Chinese Tune ‘Xiao Juan’ By Tan Weiwei Goes Viral As It Laments Gender-Based mostly Violence In China

Chinese pop tune “Xiao Juan” (Small Juan), from Tan Weiwei’s album “3811,” has turn into a sensational hit considering that its Dec. 11 release as its lyrics spotlight gender-based mostly violence in the place.

In the tune, the pop star sings about the way women are beaten, burned alive, shaved bald, confined and murdered. “Know my title, try to remember my title, when can the identical tragedy end recurring?” Its lyrics go as per SCMP. 

“Xiao Juan” is a pseudonym that has been often utilized by the authorities to refer to victims of domestic violence.

Because its launch on Weibo, listeners have believed of the lyrics as a reference to some of the violent abuses dedicated in opposition to women in the state. “The roar of the times should not be buried. This is a war tune,” The Guardian quotes one particular of the song’s commenters as indicating.

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“Applying a fist, applying gasoline, employing sulfuric acid,” 38-calendar year-previous Tan sings in her most recent track. “Remaining flushed into the sewer, sinking from a wedding home into a riverbed. Becoming stuffed into a suitcase, frozen in a fridge on a balcony,” she goes on as per Sixth Tone. 

For the earlier 6 months, Tan has been releasing songs that convey to the stories of women of all ages from a variety of walks of life—a taxi driver, a charity worker, a solitary mother and a 60-year-previous female who simply cannot study. However, it really is “Xiao Juan” that has turn out to be viral as it laments the demise of some women of all ages in China this year.

A person of the horrific incidents the song reminds listeners of is the grisly murder of a woman in Hangzhou in July. Her husband allegedly killed her, dismembered her physique and got rid of it in a septic tank.

There is also the tragic destiny of Lhamo, a Tibetan vlogger who was killed by her ex-partner. The guy reportedly doused the vlogger with petrol and established her on fire while she was in the middle of a livestream for her lovers.

In accordance to SCMP, the track also tackles misogyny as it mentions words and phrases with negative connotations that have radical girls in them, this kind of as “jidu” (jealousy), “nu” (slave), “changji” (prostitution) and “biao” (bitch).

The track has so significantly received a lot of assistance and appreciation from listeners and has reached 320 million sights on Weibo.

1 of the listeners on the system expressed get worried about the tune, expressing, “I’m frightened this may possibly get censored before long.” Meanwhile, yet another listener praised Tan for her guts. “She was daring to communicate out,” they mentioned.

Tan has develop into one particular of the initially mainstream musicians in China to tackle gender-centered violence. Her album’s identify is a mix of her age, 38, and the variety of songs in it. 

“The beginning of the album is a witness to the life tales of all everyday ladies who also show greatness,” Tan said during the online concert in which her album “3811” was introduced. “I desired to mature up with them, really like what they like, be sad at their decline, and enjoy the unidentified with them,” she mentioned.

Portraits of Li Tingting (best L), Wei Tingting (best R), (bottom, L-R) Wang Gentleman, Wu Rongrong and Zheng Churan are pictured through a protest contacting for their launch in Hong Kong April 11, 2015. Picture: REUTERS/Tyrone Siu