[双语] Why Chinese obsess over Michael Jackson
There's considerably more crotch-grabbing by Chinese impersonators of Michael Jackson than the King of Pop himself ever managed on stage. Beijing marked the global premiere of "Michael Jackson's This Is It" new concert documentary with – an outdoor gala featuring some 60 professional Jackson impersonators. Similar shows were held in 10 other Chinese cities, including Shanghai and Guangzhou.Jackson has a huge following in China. His appeal largely comes from his association with China's opening and economic reform, which kicked into gear in the 1980s, the height of the gloved one's popularity. "Michael Jackson was one of the first foreign mega-stars to have his music widely available in China," said David Moser, an American professor of Chinese studies at Capital Normal University in Beijing.
"So there is an entire generation of Chinese who remember him very vividly as an almost legendary character in their past, exactly at a time when they were first becoming aware of the world and coming of age."
Jackson's music was also an inspiration for an entire generation of Chinese musicians, said Zhang Rui, the 37-year-old founder of the Chinese Michael Jackson fan club. "When China was just opening up Chinese musicians didn't know much about Western music, they didn't know much about rock and roll. His music was very fresh at the time, very different from anything they had heard of before. And so we started to try something new. And now we can see many pop singers singing like Michael and dancing like Michael."
Chinese fascination with Jackson also stems from his fans' perception of him as someone who genuinely wanted to solve the world's problems. "He is very pure, he is very innocent," said Zhang. "He keeps innocence in his heart, everything around him is very complicated, but that is Michael Jackson."
And like Jackson fans everywhere, Chinese fans dismiss the negative press including the accusations of child molestation. Bai Bing, a 28– year-old market researcher from Beijing, said
"Just listen to his songs. Listen to the words and you can tell he is so kind hearted. He wanted to heal the world." If anything, Jackson's death has catapulted him into even greater fame in China.
为何中国人着迷杰克逊
美国《明尼苏达邮报》10月28日文章，原题：为何中国人对迈克尔·杰克逊如此着迷在中国，迈克尔·杰克逊的模仿者经常做抓裤裆这个动作，远比这名流行歌王自己在舞台上做得多。北京举行杰克逊纪念影片全球首映式时，还特别找了60名杰克逊模仿者露天表演。类似活动在上海、广州等诸多城市也可看到。
杰克逊之所以在中国受到如此广泛的追捧，主要是因为上世纪80年代改革开放之初，杰克逊的音乐便传进中国，并迅速成为流行的主导。研究中国文化的美国教授大卫·莫斯说：“杰克逊是第一批在中国受到追捧的国外巨星之一。所以有那么一整代人都会把他作为一个传奇，正当他们长大并开始了解世界时，杰克逊神奇地进入他们的生活中。”
中国杰克逊粉丝俱乐部的创立者张瑞（音）说：“杰克逊的音乐激发了中国整代音乐人的灵感。改革开放之初，我们的音乐创作者并不太了解摇滚等西方音乐。他的音乐在当时看来非常新鲜，跟我们熟知的音乐很不一样。所以我们也开始做一些新尝试。到现在很多流行歌手唱歌和跳舞风格都带有杰克逊的影子。”
此外，中国粉丝对杰克逊如此痴迷的原因也在于，他们认为他真真正正在考虑如何解决世界存在的某些问题。张瑞还说：“他是个简单纯净的人。尽管他身处复杂的社会环境中，但是他始终在内心保留着一片净土。这就是迈克尔·杰克逊。”中国粉丝也跟世界各地的粉丝一样，不会在意他那些虐童等负面报道。北京一名28岁的市场调查员白冰（音）说：“你只要去聆听他的音乐就好。听到他的歌词，你就会发现他内心的纯洁善良，他想拯救这个世界。”总之，杰克逊的死让他在中国受到越来越多关注和喜欢。
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