given the English-language title Dumbass, reconstructs his 81-day detention in 2011, including what he says is an exact model of his cell.<\/div>\n<div>&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>The video shows impassive prison guards accompanying Ai as he eats, sleeps, showers and even sits on the toilet.<\/div>\n<div>&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Ai himself sings the lyrics, few of which are fit to print.<\/div>\n<div>&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>They include: &#8220;Stand on the frontline like a dumbass, in a country that puts out like a hooker&#8230; tolerance be damned, to hell with manners, the low-life&#8217;s invincible.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div>&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Ai admits his voice is unpolished, but says the video is &#8220;dedicated to all those people who do not have the opportunity to raise their voice, who will never be able to raise their voices&#8230;<\/div>\n<div>&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div>&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div>&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div>&#8220;<\/div>\n<div>Start Quote<\/div>\n<div>&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>When I was detained there was a paramilitary officer who asked me to sing a song&#8230; I realised that the guards felt just like me. They just wanted to hear songs&#8221; &nbsp; Ai Weiwei<\/div>\n<div>&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div>&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div>&#8220;In the past 60 years there have been innumerable amounts of people who have been killed or sent away from their homes, even tortured to death.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div>&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>It is no surprise, correspondents say, that the song and video are being blocked on the Chinese internet &#8211; along with the search term &#8220;Ai Weiwei&#8221;.<\/div>\n<div>&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Crabs<\/div>\n<div>&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div>The video &#8211; shot by famed Australian cinematographer Christopher Doyle &#8211; opens with Ai in a hood marked &#8220;criminal&#8221; which is whipped off.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div>His mugshot and fingerprints are taken and he begins his detention.<\/div>\n<div>&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Images of Ai undergoing the mundane activities of daily prison life are interspersed with surreal shots, including a toilet full of crabs, and other animals. China analysts say animals have come to be used as code by activists resisting state censorship.<\/div>\n<div>&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Guards are shown dancing with lingerie-clad women and the video culminates with Ai shaving his head and appearing in women&#8217;s clothes and heavy make-up.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div>Ai says his experience of detention still causes him nightmares, and that writing the song was a form of therapy.<\/div>\n<div>&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>&#8220;When I was detained there was a paramilitary officer who asked me to sing a song,&#8221; Ai said.<\/div>\n<div>&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>&#8220;I was extremely frustrated at the time and felt terrible. But then I realised that the guards felt just like me. They just wanted to hear songs.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div>&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Ai, who authorities say was detained for tax evasion, later tried unsuccessfully to mount a legal challenge against a 15m yuan ($2.4m; &#163;1.5m) state bill for back taxes.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div>He now says he is unable to travel outside of China as authorities have taken his passport.<\/div>\n<div>&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>He plans to release a hard-rock album titled The Divine Comedy later in the year.<\/div>\n<div>&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div>&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div>&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div>&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div><strong style=\"font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', 'Lucida Grande', 'Segoe UI', Arial, Helvetica, Verdana, sans-serif; color: #2d2d2d; font-size: 14px; background-color: #ffffff;\"><strong><span style=\"font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', 'Lucida Grande', 'Segoe UI', Arial, Helvetica, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;\">Continue reading&nbsp;<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/seeingredinchina.com\/2013\/01\/01\/a-chinese-dissident-makes-demands-of-xi-jinping\/\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color: #034af3; text-decoration: initial;\"><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.rfa.org\/english\/news\/china\/confronts-01042013141808.html\" style=\"color: #034af3; text-decoration: initial;\"><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/seeingredinchina.com\/2013\/01\/01\/a-chinese-dissident-makes-demands-of-xi-jinping\/\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color: #034af3; text-decoration: initial;\"><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/world\/2013\/01\/05\/china-officials-take-blame-in-deadly-shelter-fire\/\" style=\"color: #034af3; text-decoration: initial;\"><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/seeingredinchina.com\/2013\/01\/01\/a-chinese-dissident-makes-demands-of-xi-jinping\/\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color: #034af3; text-decoration: initial;\"><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2013\/01\/08\/world\/asia\/supporters-back-strike-at-newspaper-in-china.html?ref=asia\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color: #034af3; text-decoration: initial;\"><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/seeingredinchina.com\/2013\/01\/01\/a-chinese-dissident-makes-demands-of-xi-jinping\/\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color: #034af3; text-decoration: initial;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', 'Lucida Grande', 'Segoe UI', Arial, Helvetica, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;\">the<\/span><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2013\/01\/11\/world\/asia\/as-protest-ends-chinese-censorship-battle-remains.html?ref=asia\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color: #034af3; text-decoration: initial;\">&nbsp;<\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/world.time.com\/2013\/01\/10\/crusading-chinese-journalists-end-their-strike-but-dont-expect-media-freedoms-to-follow\/\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color: #034af3; text-decoration: initial;\"><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.voanews.com\/content\/tibetan-exile-pm-sends-new-year-message-of-solidarity\/1601111.html\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color: #034af3; text-decoration: initial;\"><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.rfa.org\/english\/news\/china\/north-korea-02132013133927.html\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color: #034af3; text-decoration: initial;\"><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/entertainment-arts-22627605\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color: #034af3; text-decoration: initial;\">original article<\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.rfa.org\/english\/news\/china\/nobel-01012013110843.html\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color: #034af3; text-decoration: initial;\"><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.rfa.org\/english\/news\/china\/nobel-01012013110843.html\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color: #034af3; text-decoration: initial;\"><\/a><span style=\"font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', 'Lucida Grande', 'Segoe UI', Arial, Helvetica, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.rfa.org\/english\/news\/china\/nobel-01012013110843.html\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color: #034af3; text-decoration: initial;\">.<\/a><\/span><span style=\"font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', 'Lucida Grande', 'Segoe UI', Arial, Helvetica, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.rfa.org\/english\/news\/china\/nobel-01012013110843.html\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color: #034af3; text-decoration: initial;\"><\/a><\/span><span style=\"font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', 'Lucida Grande', 'Segoe UI', Arial, Helvetica, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.rfa.org\/english\/news\/china\/nobel-01012013110843.html\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color: #034af3; text-decoration: initial;\"><\/a><\/span><span style=\"font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', 'Lucida Grande', 'Segoe UI', Arial, Helvetica, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.rfa.org\/english\/news\/china\/nobel-01012013110843.html\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color: #034af3; text-decoration: initial;\">&nbsp;<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/strong><\/div>\n<div>&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div>&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div><a href=\"http:\/\/www.voanews.com\/content\/ai-weiwei-releases-provocative-heavy-rock-music-video\/1665836.html\" target=\"_blank\">VOA\uff1aAi Weiwei Releases Provocative Heavy Rock Music Video<\/a><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div>&nbsp;<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&lt;div&gt;The track, given the English-language title Dumbass, reconstructs his 81-day detention in 2011, including what he says is an exact model of his cell.&lt;\/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;\/div&gt;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-34055","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ChinaHumanRights","et-doesnt-have-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/minzhuzhongguo.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34055","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/minzhuzhongguo.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/minzhuzhongguo.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/minzhuzhongguo.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/minzhuzhongguo.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=34055"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/minzhuzhongguo.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34055\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/minzhuzhongguo.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=34055"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/minzhuzhongguo.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=34055"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/minzhuzhongguo.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=34055"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}